Apparently in older times, the way they set up the bars on the gate served as a sort of signal, whether the person was in and welcoming, in, not welcoming, out for a long time, coming back in a bit, etc.

Again, dunno where to tell the story so I'll relay it here. You know on tours you often get shuttles to these tourist trap places. Like in China we were taken to pearl shops, stuff like that. The Cheju tour was mercifully free from most of that, except for one stop, where they sold this weirdo root based (not ginseng) health drink and local produce.

Anyway, we were forced to listen to like a 30 minute speech by a local farmer who was going on and on about how hard a time the Cheju farmers are having, how little money they get for their produce, how the government won't help them, so please spread the word and buy lots of Cheju products.

Perhaps this is cold and heartless, but I'm against that. I'm sorry that the way economics work means some people lose jobs while other people gain, that some industries shrink and others grow. But while I'm sympathetic to the plight of Cheju farmers, suggesting that the Korean government should engage in more protectionist measures to help them is ridiculous. Yeah, let's start a tariff war to help a few farmers while we sell way less LCD displays and steel so tons of people lose jobs. That's a great idea.

Anyway, don't get me started on protectionism. Free trade helps everyone. Those who isolate themselves only hurt themselves. A random rant.