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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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nicholas_chiasson
Joined: 14 Jun 2007
Location: Samcheok
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 Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 5:18 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. |
6'4" 180 here. But let me tell you, Koreans are scared of black leather. I was standing on a corner across from a red-light district, and eventually the police asked me if I was a russian and what was I doing. They got a kick out of the fact I was an American, and waiting for a female friend. |
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Greekfreak
Joined: 25 May 2003
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| Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 5:40 am Post subject: |
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The few incidents I've had in Korea never amounted to anything but a lot of finger pointing and shouting (on their parts, mind you), ostensibly because none of the natives really want to partake in any physical brawl for fear of injury-payments.
But one of the first lies perpetrated on me was by the recruiter who sent me over saying 'don't worry if they bump into you as you're walking--if they haven't been introduced to you, then you don't exist'. Oh really? So why so many stares and kids shouting 'hey, look at the freaky bald waygook?'
It's like trying to defend an uncle who's a complete arsehole; "well, you just have to get to know him." No, you don't. Arseholes are the same all over the world. They stink. |
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DrunkenMaster
Joined: 04 Feb 2008
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| Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 6:53 am Post subject: |
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| 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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Julius
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 7:25 am Post subject: |
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| Benicio wrote: |
| 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. |
-and the Korean police took the side of the Korean- insisting the foreigner had disrespected him by turning his back on him. Soon after, the murderer sued the family of the victim for blood money.
Ok so I made that up..but it shows how low my faith in the korean "police farce" is. Scenarios approaching the above happen here with a frightening regularity.
Avoid whatever sh*t you can here, unless you are definitely about to be physically assaulted. Learn to defuse rather than escalate.And that doesn't mean you have to bow down.. |
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Css
Joined: 27 Sep 2004
Location: South of the river
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| Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 7:53 am Post subject: |
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| RACETRAITOR wrote: |
| 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. |
I guess id qualify as a bigger guy...Ive never had a single incident.. |
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crusher_of_heads
Joined: 23 Feb 2007
Location: kimbop and kimchi for kimberly!!!!
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| Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 4:33 pm Post subject: |
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Kick the guy hard right above his knee-he won't be doing that again anytime soon.
Then do the Kickin it in Geumcheon handwave chant as you walk out paying the bill iwth a 150 won tip |
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Quack Addict
Joined: 31 Mar 2008
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 4:59 pm Post subject: |
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| RACETRAITOR wrote: |
| 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. |
I'm sure some Korean guys are brave like that...but i haven't met any. I also have a full beard so maybe that throws them off as well. |
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eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
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| Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 5:06 pm Post subject: |
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| I would've put him in an armlock and dumped him on the street, then demanded to see the manager and yell at him/her for doing nothing about a dangerous person threatening the people at my table. |
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beast
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 1:37 am Post subject: |
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| Or you could have passed the pizza around the table, have everyone spit on it Ozzy Osbourne style and then eat it. Woulda really freaked the little guy out. |
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yingwenlaoshi
Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Location: ... location, location!
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| Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 1:52 am Post subject: Re: Did I handle this situation okay? |
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| IncognitoHFX wrote: |
Last night I took my friends out to a palace in Seoul and then out for dinner. They've only been in Korea a month, are a married couple and having some difficulty adjusting to the big city and the culture.
Anyway, so after the palace I took them to a Pizza Hut. The Pizza Hut is across from a CGV and another cinema, and close to all of the important government offices in Seoul. While we we eating, I noticed there was a few homeless people outside our window on the pavement. I didn't think much of it, other then the fact that I've seen more homeless people back in Canada in one day than I've seen in my entire time here. I went back to eating my food for a little while, and then I noticed someone was coming to our table. I looked up and there was a guy, about 5'5" tall, off center in terms of balance, wearing dirty clothes and with soot all over his face and hands, heading straight towards our table.
He put his hands smack down in front of my friend's wife's food, spat on it, then grabbed her knife and started waving it around. The whole while he was yelling gibberish in Korean. Automatically I looked at the staff and they were just watching with no intention of helping, maybe because they were all small-ish girls who didn't want to challenge the homeless guy.
Now, I'm the kind of person who always tries to be a little sympathetic or at least understanding of these sorts of people. But I've never experienced one coming into a restaurant before and having his way with your food right in front of you. I was also trying to prevent my friends from having this kind of experience so early on into Korea life, even though it is an experience that I've never had either.
