Korean Job Discussion Forums

[xCustomx]

[mithridates]

[Qinella]

[vlcupper]

I can't recall that ever happening to me. It might have, and I just forgot about it. Usually the cashier at Carrefour or Costco (yes the evil Costco where I can get a 10-pack of Tom and Jerry DVD's for less than 40,000 won. HEARTLESS BASTARDS!!!!!) will tell me the price and point to the screen. They're usually really friendly to me, and I'm the epitome of everything that patchy idiot despises: fat, American, lover of Costco, so really I should be stoned by a mob whenever I leave my apartment.

[Qinella]

[matthews_world]

Ah, but that's what a computer is for. At small mom & pop shop hole-in-the-wall I could understand but at a major supermarket, c'mon.

[periwinkle]

I say the number in Korean. Then I mutter to myself (in Korean) about can't being able to find my credit card or something. It's fun to put on a little show

[Roch]

[SuperHero]

[casey's moon]

It bothers me too but I've noticed that some cashiers never say the total, even to Koreans. Some convenience store clerks are like that. It's still rude though.

Also, once there was this guy selling Chinese hoddock at a festival and he wouldn't answer when I asked him some question (maybe price?) and he just moved his hands around and shrugged his shoulders. I was a little annoyed at first, but glad I didn't make a big deal out of it when I realized the guy was deaf and dumb.

When it is someone just making assumptions I find it kind of amusing -- especially if it is a place I'll likely frequent a few times because sooner or later they're going to find out that I speak and understand Korean -- and then they feel like dumbarses. It's good fun.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[DanielInKorea]

[Juregen]

[tomato]

xCustomx, I just love threads like this one!
Thanks a million!

When a clerk tries to show me the calculator, I look sideways and say, "얼마 입니까?�
That way, they are forced to tell me the price.
I don't have the proficiency to follow Mith's dialogue.

Hello, Qinella!

No, there are not "worse things to worry about."
This is a case of prejudice, which is the cause of many of the world's greatest problems.

Hello, Ya-ta Boy!

I'm not sure I understand your message.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand you to say that a foreigner has the right to ask to be spoken to in Korean only if he or she is fluent in Korean.

I think any foreigner has that right. Here are my arguments:

■ They ask us to speak English in English class, so we are only asking them to follow the Golden Rule.

■ In our own country, we speak English to foreigners, so we are only asking them to return the favor.

■ If a foreigner cannot speak Korean well, that is all the more reason why that foreigner needs to practice.

■ A Korean who speaks English to a foreigner is implying:
--that the foreigner is not intelligent enough to learn Korean.
--that the foreigner is not diligent enough to learn Korean.
--that the foreigner is not important enough to merit even a few seconds of the Korean's time.
--that the foreigner is a perennial infant.

Where do you agree and where do you disagree?

Here are the most recent threads about Koreans treating foreigners like imbeciles:

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=55717&highlight=
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=1760&highlight=

[kermo]

I often shop at a little mom'n'pop store on my way from work. They're lovely, and make chitchat that even I can understand (like "Hot today, huh?") Today, I was buying some vegetables for a soup, and I picked out those tall, thick mushrooms. The adjossi gently asked me a question, gesturing toward the mushrooms, and fortunately I had just managed to memorize the word for mushroom the week before, so I chirped "Bosotyo?" He seemed pleased (I think he was checking to see if I knew what they were.)