Korean Job Discussion Forums

[AndersonKrause111]

I've got to get this off my chest.

Since I've been here, I've seen at least one other white person every day. Two have waved, said hi, and continued on.

ALL the rest have acted shady as all hell. I'm talking head down, mumbling some reply to my hello, and leave as fast as possible. Jeez, all I wanted was a wave, maybe a smile, perhaps a hello.

All I'm saying is just because you're in Korea, and you see another foreigner, you don't have to automatically act like this. I've been here for two and a half weeks, and I've made friends with a few Koreans. However, even though I'm not necessarily looking for a friendship, there's no reason not to acknowledge another person like that.

People complain about being ignored and treated bad by Koreans, but in my admittedly short time here I've been treated much better by the Koreans than by the foreigners I've met.

I'm in Busan, near Yeonsang-9Dong. If anybody here is in the same area, quit being so shady. At least wave back.

[Harpeau]

Welcome to Korea. People who don't wave back aren't shady. they're just wondering why you're saying hi to them when the only thing that you have in common is the pigment of your skin. They don't know if you're an axe murderer or not.
just keep waving~ someone might wave back! (Waterboys tune).

Play hard!

[paperbag princess]

i don't get it either. i mean if you were walking in a jungle and you passed a person, wouldn't you say hello?

[PatrickSiheung]

Whenever I see another foreigner I feel the urge to say, "hello," because we're both waegooks in a foreign country. I usually resist that urge though because as someone said before... I wouldn't say hi to you in Canada unless I knew you, so maybe I shouldn't do it here.

I usually make eye contact though. If that other person looks back then I smile and nod, or if they are close enough I say, "hey."

It's actually pretty painless

[Manner of Speaking]

It's not a jungle.

It's not a club, either.

However, if somebody says hello I'll usually do the same....you never know, someday you might need their help, or they might need yours.

[J.B. Clamence]

If someone says hello to me, I would say hello back. However, I don't usually like to be bothered by strangers when I'm walking down the street. Just because I see another whitey doesn't mean I automatically want to know them. Let's face it -- a lot of people aren't worth knowing, and that's true whether you're back home or here in Korea. I don't understand why some people think that every foreigner here in Korea should be friends with one another just because we're in a foreign country. If you were put in a group with 100 random people back home, how many of them would you make friends with?

[kiwiboy_nz_99]

In a small town with very few waeguks I think it gives you enough in common to look for a connection, "Hey, we both live in Pohang!", but in Seoul or Busan it's just not enough common ground to have any significant meaning ... they're not being rude, they're just living thier life ...

[stevencollins]

Last week, I said hello to a fellow whitey, he made eye contact looked at me than quickly looked down and scurried away. Very weird. I was taught if someone says hi, you say hello back.

[I_Am_Wrong]

most of these answers are bs! Why shouldn't you be friends? Most teachers are terribly isolated and alone in a foreign country when they arrive and it plain sucks!!!! Why are you on this board? Because you share something with all the others on it and, thus, have things in common to talk about right? Just because you might not have everything in common doesn't mean you shouldn't be friends...you should be capable of being friends with people who have a wide variety of interests. I would say that those who don't respond to you when you say hi are probably social rejects and probably were social rejects in their home country. If I were in Busan and you said hi I would of course say hi back...it's common fucking courtesy. If you ever travel to Thailand or Indonesia or wherever people always meet and befriend strangers who are also travelling. Most likely other foreigners are probably just like you (young, educated, middle class and in search of a good experience in a new and foreign country) there is no reason to behave rudely! Peace.

[Juggertha]

If I was walking down the hallway of a school or store and someone walked by me I would nod politely or something. I look at this in a similar light.

[Manner of Speaking]

I'm not OBLIGATED to make friends with anybody. Politeness, yes, but the newness and 'isolation' is part of the adventure of being here. If someone is not ready to handle that, they shouldn't be here.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[Ryst Helmut]

Anderson,

Well, I see you're new on this board so you wouldn't know that we did this topic about a year (maybe 2+) ago....mixed results.

Basically....nah, nevermind.

I'd say 'allo' to ya if I passed you wherever...I've no bug up me aush.

!shoosh

Ryst

[dull artist]

It seems like everyone's trying to be too fu%&*ng cool here. Just say 'hi' back and then go be better than everyone else (and then after that be WAY better than everyone else on a message board). This place is like a Star Trek convention, dude, don't listen to these unfriendly motherfu$&ers.

[Mashimaro]

When I was teaching and unhappy it used to bug me seeing other foreigners out and about. Not sure why exactly. I hated hagwon life and projected on others I guess.

Now I'm 100% happier and doing something it doesn't bother me at all (I just want to point them in the direction of some clothes made this decade and replace their 15 year old tennis shoes)

still not big on saying hello to strangers but I certainly don't act 'shady' around them.