Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mayorgc]

I was standing in line and I was next to order. Nobody behind me. Then an adjumma approached from the side, I knew what was coming, so I shifted over to her and placed my arm on the counter, so that she couldn't cut in. Then, as I was about to place my order, the old lady screamed her order first and shoved her bill at the clerk.

The worst part was that after I bought my ice cream, I was walking home and the ice cream falls off the cone and onto the floor. This wasn't a baskin robbins style scoop, this was vanilla soft serve. How does soft serve fall off a cone? I was just licking the thing and it toppled.

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[NightSky]

haha I was at Toys R Us last week.

There was a huge lineup. typical korean style, they only had one cashier working even though there were at least ten families lined up. I was getting ready to put my stuff on the thing when a grandma shoves in front of me, puts her toy down and shoves a ten thousand bill at the cashier.

I said "get your ass back in line" in english, accompanied by gestures. she knew what I meant. then I added in korean for good measure, "nooga maum-daero?" she kind of giggled like a fool and said "NAE maum-daero," but she got back behind me. i proceeded to bitch her out to the embarrassment of all the other customers.

whatever gets us through the day!


oh, and naver offers this: for "don't cut in line" -- 새치기하지마 (saechigi hajima)

I would be tempted to simply say "jool suh" (line up) or something like that, can anyone confirm which is more likely to get your point across? (especially to an old crone)

[PRagic]

Be careful, there, NIGHTSKY. You'll get in more crap for using blunt form speech than actually telling someone older to get back in line. Seen it happen.

[Ilsanman]

You'll get away with talking down to them by being a foreigner. They think we don't understand.

Slapping their money down on the counter is a bad thing. I am likely to sweep it off onto the floor.

[mayorgc]

I'm Chinese and everybody thinks I'm Korean.

I'd like to learn some appropriate phrases for that situation. rude or polite, doesn't matter.

I tried staring at her, but she didn't even look

[bassexpander]

A lady pulled that crap on me at a McDonald's once, and the teenage girl behind the counter promptly told the lady to get in line because it was my turn.

Loved it!


My wife got a huge laugh out of our subway experience once. A few years ago, I was at the door of the subway car, and at the same time, a group of rude ajumma tried to "rush" in as I was exiting. A few of them shoved me, so I stretched out my arms and just shoved back. There were so many pushing, they couldn't go any direction but forward or back. I pushed the entire mob over. I heard a bunch of, "Mo-mo-mo's!" from the women as the fell over each other in a heap. My wife followed behind giggling. She said, "Good job!"

[dporter]

Saw a lot of this same type of behavior by old women in Shanghai. I'm expecting a bit of deja vu in Korea.

[Ilsanman]

At Gyodea station, the crowd waiting to get into the train crowded both sides so that only 1 person could get out.

One guy tried to push me out of the way to get out first, and I shoved him into the crowd that was crowding the space. They both deserve it.

[espoir]

Yea there are few things more aggrevating that people trying to rush into the subway cars before everyone gets off. Whenever I get off the subway I always push out my shoulders and do an imitation football charge. Pretty sure I've topple a few dozen people and have yet to feel sorry for a single one of them.

[postfundie]

to cope with this you must feel the power of becoming a keen ajuma observer. when you go in the subway or shopping mall or where eva you are not just walking around or heading to work. No, your 6th sense is switched on and you must learn awareness of the ajuma. It's almost as if you feel Geometry and you mathematically avoid her long before her natural tendency to cut you off is activated. You are always two and three steps ahead of her. When your skills become as honed as US Navy Radar you will feel the power. You will then go to the next step of foreknowledge. Where you actually KNOW where the ajuma will be before she does before the day has even begun. A person who has this skill has total control of his or her body. They are not looking around like a dang tourist or newbie. The face is calm and expressionless. Just an awareness of time and space.

[VanIslander]

it used to piss me off

now i just chant loudly with index finger up "ajumma number 1, ajumma number 1, ajumma number 1" the effect is great: sometimes the person working turns and serves me instead, sometimes the ajumma stops and I go next and often others just laugh, which is satisfaction enough

try it out. it's fun

[detourne_me]

[red_devil]

Did you cry about it? That might have shocked her enough to see a grown man cry. Ohhh and maybe wet your pants a little.

[Adventurer]

[sojusucks]