Korean Job Discussion Forums

[periwinkle]

I'm not just talking about just here, but also while travelling to foreign countries. I used to work in a high-end restaurant in Boston, and we always had Swiss Air crews come in that knew about our tipping system, but they didn't care one bit about it. It infuriated me, as well as the other servers. Cultural insensitivity. Anyway, I don't want this to be a thread about US tipping culture.

I've only tried to play that game once, and it completely backfired. I was on a bus, it was rush hour, and I was late for a private. Well, there was a psycho on the bus, getting in everyone's face, and threatening people. Tthe bus driver stopped the bus and called the cops, and everyone just stayed put. I didn't fully understand the situation, so I got up and made a move to get off the bus (I figured I'd get a taxi). I really didn't know if people were supposed to stay or not, and I wrestled with the idea of sucking it up and staying on the bus, or missing a private that I had already spent a considerable amount of time and energy preparing for.

I figured no big deal, I'll just get off, but then I became the new target for the psycho. Well, that wasn't a smart decision on my part. I should've just followed everone else's cue and waited for the cops to remove the woman from the bus.

Any other stories?

[RACETRAITOR]

I have an odd one from a year ago. My friend Paul and I were in Dongdaemoon and decided to explore some abandoned buildings. A perfectly innocent hobby for some wholesome kids like us.

We went up a few floors of a building that looked like it had been burnt out, and on the way down we saw a sign with only one word in English: CCTV. We hurried off, not wanting to be around, as it was a busy day and there were people everywhere.

A police car pulled into the alley behind us, and Paul was shiatting himself. I told him to stay calm and keep walking like nothing had happened. I constructed the alibi that we'd been looking for a washroom and had no idea where we were. There may or may not have been English "No Trespassing" signs but I really can't remember.

Anyway, the police car pulled up right behind us and turned on its siren. I moved to the side of the alley to let it pass, and the cop saw at that point that I was a foreigner. He drove past us, shaking his head and chuckling to himself.

Here are the pictures I got, by the way:
http://indecline.net/korea/digital/UE.html

[mateomiguel]

haha, ALL THE TIME. I even played the clueless noobie card in America. Its amazing what cops, construction workers, and service personnel will let you do when they think you're stupid.

[HapKi]

Every time I've been pulled over.

Me: "Hello Officer. What seems to be the problem?"
Officer: "�ȳ���.... " (waves hand to send me on my way.)
Me: "HAVE A NICE DAY."

I've gotten the hand wave ever time.

[seoulsucker]

I had a similar experience on a bus, except the guy whipped out a butcher knife and started slashing at another dude. He jumped off the bus, ran up to another bus, got on, and started doing the same thing to someone else.

When the police came, naturally they asked people on the bus what I had to do with it (being the only foreigner there), and when I said, "Narang sangwan oepseo," they gave me the third degree.

From that day forth, I made a solemn vow to never speak Korean to any authority figure when there's a chance you might get pegged for something. I could have been holding the knife and covered in blood and said, "What? I don't understand!" They probably wouldn't have even given me a hard time.

Okay, that's a bit overboard, but you get the idea.

Unless there's a chance that I might be misunderstood or have to answer to an authority figure, I usually work it out in Korean.

[BigBlackEquus]

I played it today on the subway. A group of rowdy kids bullied their way into the subway. I was a little perturbed by their over-anxious questions in totally awful English. Two adults were with them, and one of the kids pulled out a white board and a marker, and wrote a question asking my name in Korean.

It was then that it hit me, as I spied several hearing-aids perched on ears -- these kids were deaf!

I softened up, and began to converse/write Korean on the board. We tried English/Korean speech, but it was tough, man! They, and the parents, were tickled. We had a nice chat, of sorts, for about 3 stations, and I had to leave. Inwardly, I wondered if they would ever get a chance to converse with a native speaker of English again.

The experience was a little sad, but nice. I was happy that they all had friends/classmates to share, and learn to overcome, their special challenge with.

[Lizara]

This morning I was on my way to school. I have a rather sore throat and can't really talk, but my hagwon doesn't see why that would hinder me from teaching eleven classes. Guess what, kids! It's PUZZLE day! *sigh* but that's another rant. Anyway, this guy started staring at me and then said hello and tried to talk to me, and I acted clueless.

so yeah. Generally I do it any time when I'm in a hurry or just not in the mood to attempt communication. I don't think I've ever had to use it to get out of trouble.

[Hater Depot]

[davai!]

Even though I may as well have "American" stamped across my forehead, I successfully skirted an LDS Missionary on the Busan subway by speaking only Russian to him. It was really hard to keep a straight face.

[Kenny Kimchee]

Ahh, the stupid foreigner card, one of the best weapons in our arsenal. It gets more powerful as you learn more of the language, allowing you to develop a kind of stealth "selective understanding." I've been in Japan for almost three years and can now understand about 30% of what they say in the teacher's room at JHS. Sometimes they'll say "We have to (insert tedious and/or unpleasant activity here)" and I'll think "Whoa, I don't want to do that!" and out comes the stupid foreigner card.

[thorin]

[RACETRAITOR]

I was at an outdoor hardcore show a couple weeks ago, and some woman came over to try and sell me some sort of Christian book in English. I told her, "Sorry, I can't read" and she walked away.

[khyber]

daily....
and so there aren't any really great stories.
sometimes i put on a texan accent. Then they REALLY don't bother.

[VanIslander]

Trivia Q: Who was it who humorously said: "Play the race card. Play it!... PLAY IT!!"

[Hollywoodaction]