Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Hanson]

Like most of you who've been here awhile, I sometimes get worked up about living in Korea and the pet peeves of life here. At times, I even get into an Anti-Korea rant with/to friends which leaves me neither satisfied, nor very proud.

This Christmas, my family visited me here for the first time since I came 5 years ago. It was nice to show them around Seoul and to showcase all the good in Korea. When meeting my fiancee's family (Korean), there was a beautiful cultural exchange going on which left everyone feeling warm inside.

After a week here, my family and I went to Thailand. I stayed a month in Thailand and returned a few days ago feeling better about Korea than I have for a while. I've made the decision to be more positive about my host country, and not to take individual incidents as par for the course.

I hope this post doesn't degrade into another Korea-bashing thread... I just thought that 1- having family visit, 2- a nice break outside of Korea, and 3- having a consciously positive attitude are all ways we can feel better about our everyday life.

Having said this, I arrived in Incheon, a smile (although a tired one) on my face, and took the airport "Limousine Bus" home with my fiancee. She asked the driver a few questions about how long the ride would be and where the drop-off points were, and the driver did all but spit at her. He was incredibly rude, angry for no reason (other than the fact that he was talking to a Korean woman with a Western guy), basically telling my fiancee not to bother him. In between sentences, he'd do that familiar "eehhhhhhh" with a few "eehhhyyyiiisssssshhhhhhhheeee"'s thrown in.

Now, I mean, WTF? 'Welcome back to Korea' I thought to myself. But I held my tongue (something that I was until then incapable of doing in such situations), and remembered my pledge to be more positive.

I haven't stopped thinking about this incident over the past 2 days since arriving back from my trip... First, I wish I had told that Ahole (in my limited, but amply explitive Korean) where he could put his attitude, and second, will I be able to keep my "positive attitude" about Korea?

For my own sake I hope so!

[Blind Willie]

Bus drivers are creatures that have evolved beyond the need for politeness.

[JacktheCat]

[Leslie Cheswyck]

I got so much free time on my hands I might just go and check it out.

[babtangee]

[Swiss James]

I think I was on that bus, he was running late as it was and you guys were holding up 40+ people.

[shakuhachi]

[inkoreaforgood]

[dogbert]

To hijack this thread, about two weeks ago I took a limousine bus back into Seoul from Incheon Airport, had a nice chat with the driver during the trip, and he was nice enough to drop me off at an unscheduled stop close to my apartment.

[tzechuk]

I find the majority of bus drivers in Korea VERY rude! In England, bus drivers would greet you, say things like (hello me lov' or something) and when you've handed over the money, they say *ta* or thank you. If there are old people getting on the bus, they wait to make sure that these folks are seated before they drive off to make sure they don't fall. Then when you get off the bus, you say thanks to the driver and they say bye to you.

In Korea? When I was pregnant, I got on the bus once or twice and I was moving slowly because I was 8 months along. I had barely got on the bus, the driver told me to get inside the bus so he could driver off and he drove off at a lightning speed!!!!! What's up with them?!

[Swiss James]

[tzechuk]

[TJ]

Maybe I've been lucky but I've never had a rude bus driver in the whole 4 years I've been in Korea. There have been bad drivers but none have been impolite. The only angry Korean bus driver ever was one who swore at a motor cyclist who tried to commit suicide by cutting in front of the bus.

[billybrobby]

[Hanson]