Korean Job Discussion Forums

Summer Wine · Joined: 20 Mar 2005 Location: Next to a River

In Korea, apart from the usual day to day situations we encounter, sometimes an event occurs just because we are misunderstood. Mine happened last night, and this is my story:

Last night I am sitting in a bar with a full pint of beer, I am thinking to myself, have I paid for this one yet or is it still on the tab. Another thought pops into my mind as to whether the shop 2 or 3 stores down was still open. I decided to check and left my full glass of beer on the table to go have a look (stupid, I know). The shop was closed and the answer as to whether I had paid for the beer was answered by the sight of two waitresses running down the street towards me, who then very (nonchantly I must add) acted like night time running was a usual hobby of theirs as soon as they realised I was returning to the bar.

I paid up for the drink as soon as I returned and sat there sipping on the drink. I saw the two night time joggers sit down by the front door. I decided to go over and apologise for worying them about my actions. I figured towering over them while apologising in broken korean may make them uncomfortable, so I grabbed a nearby chair and proceeded to sit down. A korean man walked right up and in english said go back to your table. I explained that I came here to apologise to the waitresses and that I would return as soon as I had done so. By now the two waitresses are running for the end of the bar and so as I could not now apologise, I stood up.

Now I am looking at two korean men as the friend of the first has come over and they are telling me to go back to my table and sit down, So I put the chair back where I found it and then go over to the table where the two korean men and thier girlfriend are now sitting, In a quiet tone, I explain that I was just trying to apologise to the waitresses. The first guys reply was "I don't speak English". So with two waitresses sitting at the back of the bar talking to thier friends and looking at me like I am the devil incarnate. A korean man sitting with his girlfriend acting like he just vanquished the mongol hordes. There was no other choice than to sit down and finish my beer and try not to make the situation any worse than it already was.

Now as I sat there I wondered whether a similar situation would have occcured in my own country. Would a total stranger involve himself in a situation that he knew nothing about, didn't understand and wasn't improving the situation. I don't think so, though I could be wrong. I just feel that the whole chain of events show (a. that I am stupid) that koreans really make a lot of judgement calls about foriegners that are incorrect. I have seen people screaming, yelling and wailing while others walk on by. Yet when a foreigner calmly and quietly tries to apologise for a misunderstood situation, you get the whole lets save them from the dangerous foriegner.

Now I can sympathise with the guy, he obviously felt that he was doing a good thing. But why do koreans misunderstand us so badly??

Scotticus · Joined: 18 Mar 2007

Because all white men want to do is ravage their delicate pure Korean women? I mean, what would have happened if he wasn't there to stop you? The white man is an insatiable sexual animal with a manhood that is excessively large in proportion to his body. Without the protection of these dashing Korean knights, you may have brought violent harm to those innocent spring flowers.

In all seriousness, though, you should have stood up and left after the bullshit treatment you recieved. Make sure all your Western friends know the bar is run and staffed by racists and that they should patronize places that don't assume the worst of people who have flown halfway around the world to teach them a language.

Letiz7 · Joined: 29 Jan 2007

Fun living here, isn't it?!

I guess it's a lack of interest in other countries, customs and cultures combined with it's insularity that breeds a certain brand of fear and mistrust that permeates through most of Korean society. Starts when they're young.

Having said that, there are nice people out there.

I wish I could bump into them more often....

Summer Wine · Joined: 20 Mar 2005 Location: Next to a River

Quote:

In all seriousness, though, you should have stood up and left after the *beep* treatment you recieved. Make sure all your Western friends know the bar is run and staffed by racists and that they should patronize places that don't assume the worst of people who have flown halfway around the world to teach them a language.

If I left a place every time something stupid like that happened, I would never get to finish a beer. The other foriegners don't usually go there, but my korean friends do. So I need to stay nice so I can go back again.

Actually I have found many koreans naive as to the shit we have to put up with. They think that we get treated the same as them and can't understand that we have a lot of different things happen to us.

Personally, if Korea really wants to become the hub of asia and ( haven't heard that they do in while) then there is certain actions they will have to take to make the country more open to those who come here.

rawiri · Joined: 01 Jun 2003 Location: Lovely day for a fire drill.

Good story, next time try standing up for yourself. there are a million bars out there man, if you get the ass from one then just move on to the next.

ED209 · Joined: 17 Oct 2006

You should have just walked out, thrown your money and then your pants at them, that's the Korean way.

jmbran11 · Joined: 19 Jan 2006 Location: U.S.

This kind of thing happens to minorities (i.e. people with darker skin color) in the U.S. all the time.

Men over-reacting to "protect" the women is not so rare. Look at how many (foreign) men post on this forum ready to kick the shit out of some Korean guy who looked at his Korean girlfriend the wrong way, or said something stupid to/about her.

jaganath69 · Joined: 17 Jul 2003

Scotticus · Joined: 18 Mar 2007

Sooke · Joined: 12 Jan 2004 Location: korea

I have a misunderstanding story similar to the OP's in that I was trying to help out but wound up getting in a bit of trouble.

