Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Butterfly]

What is the name of the gym and where is it?

[Gideon]

I will get that information asap...

Thanks for the help everyone..

[Homer]

[Butterfly]

There is something odd about this story. The OP tells us of this club in which he was refused a membership, despite his money being just as good as anyone else's. Later however, he cannot remember the name or location of the club. Possible I suppose, if he is not a strong reader of Korean.

I'm not suggesting he is lying, I'm just saying that there is something we don't know. So, if he doesn't read Korean, he may have missed some nuance in the explanation of why he couldn't join.

Because to me it seems strange that a club would refuse membership to someone, especially a foreigner, since there are always Korean people (as many here endlessley bleat about) who relish the opportunity to practice their English, and meet a foreigner. For the most part, certainly where I go to work out, a foreigner is a plus point for the club, it adds a certain cosmopolitan class to the place. It doesn't make sense to bar entry to foreigners.

So in refusing his membership I wonder about the following.

1. The reception that day was being attended by some lazy-arse albeit who couldn't be bothered to deal with the foreigner who just showed up. (His girlfriend just left him, and he has just had an accident in his trousers?)

2. There is some special reason why this club is for specific people (gay? football, tennis club? etc) which would have been too complex to explain in English, soloution being ~ 'no foreigners' (PC, as we all know, does not exist in Korea).

3. They didn't like the cut of the OP's jib. (He's got 'Made in Darlington' tattooed across his throat, and he's wearing a Judas Priest T-shirt and a pair of yellow dungarees)

IIII don't know, I would like to hear a bit more though, about what happened exactly.

[bellum99]

I really think you should just say "Who cares" and move on with your life. People suck everywhere and you should not be surprised that a Korean business is racist.

[saharzie]

I dont doubt the ops post. I got refused entrance to a gym last year. I told a guy I worked with who could not believe it and he tried to join (he can speak decent Korean). He was also refused entry. He asked the manager why and he said the other customers did not want foreigners in the gym. He asked one of the customers who walked out if he cared if a foreigner joined the gym and he said no. Then the manager started getting pissed off and ushered him out.

Was I pissed off? not really. Do you care what the monkeys in the zoo think of you?
Find another gym and get on with your life.

[Ya-ta Boy]

I stand by my first response. Call the Ministry of Justice. Try some of the phone numbers Real Reality posted, especially the Tourism place. Then start writing letters to the Korean language newspapers.

While nothing much will probably happen this time, sooner or later one of them is going to catch on that there is a problem. Reputation, or face if you will, is a highly regarded thing here. Getting the name of your business known for a negative action will eventually hurt. Things will change. Lots of Koreans really want this country to become a hub, and they know that this kind of behavior will only hurt that goal.

[Gideon]

Your right, i can't read Korea. So that would explain why i don't know the name of the gym. I do however have the phone number. Why?? because it was on the signage.. Ok also to update my situation I had my boss (korean) call the gym on my behalf and asked him if i could join. They told him no because they don't accept foreigners.. he asked them why and they said its our policy. After my boss pressed on a bit more the worker told him he would ask the owner if i could join.

Doesn't matter i really don't care anymore. I have found a new gym that i can join. Not as good as the first one but it will do for the mean time.

As for the phone number 031-225-1887. If you live in Suwon and would like to join this gym please feel free to contact them.. Good luck

[Homer]

Since you joined another gym then it is pretty much a moot point as the gym that refused you shot themselves in foot by losing a paying customer.

[rapier]

I was refused membership of one gym due to my tattoo (ooohh scary gangster). Believe it or not, the reason they gave was that it might dirty the water of the swimming pool, which was part of the complex..
My boss at the time pleaded on my behalf, but to no avail- I think even he was surprised at it.
But more gyms will welcome you than refuse you, I've found.

[Us in DC]

I have all but stopped posting on this site because of all the negativity and useless responses I see. I chose this thread to voice it because it is a perfect example of someone bringing up a ligitimate example of a cultural issue that may affect someone who is thinking about or on their way to becoming a teacher in Korea.

