Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cdninkorea]

I know they've been threads in the past about Koreans automatically speaking English to foreigners (of European stock anyway; they probably don't do it to Japanese, for example), but I don't recall any about this specifically:

Do you ever pretend you don't speak English to force people to communicate with you in Korean? I've taken quite a liking to it. My Korean is terrible: I can hold a conversation about basic things and understand the jist of what people are saying if I know the context. When I speak, I may know the vocabulary, but I'm terrible at making my own sentences. In short, I suck.

Still, I'm not going to get better if no one gives me the opportunity to practice, so I try to learn key words and phrases before entering a situation. I always silently hope the other person won't know any English, but they usually throw a few words in there, much to my chagrin.

I have lots of stories like this, but what really annoys me is when they switch to English after we've already been communicating in Korean for a few minutes; last Sunday I was ordering at a coffee shop, all in Korean, when the barista said, in very broken English, "one cake, two coffee?" I gave her a sarcastic "와! 영어잘해요. 외국에 공부했어요?" (Wow! You speak English well. Did you study in a foreign country?). Yeah, I know I was being a jerk, but it irritated me. I'm usually much more polite about it, I swear.

I know Tomato, who's one of my Korean language heros, will have some input here. Anyone else?

[ldh2222]

Her: "Ha-ha, very pun-ee" turns her back as she spits in your coffee, turns around and smiles ;]

[Freeghen]

I don't pretend not to speak English so Koreans will speak to me in Korean (my Korean is pretty wretched), but I do do it for other reasons.
Half of the Koreans I meet think I am Russian (I am Russian on my mom's side of the family so that could explain it), it used to irritate me after I discovered how Koreans perceive Russian women. Now I just use it to my advantage when someone is trying to get a free English lesson, when a perv wanders onto my path or when I just don't feel like talking to someone. I just ramble off the few Russian phrases I know and after a bunch of confusion on the Korean end, I'm left well enough alone.

[fermentation]

Since I'm a Korean who speaks fluent English, I often get confused for a gyopo. I sometimes pretend not to speak Korean or English if it benefits me. Like I'm with foreign people and the a Korean trying to either sell something or looking for Nightclub customers will come to me since they're gonna assume I speak Korean. I speak English and pretend I don't understand them to make them go away.

[beercanman]

Mir�dita (to our Albanian friends)
Ahalan (to our Arabic speaking friends)
Parev (to our Armenian friends)
Zdravei / Zdrasti (to our Bulgarian friends)
Nei Ho (to our Cantonese speaking Chinese friends)
Dobr� den / Ahoj (to our Czech friends)
Goddag (to our Danish friends)
Goede dag, Hallo (to our Dutch friends)
Hello (to our English friends)
Saluton (to our Esperanto speaking friends)
Hei (to our Finnish friends)
Bonjour (to our French friends)
Guten Tag (to our German friends)
Gia'sou (to our Greek friends)
Aloha (to our Hawaiian friends)
Shalom (to our Hebrew speaking friends)
Namaste (to our Hindi speaking friends)
J� napot (to our Hungarian friends)
Hall� / G��an daginn (to our Icelandic friends)
Halo (to our Indonesian friends)
Aksunai / Qanuipit? (to our Inuit friends)
Dia dhuit (to our Irish friends)
Salve / Ciao (to our Italian friends)
Kon-nichiwa (to our Japanese friends)
An-nyong Ha-se-yo (to our Korean friends)
Salve / Salv�te (to our Latin speaking ancient Roman friends)
Ni hao (to our Mandarin speaking Chinese friends)
Hallo (to our Norwegian friends)
Dzien' dobry (to our Polish friends)
Ol� (to our Portuguese friends)
Bun� ziua (to our Romanian friends)
Zdravstvuyte (to our Russian friends)
Hola (to our Spanish speaking friends)
Jambo / Hujambo (to our Swahili friends)
Hej (to our Swedish friends)
Sa-wat-dee (to our Thai friends)
Merhaba / Selam (to our Turkish friends)
Vitayu (to our Ukrainian friends)
Xin ch�o (to our Vietnamese friends)
Hylo; Sut Mae? (to our Welsh friends)
Sholem Aleychem (to our Yiddish speaking friends)
Sawubona (to our Zulu speaking friends)

[jboney]

I pretend that I don't speak English whenever someone comes up to me speaking in English about Jesus Christ, Jehovah's Witnesses, or any of their other religious propaganda bullshit

[seonsengnimble]

I like to poorly throw a few languages at them at once.

"Lo siento, 영어 wakarimasen."

[crossmr]

[cdninkorea]

[winterfall]

[youtuber]

I think you just come across as a dick if you pretend you can't speak English. Koreans know that if you are white and in Korea, there is a 99.99999% chance you speak some English.

What do you expect? You come to a country that goes nuts for learning English and then feel hurt when they try to practice English with you.

You encourage your students to speak English as much as possible but when someone tries with you, you get offended.

They also speak English to you because they are assuming that their English is better than your Korean, and from your preamble, it sounds like they are right. In fact, that is true for most foreigners here.

You will forever be dealing with this issue in Korea, so get over it.

Go to Europe if you want to learn a language.

[Xuanzang]

I wouldn't have done the "와! 영어잘해요. 외국에 공부했어요". I would hate to be treated like that if I was a server or cashier.

[Jane]

I pretend I don't speak English to strangers who try to hit me up for an English lesson. I say 'No Ingliss'. The funny part is they believe me, even if I'm on the subway in the middle of an English novel.

I was once buying grapes from this young guy and his friend, obviously from the country, and he said in Korean "Do you speak Korean"..I didn't reply. He said in English "English? English?" I didn't reply and gave him this look of incomprehension.
He said in Korean to his friend: "Wha! Jjinja waeguk!"

I had to keep it a straight face. It was hilarious.

[skeeterses]

[steveinincheon]

There is not a 99.9999% chance that you speak Englisheee just because you are white. There are plenty of Russians about here who don't speak it, and who just ignore comments made to them in English..