Korean Job Discussion Forums

[thekakapo]

This Thursday, I was celebrating a friend's departure from Korea in Haebongcheon. I got very drunk, and finished the night throwing up on the street next to Philly's. My friend, whose sister was in town, was very kindly taking care of me until he went in to check on his sister who was visiting from the US.

During the couple of minutes I was alone, I was picked up by a strange Korean man. He lifted me like a child and threw me in the front seat of his car, which I believe had a meter although there was no liscence and the GPS was off. He asked where I was going the way a cab driver would. I was still drunk enough to not quickly freak out and try to get out, although if I had tried I would have seen that the doors were locked. I immediately called the same friend who had been taking care of me, who was understandably terrified and told me to get out. I could not, because although the "cabbie" slowed down to try to hang up my phone, he did not stop long enough for me to get out.

When he neared my home, I started getting really terrified. He didn't slow down, but said we should go back to Haebongcheon. (This was all in Korean, by the way.) When I started screaming, he grabbed me by the leg and breasts, and hung up my phone. I hit him as hard as I could on the head and continued screaming. I guess he decided it wasn't worth it, because he pulled over and let me out.

I got his liscence plate as he drove away - EDITED . That's what lets me know that this was not actually a taxi, but either an illegal cab or simply a car.

The police don't seem to be doing much about this. In the three hours I spent in the police box near my home and the police station nearby, there was no English interpretation. Fortunately, I speak enough Korean to explain myself, but there was no one there who seemed all that interested in solving my case beyond finding out the details of my employment and repeatedly asking me how much I had had to drink.

The police called me yesterday to tell me that they probably don't have enough clues to solve the case. The liscence plate number, time of assault, detailed location, and my statement are apparently not enough. Granted, I couldn't remember the make or color of the car (I hadn't seen it when I got in) or details about the guy other than that I think he had been wearing glasses.

My having been drunk does not excuse a predator's behavior.

In a city with 20,000 English speakers, I've been assigned a detective who speaks no English.

This whole thing has been a nightmare. I'm going to try to have my co-teacher lean on the detective to catch this guy, but I'm not optimistic.

Seoul is one of the safest cities in the world, but I guess there's no city that's really safe for a woman alone at 2:30 AM when she's gotten herself into a compromised situation.

Be careful. If you get into a situation like this, freaking out and beating whatever part of the dude you can seem to beat seems to work.

And if anybody wants to track down the dude and see what you can do to him based on that liscence plate number, it would be both awesome and seemingly more than the police can do.

[ulsanchris]

Korean police aren't known for their professionalism. They won't do anything. A few years ago a small girl was nearly abducted from her apartment elevator. THe parents went to the police. They claimed that there wasn't enough evidence. The elevator camera recorded the incident. The parents took the tape to the press. The public were outraged and the police still didn't do anything. Then Lee Myung Bak went down to the police station and reamed them out. Four hours later they caught the guy. It turned out that they guy had previously been jailed for abducting and raping a child.

Korea is not a safe country for women. there are a lot of sex crimes here. I"ve been here about 8 years and I've heard of 6 foreign girls being raped in Ulsan. That is nearly one for every year I've been here and there might even have been a few I never heard about.

[waynehead]

Glad you're ok. And I don't doubt your story.

But the testimony of a drunk person isn't very reliable, here, back home, anywhere. And as the prior poster said, the Korean police are notoriously ineffective.

Don't expect much to come of this, and just be glad a bad situation didn't turn terrible. Learn and move on.

[Weigookin74]

Go to your embassy and ask them for advice. Turn it into an international incident as best as you can. They may or may not help; but you can get a good lawyer. Maybe even sue the police for inaction. You have to find out the specifics.

[Bramble]

Good for you for fighting back.

[Senior]

[WadRUG'naDoo]

They won't do anything unless YOU are Korean and the suspect is not. You had his license plate number. That's enough to bring him in.

Remember, people. If you have an altercation and you have your wits about you at the time, make the first complaint before the Korean does.

[Xuanzang]

Just glad you're safe. Everyone needs to be careful when late out at night.

[Senior]

[NYC_Gal]

Wow I'm glad you're okay. This is why I don't drink often, and when I do I'm with friends that won't leave me alone.

Go to another precinct. Bring a Korean friend to help you. Don't stop until this jackhole is brought in.

Please be more careful in the future.

[crossmr]

Get yourself an English speaking lawyer to push the police. an old middle aged strong type should be effective.

[mayorgc]

did the license plate have any hangeul characters? you need to take note of that

[moosehead]

you're right, being drunk does not excuse a predator's behavior.

however, if your actions regularly belong in the risky behavior category, well, that says something about you.

if you were so drunk you were puking and only vaguely recall being aware of what was happening, you definitely drank yourself past the point of "social drinking."

what you did was not only foolish but dangerous. I know there are some AA groups of expats in Seoul; you might want to look into finding one.

there's nothing at all wrong with sharing a drink or two (or three) with friends but drinking, like all things in life, require acting responsibly.

furthermore, you need to take note you are in Asia; an area that is very male dominated in all facets of life including the law. there is very little help here for female victims of violence of any sort. if you didn't already know it, you do now. again, if you can't control your drinking, get help.

the next time you may not be so lucky and make no mistake about it, you were very, very fortunate in your escape. I do know of one American woman who was sexually assaulted by a taxi driver and left in the middle of a field in the middle of the night. She wasn't drinking, either. She'd only been in Korea a little more than a week. She left the following week after the attack.

there are predators that look for the most vulnerable; young, small, drunk; then there are those who just want to satisfy their urges, whatever they may be.

again, next time you may not be so lucky so rein in the risky behavior, it just might save your life.

[thekakapo]

I know that I drank too much. It's not something I do regularly by a long shot. I am not an alcoholic.

However, drinking heavily is something that many foreigners do on a weekly basis. I've seen foreign men passed out in Itaewon before, and men aren't invulnerable, either. I wanted to remind people that this kind of thing DOES happen to foreign women (I think we all know it happens to Korean women) and to share my story. I know I'll be more careful in the future, even if being more careful means that if I feel sick after drinking I'll stay inside with friends rather than go outside for air. I won't leave friends alone even for a minute.

AND I thought I was doing my very best by getting those liscence plate numbers. I went to an all-girls high school, and that was something reinforced a thousand times. Get the plates. Get the plates. Write down the plates and the mark of the car if you recognize it. Honestly, I think that with a full set of numbers, even disregarding the hangeul symbol that was in the middle, they SHOULD be able to find the culprit. But they're probably not going to. I wish I had taken more note of his face (I was turned away out of fear) and thought to look at the decal of the car- I mean, for feck's sake though, what's the liklihood it wasn't a Korean car?

I hope that the police get off their asses and do something about this, but I also just want it to be very much over. Three hours hanging around at a police station, watching officers twiddle their thumbs and repeatedly ask questions I had already answered fifteen times, was enough hours.

[IS-F]