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Korean Job Discussion Forums "The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
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cj1976
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
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Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2014 10:09 pm Post subject: |
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SHGator428 wrote: |
Chaparrastique wrote: |
cj1976 wrote: |
SHGator428 wrote: |
cj1976 wrote: |
Calling Korea 'barbaric' smacks of a hilarious drama-queen outburst from someone with eggshell skin. Yes, there is a lot of very uncouth behaviour here, but I don't recall anyone getting their heads chopped off, or being stoned to death. That is probably a more apt use of the word 'barbaric'.
The pushing, staring, questionable table manners, and spitting is not exactly delightful, but if you really can't stand it then you shouldn't be in Asia. |
LOL @ the look at me I am special and can live in Asia better than you mentality. |
Not at all. I just mean that if you let it get to you, you will end up a basket case. |
Wise words. |
Isn't that obvious? Is it still wise words if a monkey would have said the same thing? |
I don't fully understand the simian related analogy, but I'm beginning to suspect that monkey would be significantly more interesting than this thread. |
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SHGator428
Joined: 05 Sep 2014
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Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2014 10:13 pm Post subject: |
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cj1976 wrote: |
SHGator428 wrote: |
Chaparrastique wrote: |
cj1976 wrote: |
SHGator428 wrote: |
cj1976 wrote: |
Calling Korea 'barbaric' smacks of a hilarious drama-queen outburst from someone with eggshell skin. Yes, there is a lot of very uncouth behaviour here, but I don't recall anyone getting their heads chopped off, or being stoned to death. That is probably a more apt use of the word 'barbaric'.
The pushing, staring, questionable table manners, and spitting is not exactly delightful, but if you really can't stand it then you shouldn't be in Asia. |
LOL @ the look at me I am special and can live in Asia better than you mentality. |
Not at all. I just mean that if you let it get to you, you will end up a basket case. |
Wise words. |
Isn't that obvious? Is it still wise words if a monkey would have said the same thing? |
I don't fully understand the simian related analogy, but I'm beginning to suspect that monkey would be significantly more interesting than this thread. |
No matter how you word it, that is true. |
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cj1976
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
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Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2014 10:30 pm Post subject: |
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Korea used to really wind me up and it made me a miserable bastard. It still does my head in sometimes, but what's the point in dwelling on the negatives? It's not going to change any time soon just because of me. |
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Smithington
Joined: 14 Dec 2011
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Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2014 10:59 pm Post subject: |
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cj1976 wrote: |
I don't fully understand the simian related analogy. |
Huh? Did a miss something? Who mentioned simians? |
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KimchiNinja

Joined: 01 May 2012 Location: Gangnam
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Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2014 6:48 am Post subject: |
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SHGator428 wrote: |
You people kind of need to step up your game if you want to be taken seriously internationally. |
Correct. |
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Jondo
Joined: 08 Feb 2013
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Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2015 12:57 am Post subject: |
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There has been a lot of focus on Koreans bumping into each other, pushing shoving etc, but what hasn't been discussed is the way many many Koreans are unable to control their tempers. I find this really sad and pathetic.
If you are trying to have a mild argument with a Korean and trying to be civil about it you will fail because the Korean will invariably lose his shit and get psycho on you. This is also true in this forum and via email, telephone, face to face etc.
They start raising their voices, they get right in front of you as if they want to get into a physical fight, they start spitting, their faces get technicolored and their eyes get really dilated and their hear rate gets really fast. It somewhat reminds me of teasing a monkey at a zoo and watching it scream and jump up and down with rage. It is ugly.
If a man is civilized he should be able to argue civilly without being so out of control. I have lived in Korea for several years now and notice this is very typical.
Another thing is that Koreans do know good manners from bad. You can see this by the way many of them behave themselves when they go to a Western country. But back in Korea, they chose to act rudely. I wonder if this willful disregard of common courtesy which they are full aware of has something to do with a character flaw. I have noticed that Japanese are very civilized and well behaved and humble. It seems to be quite the opposite in Korea. |
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Stain
Joined: 08 Jan 2014
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Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2015 6:40 am Post subject: |
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Jondo wrote: |
There has been a lot of focus on Koreans bumping into each other, pushing shoving etc, but what hasn't been discussed is the way many many Koreans are unable to control their tempers. I find this really sad and pathetic.
If you are trying to have a mild argument with a Korean and trying to be civil about it you will fail because the Korean will invariably lose his shit and get psycho on you. This is also true in this forum and via email, telephone, face to face etc.
They start raising their voices, they get right in front of you as if they want to get into a physical fight, they start spitting, their faces get technicolored and their eyes get really dilated and their hear rate gets really fast. It somewhat reminds me of teasing a monkey at a zoo and watching it scream and jump up and down with rage. It is ugly.
If a man is civilized he should be able to argue civilly without being so out of control. I have lived in Korea for several years now and notice this is very typical.