So I stood up and reached my hand across the table, pointing at firmly at him. I yelled: "NA GA YO!!! NA GA YO!!!" relatively loudly. He stared right at me, and I said it over and over again, making "shoo" gestures with my hands and walking slowly towards him like I was going to hit him. After all of that, he started saying something which sounded like: "oh, no you didn't you son of a bitch, you mother fucker..."
Well I guess what I did really set him off, so the waitresses finally took him outside and I didn't have to lay a finger on him. Afterwards I talked to a Korean about what happened and they explained to me that the way I handled wasn't the best way to handle the situation in Korean culture. My problem is I couldn't have ignored the guy!
What would you have done? |
NA GAYO = I go. He was probably waiting for you to leave. |
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Bibbitybop
Joined: 22 Feb 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 6:31 am Post subject: |
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Central Cali:
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| I pulled out my cell phone and entered 119 |
112 is the police, 119 is for fire or ambulance. |
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Ilsanman
Joined: 15 Aug 2003
Location: Bucheon, Korea
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| Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 6:53 am Post subject: Re: Did I handle this situation okay? |
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Nagayo 나가요 can mean either I go or 'get out'. Drop the yo. There is no need. He's not a human.
| yingwenlaoshi wrote: |
| IncognitoHFX wrote: |
Last night I took my friends out to a palace in Seoul and then out for dinner. They've only been in Korea a month, are a married couple and having some difficulty adjusting to the big city and the culture.
Anyway, so after the palace I took them to a Pizza Hut. The Pizza Hut is across from a CGV and another cinema, and close to all of the important government offices in Seoul. While we we eating, I noticed there was a few homeless people outside our window on the pavement. I didn't think much of it, other then the fact that I've seen more homeless people back in Canada in one day than I've seen in my entire time here. I went back to eating my food for a little while, and then I noticed someone was coming to our table. I looked up and there was a guy, about 5'5" tall, off center in terms of balance, wearing dirty clothes and with soot all over his face and hands, heading straight towards our table.
He put his hands smack down in front of my friend's wife's food, spat on it, then grabbed her knife and started waving it around. The whole while he was yelling gibberish in Korean. Automatically I looked at the staff and they were just watching with no intention of helping, maybe because they were all small-ish girls who didn't want to challenge the homeless guy.
Now, I'm the kind of person who always tries to be a little sympathetic or at least understanding of these sorts of people. But I've never experienced one coming into a restaurant before and having his way with your food right in front of you. I was also trying to prevent my friends from having this kind of experience so early on into Korea life, even though it is an experience that I've never had either.
So I stood up and reached my hand across the table, pointing at firmly at him. I yelled: "NA GA YO!!! NA GA YO!!!" relatively loudly. He stared right at me, and I said it over and over again, making "shoo" gestures with my hands and walking slowly towards him like I was going to hit him. After all of that, he started saying something which sounded like: "oh, no you didn't you son of a bitch, you mother fucker..."
Well I guess what I did really set him off, so the waitresses finally took him outside and I didn't have to lay a finger on him. Afterwards I talked to a Korean about what happened and they explained to me that the way I handled wasn't the best way to handle the situation in Korean culture. My problem is I couldn't have ignored the guy!
What would you have done? |
NA GAYO = I go. He was probably waiting for you to leave. |
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Ilsanman
Joined: 15 Aug 2003
Location: Bucheon, Korea
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| Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 6:57 am Post subject: |
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Spitting in his face is a better way. There was no harm done.
No blood money.
That man is no one's elder. He doesn't fit into the confuscianist frame. He's homeless. He's nothing.
| Justin Hale wrote: |
| Good God, if there's one thing I hate, it's filthy pieces of homeless trash. That's bad enough, but spitting in food and being aggressive to foreign people, I'd have knocked his head clean off in one punch. |
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spliff
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand
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| Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 7:06 am Post subject: |
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[quote="Benicio"]
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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".
Yeah, much better to be fired with a bad reference, I'd say. BTW, you spelled perceived incorrectly. Such an easy word at that. |
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IncognitoHFX
Joined: 06 May 2007
Location: Yeongtong, Suwon
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| Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 7:36 am Post subject: Re: Did I handle this situation okay? |
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| Ilsanman wrote: |
| Nagayo 나가요 can mean either I go or 'get out'. Drop the yo. There is no need. He's not a human. |
Thankfully, someone can confirm this. I've been told on numerous occasions that 나가 means get out in certain contexts and I use it on my youngest students frequently when I have problems. No Korean has corrected me so far. |
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