Korean Job Discussion Forums

[SPINOZA]

Reading this board is incredible, increasingly so.

Why are some of you freaks getting attacked? We've 58 threads dealing with "my friend was tied to a street light, stripped naked, grossly violated and burned alive - and his hagwon won't even give him a day off to recover! After they'd hung my friend's burnt carcass by his arm hair, they started on me, beating and crushing and choking and stabbing me to death!"

I'm sorry to admit this - I don't mean any offence to anyone personally - but when ever I see a story of being 'attacked', I instantly dismiss it as total rubbish, an over-active imagination, at best a bit of an exaggeration.

Why? Well, it's perfectly simple. I've been here for a year and not once have I felt threatened, let alone been actually attacked! None of the people I know in real life have been attacked, as far as I'm aware. Possibly it's different for women with drunk guys hitting on you and stuff - I know what it's like to be a drunk guy being an arse, so I can understand that a bit. But guys walking down the street, minding your own business, when suddenly....BAM! You need to toughen up. Getting fooked over by some Koreans probably half your size and weight - pathetic!

I don't even believe it occurs though. Korea is a safe country, with random acts of violence and crime generally very low. Oh silly me, I forgot, there's tons of crime and it all goes unreported, right? Heavens. It has a relaxed and unpoliced (the cops are the most unscary-looking guys I've ever come across - many young, small and bespectacled) atmosphere and most of the nicest children I've ever met, most of the greatest acts of kindness I've ever witnessed, have all been in Korea. I've travelled all over the world and generally standards of public decency in Korea are of a high standard - remarkably high, actually, given that only 5 minutes ago South Korea was the poorest country in the world. I feel much more relaxed in Korea than I do in Thailand, Sydney or my home country - and I'd certainly rather walk through Seoul's streets at night than somewhere in North America! You're not in Bogota or J-burg, guys - you're in a country that's so soft it truly amuses me. Do you guys live in the Korean equivalents of Compton and Brixton or something? Big softies - you're embarrassing! "I wanna go home to my momma....waaaagh" (if only)

[Dev]

You obviously haven't been robbed yet. I have and I know two foreigners who had their vehicles stolen.

Don't cross a busy street when the light just turns green. You stand a high chance of some idiot driving a speeding car or motorbike running you down. Korea safe? Sure!

[ajgeddes]

I have never been murdered, nor have I known anyone that has been murdered in Canada. I guess it doesn't happen. Canada is a soft country. I lived in the United States for a while as well. I wasn't murdered there either, guess it doesn't happen. Another soft country. I never felt like I was going to get murdered either. I have never been attacked in either, nor have I ever really felt the threat.

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[Moldy Rutabaga]

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[SPINOZA]

There's no such thing as Karma, Ken. Another item of trash I shall absolutely SMASH!

Nothing can touch me in this country. No-one can injure me, no-one can make my life difficult at work, no Korean will ever insult me to my face, I'll never be beaten up by bouncers and I'll never be refused entry into a place because of my ethnicity. I know it will never happen.

[crazylemongirl]

Actually I think the answer is somewhere in between. I think Korea is IN GENERAL a safe country. However, that doesn't mean you should leave your street smarts at the door nor should you think that your rules of behavior are going to apply in situations.

Sometimes kids fresh out of college act like drunken idiots and get into fights because they don't know the lingo or the local culture and find themselves walking totally unaware into a dangerous situation.

Sometimes foreigners find themselves the target of violence for no other reason than they were in the wrong place, wrong time. And they 'lucked out' just by virture of the fact they stick out like a sore thumb.

As I have said repeatedly on this board stupidity is an equal oppourtunity employer.

[Dev]

I also personally witnessed a woman being beaten in a parking lot at 1 am by her drunken boyfriend / husband. He was maybe in his mid-40's and she was in her late 30's.

I got out of a cab in front of a hotel. There were two couples. The drunk guy was shouting at his g.f. / wife and the next thing I see is he punches her on the side of the face. She fell down on her knees. He was going to have another go at her and I shouted "Stop!" at him. He started walking towards me, but his friend stood in front of him stopping him.

At this point he gives up on me and walks back to the woman. He kept looking back to me to see if I was watching (and I was). I assume he was hoping I'd leave so he could continue beating on her. Luckily another taxi empties in front of the parking lot. The people getting out of it see what the commotion is about. Figuring that they're in a better position to help, I left. The drunk guy started walking after me again yelling stuff in Korea. I guess he was angry that I stopped him from really hurting that woman.

I was not impressed.

[SPINOZA]

[alinkorea]

I agree that Korea is, as you say, a soft country. Of all the countries I've been , this is comfortably the safest. I always feel perfectly safe when I'm out and about. No Korean I've ever seen has made me think "I wouldn't like to make him angry."
There has been an uncany number of threads about people getting attacked recently. Coincidence, I've no idea. Violence does exist here, I've seen it first hand, against foreigners and Koreans. Some of it quite brutal. Just because you haven't seen it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Spinoza, you constantly come out with stuff like " I don't want to offend anyone BUT" then proceed to spout offensive garbage. (see Hitler thread.) Your post reminds me of 5 year old telling the other kids in the yard how hard he is. You're a posh Manc. Not exactly Compton yourself

[yospeck]

Im just wondering how many of you folk who are being attacked actually fight back? I know when I went for my trip in Sweden we were sat in a park (me and two friends (who are Swedes, I'm English) who were wasted) and 2 hooded guys came over and started giving one of my drunken friends a load of hassle and shouting at him. It was all in Swedish and I dont understand the language, but the guy I was with was pretty calm and in my opinion a little worried, the two hoodie guys were in his face and shouting. Mistake was when I opened my mouth asking what the problem was and they worked out I was English, then they started having a bit of a go at me. Another of our group (who was as sober as I) came back to look for me and my two downed brethren and so the arguement was then focused on him.

When the guys started arguing with my drunks friends again, my sober friend told me that these guys are just looking for a fight and wont let it drop (still dont know what it was about). Well you could feel the atmosphere change and one of the guys punched my sober friend, who took it on the chin and stared them out. I however walked over to one of the others with my hands up showing I didnt want any trouble and then headbutted him in the face. Minor scuffle later and the hoodie guys legged it, but not before smacking one of my passed out friends who was still sat on the bench as he ran past him. Lame.

I do my best to avoid trouble, and especially dont want any in Korea. I could handle someone screaming in my face and would walk away, but if someone physically touches me then unfortunately I can't be the bigger man and I just lose it. What I'm getting at is how well would it go down if someone attacks you and you stand up for yourself? I get the feeling that you're gonna come out worse off either way, either take a kicking or get arressted for provoking the fight?

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[Dev]

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