Another thing is that Koreans do know good manners from bad. You can see this by the way many of them behave themselves when they go to a Western country. But back in Korea, they chose to act rudely. I wonder if this willful disregard of common courtesy which they are full aware of has something to do with a character flaw. I have noticed that Japanese are very civilized and well behaved and humble. It seems to be quite the opposite in Korea. |
An eye for an eye, I say. If they want a physical confrontation, which they don't, then give them an equal dose of theatrics. If you don't equal their intensity, then they will sadly believe they have the upper hand and may physically attack, at which point you will have to take it or get to Incheon airport as quickly as you can before news of the savage foreigner, who pushed a Korean on the ground, hits the airwaves. |
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FMPJ
Joined: 03 Jun 2008
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Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2015 3:30 pm Post subject: |
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Jondo wrote: |
their hear rate gets really fast. |
Um, really? You're too close, then, dude. |
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Steelrails

Joined: 12 Mar 2009 Location: Earth, Solar System
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Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2015 5:00 pm Post subject: |
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Jondo wrote: |
There has been a lot of focus on Koreans bumping into each other, pushing shoving etc, but what hasn't been discussed is the way many many Koreans are unable to control their tempers. I find this really sad and pathetic...I have noticed that Japanese are very civilized and well behaved and humble. It seems to be quite the opposite in Korea. |
First, having seen more than one Korean vs. Westerner argument in my lifetime, both back home and abroad, I can tell you its a two-way street. Yes, there are stubborn, close-minded Koreans who can't handle any disagreement. There are also Westerners whose "arguing civilly" consists of them dominating the conversation and not taking time to let each person at the table say what they have to say. Far from being the calm person that they think they are, they in fact might be the ones shouting and talking aggressively or even disrespectfully. The problem is found in your last sentence. The arrogance and condescending tone in what you're saying. You assume that you are civilized and more importantly, are in a position to sit in judgment over an entire nation of people. You MUST be right because you are Western. Well, no wonder your arguments devolves into screaming matches. You can't even countenance yourself as not being in an inherently superior position and this probably is shown in your "civil debates".
"I have noticed that Japanese are very civilized and well behaved and humble. It seems to be quite the opposite in Korea."
Replace Japanese and Korea with "whites and blacks" or "liberals and conservatives" or "Germans vs. Jews" or "French and Italians" or "Londoners vs. Midlands" etc. If you were to do so, very rapidly the "civil debate" would degenerate (unless you were friends taking the piss out of each other). This isn't a Korean thing, it's a basic human decency thing. Phrasing points of debate in such terms as "civilized" or not would very quickly cause the other side to tune you out and for things to go badly.If you're going to debate things in such terms, you should probably be really good friends with the other person or know their personality is the lawerly kind who will gleefully argue over anything.
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If you are trying to have a mild argument with a Korean and trying to be civil about it you will fail because the Korean will invariably lose his shit and get psycho on you. This is also true in this forum |
Who me? I'm American, but thanks for tying nationality to ethnicity. I guess Koreans aren't the only ones who think nationality is a matter of ethnicity and some people will be permanent others.
I'm not the one who degenerates into personal insults during arguments. I've gotten into debates with Fox, Plain Meaning, and Captain Corea and we've been able to keep things insult free and on topic.
The fact is that a good portion of the public (probably globally) has a hard time debating, including on the internet. Think about the kind of debate you see over news stories.
"I think Bernie Sanders appeals to certain elements of the Tea Party"
"Enjoy your communism and killing 40 million people libtard"
"Go back to your FAUXNews teabagger!!!"
"Well they do both hate black people"
"Uhm, Bernie Sanders' policies are the most black-friendly"
"Spoken like a true white privileged entitled southern racist."
"Nah its you liberals with your neo-plantation slavery mindset
that are the REAL racists! Go back to your racist abortions!"
We haven't exactly reached the mountaintop ourselves. |
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Otus
Joined: 09 Feb 2006
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Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2015 6:49 pm Post subject: |
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On a related note (to the original article), does anyone else remember how bad some of those public bathrooms used to be? Particularly in smaller cities and towns. Didn't realize there was a bill that cleaned most of that up.
I remember going places where I couldn't actually 'go' - and having to find somewhere else in order to be able to ... |
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Weigookin74
Joined: 26 Oct 2009
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Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2015 12:36 am Post subject: |
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Cleary lots of you weren't here 10 years ago. Was far more barbaric so to speak. Korea's changed a lot compared to before especially the last few years. Korea has become far less xenophobic while Japan remains the same as always unchanged in this area. Quite surprising really. |
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Smithington
Joined: 14 Dec 2011
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Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2015 6:37 pm Post subject: |
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Otus wrote: |
On a related note (to the original article), does anyone else remember how bad some of those public bathrooms used to be? Particularly in smaller cities and towns. Didn't realize there was a bill that cleaned most of that up.
I remember going places where I couldn't actually 'go' - and having to find somewhere else in order to be able to ... |
This is the one area where Korea has made the greatest progress since I first arrived. When I first got here around 2000 the bathrooms were foul beyond description - third world bad. It just shows that, with some resolve, Korea's problems can be successfully addressed. I just wish they'd apply that same resolve to other areas requiring urgent attention (littering, spitting, traffic, etc.).
Someone mentioned that a law was passed and enforced. So passed laws can be enforced, and once enforced can make a big difference. |
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