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Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
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 Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 11:57 pm Post subject: Any good experiences lately? |
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Yesterday, I went to the Gwangju National Cemetery related to the democracy movement, and I really liked it. On the way there, while waiting for the bus, an older ajuma was in a panic because she couldn't see when her bus was coming because of the sun's glare.
I understand what she was asking, and I told her it's coming in 9 minutes. She was so happy that I helped her and patted me on the back.
At the museum, at the cemetery, I talked in whatever Korean I knew with this older lady at the cemetery itself, and she was very nice and complimented me on my Korean and asked me if I was studying the language. I also talked to someone who was placed in prison during that time, and I felt bad for his trauma, and he couldn't talk about it much. I felt bad that I asked him about it a bit, and later said to him I am sorry for the pain you endured that time, and he said thank you and appreciated it.
I've also dealt with some nice taxi drivers lately. Most taxi drivers are swell here. Anyway, I love taking cabs in Korea. |
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Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 11:59 pm Post subject: |
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| I was also outside a Homeplus recently, and my grocery bag tore apart, and one lady quickly went into the store to tell a guy that my bag was torn and to get me a new one. |
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rollo
Joined: 10 May 2006
Location: China
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 2:07 am Post subject: |
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| Good stuff! Thanks for sharing. It is easy to forget the high price that Koreans paid for their democracy. Brave people. |
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DaHu
Joined: 09 Feb 2011
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 2:15 am Post subject: |
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| What wasn't explained here is why someone would be in prison because of democracy. Who put him there, the north or south? |
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Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 2:41 am Post subject: |
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| DaHu wrote: |
| What wasn't explained here is why someone would be in prison because of democracy. Who put him there, the north or south? |
South Korea didn't have a democracy in 1980. It had a dictatorship, and Uncle Sam supposedly was worried about the Gwangju uprising kind of like it was worried initally about the Arab Spring and still is. In the name of the Cold War, many Koreans were beaten, tortured, and killed. The man I met was part of the rebels of Gwangju who met and decided to fight with what weapons they had. They imprisoned him and beat him severely. He said he still has psychological scars from that time. I felt for the man. The military government, in a sense, ended in 1987 when it was decided a change had to be made.
It was interesting to watch the footage from 1980 back in 1980 people who were a lot older still wore traditional garb. |
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Airborne9
Joined: 01 Jun 2010
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 3:21 am Post subject: |
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| A few weeks ago I was waiting at a traffic lights and I was kind in a bad mood but there was a little girl standing beside me staring up at me. I could sense her stare but pretended not to notice. then she came came up right beside me and gave me a lollipop. Cheered me up anyway. |
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TellyRules986
Joined: 09 Nov 2009
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 3:31 am Post subject: |
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| One of my Korean co-workers heard about my frustrations in trying to find vanilla cake, and they went out and bought me some vanilla flavored pastries. She was like, "Oh you probably miss home and your mom making cake for you." I thought it was really sweet. |
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uklathemock
Joined: 26 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 3:35 am Post subject: |
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| I left my weightlifting gloves at the gym and they were still in the same spot the next day. =) |
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The Floating World
Joined: 01 Oct 2011
Location: Here
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 5:26 am Post subject: |
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| I spent the day at the beach, it was nice. |
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Munniko
Joined: 04 May 2011
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 6:13 am Post subject: |
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My coworker who doesn't really speak English noticed I looked hungry in the morning so she gave me some of her pre-cut apple....although I wondering why everyone in my office keeps feeding me  |
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Vix
Joined: 18 Jun 2010
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 3:01 pm Post subject: |
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I went scuba diving in Jeju last weekend, that was awesome! I do like spending time with the fishes  |
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theevilgenius
Joined: 10 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 9:19 pm Post subject: |
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| I lost my wallet in a taxi (I blame my sweatpants) on my way home from Tesco and panicked, went to the bank to cancel my cards then arrived at work later to learn that the taxi driver rang immigration, got the number of my school and rang my boss. He came to the school with my wallet the next day and I tried to give him money for going out of his way and being such a nice guy but he wouldn't accept it. That made me really like Korean people. |
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daunting
Joined: 05 Apr 2011
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| Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 5:32 am Post subject: |
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| I was taking a taxi home the other day, and the taxi driver took a wrong turn. He immediately realized it was not the right direction and that it would be expensive/lengthy to get back on the correct route. He was really embarrassed, so he turned the meter off and told me that the rest of the ride was free! |
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Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 6:09 am Post subject: |
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| daunting wrote: |
| I was taking a taxi home the other day, and the taxi driver took a wrong turn. He immediately realized it was not the right direction and that it would be expensive/lengthy to get back on the correct route. He was really embarrassed, so he turned the meter off and told me that the rest of the ride was free! |
That's honesty for you. People complain about this and that in Korea, and I do sometimes, too, but I love Korean taxi drivers. I've taken taxis in the US, Canada, Egypt, Mexico, and Korea. I enjoyed the cabs in Korea, Canada, and Mexico the most when it comes to tourism. Korean cab drivers, with some exceptions, are honest. Most cab drivers greet me with a smile and are very positive towards foreigners.
I also find the Korean volunteers at the Gwangju International Center very, very pleasant, and I like my teacher. I've learned a lot from her. Sometimes things she says might go over my head, but I am catching a lot.
My students are also doing a good job speaking to each other in English during interpersonal activities. They also are sounding much better. They still have trouble, though, with Aussie and UK accents they listen to, but I keep working on it because, as I told my students, they could possibly end up in one of those countries, and there are many forms of English and ways of speaking the language, not just the North American way. |
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bekinseki
Joined: 31 Aug 2011
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 4:01 pm Post subject: |
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| Adventurer wrote: |
| DaHu wrote: |
| What wasn't explained here is why someone would be in prison because of democracy. Who put him there, the north or south? |
South Korea didn't have a democracy in 1980. It had a dictatorship, and Uncle Sam supposedly was worried about the Gwangju uprising kind of like it was worried initally about the Arab Spring and still is. In the name of the Cold War, many Koreans were beaten, tortured, and killed. The man I met was part of the rebels of Gwangju who met and decided to fight with what weapons they had. They imprisoned him and beat him severely. He said he still has psychological scars from that time. I felt for the man. The military government, in a sense, ended in 1987 when it was decided a change had to be made.
It was interesting to watch the footage from 1980 back in 1980 people who were a lot older still wore traditional garb. |
Democracy in 1980? That's when Chun Doo-hwan took over, and he was far worse than Park ever was. The first democratic election was in 1988, but they ended up with another military leader. It wasn't until 1993 that they had a civilian leader, and even then it took several more years before Korea started looking like a democracy.
And, if you ask anyone who's right wing, those people weren't imprisoned for preaching democracy, but communism. Obviously a total lie, at least for most of the people involved, but that's how the dictators kept control for so long. |
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