Korean Job Discussion Forums

[lief]

On my first Saturday in Korea I decided to feed my fridge and go to this "Emart super market." The place was huge and just packed. I tried my best to avoid joining in on the shopping cart bumper cars and I wandered around with my mouth open a while, stoping, wandering, drooling and moving on again. I passed by a lady in the most beautiful ivy designed dress and a minute later she came up to me, tapped me on the shoulder and asked me something in Korean. I had no idea what she was trying to tell me until she pointed out the big pack of diapers inside what I thought was my shopping cart. ...diapers aren't on my grocery list... Hey this isn't my shopping cart... I put my hands on my head in surprize and tried to say "mian hamnida!" but instead "Oh annyong haseyo!" came out.

[the eye]

my first month here. i was awakened at 5 am by terrible screaming, glass breaking, furniture smashing....

i cracked open my door to see what was goin on. it was coming from the apartment below. my immediate neighbors were standing at the top of the stairs watching the apparent commotion.

i put on my shoes and joined them. the looks on their faces said it all. the apartment below was DESTROYED. even the contents of the refridgerator was thrown in the mix. it was a disaster. the screaming was getting worse.

i walked down the stairs and peered in to see a young woman, face down on her bed. a skinny little *beep* was on top of her, with his knee between her shoulder blades, and a chunk of her hair in his hand.

i couldn't believe there were more people standing there at the door....watching. one man and some young women in a wide eyed gaze while this sod attacked her.

as i hadn't learned much korean by that date, i didn't know how to say 'police'.
but i remember seeing the cute little cartoon mascot on the sign outside my local police box... under the mascot, there was the romanized name "PODORI" and a phone number.

so, i deduced in this flashback that "PODORI" must mean 'police' in korean...

so i start making hand signals for a telephone in my ear, and yap "CALL PODORI!" a couple times.

why did they look at me like i was a nut???

...er, well, PODORI is just the name for the mascot.

it wasn't until days later that i was corrected through telling of my experience. i was also informed that most koreans know what 'police' means anyway.

in case anyone wants to know how it ended... i ventured in, almost fell flat on my ass trying to walk on the spilled food amd other crap...
i made it to the bed, grabbed the guy by the neck and threw him to the floor....he was wasted beyond reality.
as i checked on the girl,...he stumbled to the kitchen sink and came wobbled back to me with a dinner knife....
i couldn't believe it... i stepped out of myself and i grabbed his wrist and smashed it against the wall repeatedly, all hollywood style, until he dropped the knife. i felt like i was watching myself in a bad hollywood movie.
after he dropped the knife, i dunno, i just had the instinct not to take it any further... good thing, because the "PODORI' were at hte door.
It wasn't until i reached the door that the lone male spectator stepped in to help.

that was my SHOCKING initiation to korean CULTURE....

[coulter]

I just saw three little kids giggling and pissing on each other on my way to the PC bang

[casey's moon]

It was four years ago, but my first culture shock moment ALSO happened in E-Mart -- involved me running home and crawling into bed and curling up in the fetal situation rocking and saying "there's no place like home, there's no place like home." Can't even remember why anymore. Hmm.

[casey's moon]

The podori story is too awful to be funny, yet the fact that you yelled "Call podori" is too funny to be awful. I'm confused... back to bed in the fetal position...

[Alias]

[kertong]

[Shaded Shadows]

I never ate garlic before and the first time at a kalbi restaurant with korean co-workers, i was drunk and confused about all the food not being very adventerous with foods before then...

well I thought the banana slices were a safe bet...


little did i realize!

[kermo]

I thought I was a pretty smooth operator, having taken a lot of weird things in stride during my first month in Korea. I ate plenty of spooky looking food, and was settling in well.

Then I met the horrors of a Pizza Hut salad bar. A co-teacher had rhapsodized about the delicious salad I was about to enjoy. A waiter brought a single, small bowl.

My co-teacher began to heap food into it on our behalf: lettuce, veggies.. okay, so far so good. No, please leave that macaroni salad alone. Pickles? Well, alright. Jello! No! Not the Jello cubes! Grapes? Tomatoes? Slather it all in ultra-sweet kiwi dressing? Well, you may as well, because I can't touch that thing.

I begged a waiter for another bowl. He told me firmly "No! One bowl per table." We sat down, and my companions ate with gusto. I sat trying not to weep over the fate of my poor little salad. It just felt so... wrong.

[Hollywoodaction]

[Demophobe]

Isn't anyone going to talk about culture shock in this thread?

A lot of isolated incidents, about as related to "culture shock" as to bananas, that are a drag to stuble upon, but if one is defining culture shock through these things, I suggest you buy a dictionary.

[casey's moon]

well, I'm pretty sure my story was a story about culture shock... didn't I mention the fetal position? to me, culture shock isn't about the salad bar (not that I don't appreciate that story -- I've experienced something similar more than once) or that kind of thing... to me it's about the moment when you start feeling comfortable, and begin to think you have life in Korea (or another foreign country) figured out, and then something sneaks up on you and shakes you up, turns you upside down. That "something" for me, was finding myself in a crowded shopping mart that looked so similar to Safeway or Superstore at home, but everyone was acting so different, and no one could understand me, and I kept getting bumped by shopping carts and it suddenly dawned on me -- I'M NOT IN KANSAS (Kenora, actually) ANYMORE!!! Is that not culture shock?

[OiGirl]

It's quite a shock to realize that the police have a mascot. But it goes away and eventually just seems the most natural thing.

[kermo]

[casey's moon]