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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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Quack Addict
Joined: 31 Mar 2008
Location: Seoul
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 Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 7:18 pm Post subject: |
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[quote="CentralCali"]
| Quack Addict wrote: |
| As far as Koreans being rude on purpose i haven't seen it. |
Get out more. I have seen it.
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| Koreans would never blow smoke into a guys face. |
I do not lie.
Sorry Centralcali....i thought you were a girl. I don't know how big you are or tough....but if some dude blew smoke in my face on purpose then we would have big trouble....and not the name calling and finger pointing kind. I don't look for trouble and I respect the Korean people. I've even mangaged to ignore the cross checks from people in the subways and stores....but smoke in the face is another ball game. |
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SuperFly
Joined: 09 Jul 2003
Location: In the doghouse
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| Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 7:31 pm Post subject: |
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| You should've stuck your fork in his one good eye. |
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CentralCali
Joined: 17 May 2007
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| Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 8:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Quack Addict wrote: |
| CentralCali wrote: |
| Quack Addict wrote: |
| As far as Koreans being rude on purpose i haven't seen it. |
Get out more. I have seen it.
| Quote: |
| Koreans would never blow smoke into a guys face. |
I do not lie. |
Sorry Centralcali....i thought you were a girl. I don't know how big you are or tough....but if some dude blew smoke in my face on purpose then we would have big trouble....and not the name calling and finger pointing kind. I don't look for trouble and I respect the Korean people. I've even mangaged to ignore the cross checks from people in the subways and stores....but smoke in the face is another ball game. |
No problem. I'm well aware that the courts here determine fault based on degree of damage done. That goes for physical confrontation as well as vehicle collisions. So, my method is to inform the jerk of his jerkish behavior and to do so bluntly. If he wishes to slug me, then he can be the one facing the music.
Back in 2006, one other jerk decided that it was his duty to order me around while I was waiting for my date in front of the Lotte department store in Busan. I had my foot on the concrete lip of one of the planters on the sidewalk in front. Jerk came up to me and, in very bad English, said, "Hey, you, foreigner, foot there, no!" I asked him if he's the king of Korea and that really set him off. He then threatened to hit me and started with the finger waving the face. I was on the phone with my date when he started that. I told the young lady I'd call her back, put my cell phone away, and started shouting, "Police! Police!" A nice elderly man came up and asked me if I really wanted the police and I said I did. While the nice gentleman and I were having a cordial discussiong about it, the jerk called the Lotte department store security folks. The security fokls came outside, grabbed the jerk, threw him up against the building, and then told him to shut up and go away or they'd call the cops themselves to fetch him. I love irony! I called my date back and then I went into the department store to thank the security director. I hope he's still assigned to the same store. The dude is incredibly polite and he and his staff did a wonderful job!
I'm not some Jack LaLanne type nor am I some tiny little thing. I'm of average height, average weight, and am in good health. I don't drink or smoke so I'm never drunk nor am I stinking up my surroundings with smoke. |
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Quack Addict
Joined: 31 Mar 2008
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 8:32 pm Post subject: |
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I haven't had any problems on the street. I go 6'6" about 250 lbs so that doesn't surprise me. When I drive my car thats a different story. I don't know if you are aware of the korean driving culture but its pretty insane.
I almost expect cars to turn left from the far right lane, run red lights, speed and what not. The only time I had to get out my car was when the korean guy behind me is laying on his horn for me to run a red light. I refuse. So the headlights are flashing, horn going....thats it. When they see big whitey get out...they are so polite...i get the ....sorry sorry. Yeah, i bet you are. |
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CentralCali
Joined: 17 May 2007
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| Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 8:40 pm Post subject: |
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| Quack Addict wrote: |
| I haven't had any problems on the street. I go 6'6" about 250 lbs so that doesn't surprise me. |
No doubt! I used the term jerks above. What I really mean is bullies. And bullies are nothing if not cowards. You know who else are bullies in this country? Dishonest hagweon owners. They pull the stunts they do becuase they're secure in the idea that their prey won't win in court.
| Quote: |
When I drive my car thats a different story. I don't know if you are aware of the korean driving culture but its pretty insane.
I almost expect cars to turn left from the far right lane, run red lights, speed and what not. The only time I had to get out my car was when the korean guy behind me is laying on his horn for me to run a red light. I refuse. So the headlights are flashing, horn going....thats it. When they see big whitey get out...they are so polite...i get the ....sorry sorry. Yeah, i bet you are. |
It's a far different driving culture than that of late 1970s Seoul. It was wonderful back then to see a police officer just point at a driver and the driver would pull over to the side of the road. That's because the driver knew if he didn't, the cop had already radioed to the next intersection and the cop there wouldn't be so polite. I suppose that the fact most drivers then were driving their employer's vehicles (delivery van, taxi, tour bus, other business vehicle) had something to do with it, too. Now, it seems that the idea of one driving one's own car entitles one to tear around the streets like Kim Sung Il in Pyeongyang. Yeah, the Park regime was dictatorial. Apparently, that's what it takes to get this society as a whole to behave like they care about other people. |
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Benicio
Joined: 25 May 2006
Location: Down South- where it's hot & wet
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| Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 12:36 am Post subject: |
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| As far as Koreans being rude on purpose i haven't seen it. |
Quack Addict obviously lives in a different Korea than most of the rest of us do.
Anyway, a point for everyone to be on their guard around crazy/drunk men- they have been known to kill!
There was that soldier who was stabbed and killed on the sidewalk in broad daylight in Itaewon by a crazy drunk. The psycho believed the soldier had disrespected him.
