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jajdude
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
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 Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 12:28 pm Post subject: I amazed a stranger(Korean of course) today |
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I was right there when I heard the usual comment in Korean, "Look, there's a foreigner." Followed by "Foreigners cannot speak Korean."
But it was right next to me.
Well, actually my korean ability is at a low level but those two comments are easy for me.
�ܱ��� �ѱ��� ��....
So I shot them directly back in Korean at the speaker just to amuse myself and prove the Korean wrong.
It felt good.
Then I said " By the way, how is your English, any good?" (in English)
Red face ensued, as the question was apparently not understood or was realized to be a reason for shame haha... 
You jerks, I never attended a Korean class in my life, and how many hours did you spend ....? |
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Qinella
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Location: the crib
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 12:55 pm Post subject: |
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I wonder what was the purpose of them saying that in the first place... perhaps they wanted to talk to you? Maybe they were noting the supposition that a foreigner can't speak Korean? How strange.
I amazed the hell out of some drunk guys on an elevator last week. The three of them were standing there looking at me during the gruelingly uncomfortable trip up, sporting concealed grins on their faces. One worked up the soju courage to say Hi to me, and I responded with:
�פĤĤĤ�.... �ʹ� ���� ���ָ� ���̾��?
They were like, yeaahh hehe... OH WAIT!! HAHAHA KOREAN!! HAHA VERY GOOD VERY GOOD VERY GOOD!!!
Very lame. Sorta disappointing. |
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jajdude
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 1:29 pm Post subject: |
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Ya know the average Korean assumes any foreigner knows zero korean.
Use that for fun whenever you can.
Mithridates or other fluent speakers can have a blast!
When I am drunk I speak this "crap" language somewhat well. And I rarley meet a Korean who can speak English better than my drunken Korean. |
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Cedar
Joined: 11 Mar 2003
Location: In front of my computer, again.
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 4:14 pm Post subject: |
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| If you think you speak better drunk than sober, there's a big problem. While soju can loosen the tongue, it also makes it harder to form coherent thoughts... I've heard foreigners "great drunken Korean" and it's embarassing. Please, don't be so sure you're speaking well. People may just be humoring you because you are drunk. |
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funplanet
Joined: 20 Jun 2003
Location: The new Bucheon!
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 4:30 pm Post subject: |
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I was on an elevator one day last summer, in an office building downtown, when 2 young Samsung warriors got on....
one turned to the other and said:
K1: I wish these dirty foreigners would go home.
K2: laughs
Me: (I reach over and push the emergency stop button and turn to the two young bucks)
You should really be careful what you say. Some dirty foreigners can understand what you say.
Look on their faces??? PRICELESSSSSSSS  |
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ajuma
Joined: 18 Feb 2003
Location: Anywere but Seoul!!
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 4:33 pm Post subject: |
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My Korean friend had the same/opposite problem on the bus the other day. The two foreigners were speaking English (of course) staying things that trashed Korea. Now, my friend speaks English really well and recently spent 6 months in the States. He didn't really want to confront them directly, so he decided to call me and talk on the phone in English so they would be aware that he COULD in fact understand everything they were saying.
So be aware!! Just because the people YOU know can't speak English well, it doesn't mean that EVERYONE has a low level!! If we expect this courtesy from Koreans, should WE return the favor??? |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 4:44 pm Post subject: |
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| At the same time, how many foreigners don't think the Koreans around them understand English and have no problem bad mouthing Korea while on a subway going through Gangnam... |
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mal
Joined: 21 Oct 2004
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 6:53 pm Post subject: |
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don't speak the language, really don't care what they're saying.
Why learn a language which is absolutely unusable anywhere else? Why bother? |
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the_beaver
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 7:36 pm Post subject: |
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| mal wrote: |
| Why learn a language which is absolutely unusable anywhere else? Why bother? |
That argument is the most useless of all. I mean, why breathe if you're going to die after a few decades, anyway? Why acquire anything if you can't take it with you?
