Korean Job Discussion Forums

[low-ting]

and an American GI who had previously forewarned me that if he wasn't allowed to sexually predate one of my Korean female friends he would f*** me up. I, thinking he was merely drunk, proceeded to go about leaving with a recently acquainted female friend, where I was pounced upon by him and his American Army colleagues.

My question is this: Being relatively new to Korea as a teacher, is this standard operating procedure for the American military, when they are allowed out to drink?

[Don Gately]

[Nemo]

Not usually standard, no.

Usually it's drunk Koreans who get offended for some reason and wanna cock block.

You should stop being such a stud.

[Smee]

[Young FRANKenstein]

[Passions]

Oh no!!!! Ugly Americans!!!!!! *hiss hiss*

[PeterDragon]

OP--- GIs aren't even allowed in Hongdae, per Army regulations. The only soldiers you'll find there legitimately are the military police, whose job it is to round up any off duty GIs they find and bring them back to the base, where they usually face a punishment stiff enough to make them think twice about going there. If you ever see a soldier acting out in Hongdae, finagle his name out of him, contact one of the bases (most of them have official websites with an external access phone number listed), and snitch the f*cker out. Even if you don't have a name, file a complaint describing the act, and there's a good chance they'll send some extra MPs to Hongdae for a while. Some soldiers may not take the "no Hongdae" rule seriously, but the Military Police and the top brass certainly do.

Your experience is unusual for Hongdae. Most of the soldiers who make trips there keep a VERY low profile. I know one GI who only goes there when he's on extended furlough--- so he can spend several days growing facial hair and pose as a teacher.

Also, please get off your high horse. I'm American as well.

[Young FRANKenstein]

[Smee]

If you don't like Americans, then I've got some good news for you. Whenever you see white people behaving badly in Korea, odds are they're Canadian! *Whew!*

[huffdaddy]

[CentralCali]

The current off-limits policy for Hongdae is from 9 pm to 5 am (aka 2100 to 0500).

If you know the person is in the US military (and you're not just jumping to that conclusion because of your own prejudices), you could always call the Military Police at 0505-724-3004, 0505-724-3005, 0505-724-6695. Of course, you need to remember it'll take about 20 minutes for the MPs to arrive given the distance from the base and the traffic in Seoul.
I suppose you should also first determine the person you're assuming is in the US Armed Forces and you're not just basing that guess on your own prejudices. Given the bigoted commentary in the OP, I might just go with he's guessing.

You could also call the Korean Police at 112. But you'd have to wait until the person you wish them to arrest has actually committed a crime. If the arrested person actually is in the US Armed Forces, the Police will turn him over to the MPs.

By the way, low-ting, what is your employer's policy on "when you're allowed out to drink?" I wasn't the biggest fan of bigoted commentary before I read this thread and your opening post certainly hasn't helped.

[behindtheveil]

If the GIs are caught they lose a rank. They have to be pretty stupid to show up in hongdae after hours.

[tzechuk]

Oh good grief... people.. this guy came here to vent a bit and ask for some advice. So he expressed a personal preference but so what.. he didn't ask you to endorse his preference. He came here to ask if being *pounced* on was a standard practice amongst the military and all you have to say is yes or no.

Whatever his opinion is of American, this is not the issue here.

THe issues, as I see it, are:

1. is it appropriate for someone who represents a country to demand to have sex with a woman he meets for the first time;

2. should the OP be threatended by this military personnel;

3. should the OP be pounced on?

Obviously there are many different sides of the story and so far we have heard the OP's side. We probably won't ever hear about what really happened during the night.

So I would just say that Seoul is just like everywhere else in the world. Be prepared for fights when you go for a night out!!!!

(And this is why, inter alia, I don't go out.. LOL).

[mindmetoo]

Did you report him to the MPs?

[newteacher]