Korean Job Discussion Forums

Steelrails · Joined: 12 Mar 2009 Location: Earth, Solar System

This is why its always good to make friends with a couple of local goons.

radcon · Joined: 23 May 2011

Name and shame so others don't fall victim to this guy.

chrisinkorea2011 · Joined: 16 Jan 2011

I have been at both sides of this as well, but the best course would be to take it as a lesson learned like others said. It really sucks that you have to keep asking him and he still has not paid you according to the allotted time that he mentioned.

I think its time to give up on this person being a friend as well as letting others know to be wary of lending him cash.

diver · Joined: 16 Jun 2003

Decide how much you feel your time is worth per hour. Call this X. Divide 200 by X to determine the amount of time you should spend on recovery.

If you think your time is worth 20,000 per hour (for example), don't waste more than ten hours trying to get it back.

northway · Joined: 05 Jul 2010

Don't lend to people with debt.

cam83 · Joined: 27 Jan 2013 Location: Seoul, South Korea

Thanks for the input folks, I wasn't quite sure if I was making too big of a deal about it which is why I posted for feedback, which is a bit of a deal for me considering since I started reading Dave's back in 09' I come across so many threads that get either messy or off topic.

Having read the replies, I will take this as a lesson learned and as many have said, it isn't a large amount money so yes, I'll let it go. Believe it or not, venting the issue on here and getting feedback has made me feel a whole lot better about the situation, ready for a chilled weekend ahead (plus it's payday today).

As for naming and shaming amongst our very large group of mutual friends (including about 80 on Facebook), I think I'll take the high road... though I totally understand about warning others though... hmm, not sure of the best way to do that without his gf and our other female friends making huge drama out of it.

Lucas · Joined: 11 Sep 2012

tran.huongthu · Joined: 23 May 2011

radcon · Joined: 23 May 2011

Leave little hints on Facebook that everyone can see. You don't have to flat our call him a deadbeat to get your point across. " I'll be home this weekend so you can drop that $200 off anytime." or " Do you need my bank account number so you can transfer that $200?" Then like your own comment.

cam83 · Joined: 27 Jan 2013 Location: Seoul, South Korea

Hmmm... interesting theory about dividing the money by how much my time is worth. It may well be a good rule of thumb.

I guess we have grown socially around familiar circles of friends over the last 4yrs and I'm not really one for drama and yes, I wouldn't get to a physical stage due to $200 not being worth my visa/dealing with the police etc.

He already told me he can't get anything from his gf due to her being a student. The reason I (willingly/naively) gave him the money in the first place was because I assumed he had already asked others or depleted other funds given to him. Last night I sent him a text that if his employer was screwing him out of his pay (I know some hagwon owners do), then I can help him get on them etc

I'm not sure posting on FB is going to benefit me (some fair points Lucas) - though it might embarrass him (considering I see the events he is attending). I can accept if it would leave him with nothing but not when I see him doing luxury activities.

This is why my mind keeps changing from "just let it go, it's only $200" one minute, to "I wonder who else he has done this too before me? F**k this, something should be done" the next.

Julius · Joined: 27 Jul 2006

Leslie Cheswyck · Joined: 31 May 2003 Location: University of Western Chile

Look at it this way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAuSTQUa3tM

young_clinton · Joined: 09 Sep 2009

dairyairy · Joined: 17 May 2012 Location: South Korea

cdninkorea · Joined: 27 Jan 2006 Location: Seoul

Someone else already pointed out how odd it is that people are very kind and promise to pay you back right before they get the money (I'll add they're very grateful even afterward too), but suddenly hostile to you when you demand repayment on the date they agreed on. I always wonder how they'd react if you explicitly asked them about this beforehand, like this: "Now before I give you this cash, what's going to be your attitude if you don't pay me back on (date) and I remind you?" I suspect they'd come up with some rationalisation later on for why they're angry even though they said they wouldn't be.

Sorry, OP. You could look into small claims court (you don't need a lawyer for it, though you'll need a translator/interpreter if you don't speak Korean), but I'm not sure if you can sue for such a small amount (I think small claims court in Canada, for example, has a minimum of $500).