Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sarbonn]

The other day I was walking home from Emart on the street in gangnam (a pretty expensive area of town), and I got hit in the back of the head with a rock. I grabbed my head, realized I was bleeding and then turned around to face the direction where I realized it came, and I got hit directly on the side of my forehead, practically knocking me off my feet; the bags I was carrying, pretty much unbalanced me and caused me to fall. Was pretty sure it was coming from one of the balconies on one of the high rises, but never really could get a good glimpse.

People around me, just looked at me like I was some crazy foreigner who fell on the ground. The fact there was blood in my hands from the wound on my head didn't seem to register. I realized it wasn't safe to remain where I was, so I continued on down the street, and to be honest, I wasn't really sure what to do because I didn't think the police could do anything (if they even understood me) because I didn't know exactly where it came from, and I didn't really know how to tell anyone what had happened without looking like a complete idiot, and no one really seemed all that interested in stopping anyway.

Ended up having to get stitches at the hospital because the bleeding wouldn't stop (it wasn't gushing or anything, but it kept bleeding).

Is this something normal here? In all my years in the states and Europe, I've never been attacked by people throwing rocks like this before. I told people at work, and they just kind of said, "hmm", and really didn't indicate that this was something normal or not.

[ruffie]

That's awful. But you were right not to go to the police right away. You'd have a head wound plus god knows what charges brought against you. Kids can lie, and you are a foreigner in Korea. I'd check to see if there is cctv around there before doing anything.

That crap has happened everywhere. I remember a case in the states a few years back where kids were throwing bricks off an overpass onto the cars below.

[CeleryMan]

Better a rock than a person, no?

[bassexpander]

Some kids dropped a watermelon off of a bridge and onto a car back home. It was a highway, too. Caused a big crash and injuries, if memory serves. Terrible. The kids should be sent to Singapore and caned.

[Ya-ta Boy]

It could well have been that poster from last week who said he threw rocks off an overpass at cars. No need to blame Korean kids without evidence.

[wylies99]

When you combine parental neglect with the fact that so many Korean kids are told "Waygooks are evil" 24/7, it's not surprising that some would throw rocks at foreigners.

[Yesterday]

Years ago - I went to the roof of a Hagwon (I was at at that time) and caught a couple of students throwing rocks off the roof at people and cars on the street below..

told the students (9~11y.o.) to stop - they didn't..

went down to the Hagwon office and informed the Hagwon boss - what her students were doing (and the fact that one of the students was her son)..

The CrAzY Hagwon owner just shrugged her shoulders and did nothing about it...

She kind off muttered the same thing that most Korean adults say... "They're just kids"...

[Ginormousaurus]

[jkelly80]

[mayorgc]

how do you know it was kids?

[Jane]

I have a friend who was woken up startled in the middle of the night and found a thief in his apartment who was wielding a knife. The guy spoke Korean when he was asking for all the money and valuables.

When the police came later, my friend explained to them what happened and that he was speaking Korean (very obviously that he was a native born speaker!), and was wearing a mask. The police said it was probably a 'foreigner'. My friend said no, he was speaking Korean. They said, doesn't matter, must have been a 'foreigner'!

As for things falling from the sky, I taught a high school student years ago who came to class with a big bandage on the side of her head. She said she was walking down the street on the sidewalk next to a building that was under construction and a piece of glass has fallen and lodged in her head! She pulled it out right away and had to go to the hospital for stitches. I felt so bad for her.

In a final and funny story about things falling from the sky, I was waking down the street one day and a MOUSE fell from the sky!!! Seriously! A bird had caught one in its beak and mid-flight dropped the living thing right in front of me! I jumped back, and people around me thought I was a nut ball as the mouse scurried away.

[Xuanzang]

it's not normal ANYWHERE...

At my old hagwon kids would throw chalk from the 10th floor windows onto the streets. I think some old guy was hit and came in stark raving mad. Thus, all chalk was removed from all classes with windows and I had to carry a chalk box. Chalk is more benign than rocks but they were still being little shits. Nothing happened to them in my case either. Sorry to hear that happened to you.

bass, no they shouldnt be caned. They should be hit with a rock from the 8th floor and then caned.

[Underwaterbob]

[Skippy]

Yep it will not be serious until somebody is killed. Lets hope it is some old Korean grandmother. Then we can see the sh*t hit the fan.

[Xuanzang]