Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Uh-oh]

Just under two hours ago me and my wife were dropping my parents off at Geoje Bus Terminal when the incident happened.

We entered the terminal and were walking to the departure gate when a man started yelling at us. We kept walking to the get and waited for the bus (11:30 Tuesday morning). The man who was yelling was suddenly right beside us and was yelling, swearing and making obscene gestures at me and my family. He turned to go away and then spun around with a raised clenched fist and continued with his tirade. My father got between us and one driver tried to coax the man away. I told a driver to phone the police as the man was still in the terminal and yelling at us. The driver just smiled. We decided to go out to the bus and see if we could put my parents' baggage on the bus as well as get them on the bus. As soon as we finish putting the bags in the baggage compartment we heard the man again. He unzipped his pants, pulled his pants down, grabbed his cock and started shaking it. I was able to get in front of my mother and my wife to laugh at the guy and make a few gestures to how small it was. He kept going on with his show and I looked around to see if anyone was doing anything. No one was doing anything. Everyone was watching or watching and laughing. I could see through the glass door and a driver as well as the manager (I later found out) stood there and watched. Nobody did anything. Finally, the guy pulled up his pants and backed away giving and "up yours" or "f-you" gesture. He backed away into the station and then the driver started saying something to him but I could see that the man was able to walk off into the bus terminal and, we assume, out of the terminal. My wife and I got my parents on the bus during the final commotion and we waited for about 5 minutes until the bus departed. We went inside and I got my wife to ask a ticket agent for the manager and he said the he should be at the departure gate, where everything went down. When we walked back over my wife asked to speak to the manager and the man who said he was the manager was there almost the whole time. I told my wife to ask him why he didn't do anything. He asked what the man had done. My wife said that he pulled down his pants and exposed himself and the manager then says "Why did he do that?" As if my wife had the answer. I told my wife to tell him that I will call the police and that I would report him to his boss or whoever. Then the manager starts raising his voice and glaring at me while my wife is crying her eyes out embarrassed, shocked and scared and the manager is making motions like we are causing problems. My wife called the police as soon as she got to work (15 mins later) and they said there isn't much that they can do because the guy is no longer there.

Any suggestions other than leave Korea? I have lived here off and on for about four years and I feel like this kind of shit goes on way too much here. By shit I mean violence, petty crime and ajjosshis (like the man who assaulted us) being able to do whatever the bleep they want with no repercussions. I have always felt like reporting shit that I have seen here, that hasn't happened to me. Of course, now that it has happened I really wish that I had done something. Again suggestions and assistance would be grateful. - J

[Jeff's Cigarettes]

If you don't want to leave than you'll have to put up w/ it, I guess. Guy was probably only drunk. I would have ignored him. If he got right up in my face or touched me I would do what I usually do, floor him and behave like nothing happened.

[Kimbop]

Report the manager to the bus company. Get his name, then phone and/or write a letter. Tell them you'll never use their service again. Be it a private company or a state-owned corporation; either way you should receive a response. If it's an ROK-run company, write the government. Demand action. Don't expect much, however. BTW that manager seems like a jerk.

BTW>> means by the way.

[blaseblasphemener]

Well, when a drunk came home to my office tel at 2 am and was throwing a big metal garbage can at the glass entry doors in our open courtyard, I went down immediately and dragged his ass off the property. The security guard was very grateful.

You honestly must have the patience of Job, as I would have pulled his jacket over his head hockey style and gone to town on him. Christ, he had his pants down, you could have gone up and kicked him over, then put your foot on him and he wouldn't have been able to get up.

Korean culture my ass. Be a man for Christ's sake!

[Xuanzang]

Korea really is the no win scenario sometimes because there`s no justice for us. Defend ourselves, a friend or a helpless bystander against Korean attackers - fine, jail sentence and the entire kitchen sink thrown at us. Koreans think we were the aggressors and try to shame us like that jerk manager tried with you. Sorry to hear about your family being accusted by a drunken ajeoshi The only thing you can hope for is that karma is a biotch and he will receive it in kind soon enough.

I`m also saddened by a country that likes to call itself the 13th largest economy in the world (with plans to be the 7th) yet the rule of law and justice are more akin to a Third World country.

[Leslie Cheswyck]

Byuntae Sparkling

Kimbop's advice is spot on.

Blasphemer, it would never be wise to initiate fisticuffs on this perv, not in Korea anyway, because every ounce of the Korean system would be on the ajoshi's side. Best you can do is be alert and be ready to drop him if need be. But only if things go so far.

It does piss me off that nobody really tried to intervene. Yes, report the manager to their immediate superiors, etc. That's what I would do.

Sparkle on!

[jkelly80]

Throw a pile of dogshit into his office.

[Straphanger]

[Jeff's Cigarettes]

Cool, do they answer to bat rays?

[Straphanger]

[Pooty]

[jkelly80]

Dog sh** will work, and it won't take as long, although Straphanger's idea is pretty good. It's cold out. Wear a mask, wear a scarf and a hat you're willing to part with. Wear pillows under ur jacket to look bigger. Stagger. Babble in a language they don't know.

Don't be mature about this. It's not fun.

[Typhoon]

Strangely enough I had a similar experience. Call the bus company and report what happened and report the manager of the terminal. It will take about 5 or 6 different converstations to get the right person and maybe about 2 hours of your time. Once you get the right person they will fire the manager or force him to make a big apology in front of his superiors and workers at the teriminal and he will lose a ton of face. I prefered the apology method losing a job is not enough of an insult, but losing face in front of every worker, even those under him is a great punishment in Korea.

As for CCTV, all buses are equiped with it as are all terminals. The police can get that from the terminal if they want to. Key words: if they want to. The police want nothing to do with this and if you don't force them to do anything they won't. Good luck

[fortysixyou]

I've had a similar experience as well, but with a much different conclusion.

An old adjussi bum, stinking of soju, was begging for change at a bus stop one night. It was about 3 months into my first contract.

I wouldn't give him any change (because I had none to give), and he got in my face about it, screamed obscenities in my face, and shook his bandaged fist at me. I respectfully told him that I had nothing to give, but still he persisted in harassing me. A crowd was gathering.

This probably looked pretty weird, because I'm a giant, and here this 70 year old Asian man, all of 100 lbs. is shaking his fist and screaming in my face. I showed absolutely no aggression or arrogance.

Suddenly, right when he was about to smack me (I guess), spewing the most hateful speech I've ever heard, simultaneously EVERYONE in the crowd at the bus stop intervened! They yelled at him and shooed him away very aggressively, telling him to get lost, pushing him away and totally separating him from me by like 100 meters. Middle school girls, ajummas, college-age guys, military boys, and even other ajussis all joined in shooing the man away. After it was all over, several people apologized and said 'please don't think badly about Korea for this', etc.

It was the only adjussi altercation I've ever had to date, hopefully the last. It was an amazing experience that instilled in me deep respect for and faith in the potential decency of people here.


OP: That really sucks. I'm sorry that happened to you and your family, that must have been a horrible thing to go through. I totally feel your pain. You did the right thing by not getting violent, though. Trust that the hate and negativity he showed you will be returned to him three-fold. Karma is very real, and don't give up on the goodness of people.

[RACETRAITOR]