Yesterday at the school where I am taking my Master's degree, I was having a cigarette on a bench with my coffee (actually, 2 or 3 cigarettes, as I had a steaming hot coffee and the two go good together). Anyway, there are 4 or 5 benches clustered together. As I was puffing away, I noticed that a laptop computer was left on one of the benches. I didn't pay attention to who left it there, but they probably did it while i was sitting there (people are always coming and going to those benches).
So, by this time, I've been looking at the laptop for a few minutes, pondering whether I shoud do anything about it.

Knowing how Koreans are, I knew that if I picked it up to return it to the buildings's kyungbi ajosshis (the security guys) and the person whose laptop it was saw me carying it, there would be trouble. However, I also thought that if my laptop ws left behind i would want an honest person to return it. (And Koreans in the past have returned things I lost, so Karma-right?) So, I fiddled witht his moral dilemma, and finally decided to return the laptop to the security guys(if they decide to steal it-fine, I did all I could).
So I pick it up, walk into the building and just before approaching the security booth, a young female student is running up to me, screaming at me. She is in a group of about 6 or 7 people, half of them young boys (even though they are university age men, i cannot use the word 'man' with these guys). She was screaming that that was her computer, and I try to hand it back, when one of her male friends grabs my arm and calls me a 'robber'. I say that I was trying to return it to the security booth, because it was left unattended for at least 15 minutes, but the boy student is saying 'No! Robber! Stealing!' etc. As I'm being surrounded, I have visions of me going Chewbacca and tossing these guys who are encircling me like the ewoks that they are.
Aroused by all the commotion, security guy leaves his desk, and tries to figure out the situation. So, he only hears the Korean side of the story, and apparently not only did I physically take the computer from her, but I threatened her and her friends (even though it was I who was being man-handled). To try and diffuse the situation, I showed them my student card, and tried to explain what was actually happening. They weren't buying it.

So, I eventually got the security guys to call someone from my department to come downstairs and try and help me out. They send down a secretary and I explain to her to explain to them what really happened. They took down my student number, and the secretary implied that I may not be out of trouble yet, as she says the students are accusing me a accosting them and stealing the computer. I'm afraid that this is not the last time i will hear abut this.

So I take the elevator back up with the secretary, and she tells me she believes me, but she says the students can cause me trouble if they decide to pursue this. Then she says "In Korea, you shouldn't try to help people you don't know." I agreed with her.

Now, I knew the risks involved with trying to return the computer, but I did it anyway? Why? I don't know, maybe because of my extensive Boy scouting career. However, this is not the first time I have been accused of something I hadn't done, and I understand that it happens. What makes me really angry, however, is that Koreans always believe another Korean over any foreigner, to the point of denying/refusing to see logic/common sense, and this has not, is not and will not change until all humanity vanishes from the earth.

Maybe we'll see it in the papers tomorrow:

"Foreigner apprehended in multibillion won computer heist-assault!"

Let's hope, anyway.

Summer Wine · Joined: 20 Mar 2005 Location: Next to a River

That last post sure beats mine hands down. Yeah, I have always wondered what should I do if I see something that is lost. We are sometimes viewed as the culprit even though we haven't done anything.

In my town I was told that foriegners are viewed as dangerous and women are scared to talk to them. Which is a pity, but I think they only mean male foriegners as the women don't have too many problems.

Though being out with foreign women, I am amzed at the crap that korean men pull around them. I mean, I never experienced what they put up with on my own, but when I am with them it seems to bring the loonies out. Also if I am with Korean women, the same happens.

kermo · Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 6:04 pm Post subject:

Bagpipes11 · Joined: 10 Nov 2006

Speaking of being misunderstood...

My boss had a meeting with me recently. (We have a good working relationship) The meeting was to give me a heads up about what was going on in the University communities in Daegu.

Apparently, faculty members of all Universities in Daegu recently had a meeting about how foreign teachers dating Korean students is starting to get out of hand. Personally, I know a lot of teachers employed by Universities and I don't know of one that is dating a student.

Anyhow, they are thinking of ways to prevent this from happening. In a related issue, Universities in Daegu will be reluctant to hire foreign couples who are not married. That is because it is against Korean morality for a couple to live together before marriage.

She was giving me the heads up because she said at the faculty meeting, the talk was mostly about rumours and not about concrete evidence.

SCARY

Scotticus · Joined: 18 Mar 2007

Letiz7 · Joined: 29 Jan 2007

Well written Sooke. I enjoyed reading it.

I would say that maybe you did what you did in order to provoke a reaction, meaning, you were perhaps subconciously looking for a further reason to justify the anger you feel towards Koreans.
I sympathise and feel the same way. I would have done exactly the same as you, and would have, in a perverse kinda way, looked forward to the ensuing nonsense, knowing full well that I've done a good thing.

Keep on keepin' on.