Korean Job Discussion Forums

koreaking · Joined: 05 Sep 2006 Location: Omokyo, Seoul

im sure there are a lot, which is normal for any foreigner living in any different country, but man 2 REALLY get on my nerves!!!!!

one, is how people here cant keep their mouths shut when eating!!! i mean, its not hard to do people!! constant smacking, makes me wanna smack them up side the head! and dont get me started on the gum!

also

whats with dam@ people not standing and waiting their turn in line, be it at the ATM, fast food reataurant, etc.. its like im dam@ invisible!!! even young people do it, not just older ignorant people who think they run the country Rolling Eyes

im like standing there waiting 5-10 minutes for an old lady doing ALL here monthly banking it seems, on the ATM and then people start cutting in from the sides!!!! WTF?????? its worse at fast food places!!

i seem me rip into like 10 people so far who cant wait in line. i dont care if they are young and dumb or elderly and thinking i have to kiss the ground coz their my elders here. it wont stop me anytime soon

END RANT!

Sophocles · Joined: 15 Mar 2007 Location: MetroSeoul

1. The traffic lights. They're inefficient and waste my time. I don't think I ever waited so long for my turn to cross the street.

2. Three bikes stolen in 1.5 years.

3. No hot water or soap in most restrooms. Toilet paper, I understand. You can bring your own or buy it at the convenience store but it's a little hard to carry around soap and hot water around, not to mention it would greatly improve general sanitation - or so I was taught in kindergarten.

VanIslander

plato's republic · Joined: 07 Dec 2004 Location: Ancient Greece

Sophocles,

You've hit the nail on the head with the traffic lights and no hot water/soap in restrooms. Another one that bugs me is their inability to fix the thermostat to the right temperature. It's either too damn hot or too damn cold. Never just in between.

bombenhagen · Joined: 21 Jun 2006 Location: NL

LOL I actually had to grab a guy but the shirt and pull him out of my way at the corner store the other day when he cut in front of me just as I put my things on the counter. He was shocked, the dude behind the counter just laughed. What bugs me are the people who will come up to the bank teller and start asking for things while I'm being served.

koreaking · Joined: 05 Sep 2006 Location: Omokyo, Seoul

princess · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: soul of Asia

Here are my two biggest pet peeves.

1. People thinking I am a wangta with no friends when I eat somewhere alone, etc.

2. When a Korean automatically assumes I don't understnd what they are trying to tell me because they are saying something in Korean to me. Not always true. Sometimes I can speak to another native English speaker and still not understand what they are telling me. It has nothing to do with language. Some Koreans automatically assume I don't understand a simple Korean phrase. Geez!

Lizara · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Location: Seoul

Saxiif · Joined: 15 May 2003 Location: Seongnam

Lack of 24 hour ATMs. The machine is plugged in and it has money in it! Why the *beep* can't it give it to me?!?

Cedar · Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 8:34 am Post subject:

ATMs run out of money because they only have 10,000 won bills. Since people usually get 200 or 300,000 at a time, they take a lot of bills out, the machines run empty. They would need trusted bank employees to reload them in the wee hours, so instead they just shut them down. What you should hope is that they start printing a larger bill (which always starts the debate about knocking off some zeros from the existing money).

Rather than grabbing someone and hauling them out of one's way, it's always better to tell them (adopt a good ajumma tone if you're a woman) that they should get in line, or that other people were there first. This makes the point much more effectively than physically moving them, because you don't look like a deaf-mute, and because everyone anywhere nearby in the store now heard what happened. And embarrassment is what they'll avoid in the future-- worried some Korean will say the same thing, because it won't occur to them that some Korean will grab their shirt.

Alyallen · Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 10:20 am Post subject:

Teacher....You black! Rolling Eyes

Aprika saram! hehehhe....Tika tika! Rolling Eyes

Yo! Instead of the usual annoying ass Hi!

Students (and adults) who don't close doors behind them. It pisses me off big time....

Qinella · Joined: 25 Feb 2005 Location: the crib

Seoul_Star · Joined: 04 May 2007

OP, if these two things are your largest pet peeves, then I submit to you sir that you are adapting quite well to life here.

OiGirl · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: Hoke-y-gun

While Away · Joined: 03 Dec 2006 Location: Seoul

The traffic lights and "walk" signs are crazy. There is one near my school where you wait and wait at "don't walk", even though there are no cars on the road. Then, the instant it changes to "walk", it turns the light green for a flood of cars to make a left turn right at the poor people walking across. The people scurry and the cars get backed up all through the intersection. OK, so I'm no dummy (not too much so), so I cross when there is no cars coming rather that wait for that dumb light to get me killed; but Koreans are really loathe to cross the street on the "dont walk" sign (unless they are on a scooter, but that is another post).