Korean Job Discussion Forums

[two roads]

Yesterday I was on my way home, about 2 pm on a Sunday afternoon. I'm walking along a busy street. A stranger steps out of a side street and starts walking down the street in front of me. It doesn't register at first, but suddenly I realize that he's covered in blood. All over his head, neck, hands, and his arms up to his sleeves are deep cuts with blood pouring out. I don't know what to do. I know about ten words of Korean, and "Are you all right?" are not in those ten. He's making pretty good time staggering down the street, and in about a block he's going to run into about fifty Koreans doing their Sunday afternoon walking/shopping, so I decide to see what they'll do. The first person to pass him gives him a strange look but does nothing. Then he stops at an open door and starts talking to the people inside. I figure he'll probably be okay so I walk past him. When I look back he has someone talking to him, so I don't worry.
So, my question is, if I'm ever in a situation where there aren't a bunch of Koreans around, what are the customs/laws regarding helping strangers? Back home, I would have called emergency services, but how are things in Korea? Also, does 119 speak English?

[periwinkle]

Hmm- 85 hits and no one's answered, so I'll take a shot at it. From what I've heard on this board and from friends who have called the police, no, they don't speak English, and no, you won't get patched through to an interpreter (in case you're thinking that's what may possibly happen).

Was he in a traffic accident, or a knife fight ? Not much you can do. Leave it to the locals. If it were back home, I don't think I'd get involved, either (besides to call 911)- if the guy's covered in blood, I wouldn't touch him (HIV risk). You don't know his mental status, and he could have a knife (since he's got cuts all over the place) and cut you. Not worth it.

[seoulsucker]

Keep your nose clean.

I had a friend who was detained for nearly 4 hours because he attempted to help a guy who had been beaten senseless. The guy had short-term memory loss, couldn't remember what happened or who did it to him, and the police turned to the one sure-fire lead they had.

Apparently, depsite the fact that CSI is on almost every night, the investigators couldn't understand the concept of NOT wanting to call the police after you've just commited an assault that is borderline attempted murder.

[kermo]

In the case of heavy bleeding, time is of the essence.

I experienced something like this last month in Gangnam. A guy was passed out at the bus stop, on the ground with his back against a tree. Suddenly, he shifted and fell backwards, knocking his head against the curb and falling partially into the street. Not wanting him to be smooshed by a bus or a taxi, I knelt down to help him back up onto the sidewalk. After touching him I realized I had blood on my hands and sleeves-- he had cracked his head pretty good on the edge of the concrete. I pulled him up on the sidewalk, tried to make him comfortable and made sure the bleeding was under control. A student and an ajoshi both saw what I was doing, and one of them called an ambulance. We stayed with the man, who remained unconscious, until the ambulance arrived so we could explain what happened. Korean folks seemed pretty surprised that I would do this. Not sure if it's unexpected from a foreigner, or just "not done."

What would I have done with this guy?
Well, my Korean *does* include the phrase "Are you okay?" but regardless, I would have flagged down the next Korean person I saw, pointed to the guy, and indicated that someone needed to call a doctor. If the bleeding was too severe, I would have grabbed a taxi, pulled the guy into it, and said "Hospital" (in Korean.) You might get away with English in this case if the taxi driver isn't too freaked out by the blood. While in the taxi, check the guy's cuts and try to use tourniquets above the wound or pressure if it's bad.
As for the risks- unless I have open wounds, the HIV risk is minimal, especially in Korea. Maybe he has a knife, but that probably wouldn't have crossed my mind (besides, if I had called a doctor or were on the way to the hospital, they could patch me up while they were at it.)

I'd rather intervene, for better or for worse, than kick myself afterwards for standing by while someone bled to death.

[kermo]

[RACETRAITOR]

By any chance, was this anywhere near Guro? My woman witnessed the aftermath of a stabbing in a Chinese market in Namguro.

[ttompatz]

It is all well and good to help but...

Just remember that the good samaritan laws from home do NOT apply here in Korea. There is NO legal protection for you.

If you call 119 then you are fine. They do have translators during the DAY - bankers hours.

If you do more, then you may be subject to penalty and paying "blood money" even if you were NOT the cause of the problem in the first place. You MAY be looked on as the problem just because you are the foreigner and can't tell them what happened.

[two roads]

Thank you very much for all of your advice.

No, this wasn't near Guro.

I think that in situations like this you have to evaluate yourself, the other person, and the situation, and then make a decision based on that. In this situation, where there were plenty of tall, male, Korean-speaking Koreans there to help, I think that I did the right thing to stay out of it. If the injured person had been a woman (like me), or an English speaker (like me), or if there was no one else around to help, I would have felt like they needed my help more and I would have done something. I guess it all depends on the situation.

Thanks again.

[Gideon]

A gruesome story

A couple years ago i worked at a university.. One afternoon i am riding my scooter into the uni entrance. In front of me is this guy in his 20's on a bike with no helmet using one hand steering and the other holding a bag. This guy looks over to his right and takes his eyes off the road for about 5 seconds. And thats all it took. He doing about 10kms or so and this %$@ in a SUV Rexton decides to stop abruptly in front of him to let out some students.

We all know what happens next.. 5 seconds later the guy on the scooter hits the back winshield of the SUV and shatters it with his head. The impact was so severe that his torso flipped under the suv after hitting it.

So heres this guy under the SUV bleeding out severely from the head. I am sure this guy is dead or will be soon. I decide to get out and try to assist.

RULE #1. First thing you DONT want to do is move the body. What do the koreans do.. yup thats right, they try to move his body out from under the SUV. BAD MISTAKE.

RULE #2. Follow rule #1 and STOP THE BLEEDING if possible.

RULE #3. If possible try to move the SUV without any further damage to the injured. The SUV had more than enough clearance to move ahead, out from under the injured. But they just grabbed his body and physically pulled him out.

Course i try to assist with my first reaction to stop the bleeding. But they just tell me to move away and they've got it under control. I think they caused more damage to him, than he did to himself. In fact they even tried to get him to stand up. They didn't bother to even try to find anything to stop the bleeding.. Hell i would have torn my shirt off to use for the bleeding.. but no sense, cause apparantely the citizens of korea are well trained in these matters.

In the end the ambulance came.. about 45 minutes later.. its pretty bad when the tow trucks and police are there before the ambulance. Make me laugh when i see the ambulance on the road responding to an accident.. drivers dont seem to acknowledge them or try to move when they are comming.. its like they go about their business as if an ambulance is just another motor vehicle.

In the end i shook my head watching in disbelief how these people reacted to this event. No they weren't uni students but older people who happen to be there at the time of the accident.

Since that time i havnt bothered to help when someone has an accident.. whats the sense really.. just leave it to the koreans. Best not to get involved.

[periwinkle]

You know, every single person I know who rides a motorcycle has been in an accident. They all wear helmets and gear (the leather gloves, boots, etc.), but man....

I saw a pizza deliveryman wipe out on some black ice when he was turning into an intersection. He hauled his bike out of the intersection, but the poor guy was crying. I felt so bad for him....

Everybody should just walk.