Korean Job Discussion Forums

[John Stamos jr.]

Some of the casual bus takers need to sit this one out. Anyone who has had to stand for 45 minutes on a packed bus during rush hour everyday in the middle of the winter knows the deal. I see Koreans frying up in there all the time too, who jack the window open immediately after sneaking into a window seat. Bottom line, it's ajosshi bus driver selfishness and it's too hot.

[drydell]

Maybe people wouldn't complain if it really was an understandable cultural difference and just not so bizarre - changing clothes based on calender not temperature change... (is there any other nations that do this?)

I think its perfectly fine to grumble about this when so many people feel really physically uncomfortable on a daily basis because of it (and partly ruining the best season temperature wise)...and I don't think its just the drivers because I've already had other passengers leaning over me to close a window to prevent a very mild,cooling, pleasant breeze from interfering with the oven-effect.

And if there was a forum for Koreans who lived in and visit -say.. England - who all liked to grumble about the illogicalities and annoyances of living in England I would have absolutely no problem with them all having a good online gripe about such things. I'd find it very weird if some koreans - maybe some who'd married into the country- went onto every thread to defend their new adopted country against all these annoyances - no matter how justified the complaining was...

[crescent]

[Steelrails]

[Scorpion]

It's absurd. Half the people on the subway are falling asleep from the heat. I don't even venture into emart unless I've got shorts and a t-shirt on under my winter coat. And what about the students in the highly overheated classroom. How is a hot room conducive to efficient thinking and, well, just staying awake during class? It's not.

It's just ridiculous.

[Lazio]

What I find amusing is that with all the cold fobia of Koreans how the insulation as a whole is literally non-existent here. Even brand new windows and doors are utter crap, not to mention the walls with half an inch of insulation on the bare concrete. All those glass doors with a huge gap all over it on every single store and so on.

[crescent]

[transmogrifier]

It's a sample size of one, but my Korean wife feels the cold way, way, way more than me. She has The Ice Hands of Doom which she uses to torture me when I least expect it.

Even she thinks it gets too hot on buses and trains sometimes. But mostly she appreciates it, I think.

[Mr. BlackCat]

[Squire]

Last winter I rode a scooter to school for 45 minutes each way. I used to dread leaving home in the morning and leaving work at 5. Hated it. For a couple of weeks during the winter holiday I gave in and decided to take the buses, and it was fantastic! Sitting in the warmth reading until I fell asleep each journey was heavenly.

The heat is definitely overdone though. I suppose the bus driver gets the blast of cold air every time the door is opened so he needs it to be hotter than the people on the bus do, who will mostly be further from the doors than he is

[rchristo10]

[schwa]

Fan of hot buses timidly raises hand.

I love a little roasting on my commute & if it induces a snooze, bonus. On weekends year-round I seek out saunas & jjimjilbangs. Suits my system.

[Born & raised in the great white north.]

[byrddogs]

It has nothing to do with the heat on buses, but here's a little story from today about Koreans and the changing of the seasons/temps.

I rode my bike in today, as did several others in the department. Each of us rides anywhere from 15-20kms, so we feel a little warmer by the time that we get in. It was about 17C at 8:30 here in Shanghai. We had cracked open a few windows to let in some fresh air. All of the other teachers that had taken the bus were fine with the temp in the teachers' office, except......When the one male K teacher arrived (wearing jeans, long sleeved shirt and jacket), the second thing that came out of his mouth after anyang-seyo was chuweo. Immediately, the windows had to be closed so that he would be comfortable. To heck with the other eleven of us that were completely fine before he got there, haha.

[laynamarya]

I wonder how many of you know this...

When Korean babies are born, they are kept inside for 100 days. The room is kept at 37 degrees Celsius that whole time, the argument being that babies can't withstand the shock of a temperature so much lower than its mama's body. And then, they spend their entire childhoods with their mothers, grandmothers, and random ajummas and halmonis telling them that they "must be cold" and adding layers of clothing, no matter what season it is. (Trust me. I speak from experience.)

So eventually, most kids give up. Either they get used to a much higher temperature, convince themselves that maybe all those women must be right about how hot or cold they feel, or they just get tired of fighting it. Ta-da! A society full of cold people.

...but I also think you're underestimating gender. My K-husband is always hotter than I am. At school, I have a female Korean co-teacher, and a male American co-teacher. The Korean teacher and I always agree on the classroom temperature, and my American co-teacher has to suffer. Poor guy.

I'm guessing most of the folks complaining about the cold are Korean ladies, right?

[PatrickGHBusan]