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thomas pars
Joined: 29 Jan 2009
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 Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 9:35 pm Post subject: Bugged at the gym. |
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Anyone else get bugged by Koreans at the gym wanting to practice their
English?
Or tell you how to exercise? |
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oskinny1
Joined: 10 Nov 2006
Location: Right behind you!
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| Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 10:11 pm Post subject: |
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Here goes the apologist in me...
Maybe they are just trying to be friendly? I have had a few walk up and start to chat, we had short conversations then all went on our merry way. Now when I see them out and about there is a kind nod of the head and a smile.
It's not always easy to look at it positively, but give it a try... I know I probably fail at being positive most of the time though. |
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air76
Joined: 13 Nov 2007
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| Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 10:25 pm Post subject: |
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I am not bugged by others wanting to speak English (except for one crazy old man)....I am bugged by the "personal trainers" there...I hate when they come over and tell me how I am doing a lift wrong or using a machine incorrectly. Sometimes their advice is OK and sometimes they are suggesting something that would surely injure me, but the problem is that they can't just give me the advice and then leave it at that, they refuse to let me continue to do it the way I was doing it before, no matter how much I say that I am fine.
I am mostly bugged, however, by the dudes running or doing sit-ups in the sauna...after my workout I just want to relax for a few minutes, but often some ajoshi feels the need to get a few more sets in in the sauna....the room is just too small to be jogging in place naked 1 meter from someone else's head. |
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 10:36 pm Post subject: |
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| People say 'hi' to me sometimes - but not much beyond that. The trainers leave me and my wife alone, and everyone seems to stick to their own business. |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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| Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 10:45 pm Post subject: |
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| air76 wrote: |
I am not bugged by others wanting to speak English (except for one crazy old man)....I am bugged by the "personal trainers" there...I hate when they come over and tell me how I am doing a lift wrong or using a machine incorrectly. Sometimes their advice is OK and sometimes they are suggesting something that would surely injure me, but the problem is that they can't just give me the advice and then leave it at that, they refuse to let me continue to do it the way I was doing it before, no matter how much I say that I am fine.
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Why not just say "Look friend, you do it your way and I'll do it my way. Now be a good lad and help someone else."
I've never had to say this more than once. |
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thomas pars
Joined: 29 Jan 2009
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| Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 10:49 pm Post subject: |
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| I am bugged by the "personal trainers" there...I hate when they come over and tell me how I am doing a lift wrong or using a machine incorrectly. |
yeah that is the one that gets me. Unfortunately. I should have been a little less amiable now it's an obligation to talk and have them critique my workout. |
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Fishead soup
Joined: 24 Jun 2007
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 10:50 pm Post subject: |
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I used to get this a lot. Until I just decided to quit going to the gyms.
I don't know where you live but where I live there are riverside footpaths
with free exercise equiptment. |
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koreanholiday
Joined: 11 Nov 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 1:44 am Post subject: |
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| I greet in Spanish and then tell them in broken English..."Me no English..Me from Spain." When they try more, I just wave my arms as if I were completely clueless. It works! No one attempts Spanish here... |
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kumuka
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 2:03 am Post subject: Bugged at gym |
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A few times Ive had people,woman and men just come up to me while lifting and touch my biceps. I almost belted a couple.
The woman I didnt mind too much, but the men.... |
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Depths of My Soul
Joined: 04 Apr 2010
Location: In The Sun
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| Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 2:17 am Post subject: Re: Bugged at the gym. |
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| thomas pars wrote: |
Anyone else get bugged by Koreans at the gym wanting to practice their
English?
Or tell you how to exercise? |
I first read the thread title as "buggered at the gym". 
I didn't sleep well last night................  |
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Troglodyte
Joined: 06 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 2:32 am Post subject: |
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| air76 wrote: |
the room is just too small to be jogging in place naked 1 meter from someone else's head. |
That's a disturbing picture. I've never seen anything like that and I hope I never will. You really need to find another gym.
About touching biceps... for Koreans, personal space isn't the same as it us for us. For them, it's not something intimate to touch someones arm or shoulder. There have been plenty of time when a male colleague/friend/co-worker has put his arm around my shoulder, held my arm while guiding me where to find a particular office or to head into a shop. They do it with each other as well. It always makes me feel uneasy, but for them, it's no big deal. If they are feeling your biceps or staring at your muscles, it's most likely that they are impressed. You're in Korea. Unless you can find an all foreigner gym, you're the outsider. You can't expect them to know your cultural background.
But I'm quite sure that the old guy shaking his thing in front of your face is a bit outside the social norms for Koreans as well. Find a new gym to work out at (and make sure that it's not a "guys only" gym). |
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curiousaboutkorea
Joined: 21 Jan 2009
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| Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 3:12 am Post subject: |
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| Troglodyte wrote: |
| for Koreans, personal space isn't the same as it us for us. For them, it's not something intimate to touch someones arm or shoulder. There have been plenty of time when a male colleague/friend/co-worker has put his arm around my shoulder, held my arm while guiding me where to find a particular office or to head into a shop. They do it with each other as well. It always makes me feel uneasy, but for them, it's no big deal. If they are feeling your biceps or staring at your muscles, it's most likely that they are impressed. You're in Korea. Unless you can find an all foreigner gym, you're the outsider. You can't expect them to know your cultural background. |
Thanks for the culture lesson  I'm pretty sure he's talking about strangers. Last time I checked, normal Koreans don't touch strangers like that. |
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NYC_Gal
Joined: 08 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 3:20 am Post subject: |
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| koreanholiday wrote: |
| I greet in Spanish and then tell them in broken English..."Me no English..Me from Spain." When they try more, I just wave my arms as if I were completely clueless. It works! No one attempts Spanish here... |
I've actually met a few people who speak Spanish. I've got one student from Colombia, and when I visited Busan, a man who owned a kimbap restaurant told me he'd lived in Spain, so we spoke for a while about Busan and what there was for me to do. One of my Gyopo friends lived in a Spanish-speaking country, as well. |
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cdninkorea
Joined: 27 Jan 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 5:26 am Post subject: |
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| NYC_Gal wrote: |
| koreanholiday wrote: |
| I greet in Spanish and then tell them in broken English..."Me no English..Me from Spain." When they try more, I just wave my arms as if I were completely clueless. It works! No one attempts Spanish here... |
I've actually met a few people who speak Spanish. I've got one student from Colombia, and when I visited Busan, a man who owned a kimbap restaurant told me he'd lived in Spain, so we spoke for a while about Busan and what there was for me to do. One of my Gyopo friends lived in a Spanish-speaking country, as well. |
That's why, when I want to be left alone or when I want to speak Korean, I say that I'm Polish and don't speak English. I don't speak even one word of Polish, but the odds of them speaking it are very slim. |
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atwood
Joined: 26 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 5:52 am Post subject: |
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Never had any problems with people bugging me at the gym, although I bug them when I tell them to move their crap or themselves out of the way.
Just last week I'm doing heavy DLs and a guy starts setting up right on top of me so he can get a good view of himself in the mirror. When I told him to give me some space he asked if I were trying to start a fight. I asked him to repeat what he said and he moved over a bit.
They don't get it and they never will. Stand your ground, though, and they'll at least leave you alone. |
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