The OP has an issue and is looking for some feedback. Simple as that.

Much of the response is completely empty of fact, reason, help or anything other than someone looking for an opportunity to put some else down. The only thing that some of these posts communicate is that the poster needs to spend a little less time in front of a computer trying to rip into a total stranger and a little more time looking in the mirror and trying to figure out why it is that they suck so bad.

My biggest apprehension about leaving for Korea in a few short weeks is all the miserable people over there who do nothing but eat, live, shit and breathe negativity. Are there really that many of you or does it just seem that way from this board?

Let me give an example of what I am talking about:

Rapier's post - helpful, thanks.
Rawiri's post - not helpful, go away, find a punching bag or a good therapist

My point is this: this board is not your own personal outlet to put people down. It's a place for people to have mature discussions about issues as they relate to the topic.

Now go on and flame away...

[Gideon]

Thanks Us in Dc... My point exactly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[davyteacher]

Where in Korea is the gym, Seoul or Busan. Just wondering.

[J.B. Clamence]

I don't understand how some people can think it's irrational to want to complain about being discriminated against because of your race. Maybe you wouldn't bother, and that's fine if that's your choice, but I think eventually things will be better off if these issues are confronted rather than ignored.

Over a century ago, The U.S. started to take on hordes of immigrants, mostly from Europe (Italy, Ireland, etc.), but some from Asia as well. At that time, the country was new to the idea of having large numbers of non-English speaking foreigners in the country. The result was that those foreigners were often treated very badly, such as being denied jobs and entrance into certain establishments. The country has not completely perfected it's flaws, but it has come a very long way since those times. How? By being forced to have to deal with the issues at hand. The same is true for the advances in civil rights for other groups, such as Blacks.

Korea is now in those early stages of just beginning to have to deal with these issues. Of course, this is the 21st century, so they already have a better idea of how to deal with foreigners than the U.S. did back in the late 1800s, but they obviously do not treat foreigners as fairly as in the U.S. because they're new to this situation, and it will take time. But in order to get there, of course, these issues have to be dealt with. Complaints should be made, and attention should be paid to the faults of the society.

After all, what was the correct advice that should have been given to the civil rights pioneers who successfully managed to overturn segregation in the South within a decade, and to gain access to better higher education for Blacks almost overnight? Would you have told Rosa Parks to go to the back of the bus and forget about it? Would you have told those who sat-in at the Woolworth's lunch counter in North Carolina to find a different lunch counter, since that lunch counter wouldn't serve blacks? Would you have told the group of students who went to the Supreme Court to force the University of Alabama to grant admission to Blacks to just find a different university? Maybe that's what you would have done, and that's fine if that's the way you prefer to play it, but I don't think you should criticize someone for wanting to stand up for what is right. After all, if those people hadn't done what they did, Blacks in Alabama might very well still be sitting at the back of the bus, and the University of Alabama might still be a "whites only" institution.

And I know some people may say that it is wrong for us to force our "values" on Koreans by saying that they should use the same anti-discrimination policies that we use in the West. Well, I don't happen to agree with that. I don't care what culture or country you are from -- Racism and discrimination are wrong, and trying to correct those problems is not a form of forcing your values. It's called human rights, and if you believe in human rights, then you must already concede that some "values" must be accepted universally, and if not the value of anti-discrimination, then what? And if you don't believe in human rights, well, that's a different story I guess.

[rawiri]

[quote="Us in DC"]

Rapier's post - helpful, thanks.
Rawiri's post - not helpful, go away, find a punching bag or a good therapist

quote]



Hey Buddy....you want examples of real discrimination....i can give ample...whiteys coming over here and boo hooing about not being allowed into a gym or being yelled at by a drunken ajosshi....oh my goodness you poor little dears...please let me wipe the snot from your little button noses...give you a kiss on the cheek and a little pat on the bum and send you off into that bad bad world again.

US...don't bother coming here...you won't like it...koreans hate most foreigners and especially yanks...thats the truth...so bad effing luck...bow out of your contract now...either that or grow a pair of balls sometime in the next couple of weeks.

good luck!