Korean Job Discussion Forums

[djsmnc]

Turned away from a galbi restaurant?? Wow...must be REALLY ugly!

[kiwiboy_nz_99]

[pecan]

What you described can be considered good business practice as well!

Get as much as you can from the one-time customers and pass the savings on to the locals.

Nut

[Teufelswacht]

Pet Lover

Ahhhh, a little more information about what happened. That always helps in understanding any incident. By the way, did the Korean family that walked in call ahead and so the owners were holding some meat back for them? I know of many Korean families/groups that will typically call ahead to ensure they get served quickly, etc.. Were they related to the owners? The restaurant is only open in the evenings and late night and this happened at 6:00pm. Did they just open up when you and your coworker arrived or had they been open for a while, do you think? If they had been open for some time, would it be fair to say they were open afternoons, evenings and late nights?

Were there any incidents in the past involving foreigners at the restaurant that may have given them a bad impression of foreigners in general?

I am not in any way doubting the incident you described. I find it troublesome to say the least. I have spent some time in your town and have received nothing but exemplary service from the restaurants and other establishments in the city. That's why I am so interested I guess.

But you are right, if they don't want your money, the heck with them. Find another place in your town, and there are many, many others, that will be happy to serve you. Though I would be very interested in knowing the restaurants name. I do know that the city does solicit complaints from foreigners/tourists about local restaurants and then approaches the owner to find out what is going on. If a place receives a number of complaints they do get warnings/visits/inspections from the city concerning their attitude toward foreigners and/or tourists. It has to do with wanting to be the "International City" blah, blah, blah thing. My wife and I complained about the size versus cost of a meal. We were called back by the people at city hall saying they had contacted the owner of the restaurant and informed them that a complaint had been filed. The lady at city hall also called to ask if we wanted the free meal at the subject restaurant that was offered by the owner. I guess they were encouraged to apologize and try to make it right. We declined, of course. If it happens again, and you are with a Korean speaker, calmly let the owner know that you will be talking to city hall about their restaurant, and walk away. It may get their attention.

Anyway, PL hope you found a good place to eat! Take care.

[kiwiboy_nz_99]

[pet lover]

This post serves no purpose.

[Teufelswacht]

Pet Lover

You are correct. It was a pretty lame excuse they gave. It is also pretty funny.

Many times on this board I read about incidents where a poster claims to be the victim of discrimination or racism. And yet, upon reflection, it is possible to come up with other possible explanations for the actions of the Korean involved. Of course, there is discrimination and racism here. No doubt about it. However, many times I wonder if incidents described were the result of racism or a simple misunderstanding and/or miscommunication.

Take care.

[queencarmie]

I would be happy if I got No Megook for a change. I always get NO RUSSIA!!! WTF??? A prime example of this is trying to buy pens at Office Nex, they looked at me, saw my school bag (with the name of my hagwon on it) and deduced that I solicite sex.... the powers of observation were astounding.

[crazylemongirl]

I've come to the conclusion that koreans are basically totally schizo when it comes to dealing with white non koreans (I don't think my expereinces are anything like those who are white).

1. I'll get called a *beep* if there is any hint of cleveage showing and guys think its' ok to grab my chest. (bad). Yet I've used a low cut top to negotiate a good price on a camera at technomart (and got a better price than the korean who was with me at the time).

2. I can only legally work for one employer and if I want leave a bad situation I can't without leaving the country (bad) yet as a blonde haired blue eyed canadian women in her mid 20s I'll have no trouble picking up work in this country.

3. People have refused to sit down on me on the subway or will stand up and move awy at the first chance. Yet I've been offered a seat just cause I'm white.

4. I've been turned away from some places. But the places that I'm regular at like to give me service regularly.

In short of the countries I've been to Koreans have treated me the best and the worst. Sometimes I wonder if it's what makes life interesting here.

[jaderedux]

[kiwiboy_nz_99]