Korean Job Discussion Forums

nathanrutledge · Joined: 01 May 2008 Location: Marakesh

I was stung by plenty of bees - 5 at once one time. Neighbor had a retaining wall made of old railroad ties, had a nest in one. Friends dared me to put a stick in it. They didn't like that one bit... Got stung by one of the blue hornets once too - that one REALLY stung. Of course, I was maybe 5 years old when that happened, so maybe I'm remembering it wrong. Also had one of those giant mud daubers, about 2 inches long or so, thick as a man's thumb. That guy was WICKED looking and I avoided getting stung by that one, thank goodness.

Friend of mine was stung by one of those Japanese Killer Hornets about two years back, over by Dongdaemun. Right on the back of the neck. Considering those things can kill a person, we went to the doctor, but all she got was some aspirin - she ended up alright, but her neck was red and sore for a few days.

As far as scraped knees, look at girls here. I see tons of woman in Korea with bandaids/scrapes on their knees. All jokes and innuendo aside, the kids are probably b.s.ing you. I've seen plenty of kids take a spill in my time here. As far as shots go, I was at the hospital today and saw a kid, probably five or six years old, having blood drawn. That kid was screaming to high heaven - either "it hurts" or "daddy" - I couldn't tell what his inflection was with all the screaming he was doing...

Remember, Koreans like to stick together. If one kid says "no," the others will generally fall in line behind them. I bet if you get one kid to say he was stung/skinned his knee/hates needles, you'll get some others to say that too.

jvalmer · Joined: 06 Jun 2003

thegadfly · Joined: 01 Feb 2003

schwa · Joined: 18 Jan 2003 Location: Yap

How often do you see Korean kids running around barefoot on lawns with a bit of clover?

But I'd say I observe a normal incidence of scrapes, bruises, & broken bones.

PatrickGHBusan · Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 4:22 am Post subject:

littlelisa · Joined: 12 Jun 2007 Location: Seoul

Never been stung, and I don't think it was very common among people I know. We were always told to keep very still if there were bees flying around us and they probably wouldn't sting.

My sister did get stung once, though.

I'm Canadian.

coralreefer_1 · Joined: 19 Jan 2009

Ive never been stung by an actual bee, but had more than a few yellow jacket stings. The first I can recall was in middle school, trash can out in the schoolyard full of freshly empties soda cans, and I was nearby and got stung. After that a few more as I was working a summer job as a high school student on a residential recycling route (again, bins full of soda cans left around for days)

Interestingly enough, I have been stung in Korea twice...both times while riding my motorcycle. One wound up the sleeve of my jacket, the other bounced off my chest and got wedged in my helmet.

thegadfly · Joined: 01 Feb 2003

OK, so then, what would be an experientially-accessible standard for pain comparison? This whole question came up as a result of saying that something "hurt about as much as a bee sting." Does anyone know what common Korean experience of childhood "hurts about as much as a bee sting?" Mosquito bites don't cut it -- too small a measure. Suggestions?

Oh, yeah -- whacks with a love stick vary too widely -- different teachers apparently put differing amounts of oomph into them, though I have heard some interesting comparative discussions on the subject (with Mr. See-Blood as the high water mark).

DejaVu · Joined: 27 Jan 2011 Location: Your dreams

nathanrutledge · Joined: 01 May 2008 Location: Marakesh

Nothing really does compare. Bee stings hurt at a fairly moderate level, and they keep hurting - that burning sensation. Medical shots are in/out/down, to fast to compare.

Anyway, out of curiosity, I asked my university students - out of about 60 students, only 2 have been stung. When I told them I've lost count of my bee stings, they were quite shocked. Crazy stuff....

Skipperoo · Joined: 05 Jul 2010

I've never been stung by a bee/wasp/hornet and I led a fairly active childhood. Nearly happened once because my brother threw a rock at a wasp's nest, but I guess I got out of the way or something.

I see my students with scrapes, bruises and broken bones almost every day of the week. I don't know if these kids are getting into serious accidents or whether Korean people just throw a cast on any old injury, but it's a very common sight to see a kid with a cast on their leg or hand.

thegadfly · Joined: 01 Feb 2003

jvalmer · Joined: 06 Jun 2003

Zyzyfer · Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 11:36 pm Post subject:

I remember middle school kids having to get shots or something a couple times a year and coming back rubbing their shoulders. Dunno, my memory of it is a bit rusty. Maybe all your students have rusty memories, too.

laynamarya · Joined: 01 Jan 2010 Location: Gwangjin-gu

I've been stung three times, I think two of those were yellow jackets, but can't be absolutely sure.

My husband (who is Korean) says he was stung several times as a kid, and I was with him when he was stung last year, too. So was the friend we were hiking with. I escaped unscathed, that time.

I think much of it has to do with city life vs. suburbs/rural areas. We're both from the suburbs (near Seoul and Boston), where beneficial insects tend to be more plentiful. I'm sure this is more closely related to that scary mosquito pesticide that they spray in Seoul than the lack of flora in public spaces around here.

And, as another poster mentioned, most kids tend to hole up in their academies and bedrooms during the time they ought to be outside getting bruises and scrapes and stings. A lot of kids can't name even the most common species of plants, in any language.

Tragic, really.