Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Freeghen]

I have had a lot of ModEdit things happen to me since I came to this country. On several occasions I have felt as if people have gone out of their way to piss me off and treat me like ModEdit. However, since I got here there havebeen several random acts of kindness thrust my way. Here are my stories, feel free to share yours.

#1. Last weekend I was at the subway station and was buying a ticket to Incheon. There was this Ajesshi leaning right over my shoulder, watching my every move and reading out loud all of the buttons I was pushing. I ignored it to the best of my ability. When it came time to dish out the 1,500 for the ticket, I pulled out two 1,000 won bills and after I put in 1,000 and was trying to slip in the second - the Ajesshi just pops in a 500 won coin! I was really confused for a second and then thanked him. He smiled, nodded and was gone...

#2. My boyfriend came to visit me from abroad and bought some flowers for me in the flower shop in my building. A few days after he flew back home, I was walking into my building with a Korean friend and the flower shop Adjuma chased us onto the elevator and handed me 1,000 won. She explained to my Korean buddy that my boyfriend had overpaid her when he bought my flowers and that was his change for me to give to him the next time he came back to Korea.

#3. EVERY time I am in a subway station and look lost it is GUARANTEED that within 5 min someone will ask if i need help.

#4. My building security is IN LOVE with my dog. Every time I take my dog outside for a walk he comes over and pets him and says 'anyong'. If I leave the building without my dog, he will stop me and ask where the dog is and how he is doing. Last week while my boyfriend was here, my boyfriend took the dog outside while I was cleaning the house. The security guard came up to my boyfriend and asked where 'the owner' (me) was and why he was walking the dog and not me (i guess he thought my bf was trying to steal the dog or something).

[UknowsI]

When I took the subway the other day an old adjosshi gave me his seat. He was old and had a walking cane so I refused 3 times to sit, but in the end I took his seat after he explained to me that I looked tired. I was indeed very tired, but it was very nice of him.

[chipsnsalsa]

I buy a roasted chicken from a little shop every two weeks or so, and if I go later in the day the lady always gives me an extra one for free that has been in the roaster too long. (Some parts are a little dry, but still really tasty I think. )

[Goku]

Well I do acts of random kindness all the time. I like to pay it forward.

But it finally came back to me as this pretty girl gave me a huge kamsamidad for opening the door for her....

yeah that doesn't seem like much, but I never get thank you's for opening doors for others, not even in America.

I'm glad to see that manners and kindness aren't completely lost on the youth.

[earthbound14]

I was trekking down the west coast of Korea on a 3 day trip. I was sleeping on the beach and visiting local restaurants to eat. The second night I could not find a restaurant...nothing. Not something I expected in Korea as there seems to be some sort of place to eat or drink almost every 30 feet.

Anyway, I finally found one at 10pm, by this time I was dieing to get something to eat. The restaurant I went to was a fish restaurant and didn't have single servings of food. I pestered the owner to help me out as I was on my own and didn't need 30,000 won worth of fish soup. He sat me down with "his friends" and they fed me octopus soup and sujo...it was a riot, I spoke hardly any Korean and they spoke hardly any English.

At the end of the night the guys refused to let me sleep on the beach, so we hung out at their place, had a few more drinks, then got up the next day for kimchi gigae and I caught the bus home.

They didn't let me pay for a thing, not even my bus ticket.

[Countrygirl]

^^ That's the Korea I want to remember when I go home.

[Mint]

I was buying some random groceries at the local mom and pop shop this week. I finally got my girlfriend to teach me how to make kimchi, so I was picking up the ingredients. When I took them to the counter the old woman was pleasantly astounded by the fact that a white face was making kimchi. She threw the packet of 고추가루 back on the shelf and gave me a kilo of her own [about 20$ worth] for free.

I love the very old generation here. I don't know if it's the soft wearing of aging's wisdom or whatnot, but I always have very pleasant interactions with them.

[nmh03]

An ajumma gave me her seat when I was carrying a very heavy bag and backpack of groceries home on the subway. I only took it because I thought she was getting off at the next stop, but she ended up standing for a few more. I made sure she got it back when I left, with a big bow and 'kamsamnida'.

Recently my boyfriend and I were hiking and stopped a little distance away from three Korean hikers. One friendly guy came over to give us some packages of what I understood to be a ginseng energy drink.

Another time we were having trouble figuring out which bus to take back to Seoul, and a group of middle-aged Korean guys looked at our tickets, got us on the right bus and bought us some frozen fruit pops.

Not to mention all the small kindnesses like helping with directions, etc. Overall I've had many more positive experiences than negative ones.

[Papa Smurf]

today, sat in the park, watching a game of football. an old man of 70 comes over and makes a bit of chit chat. explains he is bored and his wife died 3 years ago. says he worries about me because maybe im homesick (haha). says i can come and knock on his door anytime and he'll make me food. even takes me to his buidling to show me his door. sweet old fella he was.

[Papa Smurf]

[Goon-Yang]

That's the problem with human nature. We remember the bad and forget the good.
The latest...I was at the regular bar and started talkng to some engineers. They bought me drinks and fed me all night, even though I teach at their main rival's company.

Maybe they were looking for trade secrets...lol.

[Freeghen]

[tfunk]

I was at a McDonalds last night and some dude paid for my meal. We were queueing up and he said "I'll get that". I think he was in the American army.

Pity I was drunk, or I could have made something cohesive of the experience.

The reason I was so drunk was because I was at a bar and a gentleman from the airforce kept buying me free Jack and Coke. He's been living in Korea for 11 years and he's black!!

No, it wasn't homo hill.

[The Gipkik]

These stories are really touching. I haven't had any big and spontaneous moments of kindness yet, but lots of little stuff in grocery stores, hair salons, supermarkets, and subway stations. Just nice people helping me out. I'll always have Japan to compare with and the acts of kindness there were so amazing, I can't imagine that happening here. I'd like to think it could.

In Japan, I got a flat tire near the top of a mountain about 40 km away from my apartment. I asked a Japanese man if I could borrow his pump. He said he'd give it a go. He couldn't pump it up, so he drove me home. That was really nice. Another time, I was wandering around the the city of Kumamoto, on Kyushu Island, and a retired black belt Karate teacher took it on himself to give me a full day tour in his antique car with a free lunch thrown in. Another time, I was mountain biking in northern Japan and met an old farmer who invited me to his farmhouse for a great traditional Japanese meal with his extended family. I got so drunk that I couldn't ride back, so I slept there and left in the morning after the farmer insisted I check out a nearby outdoor hot spring with him. Now that was incredible.

[njp6]

Awesome post Freeghen. Sure, I've had ajoshis cut in front of me to buy cigarettes and the car culture is crazy here and that sets me off, but really, people do so many nice things for me here.

I try and pay it forward. Last week there was a cleaning ajoshi working hard and I had a bit to drink and was feeling generous. I bought him an orange juice at the convenience store. When I handed it to him, he looked confused and chucked it into the bushes thinking I had handed him trash. I guess it's the thought that counts.