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Top 5 things you HATE about Korea...
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Newbie



Joined: 07 Feb 2003

PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 5:42 pm    Post subject: Top 5 things you HATE about Korea... Reply with quote

I like being in Korea, and overall it's a good place. But the love-in on the other thread makes me feel that some people are living in a fantasy world. So, trying not to be too negative, what are the things abou Korea you just can't stand.

1. The Food - bland, bland, bland. No variety.

2. The general rudeness of people - Every class I teach I do a few lessons on manners and how to better treat strangers

3. The us vs. them mentality - held by both "us" and "them" Cool

4. The lack of a truly vibrant, metropolis - Seoul lags so far behind other major cities around the world. Bland, bland, bland. No variety (although a nice night life)

5. The mal-treatment of women and foreigners - no, not me. I'm treated quite well. But, the "others".
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VanIslander



Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Location: Geoje, Hadong, Tongyeong,... now in a small coastal island town outside Gyeongsangnamdo!

PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 5:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

(1) the distance from family
(2) being an outsider
(3) the lack of lakes
(4) taxi drivers in Busan
(5) Dave's malcontents
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Yu_Bum_suk



Joined: 25 Dec 2004

PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 5:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

1. Uneasiness around foreigners.
2. Outrageous xenophobia of about 10% of the population.
3. Spitting and peeing in public.
4. Little children and their idiot parents.
5. Wongjongnims.

Fortunately, I've got myself in a situation where I only have to deal with 1-3.
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nicknack



Joined: 27 Oct 2005

PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 6:01 pm    Post subject: Why do you hate a malcontent? In response to Vanislender. Reply with quote

I'm a malcontent and I must say that I take the greatest offense at your comments.

How dare you? What are you doing in Korea anyway? Shouldn't you be back in your own first world country; back where happy and content people belong?

Korea is for miserable; hateful; semi psychotic; alchoholic expats and it always has been.

I mean who throws a cupcake, really. It's just not cricket!
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travel zen



Joined: 22 Feb 2005
Location: Good old Toronto, Canada

PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 6:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Funny.


I think Korea is a pretty cool place.

Xenophobia? Yes.

Bad treatment of black peoples? Hell Yes. Disgraceful.

The city itself is cool. Food is good and nutritious. Fun nightlife fo'sure.

I liked Korea, and I'm a black guy. Go to China and be amazed at the crap there.
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peppermint



Joined: 13 May 2003
Location: traversing the minefields of caddishness.

PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 6:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

my job- mainly for the fact that heat, toilet paper in the washrooms and communication about schedule changees are considered non essentials.

other than that, I don't bother Korea, Korea don't bother me.
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Mashimaro



Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: location, location

PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 6:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

trolls
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Ya-ta Boy



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994

PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 6:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
the love-in on the other thread makes me feel that some people are living in a fantasy world. So, trying not to be too negative


Were you concerned that negativity wasn't getting its due here at Dave's?
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billybrobby



Joined: 09 Dec 2004

PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 7:10 pm    Post subject: Re: Top 5 things you HATE about Korea... Reply with quote

Newbie wrote:


1. The Food - bland, bland, bland. No variety.


You can argue that there is no variety. But bland?? I guess when it's not eye-wateringly spicy, horribly vinegary, patently bizarre, or outright alive and writhing on your plate, Korean food is occasionally bland.

Anyways my top five:

1. Sexism - everything from the whorehouses to the fact that 90% of female college students major in fashion.
2. Pollution - the depressing haze, the strange skin rashes, the bronchial oddities that you cough up in the morning.
3. Superficiality - all the surgical monstrosities that inhabit korean pop culture horrify me.
4. Music - most pop music here is so bad that it steals a little bit of your soul every time you listen to it.
5. No good mexican food - nuff said.
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plattwaz



Joined: 08 Apr 2005
Location: <Write something dumb here>

PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 7:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The same-ness of everything.

4 new 7-storey commercial buildings have opened up in the past 3 weeks, all within eyesight of my home. Tennants are beginning to move in and the signs are going up. And guess what -- it's all the same stuff that we already have in the other 7 commercial buildings within eyestight!! Each building comes complete with:

2 PC rooms, a billiards room, 3 oriental doctors, 3 skin doctors, 2 hair shops (one Blue Club, one random place for women), a bakery, a Family Mart, a cafe, a galbi restaurant, a sushi restaurant, a hof, a "Pho Bay," 3 donkass restaurants, a norae-bang, and an ice-cream store.

Same. Same. Same. And same again. I'm soooo bored of it all.
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Qinella



Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Location: the crib

PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 7:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think HATE is too strong of a word, as there's nothing I truly hate in Korea. There are some things I dislike.

- My presence making people visibly uncomfortable and nervous.
- The lack of architectural beauty.
- Not much variety when shopping for things.

That's about it.
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steroidmaximus



Joined: 27 Jan 2003
Location: GangWon-Do

PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 8:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

man, it must be like, 4 months since a thread like this has surfaced. I was beginning to worry.

driving, green, variety, social interaction, pollution
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SPINOZA



Joined: 10 Jun 2005
Location: $eoul

PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 8:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've not come across anything I've HATED yet. And even if I did, I'd never make the leap from my own subjective experience to the generalization "I hate this about KOREA".

But one thing that does rather annoy me is the mundane dinner/lunch time chat. I'd much rather have uncomfortable silences whilst eating than have some boring question fired at me when I've got a mouth full of raw tuna. Depends who I'm with of course, but generally when I'm eating I'm hungry and just want to eat and shut the fook up. Once, me and colleagues went out for dinner and my friend's coteacher just wouldn't shut up for the whole time I was trying to eat and it just pis5ed me off to the max.

I like my co-teachers, but at lunch I'll get:

"James, you've only got 2 side dishes today"

"James, you've got the same sauce on both types of lettuce"

Yes, I know.

I don't like being looked at by restaurant owners/servers when I'm eating either like it's entertaining watching the white guy eat his San Gyop Sal, but that's relatively minor.
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Yu_Bum_suk



Joined: 25 Dec 2004

PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 8:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

SPINOZA wrote:
I've not come across anything I've HATED yet.


Really? Never walked around holding hands or arm-in-arm with a K-girl? You should try - most K-girls are as nice as they are weird.
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ChimpumCallao



Joined: 17 May 2005
Location: your mom

PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 9:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

1) pushing and shoving....general rudeness
2) inability of walking in a straight line or extend the courtesy of moving out of someone's way
3) nightime subway smell of booze, pork and vomit.
4) busywork
5) low quality goods at expensive prices.

these are honestly the only things that kinda bug me here...only #1 are #2 are things I HATE...the rest is meh...
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