Korean Job Discussion Forums

[kimiki]

The other day a random guy appeared to be following me as I walked about town doing some errands. As a woman who's traveled alone a fair amount, this has happened to me more than a handful of times before, but never in SK. I tried some well-honed dodging tactics in attempts to shake him and/or test to see if he was really following me or if it was just a coincidence.... He definitely was, and only with significant effort did I lose him.

Just wondering if this has happened to other women here. I hope not, because it's not a pleasant experience. I'm also extremely disappointed because I used to feel so safe here....

Also, does anyone know if police take this kind of thing seriously? The worst I ever experienced it was in a Latin American country, where, when I reported this guy for stalking and eventual physical assault, they did their best to make me feel like a silly gringa, and long story short, nothing was done.

[Zackback]

Had a female American friend that this happened to. Nothing became of it.

[eamo]

Some Korean men think western women are always up for it..........get some pepper spray if this persists.

Korean police have only started to take sexual harassment seriously......even then most still don't. You need to protect yourself and not depend on police.

Although in reality, this is probably just a one-off.

[Bloopity Bloop]

Having a lot of female friends has severely distorted my view of how dangerous Korea is for women. Everyone seems to have a story about someone following them or whacking off in front of them/flashing them; and a terrifyingly significant number even have attempted rape/rape accounts.

That being said, I'm glad you know to be aware of your surroundings. I find lots of my friends to be too care free about that kind of stuff. "Oh, it would never happen to me, I'll just walk home drunk later, don't worry."

Stay vigilant~!

Are there any actual studies or statistics with unbiased insight into how women UNsafe Korea is? It's hard to keep an objective stance on this issue.

[Adam Carolla]

Well, you were probably encouraging him in some way.

Also, you may have been dressed too provocatively.

Finally, everyone knows women secretly enjoy this kind of attention.







*I'm playing "Blame the Victim" here, one of my favorite Dave's ESL games.

[Bloopity Bloop]

[thegadfly]

I am a male, and I would get "followed" every so often in Seoul, usually when I was walking around during the day near apartment complexes. The person following me (and it was a different man each time) would often come up to me and ask me if I would give him English lessons -- and he would offer to pay.

The men, in my case, were from immigration or some other government agency, and they were supposed to try to bust folks teaching illegal private lessons.

Your mini-stalkings may be as "innocent" as that, if it was during the day, near large apartment complexes (especially near "expensive" apartment complexes).

Just another explanation that fits the circumstances, and seems less sinister.

[Tundra_Creature]

One of my roomates got a creepy stalker letter from another foreign student after a big fieldtrip. He wrote some very explicit things on what he wanted to do to her and called her some extremely derogatory names whilst doing so. This was more creepy in the sense that she hadn't even given this guy her email address.

Our Korean roomate said that they're now taking things like stalking and sexual offences more seriously, but it never got that. I think she just deleted the message and blocked him and that was that. Thankfully, nothing became of it.

[fermentation]

[thegadfly]

[kimiki]

[Zackback]

Are there any female stalkers?
I wish some pretty girls would stalk me because it has never happened

[Jane]

Kimiki, you did the right thing keeping your wits about you. After almost ten years in Korea, I have had no real incidences to speak of (besides inappropriate touching on the subway by old men--which is alive and well), but I make sure I know who is around me and if anyone is acting suspicious, regardless of the time of day or night, in taxis, etc.

I do suggest women routinely monitor the people around them on the subway and take measures to keep themselves safe from annoying 'accidental' jabs in the chest and derriere.

Also, men can sense that if you are 'aware' of what they are thinking, they are less likely to do something.

[decolyon]

Be careful about carrying pepper spray. It's technically illegal to carry a concealed weapon like that in Korea. Same goes for pocket knives above a certain limit.

If you have to use it, make absolutely sure he is about to attack you in some way. If you spray him and there's any way he can deny it or spin it, you can get in serious trouble.

I had a friend that bought his Korean gf a pepper spray bottle that looked like lipstick. If you pulled the cap off it even had a lip stick tube in it so it looked legit. Even if you get caught carrying it, a cop having a bad day could take you in for it.

Same goes for larger pocket knives, brass knuckles, or anything made to be a weapon. And when it comes to foreigners, they are going to be more likely to throw the book at you for it, so just be careful.




On a side note, about stalking. I'm a member of a dating site that is geared towards foreigners in Korea. This site will show you the profile of people that come and visit your page or look at your pictures. That's all well and good... except for months now, I keep getting this 40+ old dude checking out my page. Not constantly, but at least every 6 or 8 weeks he shows up to check out my page. Wtf?

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

How about gochujang diluted in water in a spray bottle? You could say that you like it misted on your pizza and went to pizza hut and brought it with you.

Good that you were careful. It's creepy.