Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jaganath69]

Fair and balanced folks, that's what I am all about. Someone else produced a spray concerning the antics of older married Korean males recently, so I now invite you to share stories of old geezers sharing the love.

Me, had not long been in Seoul and friendless and lonely, decided to wonder the subway system. Emerged at City Hall in the midst of a right wing anti-communist rally, complete with burning effigies of Kim Jong Il. Being the political animal I am, I decided to check it out. An old bloke comes up and in decent English says "excuse me sir, where are you from?" I reply, telling him I come from land downunder, upon which he thanks me for my country's contribution in keeping the red hordes at bay so many years ago. "Think nothing of it, says I, for little old me twas not even a naughty twinkle in my dad's eye back then, but you should thank my next door neighbour who, as a nineteen year old soldier, sat freezing his ass off in a foxhole outside Uijongbu". He invited me to drink coffee with him, we chatted for some time, he thanked me again, I left feeling good about the world.

What about you?

[Mashimaro]

I'm sure I've come across kind ajoshhis but nothing really springs to mind at the moment

[djsmnc]

I'm sure I've met non-miserly Jews before, but I can't recall a time.

Every black African man I meet is a rabid hornball with a chip on his shoulder, but I'll bet there are some that aren't.

Arabic men, regardless of their nationality, are controlling, jihad preaching, oil Bogarting, willing to lick the dog-s*it off a woman's shoe until marrying her and beating her, bastards, but certainly there are a few diamonds in the very rough that I haven't encountered.

I love the logic...

[Col.Brandon]

Well I'm glad we got that straightened out.

[candide]

I had an ajosshi put his hand on my thigh once on the subway and give it a good rubbing. I thought it was kind of him to massage my herpes rash like that for me during the peak of the outbreak.

[Qinella]

[endo]

Some of you guys are idiots. And don't get defensive cause you asked for it when you make dumb ass comments on a thread that is genuine in its interntions.

.................


Anyways, I had a similar experience to the OP with a taxi driver who thanked me for helping South Korea during the war.

I laughed and told him that my dad wasn't even old enough to fight in that war.

But still it was nice to hear.


Another experience occured the other night. I was walking with my girlfriend arm in arm and this olderman beside us at a stop light said someting.

I didn't hear him clearly and assumed that he was making a derogatory comment to my girlfriend (which has happened before).

Well, he spoke again and he said in broken English that we were a good couple. I thanked him in Korean and he said a few more nice things.

I was quite surprised to be honest, but pleasently surprised.

[Omkara]

I was getting a ride home late at night, in a taxi. The ajoshi driving spoke hardly a word of English, and my Korean was weak.

The ride home was 20 minutes. It was after three in the morning; the streets were quiet and wet with warm summer rain. The tires sounded as we cut through the water, and the wipers beat a slow rhythm.

The silence was not quite awkward; he could have remained comfortably quiet; yet, he chose to break the silence. He began to hum. His voice was rich, his pitch keen. Then he began to sing a traditional song to me.

"Aaaa-riii-rooong, aaaaa-riii-rooong . . . ."

It was the first time I ever really heard and felt that song. His voice was wonderful, warm, deep, kind, and rich with nuance. It moved perfectly through the traditional Korean folk scales; it expressed the traditional Korean vibrato impeccably. I sat back, let go of my defenses and judgement, enjoyed listening, smiled. I knew I was receiving a rare gift.

I looked out to the rainy, black streets, and at the reflections of the lamps off of the pavement. I could hear the Korean soul very clearly, almost as if it echoed through the sleepy streets of Cheung-ju. Never since has that soul been so clear to me. Never since have I experienced such perfect communication, such perfect understanding.

He pulled up to my apartment complex. I tired to pay him, but he refused to accept my money. I bowed subtly and said, "Thank you." Though I could well have said the same in Korean, it seemed to mean more that I expressed my gratitude to him in English.

He smiled, subtly bowed in return. I closed the door, and watched the tail lights fade down the street. The sound of his tires cutting through the rain faded into silence. I opened my umbrella, and turned to go home.

[JongnoGuru]

[Ya-ta Boy]

Once upon a time, a long time ago, when I lived and worked in Hongdae I had to leave the office early to go over to the immigration office. Not having been a big city boy for very long, I didn't know much about taxis. I stood out on the curb for at least 10 minutes watching taxi after taxi drive right on past. My irritation level was rising.

Finally a taxi stopped and picked me up. I gave my destination. The driver said something in very fast Korean as he pulled away. He starts pulling up beside other taxis, rolling down the passenger side window and shouting something to the other drivers. I start thinking about wasting time and the meter and peek over the seat and see the meter isn't on. Grrrr. Why are we chasing taxis? How much am I going to be screwed on the fare?

After more than 10 minutes of this, he gets the answer he was looking for from another driver. He turns and orders me out of the taxi and says to get in the other taxi. WTF?

I eventually learn that I was trying to get a taxi at shift change time. The ajosshi was just helping out by chasing down a driver who had just come on duty. Not only did he find me a taxi, he evidently told the second driver to give me a free ride.

[Mashimaro]

I once met a Samsung exec, who was showing me pictures of his gorgeous daughter.. he gave me her phone number and told me we should get together some time. He said he really respected the fact that there was more gender equality for women in western countries and he welcomed the prospect of an international marriage in his family..

If you believe this story, I have some Nigerian Businesseman friends who would like to introduce you too.

[Mack]

Ajoshis and Ajumas:
Seems a lot of foreigners here never put an age/gender tag on behavioiur they don't like when they are referring to YOUNG koreans.
So ajoshi/ajuma stereotyping has a lot to do with ageism.
I see this even from extremely liberal teachers who are outraged by racism, sexism, homophobia but who often refer to students as though they are a little package of preconceived ageist (and sometimes sexist) stereotypes and not really a person at all. Even the Koreans of course are into it. The word ajuma always comes with a laugh or a giggle in the classroom - Ageism/sexism??

[Qinella]

[Mashimaro]

[Qinella]