Korean Job Discussion Forums

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

This is because someone asked...so I thought I would share for all to add comments.

THE GREAT WALL OF WHINER'S GUIDE TO SMOKING IN KOREA:

You can buy cigarettes in Korea for as low as 300Won and as expenive as 2200Won. Domestics usually are cheaper than imports.

Generally, women do not smoke as much as men do. It is socially unacceptable for women to smoke. I have known personally Korean women who have been hit, yelled at, have their hair pulled, etc. because they are female and smokers.

Women who do smoke usually do so in private places (rooftops, behind buildings, etc.) or inside coffee shops or bars. You will NOT see a Korean woman smoking on the streets in Korea. If you do, it will be a once-in-a-million thing (outside of Itewon).

Itewon is an exception where most people their are used to social taboos happening all the time. Korean girls "may" smoke on the street in this area, but still it is not common.

The age to purchase cigarettes legally in Korea is 19 in KOREAN age. This means they could be 18 or even 17 in our western frame of birthday thinking.

Unlike Japan, I have never seen a cigarette vending machine in Korea.

I have seen Korean students under 19 smoking in public washrooms. The biggest shocker was 3 young girls and 1 older boy who obviously was the cigarette provider. When I entered the washroom, they ran into the staircase at which point they were yelled at by the owner of the PC Bang for smoking.

Korean men smoke everywhere. Washrooms, staircases, hallways, PC rooms, inside, outside. cars, trains.....the list is endless. Here is one funny example: On a train, waiting in line to use the washroom. A man lights up. An older woman tells him not to smoke and points to a sign that reads "don't smoke". At that point, he points to an ashtray and retorts, "What's your problem? Why is there an ashtray here? Huh?? Lady, mind your own business!"

Everytime I ask someone for a light, I look for someone who looks younger than me. Why? In Korea, it is rude to ask an older man for a light. This is because it is rude to bother older people with your request for flame. They have better things to do. Maybe they are busy. Who knows? Bottom line: the older you are, the more power you have.

All the cigarettes in Korea are of the "King Size" variety, which means if you have a cigarette case and they only hold the regular size, you are S.O.L.

Korean men spit in ashtrays. It reminds me of the old west with spatoons in the bars. The aroma of Korean saliva mixed with lung butter and cigarette butts sure is a wonderful smell after 10 beers...

Generally, the streets are clear of cigarette butts. It is taboo to litter a cigarette end on the ground. We in the west just finish our smoke, huck it on the ground, and stomp on it. Koreans flick the end of the cigarette so the burning cherry comes off, and carry the dead smoke to a waste bin or when no one is looking, they stuff it in a crack in a wall or drop it in a sewer grate etc. Some litter it. But it is not common.

Many foreigners use PC rooms to communicate with friends, family, or just pass time. this rooms often smell like factories of buring tobacco mainly because most people are smoking. I have seen one non-smoking pc room in Seoul. It was in the Apkujeong area, and seeing as I smoke, I did not stay or bother to remember the name. I did take note however how dead it was...(literally..not even one customer). Non-smoking westerners I would imagine detest pc rooms for this reason.

[little mixed girl]

...

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

You can, but it involves speaking perfect Korean, gaining Korean citizenship, running for (and gaining) a seat in public office, and pursueding your colleagues to enforce tough laws that inhibit the proliferation of smoking in Korea.

Good luck.

[The Lemon]

She's got my vote. Well, she would if I could vote here.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[Corporal]

[eamo]

I love to smoke so Korea is paradise for me. It's refreshing to get away from the shame western countries heap on smokers.

Only problem is, as GWOW says, it's not nice to just chuck your butt on the pavement. I resolved this by chucking my butts in the gutter.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

UrbanMyth/Corporal wrote: [paraphrased]

[Son Deureo!]

Korea is what finally prompted me to quit after smoking a pack a day for over 10 years.

At first I loved the cheap smokes and being able to smoke anywhere I damn well pleased without any hassles. I even learned to appreciate the water in the ashtrays. It was a refreshing change after the self-righteousness of non-smokers in the U.S. combined with the exploitative ever-rising "sin" taxes.

But in Korea the cheap, plentiful cigarettes combined with the air pollution were wreaking absolute havoc with my respiratory system. If I caught a cold the symptoms lasted at least a month. I had a cough that just wouldn't go away. I was frightened by what those coughs were bringing up every single day. It hurt to breathe. Surrounded by ajosshis hacking up mucus everywhere I went made me wonder if I was looking at my future, hoarking in the street.

Maybe something even worse was waiting down the road for me if I'd kept it up.

I don't think I ever could have quit while I was teaching kids. I may well have snapped and hit a kid on the job if I'd tried. So I quit between contracts, while surrounded by $5 a pack smokes in the US. It's now almost 6 months and counting. This isn't the first time I've quit, or the longest I've gone without smoking before. But I'm really hoping that this time I've quit for good.

I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I still crave them, and miss the feeling of a smoke after dinner, or with coffee or a cocktail.

But I feel better than I've felt in years. And it's getting easier every day.

[em]

What about foreign women smoking - likely to be hit?

[Soursop]

[matthews_world]

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

Soursop wrote:

[schwa]

There have been new regulations in place for schools, hospitals, small restaurants, pc bangs & other public places in place for a few months now (which everyone ignored) & which step up july 1st to include fines. I'm guessing nothing much will change in this nation of scofflaws beyond a slightly greater consideration of nonsmokers' wishes. But the vice is beginning to tighten on those of us with the vice.

[The Bobster]