Korean Job Discussion Forums

[adventureman]

Were you living/working in in Korea on that fateful day? If so, what was the initial reaction of your Korean students/colleagues/co-workers/friends, both to you specifically as a foreigner and in general? How did the prevailing attitude affect your workplace? Were you expected to continue with business as usual? How did you treat it with your children��s classes? Also, did notice prevailing attitudes begin to "change" at all in the weeks and months immediately following the attack? If so, how?... Anyone have any interesting anecdotes or memories to share?

I am especially interested in hearing your story if you are an American....

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]

My director asked if I had any family or friends in NY. I didn't. He seemed genuinely concerned.

Embarrassing to say, but I actually considered not going in to work that day, because I thought there might be a worldwide alert to kill white people.

Sparkles*_*

[Kristsoy]

koreans didnt care much unless they had family in NY or the other cities like DC. It was business as usual. I had a teacher from NY at my school and he was shaken. U need to remember that most people were finished work when that happend so we were watching it on tv at 9-10:00 at night. was really talked about the next day by koreans. The kids were mostly happy, praising binladen for killing the evil americans. Im sure this is because of bad parenting and korean people's lack of common sence

[Swiss James]

when I came into work the translator (korean) was crying and shaking, couldn't really talk about what had happened (I hadn't watched the news the previous night so had no idea). There was generally a very sombre atmosphere in the office all day I seem to remember.

[adventureman]

[Butterfly]

Everyone I worked with and was friends with was appalled and angry.

[ulsanchris]

MOst koreans I know were horrified about it. I talked with it with some students in my classes. The ones who actually realized that thousands of people died were pretty shocked and horrified.

[Lonewolf]

No body that I worked with except for myself even cared they blew it off like nothing even happened.

[katydid]

Mostly everyone I knew were shocked and surprised. The adults were anyways. The kids I taught my first year liked to see if uttering Bin Laden would get a rise out of me. (Unfortunately, I was green and it did, having immediately come from Washington DC to Korea). My coworkers told me that the kids thought it was like either a joke or a game or something out of a movie. They had never seen anything like it and I guess to them, it looked cool. I don't think the Korean teachers ever really explained what happened to them.

[Universalis]

MY supervisor at the time appeared to be a bit pissed when I said I needed to take the morning off. I was really in no mood to teach... instead, I went to another teacher's house with the other Americans and we watched CNN for a few hours.

One student I had told me another teacher he had broke down in class.

Another student told me her co-workers we're high-fiving each other when they heard the news.

Brian

[Gladiator]

As I recall I was going up to the BC for my evening shift when one of my adult female students, a bit 'right on' youth student protest inclined, said yes it was horrible but said it was partly understandable because of 'America's policies'. I said I was worried because I had family in Manhattan and she went silent. Actually worried is an understatement because I'd only just seen it all occur on CNN and was dazed really. My teaching colleagues, I regret to say, reported some approval for the atrocity expressed in the morning lessons. Can't say I did in my evening sessions. It was more indifference. As people have said Koreans being so self absorbed barely notice ANYTHING happening in the outside world let alone that carnage.

Some of the children made Bin Laden jokes shortly after, but then again that's kids for you. For the adults there was no excuse.

[dogbert]

I had an experience similar to the poster who said that his colleagues/friends first reactions to him were of concern (that he had family affected), and then of sympathy and sorrow. I don't think it was an act.

Granted, I didn't see the reactions of any children. YMMV

Even Americans can have inappropriate reactions to such tragedies. I vividly remember the day our great president Ronald Reagan was shot by some cretin (who had probably just eaten a big cone of "I Am Sam" ice cream) and hearing some happy student running up and down the halls (we were in class) screaming "They shot de presiden'!! I hope he dead!"

[Tiger Beer]

My last US resident at that time in 2001 was New York City. I shared the same subway stop as the WTC. So I always wrote down my last US address in New York City whenever signing into hotels and such.

On 9-11 I was in Hong Kong.. then flew to Philippines. When I checked into my first hotel.. the first person the front desk person did was.. "oh New York" and then did an airplane gesture which crashes and explodes.. I thought that was a bit inappropriate.

Later when I got back to Seoul, a Canadian drinking buddy came up to me and said "sorry about NY, eh".. which was good. Most people just apoligized. What else could they do? They also seemed very genuinely concerned.

What bothered me more was visiting Taipei on 9-11-2004 in a hostel.. CNN was reliving 9-11 all day long.. and some Korean girls were complaining about why they were still showing all this stuff on TV all the time.. weren�t we sick of it by now.. (but I think they were unaware it was the 3-year anniversary)..

[danyuk]

wwwwwwww

[funplanet]

most of my kids just laughed and made gestures of airplanes crashing into buildings and saying things like "Bin-Laden good man." This went on for maybe 2 months (I felt like throttling the little sh@ts half the time but reminded myself it was the parents who needed a good a$$ whoppin')....

then once the tally of nationalities lost in the WTC came out I promptly reminded them how many K's lost their lives...most got the picture then