Korean Job Discussion Forums

[roguefishfood]

As I previously mentioned, I recently adopted a dog. It was a great decision, he's awesome, and I plan to have him forever. If I move within the country or leave Korea, he goes with me, etc. It's been less than a month and I can't imagine life without him.

It's the PEOPLE that drive me nuts.

When he was found by the shelter he was missing a leg. All the vet can say is that it wasn't gone at birth, he lost it, and nobody knows how, but the current theory is one of the many jerks on motorcycles speeding down the sidewalk.

When we go for walks, people call him, cluck at him, tease him, walk up to him and just start touching him, etc. WITHOUT ENGAGING ME AT ALL. This includes people whizzing by on bikes!! Why would you call a stranger's dog when you're on a motorcycle!?

They don't acknowledge me one bit, let alone make any indication of asking for permission to touch him or if he's friendly. He IS friendly, he loves people and wouldn't hurt a fly, but they don't know that!

Where I'm from, even uncouth people are taught as kids that you should be careful around people's pets, talk to the person first, ask if they're friendly/if it's ok to pet them, let the dog smell your hand first, then pet him gently on the side. Does no one learn this etiquette here?

It seems selfish, rude, and ignorant to behave the way people of all ages do around a dog. I can't tell if it's a Korean thing or if it's because I'm a foreigner. Even if they tried to talk to me in Korean that I didn't understand, I'd appreciate the effort rather than ignoring me and messing with my dog.

People have mostly been nice to me and warm and helpful here in Korea, until I'm out with my dog, when they suddenly turn ignorant and rude. I keep an extremely short leash not because I think he's going to run away but because I feel like I can't trust anyone and I need to be able to pull him away or scoop him up in a hurry at all times.

Any thoughts?

[Hokie21]

Lost one leg? Sounds like the previous owners eyes were bigger than his stomach. Gives a new meaning to the term "doggie bag"

[Captain Corea]

Many do that to children too (touching without permission).

[fermentation]

It's a Korean thing. Once some old dude tried to poke my grandmother's dog in the eye while she was walking it. He said he was just playing around. I can't speak for that particular weirdo but I doubt they're trying to be disrespectul on purpose. They do the same thing to eachother.

[Otherside]

[Modernist]

Considering this is a country that abandons dogs with impunity when they are no longer sufficiently cute and/or if they just get bored with them and/or their new SO doesn't like them and/or the trend that led to buying the dog reverses itself; considering that, I can't believe you are surprised.

Koreans seem to think pets are sort of like moving stuffed animals, not living creatures. Very few of them seem to understand that small cute puppies typically get larger over time. About 85% of them that I see actually CARRY the dogs around in purses, satchels or backpacks. My dog in America would have gone crazy if I'd taken her outside and not let her WALK.

They have major issues with animals here. Clueless is the polite word for it. Callous to the point of cruelty is another word I'd use. It's sadly typical due to the obsession with 'cute' and mindless trend-following and thoughtless pursuit of idle whims.

[actionjackson]

[jlb]

One time I was on the subway with my cat. She was in a hard-case and some mom and little kid come over to peer inside and say hello. Which was fine. Until the mom (and then the kid encouraged by the mom) start banging their fists on the top of the case because my kitty was sleeping and not being entertaining enough I guess. A loud and angry "Ha-ji-ma" put an end to it. Stupid people. It's ridiculous.

[roguefishfood]

[sojusucks]

I noticed that many Koreans I've met are afraid of big dogs. Small dogs are ok for them. There is also a belief that certain dogs are vicious.

What have others heard about this?

[The Cosmic Hum]

[Chalmers]

you mean tying a dog to a tree for its entire life isn't ok?

[fermentation]

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

Ugh I hate this. I have genuinely friendly, albeit clueless, people go up to him to touch him all the time, so he's getting used to it, but I have to constantly tell them (in my cavegirl Korean) to put their hands beneath his nose so that he can sniff them first, or he'll think that they want to fight. I usually carry treats, so if he's wary, I just have them give him one. I've just had to adapt to the way people just come up to him here.

I did have some idiot middle-or-high-school girl start barking at him a couple of weeks ago. She was with one of her friends, I was at an intersection. This is a dog that I spent a LOT of time training to stop barking (eventually resorting to a remote-controlled collar that had vibrate and static shock functions. It only took a couple of weeks, though for him to understand that when I said "shut up" he had to shut up. He was only zapped maybe half a dozen times, though, and after that the vibrate was all the warning he needed. I did test it on myself, first, to see how much of a shock it was, and it was minimal, though annoying.) I'd even had to move because of his barking, though he's fine now. Of course, having some idiot teenager barking at him riled him up, and he started barking at her. I gave him his command and he lowered his tone to a few annoyed huffs, but she continued. I reprimanded her in Korean, but she didn't stop, so I asked her friend if she was retarded. Then I gave the dog a little more give in his lead, and he jumped on the barking girl, who shrieked and ran away while her friend laughed. My dog's only 5kg and doesn't bite (he's pretty well trained, though I don't let him off the lead, for fear that he'd jump into the road and get hit by a car) so it was more funny than anything.

I do love how people are terrified of such a tiny dog. Usually I'm nice about it, but after getting barked at, I do take a perverse joy in letting him chase them a little, on the lead of course. Some drunk ajussi started barking at him the other night during our evening walk, so I let him jump on him and the guy screamed like a little girl. I love that.

[Old fat expat]

I've decided it's easier to teach my dog about Koreans.

As if I understand.

But I do spend a lot of time being patient and trying to teach random strangers and my dog how to interact.

Behavior at the vets is something else again. Who brings a dog into the vet without a leash? Who would hand hold a cat at a vet?

My incredulity remains intact even after a decade here.