Korean Job Discussion Forums

[coffeeman]

I've determined that Korea is not a safe place to take a walk or ride your bicycle in because of the selfish and law-breaking drivers, but how much of a problem is theft?

I'm talking about pickpocketing, taking your eyes off your things for a moment and seeing them disappear, shoplifting, mail theft, people breaking into your apartment. etc... Just curious. My impression is that theft is rare here, but as you know, it's hard to get facts out of this country.

I also wonder how many pedestrians get seriously injured or killed by cars every year.

In contrast, CNN loves to show car chases nearly every night. Makes you think that all that happens in Los Angeles is car chases with police. Maybe these people want to get a part in a Police reality show.

[peppermint]

Stuff gets stolen at the public schools all the time. I work at an elementary school and on my floor 3 teachers had their wallets taken, and I lost 2 crates ( not little grocery store boxes- crates!) of chocopies.

[kangnam mafioso]

i lived in seoul for 2 years ... never had anything stolen, no problems with crime at all.

i lived in albuquerque, new mexico for 2 years, and i had my car window smashed in twice for no reason (my car stereo had already been stolen when i lived in washington, dc for 6 months).

pick pockets? dude, seoul ain't bangkok or paris. where are you?

[kangnam mafioso]

[denverdeath]

Been here eight years and only had one thing stolen...a thesaurus...my wonderful roommate at the time took it...no biggie...I stole it back. If someone tried to pick my pocket, they're only going to get garbage...literally...my wallet's full of old business cards I received from people I've long forgotten and receipts...no money. Just use your regular street smarts from back home, and you'll have no problems.

Having said that, I've had lots of students who have had things stolen. Some have had bags slashed. I worked at one place where two of the foreigners had money stolen during the time that I was there. You'd be surprised how many students will tell you that their home has been burgled at least one time during their life. Might have sth to do with them not closing or locking their doors? I'm always amazed at boxed goods on the streets and other things(trucks full of cases of beer) that are left unattended here. I always tell students that that stuff would be gone in about two seconds in an major city in North America; maybe three in most smaller cities.

Oh yeah, almost forgot. My wife had her car broken into twice. The first time, she went down in the morning and the guy who broke into it was sleeping in the passenger seat. He took off quickly when she started screaming at him. The second time, she left the car running while she ran back upstairs to retrieve sth she had forgotten. Of course, she had left her purse on the front seat. She got back in the car and realized that her purse was gone. She started banging on neighbours' doors and making inquiries in quite an agitated state. Came back upstairs to call the credit agencies to put a hold on her cards. When she went back down to get into the car again, she discovered that the purse was returned...it had been thrown over the gate and was resting at the foot of the stairs. Some neighbourhood punks were the culprits and had gotten scared. I still think that she should've gotten the cops involved, but at least she doesn't do foolish stuff like that anymore.

[eamo]

5 years in Korea and nothing has ever been stolen from me.

Yet I'm always warned by Koreans to be careful and lock my door all the time as if it's a big problem.

Koreans tend to believe theft crime is associated with certain neighborhoods and not others. When my Korean wife and I are discussing which area to move to next year she will write of certain neighborhoods saying they have a bad reputation for burglaries.

[Unreal]

I've had my quick-release bicycle seat stolen and someone stole my tire valves as well on a different occasion. Both times the bicycle was locked up behind the school. I don't understand why they even make easily removable seats and valves...they're just asking to be taken.

[JongnoGuru]

�Ҹ�ġ�� ����!

You don't see those signs anymore.

Pickpocketing -- specifically on buses, subway and in outdoor markets -- was as a fairly common and serious crime when I got here and for many years afterwards. The last time I or a friend was victimised or I saw the aftermath (typically a girl or woman in a crowd suddenly freezes and gasps "om mo!! I've been robbed!!") was... late '90s?

