In my experience, nothing was so frightening as the time I saw a man get hit by a truck going forty miles an hour. It was an awesome yet grisly site. The blood disgorged out of the man's body in a ten-meter radius. Blood and guts were splattered all over the white truck, making the not so anymore smooth front end look like a badly stained, two day unchanged tampon. As the very thin, very tall driver staggered out the driver's door in his white uniform, the picture was complete. As the driver, he was the means upon which one sees such a bloody site once a month. But it was not his fault.

I, a witness to the whole scene, found the dead man's stupidity beyond belief. He had forgotten the second golden rule of Jaywalking which every student is drilled with from elementary school. First, look both ways. Second, make sure to look again. I can only surmise as to his motive in crossing the street and committing, what I think was unknowing suicide. Maybe it was the glare of the hot summer sun, which directly behind the truck's path, might have blinded him for a few seconds. I know not, but whatever the reason, the outcome with its horrible consequences was despicable (with a Yosemitean Samean shower of slobber segregating the s from the rest of the word) for its stupidity.

After many hours in psychotherapy and counseling, it was to my great relief that I discovered the art of Jaywalking in Korea. I knew for certain that my nightmare of witnessing a death by Jaywalking would not be lived again here. Jaywalking is an art form here. Although told properly how to Jaywalk in the West, we lack the fundamental time spent doing such an activity to learn it well, much less perfect it.

While living in Korea, my theory of Korean Jaywalking began to ferment and ripen into, what I believe, is a correct theory on the subject. Everyday, in order to get to my office, I have to cross a major throughway of traffic, not quite the large highway type, but the smaller kind, but not any less busy, in Korea which service large buses, commercial trucks, and other personal vehicles throughout most of the day. It seems that most pedestrians deem the two crosswalks fifty meters parallel to one another unworthy of use. The chosen area for crossing is not only dangerous because of the heavy traffic, but also that the road is curved like a half O. It is exactly where the road curves around that most people cross. One side of traffic can be seen quite clearly, but where the road curves around is a completely different story.

I have no evidence to the contrary, but I'm assuming most people use their sense of sound or smell to detect whether a car is coming from around the curve. I suppose the loudness and smoke gives clues as to the speed and make of the car approaching. Thus, everything is calculated almost autonomously in the brain of the Jaywalker, for example, the bigger trucks and buses must slow down about five mph to make the sharp turn, while more agile vehicles may actually accelerate through it.

And at anytime of day, hordes of people stand by the nonexistent sidewalks waiting for their turns to cross the street, without a worry as to the dire and gruesome consequences, talking on cell phones or conversing amongst friends. Yes, even group crossings occur. Jaywalking has become second nature.

The convenience store which I visit every day after lunch for my mixture of instant coffee is a good example. The family run store boasts two boys aged about six and eight (American age). The powers of deduction lead me to believe that their elementary school lies across this street. The store being located directly mid center to the two parallel crosswalks, right on the corner of the bend, is the quickest route across the street. Often times I see them, probably after eating a nourishing meal of rice and kimchi at home, hurrying back to school after dilly-dallying watching midday cartoons. The two brothers, playful and hurriedly wait in front of the store. A huge
window glass affords their mother or father, whoever happens to be working at the time, a perfect view of them. They wave goodbyes. No thought of escorting the little tykes, hand in hand, across the street. But before you know it, zoom, the two are safely across.

Such young practioners of Jaywalking are not rare to find. Indeed, I have seen many much younger children in Korea learning the art of Jaywalking. It is with great joy that I know that this wonderful art form, that potentially could save many lives, is being practiced from an early age. Furthermore, I purport that masters and teachers should set up reputable schools in other
countries as well. Practice from an early age is the key. I admire and respect these masters of Jaywalking.