Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jackson7]

Usually I am incredibly anti-ajumma. However, a few days a go I was caught in a bit of a rainstorm in my suit, as I had just finished work and stopped by the store for some groceries. It's only about 200 meters to the bus stop (taxis of coruse were scarce), but while I was waiting at a cross-walk, all of a sudden I felt the rain stop. I looked over my shoulder to see a short little ajumma (hiking gear, mask, and all) holding her umbrella in a quite awkward position in order to keep it above my head and hers.

I said I was okay, and that my bus stop was very close, but she insisted because she was walking in that direction anyway. She was barely tall enough to keep that umbrella high enough that it wouldn't knock into my melon, but it did on occasion, which made me laugh a little bit each time.

The most refreshing thing was that the conversation we had on the way was not the typical "Where are you from?" "What is your job?" run-around. Instead she asked normal questions like, "Why didn't you bring an umbrella today since it was raining all day?" She did ask the "How do you speak Korean?" question, but I'm getting used to it.

Anyway, just thought I'd share a little gem in the polluted complaint-fest. Everywhere in the world there are the bad and the good.

[mrsquirrel]

Anti-ajumma?

Do you not like black people and handicapped people as well?

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[Beeyee]

A similar thing happened to me in Mokpo. I had just got off the boat from Jeju and the rain was really coming down. Anyway, I only had a t-shirt and was absolutely soaked. I could see two ajummas walking towards me and couldn't believe it when one of them stopped, handed me their umbrella and walked off.

[blaseblasphemener]

Good one. Sort of like how one of your most recent posts said everyone hates Canadians, eh?

[mnhnhyouh]

A similar thing happened to me in Mokdong. My buddie and I were waiting on the corner in the light rain, and it stopped as a Korean guy shared his umbrella with us. We walked off a little faster than him, but he called out to us about 50 meters further on. He had arrived at his store, and was offering to lend us his umbrella.

While I had never talked to him before, he would have seen us walking by his store many times, and probably knew we would return the umbrella to him.

h

[Bibbitybop]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Last week at the supermarket an ajuma so desperate to hurry things up barged past me and started bagging my own groceries for me.

[mnhnhyouh]

[jackson7]

Thanks bibbity, for clearing up the female-furry-one's rant. I am anti-anyone-that-is-rude-or-careless. Ajummas just tend to fit this description more often than any other demographic. I am also anti-little-rabid-furballs. Foaming at the mouth is not my thing.

[mikekim]

why didn't you hold the umbrella, ur retarded.

[Bibbitybop]

[Chris_Dixon]

they often hold my groceries or whatever when i'm standing on the bus....but i usually give my seat to one of the super old men that stumble on

[mikekim]

[Dome Vans]

This has happened to me a couple of times, leading me to the opinion that there is 50,087,307 umbrellas in circulation in Korea. If I live here long enough I might get one twice.

[Underwaterbob]

I had seven umbrellas at one point and knew the origin of maybe two.