Courtesy

The red lights in Korea are long.

It works. You sometimes have to wait two and a half minutes at a five-way intersection, but when it is your turn, a lot of cars can get through. When traffic is bad, it seems effective.

It is 6pm, the middle of rush hour. Lisa has just finished her pottery class, and I am driving her home. We pull up at an intersection. There is a long line of cars in front of us, "But we are past the Burger King!" I explain to Lisa that we will have two lights before we get through the intersection, and then will have smooth sailing.

"Eight minutes, Lisa!" I proclaim, "Eight minutes and we are home." She loves an ETA.

The Jack-hole in the car in front of me opens his doors.

"What is this Jack-hole doing, Lisa?" I ask.

He starts scuttling towards us, his door open.

What IS this Jack-hole doing?

He reaches out to my driver side wing mirror, which is still folded in, and, with a demur bow, folds it out.

"Thanks!" I say, a little surprised, not sure what else to say. He scuttles back to his car.

Koreans are great. Courteous to all get out. Well, except for Evil Mark, and one other guy in my department who knows who he is. But this dude takes the cake.