I was meeting friends for eats & drinks in that somewhat feral-looking area around the intersection of Itaewon 2-dong (roads going N to 3rd Namsan Tunnel, S to Panpo Bridge, NW to Haebangcheon, E up to the Hyatt). I wanted to keep drinking but didn't want to drive home drunk, so I asked the owner if he thought I could leave my motorcycle (locked) on the kerb overnight & I'd fetch it the next morning. I was mainly concerned with avoiding a parking ticket.

Him: Don't do that. Thieves will steal it.
Me: Really? What thieves?
Him: Southeast Asians.
Me: But it's locked. And it's heavy.
Him: Doesn't matter. They'll steal it and sell it for the money.
Me: And it's in plain view on a well-lit, busy road.
Him: This area is really bad now. It's not a good idea.
Me: (deciding not to leave my bike there, but asking out of curiousity) If these thefts are so common and this is such small strip of kerb, why don't the police do something? All it would take is a foot patrol passing by now and again. There must already patrols nearby who could swing down.
Him: (shrugs) Southeast Asians are very poor.
Me: Hmm.

BTW, does this guy have his geography right? Is that part of Itaewon 2-dong nowadays some den of Malaysian, Thai, Indonesian or Filipino motorcycle thieves?

[I_Am_Wrong]

I've personally never had anything stolen here in my year and a half. However, my neighbours had a laptop stolen when they left their apartment door unlocked one day. It was probably a restaurant delivery person who was putting magnets on doors. They aren't exactly rich.

Korea is safe, but you always have to be conscious that crime happens everywhere. Peppermint, your school had quite a few of disadvataged students didn't it?

As far as cars are concerned I've never really had much of a problem. Korea is busy and some drivers are a-holes so you just have to pay more attention. Seoul, like any city over 10 million, is going to be hell for pedestrians. I've noticed that here in Sanbon the drivers seem to be very courteous and often stop for pedestrians at crosswalks.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[inspector gadget]

My first year here in 2003 my apartment was broken into on new years eve while I was out drinking my face off.

Funny thing is the took 150 cd's and my alarm clock, thats it. They didn't take my laptop, speakers, dvd player, vcr, mp3 player or my biclycle.

Lucky for me my passport, other impotant doc's and cash were locked up in a cupboard.

[VanIslander]

I've left my apartment unlocked for over two years, as I'd lost the key and hadn't bothered to get it replaced. No problem. But I live on a relatively rich island, away from major urbanity.

It's safer here than back home, but not as safe as it appears to me. After all, a lot of the locals do put bars on their windows. That should be a sign.

I've heard that car and especially scooter theft is a big problem in Korea, with many of them ending up in China. Dunno if that's true or just a Korean bugaboo.

If one took regular precautions, the odds are good everything'll be okay.

I certainly wouldn't spend much time worrying about theft here. SAFETY and SECURITY are not the biggest issues living here.

[JongnoGuru]

One must always be on guard against those unpredictable crimes of passion. Such as when a hooker steals your Rolex.


And note that I said _your_ Rolex. The Guru doesn't use wristwatches. Or hookers.

[peppermint]

[coffeeman]

I've seen a couple of instances of theft by kids that make me think that kids here are even less punished than in my country.

1) In an all boys high school, some of the boys opened up the compters to steal the RAM chips in the computer room at lunch time. The school, of course, never found the culprits.

2) I was at Costco once and saw some 11 - 12 years old opening boxes of candy and helping themselves. Pissed off, I quickly considered my options (shout, do nothing, or drag the kids' asses to the management). I finally decided to do nothing. I thought shouting was useless. The kids are smart to know that they're getting off easy. It won't deter them from stealing again. I didn't want to drag them because I'd look like the overbearing foreigner. I settled on doing nothing. My attitude is that Costco should be policing Costco. It's not my store. I just wish they'd ask the parents of all these kids in Costco to keep them in line so this doesn't happen and other customers can have an enjoyable shopping experience.

I know Costco will never do anything about the wild kids playing chase through the ailes because this is Korea.