Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jazzmaster]

This just happened to me so I thought I would share it. It's still a bit unbelievable for me, so bear with me.

I was coming home today and I ride my bicycle from the subway station to my apartment. There is a bike lane for the majority of the way which I use. Today, about 10 minutes ago, I was riding home from the station. As usual I was trying to stay in the bike lane and avoid people. Then I saw an adjoshi who seemed like he was trying to block my way. I went round him when he gave me a slap to the head. It was a gentle slap but a slap none the less. He also started ranting. I slammed on my breaks took of my flatcap and returned the favor. I then got off my bike and gave him a push, shouting "don't touch me". He grabbed my wrist and almost at the same time a young Korean male, who was out with his wife and newborn, grabbed the adjoshi's wrist. I turned to the young man and told him that the adjoshi had hit me on the head. The young man calmly told me that he had seen everything and I shouldn't worry. The young man spoke to the adjoshi. My Korean is not good enough to follow what he said but it resulted in the adjoshi offering a handshake. The young man said the adjoshi was sorry (although the adjoshi never actually verbally apologized).
I thanked the young man for his intervention, and rode off without giving the adjoshi a second look. Good riddance to bad rubbish as I always say.

Very strange, and not a word of a lie. As upsetting as it was for the adjoshi to act that way, it was also reassuring to know that there are kind young men out there who will stick up for what is right.

Edit: I should mention I shook the adjoshi's hand when it was offered. It's always good to be the bigger man (although now I kind of wish I'd told him to get bent).

[sendittheemail]

Please understand his situation. His age, plus the fact that he is male, and Korean, mean that he owns the bike path, regardless of the fact that he has no bike. Please try to be culturally sensitive.

And oh yeah, if you are going to get into an altercation, don't stick around and wait for others to gather around. End it quickly and leave.

[optik404]

This story is a lie. First, no Korean male would ever side with a foreigner. This has been proven many times on Dave's.

[Julius]

[coralreefer_1]

I wont say whether or not the OP is spinning a yarn...

But I will say I have also had younger Korean men come to my defense so to speak against older Korean men.


I was an an international students dinner some time ago at the typical college-area Hof.. There were about 11 of us celebrating the birthday of one of the hot Russian girls. During the dinner/drinking, two older Korean guys maybe around late 30's or so invited themselves to our table.

They seemed friendly enough, educated, not all that drunk, and we didn't seem to mind them at all. In fact, they bought a round for us. As time when on though, they began to zero in on a Japanese male student. However, the Japanese guy left shortly later to catch a bus. Afterward, their anti-Japanese rant continues, and then turned its attention to me. According to them, America sides with Japan on the Dokdo issue, and as it went on they began to get more and more angry at me, since of course I am American and among all the terrible things the US has done, in their minds, I was an outlet for their "Dokdo is our island" mess.

Fortunately, there were a few younger college aged Koreans nearby who overheard the situation, and not only asked them to leave, but pretty much forced the men away from our table and out the door (getting into somewhat of a scuffle outside the door)

Alcohol likely played a big role in their actions, and likely the actions of the younger Korean guys who intervened, but make no mistake...this is not the same Confucian world those ajussis grew up with. They were practically picked up from the table and escorted out the door as if they were trash in an upscale club, by guys easily 10 years younger.

[jazzmaster]

[Who's Your Daddy?]

Sounds like a crazy old man. I believe the story.

[Mix1]

[Scorpion]

[IPayInCash]

Well that was a nice little fairy tale but everyone knows it would never happen. Everyone knows Korean men are some of the most racist, insecure people on the planet. If this werent the case I wouldnt be getting death stares from them every time I step outside with my smoking hot girlfriend. Well see the unification of Korea before an ajosshi apologizes to a weigook with a 죄송합니다 and a bow anything greater than 30 degrees. The thought of ever having to bring a child into this backwards wasteland scares me. Knowing theyll be subject to the same racism I deal with every day. Yikes!

[jazzmaster]

You're right, the situation could have gone *beep* up for me. At first i wasnt thinking clearly. Someone had hit my head and i wasnt going to let him get away with it, but later (when the young man was talking to the adjushi) i thought of just getting away asap. I didnt want to leave the young guy high and dry after he jumped in though, so i stuck around. I got away as soon as i could though. No sense hanging around.

[chrisinkorea2011]

[IPayInCash]

There are no lies from my post. Ive traveled the world extensively and only in Korea have I encountered such racism. Ive never receieved an apology or a bow from an ajosshi and my smoking hot girlfriend and I get death stares everywhere we go. Where are the lies?

And I am not Dodge7. The only liar here is you.

[Steelrails]

Maybe it was because it was Hangul Day?

Yesterday some ajosshi started yelling at me and my friends for speaking in English because it was Hangul Day. The Korean male co-teacher that was drinking with us got in his face about it. Everything defused because the ajosshi's friend knew me from somewhere and he dragged the guy out all the while apologizing and being friendly.

The stupid part of it all was the guy was in an Izakaya. A Japanese pub.

Whatever, everyone else in the bar knew me and I'm a regular there so the owners made sure everything was okay and we got some sympathy anju and shots from people at the other tables.

I choose to focus on everyone else and not that guy. 90-10 in terms of nice folks to bad.

[transmogrifier]

I love this story; it involves a Korean male doing both something idiotic and something helpful. Both sides of the Dave's ideological divide are in a quandary!