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rapier
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
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 Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2003 8:27 pm Post subject: |
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Waggo: as it happens i've just made arrangements to start lessons every saturday, for an hour! Mr Bean is shaping himself up!
As regards spending too much time on here, I work a split shift, so it has wreaked havoc on my plans to avoid the PC bang..... |
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gypsyfish
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2003 10:09 pm Post subject: |
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| gomurr wrote: |
| Sounds like you got taken on a Wayguk ride by the taxi driver. That happened to me once in Seoul. I went to immigration and on the way back to the nearest subway which is close. I decided to take a taxi to save time. I siad where I wanted to go in Korean, the name of the subway and even showed the guy a map. Guy says ok and starts off. I'm not paying attention but a few minutes later I'm beginning to wonder and realise he's turning onto the expressway. Me and the taxi driver then got into a big argument and I had to wait until he got off the expressway before getting out. A 1,500 won trip took 5,000 and an additional 15min of time wasted. I called him every dirty name I know in Korean and I know he understood me. |
When this happened to me, I wrote a complaint letter to the KNTO, thinking that nothing would be done, but, at least I could try to exorcise it from my system. I had written down the driver's hack licence, license plate number, and name. A couple of days later, I recieved a reply that they they had forwarded my e-mail to the appropriate office in the Seoul city government. I expected that it would never see the light of day from there, but got an e-mail and, later a phone call to make sure they understood the situation. Maybe a month later, the same guy called and told me they found the guy guilty of cheating me and he had to either pay a W600,000 fine or go to jail for 6 months. I didn't get my money back, it was about W7,000, but what made me mad was that because of his tour of the city, I missed an appointment. I felt vindicatd. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2003 12:13 am Post subject: |
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| One solution in some situations is to write the Korean word on your hand with your finger (if you don't have pen and paper). |
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rapier
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2003 3:45 am Post subject: |
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| Good idea Gypsyfish. the next taxi driver who doesn't understand the word "ji-ha-chol" I'm going to get fired, fined, and generally make destitute. They must learn their own language properly, at least. |
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Starperson
Joined: 23 Mar 2003
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| Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2003 4:16 am Post subject: |
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| Make your plans for the day, then get a competent bilingual Korean friend to write out instructions for each person that you're going to have to deal with ie. taxi driver instructions, bus terminal staff instructions etc. Then if things get mucked up you can just assume that people are stupid. |
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gypsyfish
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2003 5:25 am Post subject: |
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| rapier wrote: |
| Good idea Gypsyfish. the next taxi driver who doesn't understand the word "ji-ha-chol" I'm going to get fired, fined, and generally make destitute. They must learn their own language properly, at least. |
Did you even read what I wrote? The SOB cheated me. He probably cheated many other people. There was no miscommunication, I showed him on a map where I wanted to go. I was sympathetic to your having a bad day, sometimes ones ignorance of Korea does that, but now, HA, f...ing HA, I hope the same thing happens to you again.
Moderators, would I get in trouble if I said 'blow me?' If so, I apologise and won't. |
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Zed
Joined: 20 Jan 2003
Location: Shakedown Street
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| Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2003 7:52 am Post subject: |
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| Starperson wrote: |
| Make your plans for the day, then get a competent bilingual Korean friend to write out instructions for each person that you're going to have to deal with ie. taxi driver instructions, bus terminal staff instructions etc. Then if things get mucked up you can just assume that people are stupid. |
My god aren't you spontaneous. |
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rapier
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2003 8:51 pm Post subject: |
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Actually gypsyfish I was agreeing with you...I suppose it didn't come across that way..!
Seriously, I always assumed that time-wasting taxi drivers were the result of my own pathetis korean efforts. now you have reinforced the idea that plenty of them are simply opportunists out to rip off a waegook. As starperson said- i'll make absolutely sure i have everything written down and rehearsed beforehand, and take down the drivers number at the start of the journey, to avoid being these scenarios.
I have a selection of phrases to learn in korean written down for my first hakgukmal lesson:
*"It shouldn't take this long to get there"
*"You're taking the long route"
*"I already told you i wanted to go to the subway"
*"Let me out right now. I'm not paying more than 2000 won"
*you're pretending not to understand me"
*"I'm going to report you".
Should do the trick, no? |
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gypsyfish
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2003 9:34 pm Post subject: |
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rapier,
mea culpa, I completely misunderstood you and apologise for being a wiseass. Blame it on my being overtired and oversensitive.  |
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Starperson
Joined: 23 Mar 2003
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| Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2003 4:10 am Post subject: |
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Zed wrote:
My god aren't you spontaneous.
Mate by nature I'm ridiculously spontaneous.
In my experience, spontaneity only works if you're otherwise well-organised.
rapier, wouldn't the taxi driver just 'not understand' your Korean?
How about having a Korean friend on the other end of your cellphone ready to give instructions? (If the note doesn't work, which it probably would). |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2005 8:15 am Post subject: |
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| There were some Mr. Bean sightings in Itaewon over the weekend. |
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Cthulhu
Joined: 02 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2005 9:02 am Post subject: |
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| I saw Mr. Bean at Haeundae beach once. Well, he looked like Mr. Bean. |
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tzechuk
Joined: 20 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2005 5:23 pm Post subject: |
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| waggo wrote: |
| Rapier...why dont you learn some Korean? |
Waggo, sometimes it is not about learning Korean or not. It's because we have a certain accent that is different from theirs that no matter how hard we try to say the word(s), they just don't get it.
I had taxi driver telling me to get out because he couldn't understand me when I tried to tell him to go to carrefour. I tried so hard to say garrrr-pour... but he just didn't want to understand and said *get out, no waygoog*. I was so shocked! I have had numerous problems trying to tell taxi drivers to go to Lotte (for some reason this is a VERY difficult word to say) or Time World. I tried Time-im World-de to no avail. Some taxi drivers are just more tuned in than others.
Not just taxi drivers... shop keepers too. I know words for many things and some of them would totally understand me and some wouldn't. I just don't know why.
This is why I am looking forward to my baby being able to talk... she can interpret for me!  |
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Zenpickle
Joined: 06 Jan 2004
Location: Anyang -- Bisan
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| Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 2:07 pm Post subject: |
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| tzechuk wrote: |
| waggo wrote: |
| Rapier...why dont you learn some Korean? |
Waggo, sometimes it is not about learning Korean or not. It's because we have a certain accent that is different from theirs that no matter how hard we try to say the word(s), they just don't get it.
I had taxi driver telling me to get out because he couldn't understand me when I tried to tell him to go to carrefour. I tried so hard to say garrrr-pour... but he just didn't want to understand and said *get out, no waygoog*. |
I've never taken a taxi to Carrefour because everyone I know has had that problem. I think they pronounce it more like "garapoo." |
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chiaa
Joined: 23 Aug 2003
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| Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 5:30 pm Post subject: |
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Does anyone remember that Amazing Race episode that they did in Korea?
While the people on the show are never the best travelers, they were always able to get their point across except for in Korea. They must have said Namsan Tower a million times, but because they were not saying the tower the Korean way the cabbies were completely lost.
Knowing a few catch phrases in any country is necessary in order to get around, but even in Korea if you say something in Korean they look at you blankly. It is mentality more than pronunciation. |
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