Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Newbie]

Yep, I'm jumping up all the way to number 2. Could be number 1, but who am I to make that call?

No matter how long I stay here, I will still get all heated up under the collar when I'm standing in line for something (elevator, fast food, tickets, etc) and someone comes barging in in front of me. Get in the mother flickin' line!!

I hate to admit having seen the movie, but you know in "Michael" when Travolta goes on about how he invented the "line up" and how before him people just milled about in mass confusion? ... This invention has obviously not hit this beautiful little penninsula of ours.

As usual, this applies mainly to ajummas and the odd 30 something male who feels he has to prove he's better than the tall waygookin.

Now, just to show I am not completely one sided I do feel it neccessary to add that the last time I was taking the KTX a couple of young business men went out of the way to gesture for me to go in ahead of them (shocking) Of course, me being from a place with a higher level of manners , I won the game of "no, no, you go first" and let them go ahead.

[seattlespew]

*.*

[billybrobby]

it's not who got in line first, it's who was born first.

I don't mind the old ladies jumping in line, but i despise people who stand right in front of the subway door and block the people from getting out. i think when the subway doors open, they should be preceded by burst of flame to clear out any morons.

[seoulsucker]

I would have to rank that as a top 10 as well, due to frequency.

However, the absolute worst thing that has ever happened to me in this country in terms of manners occurred yesterday.

I got in the elevator on the 8th floor, and was heading down to the 1st. On the second floor, a middle-aged Korean man stepped onto the elevator, pressed the 1F button in order to cancel where I was going, and pressed 12F to get where he wanted to go. I was in a state of total disbelief.

Oh, and BTW, I did a little calculation today.

In my 2 years in Korea, I have wasted over 2 hours on elevators due to the lack of integrated systems here. In other words, since all the side-by-side elevators operate independently instead of in unison, at least 2 or three times a day I am forced to stop at a floor, only to have the door open and have no one there because someone caugth the other one first. It's only 5 seconds, but over two years it adds up to at least a movie.

[mindmetoo]

I didn't realize we were counting down. I thought we were counting up.

My "line" is you have to basically be so close to the person in front of you that your john thomas is nestling inside their ass rack, or else in the perception of a Korean, you're not in line. You're just milling about in front of the cash with an arm full of packages and money. You're more or less there for your health.

[Newbie]

[ChimpumCallao]

ahhhhh civility!!! I can't believe that elevator thing! (Actually I can)

Yesterday was a particularly backwater monkey day. On the subway some ajumma gave me a two handed push (!!!) to the side so she could pass and at some store some nasty ass chick basically swatted my hand away from a hanger so she could reach one nearer to me.

Seriously...where is the civility. if people were polite here, it would be 100 times better to live in. polite isn't pouring a cup with your arm tucked behind your armpit and bowing 2328969723 times after you say goodbye...that is culture....polite is not playing defensive lineman while walking to the subway. I hate having to play Frogger every time I'm out.

[mindmetoo]

[Thunndarr]

[periwinkle]

[seoulsucker]

[mindmetoo]

[the eye]

word of advice...if you don't want anyone moving in front of you, don't give them the space to do it.
i think we westerners, accustomed to much larger personal space, leave an open invitation to koreans...who like to squeeze in where they can.

[Ya-ta Boy]

This is an interesting thread. Of course cutting in line is annoying and so is the elevator escapade, but in the scheme of things, is it really that bad? It never happened at home? I doubt it. The difference is that you either dealt with it on the spot or forgot about it. Here, we tend to hang on to these events and stew. That reaction is an example of culture shock. The stresses pile up and we over-react to small annoyances as if they were life-altering events. One poster said it was the worst thing to ever happen to him here. He should be jumping for joy if that is truly the case.

We would all be happier here if we use our reactions to these minor annoyances as signals to measure our stress levels. Everyone needs healthy stress management techniques, and expats need them a little more than most.

[Qinella]