Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Koreabound2004]

Does anyone else have crazy experiences whenever they go to the post office?

I have been 3 times since living here, and each time it has been an ordeal.

The first time, I wrote too much on my postcards, and they got all worked up about where to put the stamps. OMG, where???

The second time same issue, so I took the stamps into my own hands and the glue(no stamp lickers here). I had many postcards to send from Seoul, and little time to do it. So I took the glue and started pastin' away.

Problem was that in my fury, I squeezed too hard, and got glue all over their nice marble counter and my hands. They looked at me like I was insane, gave me toilet paper(of course) to clean it up. In the end I had toilet paper stuck to all of the glue on my fingertips, and I had to cover much of what I wrote with 3 huge a$$ stamps(cause oh, I took the last of the big single stamps).....one would think that they would have a lot of stamps in a BIG Seoul post office. Oh ya, they did, found them after I glued them all over my cards....So finished, ran out with my toilet paper covered fingers...hope they enjoyed them back home. Word of advice, don't write more than 5 lines on postcards, they will freak....

Yesterday, I went to buy Christmasu Kadus...another ordeal. They keep them in a big vaulted safe.....The lady kept counting them wrong...giving us the wrong cards, and then when another lady intervened she got all hostile.... and started to handle all the cards crazily. She had a psycho moment..cards were getting bent, it was ugly, and all the while, everyone just stared....I hate the post office.

So now I am scared to go mail the cards......

[Swiss James]

they had Christmas Cards? I only ever seem to find New Years cards in the one I go to, all year round. Luckily they give me a piece of paper to stick in the middle so I can write "Happy Easter!" or whatever on it.

[Mashimaro]

I had to go out somewhere near mokdong to pick up a
relatively expensive package from australia. They asked
me if the contents of the package were new, and I truthfully
said they weren't. It was something my friend had no further use for.

After much humming and hawing and treating me like they didn't believe me, they charged me 60,000 won tax to receive my package...WTF!

Rather stupidly and just wanting my package rather than them detaining it I paid the 'tax' and left. I should have gone with a korean, they might have helped me avoid this rip off.

I guess they thought it was new and it was import tax or something. but if that is the case they could have told me the reason. ��ģ�Ѿ�����!

[adventureman]

[captain kirk]

Yes. There was this one guy, who gone to college and passed his civil services exam to get his post office receptionist job, but was a real, self-serious, bored out of his mind pill. One day I was sending an international money order by EMS and being secretive/discreet about what was inside, because it's money, and everybody wants money, including the postie. So he looked highly suspicious, and suspected I was sending money home, 'but your country wants to tax it!'. So I just go to another post office. I like the post office, generally, a lot.

[mindmetoo]

I actually have packages delivered to the school with an obvious school addy. Educational materials seem to be exempt from import tax. I figure they'll just assume the stuff in the box is for educational purposes.

[captain kirk]

I get alot of packages, stuff I've ordered. Get it sent to the school, with the WJN's cell number as a contact phone number under the address. It's just easier for the postie. The packages get walked in, there's somebody to call if they have a problem. The boss can sort out with customs the duty, if applicable. If I put my apt. address there'd be a notice to pick up the package at the post office. Or they'd leave it outside my door while I'm at the haggie.

[Dawn]