Korean Job Discussion Forums

[merkurix]

On Sunday, I was taking the subway home from Itaewon back to Suwon when I noticed something odd. There was a blind person slowly ambling from car to car. WAIT! Before someone pounces on me, this blind guy was different from the other blind guys. I have been here about 4 years now and depending on how 'unlazy' I feel, I sometimes reach into my pocket to give a little, and sometimes I am just too lazy to fumble around my pockets for a spare cheonwon note so I don't bother (sorry!). But on Sunday there was a blind man who like other blind beggars was making his rounds car-to-car on the subways with the usual white cane, plastic money bowl and a radio suspended around his neck playing typical boo-hoo-hoo hymns. So that day I wasn't feeling so lazy to reach into my pocket and I grab a cheonwon note, fold it out and I like a feather and very silently ninja-like I drop it into his bowl. Well when I dropped it in his squinting eyes made direct eye contact with mine (eye-to-eye! Perhaps just partially blind?) and he hastily reached into his bowl to retrieve the bill and pocket it immediately. I made absolutely no sound, no noise, and I fumbled for it the instant I heard the music when he was still far away so there is no way he could have heard me, especially amid the sounds of his radio blaring. I got off the subway feeling that something was not right.

Anyways, I am certain there are plenty of frauds out there, where the fraud might be worse than a homeless guy who drinks his earnings. But what I'd like to know is if anyone has personally experienced anything outright f-ed up, for example the guy with tire-tubes for legs getting up one day after a hard day's work of rolling himself around and skipping home, or the guy in the wheelchair rolling over to his 5-speed sports car and putting his wheelchair in the trunk before speeding off.

[faster]

I know there is a lot of fraud, but I give to them often.

I don't do it for them, though; I do it for myself.

[merkurix]

[Captain Corea]

There was this one woman who used to beg on the gren line. I swear, 80% of her body must of been burned.

Con or not, she deserves every won.

[Young FRANKenstein]

I used to give until I saw them working as a "gang" on one subway platform with their "handler" helping direct which trains they boarded, and the ones getting off giving him the money.

If I was sure they were getting the money, I would probably continue giving, but I would probably be just lining the pockets of their handler, and I don't find that cool.

[merkurix]

[Qinella]

I generally don't give anything to anyone who asks of me, and take nothing from anyone who offers. No real reason.

I hate getting hassled by people for money, too, especially when I'm a foreigner. We're such easy targets for scams, I just give everyone the f-ck off look and maybe a curt word.

This one lady came up to me on the brown line (Itaewon's line -- primed with foreigners to be duped) and, with clear, unbroken English, explained to me that she is handicapped and needs money. She seemed fine to me, so I asked her what was wrong. "Ah.. mental problem." Yeah, okay lady, welcome to the club. I asked her in Korean, a little loudly so Koreans around could hear, why she was bugging me for money but not any Koreans. Suddenly she got up and stood by the door. Later, I saw her bugging a white girl, and I walked by her asking the same question as before. Awhile after that I passed by the Subway in Itaewon and saw her laughing it up in there with some ajoshi.

Definitely a scam on unwitting foreigners.

[jay-shi]

[merkurix]

[caniff]

[merkurix]

[kingtout]

[ChuckECheese]

[faster]

[pkang0202]

I heard that the Korean mafia is involved. Lets say you owe the mafia money. You don't pay so they cut off your legs or make you blind and they make you beg for money on the subway to repay your debt.