Korean Job Discussion Forums

Pa Jan Jo A Hamnida · Joined: 27 Oct 2006 Location: Not Korea

Yeah. I saw that in Busan when on holiday. A group of 8, huddled together and obnoxiously drunk. Dancing and singing in the most contrived act of pretending to be anywhere else but where they were. Sad to see actually.

ChilgokBlackHole · Joined: 21 Nov 2009

Pa Jan Jo A Hamnida · Joined: 27 Oct 2006 Location: Not Korea

That's the thing. There was real sadness in their exhibition. No joy. Just a
middle finger to their situation. So yeah, it was a shame to see such a public display of contempt, unhappiness and drunk cackling.

jonpurdy · Joined: 08 Jan 2009 Location: Ulsan

If you want to drink on the subway, go for it. Don't hide it in a bag like a bum, just drink it. Just don't be loud and obnoxious.

If you don't want to, don't try and shame others into feeling bad about it. You say it's classless; nobody cares. I'd suggest relaxing a bit, getting off that high horse, maybe having a casual drink to make you stop worrying about what other people are doing. Nobody is going to associate you with loud and obnoxious people if you aren't being loud and obnoxious.

DeMayonnaise · Joined: 02 Nov 2008

creeper1 · Joined: 30 Jan 2007

madoka · Joined: 27 Mar 2008

reactionary · Joined: 22 Oct 2006 Location: korreia

sulperman · Joined: 14 Oct 2008

soakitincider · Joined: 19 Oct 2009

S.T.F.U.!

DorkothyParker · Joined: 11 Apr 2009 Location: Jeju

I've said it before, and I will say it again: I do not represent my race or ethnicity. The concept that I should represent my ethnicity is appalling as we are all individuals. I do not expect every man I meet to speak on behalf of men, I do not expect every black person I meet, to speak on behalf of black people.
That said, I recognize that not everyone wants to take the time to know and acknowledge individuals as such. So regardless of my intentions, I may represent my ethnicity, gender, whatever.
It is certainly a conundrum. I think so long as a person acts in a way that they would enjoy relating the story to their parents, we know the heart is in the right place.

Sooke · Joined: 12 Jan 2004 Location: korea

If they didn't want us drinking on the subway, they wouldn't sell COLD beer inside the station. What, are you supposed to transfer from one train to another, buy a six-pack of cold beer, and then get on your connecting train for an hour while your cold beer warms up? There's frickin supers everywhere. If i needed beer for my house, I would pick it up at the super closest to my house.

COLD beer sold in the subway station is for drinking on the subway.

This place should be renamed "Grandma's ESL Cafe."

Here's a little hint sunshine: Most Koreans already think you're a POS regardless of how you act or comport yourself. They're gonna believe what they wanna believe. If they think all foreigners are obnoxious drunks, your little miss manners act on the subway NOT drinking sure ain't gonna change their opinion.

marmalamuc · Joined: 12 Jul 2009 Location: Nashville, TN

Let's be clear: alcohol ≠ classless. I'm not sure how you can arbitrarily designate a place as an acceptable one to drink at, but that's all I've heard on this thread. I haven't heard one reason why having a beer on the subway is so "disrespectful". Quick question: what's the ratio of foreigners to Koreans who you've seen puking in public? For me it's about 0 : 50 in eight months.

Just because you're having a drink doesn't mean you're being loud or obnoxious. Adults -- full grown adults -- are going to stare at you if you don't look like everyone else. Somehow that's not disrespectful, but quietly sipping a drink is? We're talking about a culture where direct eye contact is considered rude. But I guess that doesn't apply to foreigners. It's been very interesting to see how far this culture's standards actually extend.

JFuller317 · Joined: 10 Oct 2008

Okay, obviously a large group of loud people drinking and being obnoxious is unacceptable.

But is it really that bad to just sit there sipping a bottle of soju in one of the corner seats by yourself?

TK421 · Joined: 05 Aug 2009

No, it doesn't hurt anyone, it doesn't harm anything. So it looks like in this thread we have one side saying it's disrespectful and classless, without giving any reasoning other than Koreans don't do it, and on the other side people are saying it's fine because it's not hurting anything. Nevermind huge groups of people turning a subway car into a bar, I understand the annoyance there. But you anti-drinking on the subway people fail to give good reasons for not doing it. And the whole "It's legal to stick your hand in a blender" argument is pointless and exaggerated. The reason not to put your hand in a blender is because you will destroy your hand. It's pretty self explanatory. Give me a reason not to drink on the subway that doesn't include what others will think of me, because in my opinion caring about what strangers think is much more high school than drinking in public.

Like someone else said, I don't represent my race or my nation. I'm not here to do that. If a Korean looks at me and thinks oh foreigners must be such terrible people because that one is sipping an alcoholic beverage on a subway, I really don't care.

ITT: The uptight get angry for little reason!