Korean Job Discussion Forums

[camelina]

So... we have all had it done. Many times I'm sure. Walking down the street of your town, enjoying the beautiful day. When all of a sudden you get a crowd of giggles and "hi" "hello" "hahahahahhahahaha hi" and even the occasional "puck you hahahahahahaha". Usually I just shrug it off and roll my eyes.

But today... my boyfriend and I decided to have some fun. We were finishing up lunch in the local Galbi restaurant and walked outside. As we are leaving this huge group of children maybe 20 or so starts yelling the usual stuff at us. So we decided to follow them, and see what they do. The children were still walking and looking back and giggling, so we decide to walk faster, puff up our chests and look angry as we got closer and closer. The kids start to run.

Then we stop off in Buy the Way to pick up some chocolate and soju. And not too much to our surprise, were two children peering at us from the outside. Giggling. We walk out and decide to have some fun.

We follow the children. Again looking angry and scarey. Down the street, through alley's.... they were definately trying to lose us now.

Then they run into a building, and the girl was screaming in terror.

Seriously.

I know it sounds harsh to pick on little children. But i was just left thinking of the arrogance and complete ignorance of these kids. If i were 10 years old and saw 2 foreigners walking by, never ever would i cause such a scene.

What do you think about this?

[JacktheCat]

It's just children being children.

You have to realise that Korean children are brought up by their parents and the media believing that foreigners are of lower intelligence than Koreans. They don't have the life experience yet to see this is not true.

They're just acting like any children would if they meet a mentally challanged person.

[mercury]

Next time carry an old rusty axe with you!

[Ya-ta Boy]

With all the negative publicity foreigners are getting lately, including that they are in Korea to molest children, are you sure chasing kids in the streets is wise?

Little Min-Soo gets home and complains to mommy that big ugly foreigners were chasing him in the street. What do you think mom and dad are going to think? What would your parents have thought if you had come home with that story when you were a kid?

What you do is your own business, but you might want to consider how other people might interpret your actions in this current atmosphere.

[mercury]

Ya-ta boy is right. Don't carry a rusty axe.

[camelina]

Actually, we did speak to the parents... with their broken English and our terrible Korean, we managed to kind of get our point across.

I don't think its children being children, its an ignorance that parents shouldn't allow.

I hope not only we frightened the children bu also angered the parents condemning their precious little gems.

[captain kirk]

I think (you asked what does the forum think about terrorizing children tit for tat) it's rather insane to be running around after kids the way they run around after foreigners sometimes, except squared and for emphasis. And more kooky to be trying to explain in pigdin English, to Korean adults, why you two Frankensteins are lumbering around after the kiddies.

Exemplary equation here. If one tries to give back twice the crazy nuttiness one gets (or so it seems) that there's some big funky mungo craziness we're talkin', hoo boy....

[bosintang]

[the_beaver]

I'm feeling a little bad about this whole hello thing today.

A couple of weeks ago a used appliance store opened down the street from my place and almost every time I walked by I heard a hello from the open door which I didn't respond to. But I did think it was remarkable that the same friggin' kid was just inside the same friggin' door almost everytime I walked by -- I'm kind of glad I didn't respond with my customary *beep* off because today I walked by and the kid was outside and he's all palsied up and sitting in a wheelchair and really has nothing much to do but look out the open door at people walking by.

[jinglejangle]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

I think it's hard for people from a multicultural environment to understand just how unusual and potentially scary people who look different can be. Case in point: I grew up in a suburb that had lots of East Asians, but basically no black people. My mom had worked in Haitai, and one day when I was about five a former co-worker of hers dropped by with a van load of Hatian girls who were part of some kids choir or something. I was absolutely terrified of them, especially when the all wanted to pick me up and play with me. There was no rational explanation for my behaviour, apart from that I had never played with black children before. If I had been out on the playground with all my white and a few Asian friends in this neighbourhood, and a black man had walked by, would we have run up to the fence to stare? Most likely, I think. If he had responed by chasing us I think it would have had a pretty bad effect on our long-term view of black people.

It's when Korean adults show the same disposition that I start to get really annoyed.

[gypsyfish]

And you're how old?

They're Korean kids being Korean kids. Does this happen to westerners in other Asian countries? Yes. Does this happen to Asians in some western countries? I doubt to the degree that it does to us here, but so what?

Thanks for making it harder for everyone else.

Grow up.

[dogbert]

It's funny...normally you'd think that someone who posted photos of themselves blowing some dude on the Internet is someone who actively seeks public attention. Maybe those kids recognized you.

[camelina]

Ya maybe they did dogbert.

[Swiss James]

I think you acted like a proper *beep*.