Back in '98, in Suncheon, a foreign teacher was stabbed to death in his class by a disgruntled unemployed man. This was the worst of the economic crisis and their were many angry laid-off workers. Apparently, this guy lost his job and was pissed off that a foreigner was gainfully employed. He went to the public school and asked where the foreigner was. Without question, someone at the school showed him where the foreign teacher was having class. The guy walks in and starts yelling something at him. The foreigner, unsure of what the h*ll is going on, tries to usher him out the door and return to teaching. When he turned his back on the dude, he was stabbed in the neck and died right there in front of his students.
Now, I'm not saying all drunk/crazy/jobless/homeless men are homicidal maniacs, but there is that potential. Do not let your guard down.
Also, if you do have a confrontation, 9.9 times out of 10 no one around you will jump in to help. As evidenced by the OP where the restaurant staff did not step in until he stood up to defend himself.
Generally, the people will just watch and let whatever is happening to you continue.
Stay safe! |
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kermo
Joined: 01 Sep 2004
Location: Eating eggs, with a comb, out of a shoe.
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| Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 12:49 am Post subject: |
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| IncognitoHFX wrote: |
| kermo wrote: |
I think Quack assumed you were female. |
I don't think so. In the original post I mentioned that he directed a lot of this towards my friend's wife who was sitting at the table with me. He ignored the guys until I stood up and gave him a piece of my mind.
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Neither Quack nor I were addressing you. |
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IncognitoHFX
Joined: 06 May 2007
Location: Yeongtong, Suwon
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| Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 1:05 am Post subject: |
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| kermo wrote: |
| IncognitoHFX wrote: |
| kermo wrote: |
I think Quack assumed you were female. |
I don't think so. In the original post I mentioned that he directed a lot of this towards my friend's wife who was sitting at the table with me. He ignored the guys until I stood up and gave him a piece of my mind.
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Neither Quack nor I were addressing you. |
I sincerely apologize, thy dearest madame of all thy glory. |
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CentralCali
Joined: 17 May 2007
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| Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 1:09 am Post subject: |
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Benicio,
You wouldn't happen to have a link to a news story about that poor foreign teacher, would you? |
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RACETRAITOR
Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 2:07 am Post subject: |
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Incidentally, yesterday I was on the steps of Seoul Station and a homeless guy started talking to us. At first I thought he said "Oi skinhead!" which really confused me.
My Korean friend there handled it by walking us away from him. If we were in a place where he had us cornered, I expect she would have yelled at him.
So yeah, guy comes in, ruins food, and grabs a knife, it doesn't matter if he's the president of Samsung himself, you deal with it. |
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RACETRAITOR
Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 2:08 am Post subject: |
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| By the way, I hope you and your friends didn't pay a single won for your food. |
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RACETRAITOR
Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 2:12 am Post subject: |
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| Quack Addict wrote: |
| I haven't had any problems on the street. I go 6'6" about 250 lbs so that doesn't surprise me. |
I'd heard that bigger guys get a lot more crap from Korean guys looking to prove their manliness by picking on someone larger than them. |
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Roch
Joined: 24 Apr 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 2:21 am Post subject: |
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| excitinghead wrote: |
I've heard similar "cultural" arguments from many Koreans before. Although it doesn't apply in this particular case, in my experience 9/10s of the time it's used to persuade us non-cultured Westerners into accepting something blatantly unfair, sexist, unreasonable, and against all common sense, simply because it's "Korean culture."
I'll never understand how ordinary Koreans can't see through an ideology originally invented by an older male that justifies older males pretty much doing anything they like, drunk or otherwise. It's what makes reforming the education system here so important, as so far it seems primarily used for teaching younger Koreans to accept the crap their "superiors" dish out as part of their culture.
My MA major was in East Asian Studies, and to be honest I like nothing better than arguing about aspects of Korean's supposedly unchanging, timeless, immutable culture with them. Most of the time, it turns out I know more about it than they do, and when they pull the "That's Korean Culture" line they're just parroting one-liners about Korean history and culture and so on that they learned in middle school. They're usually completely wrong too, as anyone who's ever bothered to read just one book about Korean history can figure out for themselves!
Your friend may be a nice person, but don't listen to a word of what he or she says about Korean culture!
An irreverent look at Korean social issues:
http://thegrandnarrative.wordpress.com |
Word. |
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Benicio
Joined: 25 May 2006
Location: Down South- where it's hot & wet
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| Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 5:11 am Post subject: |
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Centricali,
sorry, no links. It was back in '98 and I was working in the main EPIK office in Cheongju. We got calls from some people in the area to see if the murdered teacher was working for EPIK.
He wasn't. He was just working for that public school.
It scared the crap out of some people as they feared they may be attacked while teaching. |
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Benicio
Joined: 25 May 2006
Location: Down South- where it's hot & wet
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| Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 5:18 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
I've heard similar "cultural" arguments from many Koreans before. Although it doesn't apply in this particular case, in my experience 9/10s of the time it's used to persuade us non-cultured Westerners into accepting something blatantly unfair, sexist, unreasonable, and against all common sense, simply because it's "Korean culture."
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Bingo!
When a Korean says this it means "I see that you don't like it and it may seem unfair, heck I probably don't like it either, but that's the way it is here, so stop complaining and accept the unfair situation, abuse, assault or complete nonsense that you are given!".
One aspect of Korean culture I see over and over again is the acceptance of abuse heaped upon by percieved "superiors".
For us waygooks, that seems to go against every fiber of our being to allow people to walk all over us like that, but Koreans have a lifetime of experience.
Generally, what I see them explain as "Korean culture" is to not stand up for yourself, don't fight back, don't expect fairness and kindness. Just work hard in the hopes that you will rise to the high position where you can crap all over everyone beneath you. |
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