It's not all about being utilitarian, it's about having fun and for some people having fun means learning another language. |
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komtengi
Joined: 30 Sep 2003
Location: Slummin it up in Haebangchon
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 8:44 pm Post subject: |
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| mal wrote: |
Why learn a language which is absolutely unusable anywhere else? Why bother? |
you really are a moron... how is it not used elsewhere? look at the Korean population outside of Korea, and the trading that is done with Korea
���� |
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keithinkorea
Joined: 17 Mar 2004
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 9:33 pm Post subject: |
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| komtengi wrote: |
| mal wrote: |
Why learn a language which is absolutely unusable anywhere else? Why bother? |
you really are a moron... how is it not used elsewhere? look at the Korean population outside of Korea, and the trading that is done with Korea
���� |
Yep a serious ���� comment. Learning the basics is very sensible even if you're here for a very short time, it makes life a lot less stressful.
What is funny is when I get in a taxi and tell them where I'm going in Korean and they say how good my Korean is. Or another example, it started hammering down with rain the other day and I'd neglected to bring my umbrella so I went into a store and asked the women in Korean where I might find the umbrellas in the store. Bought the umbrella, paid the bill without having to look at the readout above the till, thanked her and wished her a good night and noticed a Korean guy staring at me open mouthed. He said I spoke amazing Korean for a weygookin It was flattering, but all I did was purchase an umbrella!
I think the flattery is really just a strange sort of encouragment, Koreans really do appreciate people who are at least trying to learn their language, and that is fair enough. |
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Qinella
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Location: the crib
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| Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2005 5:38 am Post subject: |
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| ajuma wrote: |
My Korean friend had the same/opposite problem on the bus the other day. The two foreigners were speaking English (of course) staying things that trashed Korea. Now, my friend speaks English really well and recently spent 6 months in the States. He didn't really want to confront them directly, so he decided to call me and talk on the phone in English so they would be aware that he COULD in fact understand everything they were saying.
So be aware!! Just because the people YOU know can't speak English well, it doesn't mean that EVERYONE has a low level!! If we expect this courtesy from Koreans, should WE return the favor??? |
Ha! I was with a Korean friend one night sitting adjacent to a table with two agassis. He and I started talking in English about them, trying to decide if we should go sit with them, which one was prettier, did they seem interested in us, that sort of thing. Now, when I say they were adjacent, I mean literally, the only thing separating us was a lattice partition and maybe one meter of lateral space between bodies. So we finally got up to see if we could join them, and it turns out one of them spoke fluent English, and happened to be the one we decided wasn't that pretty. She didn't say anything about it or let on that she'd heard anything, but I felt silly f'sho. |
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jajdude
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2005 8:11 pm Post subject: |
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| Cedar wrote: |
| If you think you speak better drunk than sober, there's a big problem. While soju can loosen the tongue, it also makes it harder to form coherent thoughts... I've heard foreigners "great drunken Korean" and it's embarassing. Please, don't be so sure you're speaking well. People may just be humoring you because you are drunk. |
I understand you.
But in my case, I do speak korean well when drunk. I cannot speak it sober due to inhibitons.
The only time I ever have conversations with Koreans is when I am drunk. And they are usually amused to meet a waygookin who can speak a little Korean. They are not humoring me any more than I humor their poor English.
Broken chats are common too.
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Of course,
I do not say nasty things around Koreans because I know some understand English.
And I understand that most Koreans have never spoken much more than "hello" (in Korean) to a foreigner before.
But I think Koreans may be cool to realize that the few waygooks around may know a little.
A funny story was in the newspaper long ago. An Australian businesswoman was at a meeting in Korea, in English. Agter the meeting she heard 2 or 3 of them comment on her looks, big nose or whatever. So, as she was leaving, she asked them directions in Korean to go somewhere.
Brilliant.
People suck sometimes. It's fun when they get busted for sucking. |
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jajdude
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2005 10:00 am Post subject: |
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| funplanet wrote: |
I was on an elevator one day last summer, in an office building downtown, when 2 young Samsung warriors got on....
one turned to the other and said:
K1: I wish these dirty foreigners would go home.
K2: laughs
Me: (I reach over and push the emergency stop button and turn to the two young bucks)
You should really be careful what you say. Some dirty foreigners can understand what you say.
Look on their faces??? PRICELESSSSSSSS |
That is beautiful. |
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mithridates
Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Location: President's office, Korean Space Agency
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| Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2005 10:14 am Post subject: |
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| Hold on a second. Was she sure they were saying bad things about her? Big nose = beautiful. (over here) |
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