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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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Natebomb
Joined: 23 May 2006
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 Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 4:54 am Post subject: Big guys in Korea? |
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| Hey guys, I'm a bigger guy, uh, not tall, around 5'11, weigh around 230lbs. Now, I work out consistently, play football, (tackle, not the kicking kind) and am often accused of/assumed to be using steroids, (I'm not a baseball player or a cyclist, I'm clean), based on my size. What I'm wondering is how will Korean people receive me....will they think I'm fat or just another juice monkey? The reason I ask is that I'm continually getting further frustrated by uninformed people who just assume that because I have muscle mass, I must be using something. I just don't want it to be further perpetuated in Korea. Are there a lot of bigger guys over there and how do they react to it? |
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laogaiguk
Joined: 06 Dec 2005
Location: somewhere in Korea
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| Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 5:00 am Post subject: Re: Big guys in Korea? |
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| Natebomb wrote: |
| Hey guys, I'm a bigger guy, uh, not tall, around 5'11, weigh around 230lbs. Now, I work out consistently, play football, (tackle, not the kicking kind) and am often accused of/assumed to be using steroids, (I'm not a baseball player or a cyclist, I'm clean), based on my size. What I'm wondering is how will Korean people receive me....will they think I'm fat or just another juice monkey? The reason I ask is that I'm continually getting further frustrated by uninformed people who just assume that because I have muscle mass, I must be using something. I just don't want it to be further perpetuated in Korea. Are there a lot of bigger guys over there and how do they react to it? |
If more than a couple actually even know what steroids are and what they do, I would be surprised. They will just think you are a Westerner, nothing more. You have nothing to worry about. Now the foriegners you work with or hang with might think differently.
And for most people here, while you are correct in saying bigger, you are incorrect in thinking there are many that are bigger muscle wise  Though there are some.
I have big enough muscles, and the kids like to hang off them (you know, the arm curl, where is the beach  ). They will say ATOM to you a lot. My guess is they mean AstroBoy (who is very strong) as ATOM is the Japanese name (and therefore the Korean one too) for Astroboy. |
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Newbie
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 5:53 am Post subject: Re: Big guys in Korea? |
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| laogaiguk wrote: |
| They will say ATOM to you a lot. My guess is they mean AstroBoy (who is very strong) as ATOM is the Japanese name (and therefore the Korean one too) for Astroboy. |
Are you sure they're not saying "alton" which means something like "muscle" or "flex" ... so was once explained to me a long time ago. |
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Hapkido-In
Joined: 24 Jun 2006
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| Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 8:04 am Post subject: |
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That's alot of muscle mass.
You should be fine because steroid use isn't rampant in Korea. |
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 3:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Hapkido-In wrote: |
That's alot of muscle mass.
You should be fine because steroid use isn't rampant in Korea. |
Depends on the circles you run in. I helped train a guy for the Mr Korea and everyone was on crank.
That being said though, there is a growing number of guys with builds in korea... you may stand out, but not that much. |
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ThePoet
Joined: 15 May 2004
Location: No longer in Korea - just lurking here
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| Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 3:37 pm Post subject: |
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I'm fat....
When I sit around the house I sit around the house.
I had one job as a counterweight....for the panama canal.
When I go outside, people wonder how the eclipse occured so fast.
When I go to the beach, people keep trying to push me in the water so I won't dry out, and they call greenpeace to try and save another beached whale.
When I go to restaurants, people hide their children.
Do you get the picture? I am 6'3" and 290 lbs. Aside from not being able to find any clothes here (I live in Daegu, I've heard rumors that there are big man's clothes in Itaewan) I've never really noticed any discrimination. Yes, I've seen kids point and stare and even laugh...sometimes even Adjushis do it to (they have the subtlety of a jackhammer you know) but I don't think I've had that treatment moreso than any other westerner. I also don't think the pointing and staring and not-so-subtle laughing is any worse than I've experienced in bars or streets of my hometown back in Canada.
Don't worry about it. If you are truly a big man, no amount of being singled out for ridicule can hurt you.
Poet |
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Gardimus
Joined: 23 Feb 2006
Location: Formerly Ontario, Canada
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| Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 9:29 pm Post subject: |
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| Hapkido-In wrote: |
That's alot of muscle mass.
You should be fine because steroid use isn't rampant in Korea. |
I'm pretty sure I've seen the odd 'roid rage' in Itaewon. |
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