Korean Job Discussion Forums

[happydays12]

Has anyone ever just smashed someone here? I'm not saying I'm going to, but I have had to push a few people and let them know that what they are doing is not going to fly with me. Just wondering if there are any good stories that anyone would like to share.

I've been here for over a year and I just have to admit that some days are more difficult than others to deal with the constant flow of hate/judgment/staring/glaring/xenophobia/racism and whatnot. This is enough to make the average person hostile, but I am a pretty decent guy and am very understanding of their culture. Regardless of this, there have been a few times where I have had to let them know I'm not going to be touched or pushed - in this country or any country.

I know it's a different culture, but I will not let anyone lay a finger on me or my wife.

My experiences? Let's see...

I pushed a guy in a store and have also pushed/hit a few people with my bag and/or shoulders/arms in the subway. I have never done anything like this in the US. I've never had to. Here, however, people will trample you in an instant and not think twice about it.

I've had a guy push me in a store and he was yelling some blah at me. I wasn't even doing anything rude, simply trying to buy some things. I pushed him right back and hard. He couldn't believe it. Well believe it.

I was in the subway and a man was coming right for my wife. I saw him coming for a long ways. He was looking right at her, too. He was just going to smash her, so I stuck out my arm and there he went. He couldn't believe it. Well believe it.

I don't know... just a few of my experiences.


****UPDATE****
This thread was previously deleted because people were saying things that were not in compliance with forum guidelines. I am trying to have a civil conversation here. Your opinions are all valid, just try to keep them within the boundaries of this site.

Thank you.

[PatrickM]

Push 'em back!

[grunden]

\

is your wife Korean?


I had a guy push my girl once, a 40ish fellow with a smurk on his face, I went around her and nailed him in the shoulder with my shoulder, he was left holding his collar bone, then he sort of bowed to us and moved on.

[harlowethrombey]

Is there another poll option for:

'Grab them by the shoulders and demand they show me how to properly embed a picture for my avatar? '

[PatrickM]

[kiwiduncan]

After 6 years in Korea I can only remember being deliberately pushed by a Korean once. I was walking down the street in Chongno with a Korean girl I had had a few dates with when an old drunk Korean man just came up and pushed me. It completely took me by surprise and I just laughed it off and kept on walking. The old man was laughing too and all I thought was "silly old drunken bugger".

Anyway, apart from that and having a psycho ajosshi following myself and a female Korean friend around yelling abuse ("your family would be ashamed of you" etc) and taking photos on his mobile phone - I wrestled it off him in a coffee shop, the cops were called, we all went to the police station and the cops concluded that the man was a complete wack-job - I've been pretty lucky I guess.

[chemicalblur]

I take it this is mostly in the subway or when standing in line somewhere. I see Korean men and women (for that matter) push each other a whole lot more than they push me, so I don't take it personally, nor do I take it as intentional xenophobic behavior.

This also happens very much so (if not more frequently) in Shanghai and Japan.

[phoneboothface]

So venting the first time didn't help?

Maybe the other thread had been deleted because it really sucked and served no purpose. People are pushy here. Talk with your friends about it to vent or go to a country that is less densely populated plzkthx.

[Forward Observer]

Only people that have played contact sports can appreciate body contact in Korea. The rest of you are too sensitive.

[Robot_Teacher]

Korea doesn't know what courtesy and friendliness from a Western perspective is, they just know the blunt pushy way of life. It's really not as big of a deal to them as it is for us, but you can tell they do feel stress from their own customs. I returned a few favors and it was no big deal to them. If someone pushes, go ahead, just act like you got to go where they are and plow through. If someone buds in line, just step in front of them and nudge them out of the way to physically block them, but don't say anything. If someone is standing in my way, I just get close to them and they usually move out the way. I stopped trying to say excuse me and exchanging pleasantries as they don't understand. While we find this extremely rude and inconsiderate and grounds for starting a fight, they don't. Go ahead, play by their rules.

One thing that goes beyond logic is how they'll block the doors to subways and elevators and not allow room for those getting off. To illustrate how dumb they are, I just go ahead and plow through them like a mindless robot since they're not using common sense to make way for those exiting. People like to challenge other people by putting up road blocks of many sorts and this is how Koreans do it. I quit playing the squeeze through the side game as that's dumb and you're still shoving people. Why not step aside to let those exiting off 1st as to free up room for those entering? I did notice they put new foot prints on subway platforms in some stations to illustrate this logic I'm talking about. Surely they feel uncomfortable with getting shoved, but they're just bucking this common sense logic. You can tell there's a lot of tension in them.

[by2004]

Robot_teacher - dude well said. I agree that Koreans at times don't realize they're being rude. It's annoying as hell but we have to live by their rules.

[egrog1717]

20,000+ per square km in some areas of Seoul and you're bound to grow up believing you need to charge the subway doors

In all serriousness though... Different culture, different rules... Learn to play by them. Square your shoulders and give as good as you get.

[Julius]

[Captain Corea]

I rack up about 100,000 in charges every month on the subway - so i take it a lot.

In all of that time, I have to say that getting bumped is quite common - the flow of the train, the crowds, the difference in 'personal space' - but as for someone purposely shoving me... and I mean shoving me, that's pretty rare. When and if they do, I either shove back, make a comment to them in Korea, stand still... or some combination.


That all being said, the OP seems to have some serious anger issues. It may be just the writing style... but man, just reading your posts makes me worry about your blood pressure.

[crossmr]

I've never been purposefully shoved that I've noticed and all the incidental bumps and pushes tend to result in the smaller koreans bouncing off me/not going anywhere.
i've never had anyone bigger than me run into me.