Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jajdude]

I've been in Korea a long time. Except for crooked hagwon bosses, I don't recall ever being ripped off. I've left baggage unchecked, had things returned or untouched, after a good enough amount of time to be ripped off elsewhere. So, my opinion is, that for a society, they are fairly honest, not including hagwon sharks.

[Qinella]

Got my bike stolen the only time I left it without a chain for a couple of hours.

A student stole a ball I brought from America.

My virginity was stolen by a slutty western man.

[mithridates]

I had a 250,000 won electronic dictionary stolen from me in the richest part of Apgujeong (the richest part of Seoul). Don't trust them. I also had a textbook stolen when I left it on the bank machine; when I phoned and went to the back of the bank (it was closed) we watched all the people using the bank machine while the book lay there, then a guy came along, noticed the book, started flipping through the pages, then he left. The book was still there. Then in came a girl in a miniskirt in her 20s, used the machine, left and took the book with her. Don't trust them either.

[uberscheisse]

living in apkujeong, again...

my buddy got his apartment broken into. laptop, digital camera and a change jar with about 200,000 won in it were ripped off.

this is the only thing besides crooked hagwon bosses that i've heard in my circle of friends.

[anjucat]

Late March of this year: The weather was nice, and i wanted to go for a bike ride. Big problem: Where did i leave my bike last time i rode it, sometime in November? Oh yeah, outside the 7-11 a couple of blocks away. So i walk down there to get it. It's still there (with a little more rust on it), but the curious thing is... ... i had forgotten to lock the damn thing! The lock was wrapped around the handlebars, where i leave it when i'm riding. Hehe. It's not a crappy bike, either; it's a pretty new and decent mountain bike. Just sittin' out in front of the cornerstore (in a very high-traffic area downtown) for 4 months!


September, '04: I go back to Canada for a visit. Backpack full of photos, letters/drawings from students, gifts for friends and family. Backpack stolen, 27 hours after touching "home" soil. Welcome home. Watch yer stuff.

[Homer]

[Guri Guy]

Nothing wrong with saying, "Don't trust them". There are good and bad Koreans here. I have had coworkers who have got their bikes stolen. They were even locked but not to an object so some bike thieves came by and popped it in a truck. I have had friends get personal possessions stolen as well.

Certainly I think there are other countries where you might be more likely to get things stolen. However one should be careful in Korea as well. Better safe than sorry.

[Homer]

Them is perhaps not the best term....

What you said: better be careful anyway is much more accurate and constructive.

[Return Jones]

Me: Stolen bike in Suwon.

I have had countless friends, co-workers, and students that have had their bikes stolen - locked or unlocked. A good friend of mine in Bucheon has had 2 expensive mountain bikes stolen at the subway station. They cut the heavy-duty lock in broad daylight while thousands of people walked by.

Several teachers at my public school have had their cellphones go missing.

No need to be paranoid. Just lock bikes, hide valuables from plain view, and hope for the best!

[steroidmaximus]

Someone stole my 60000 BBQ; left it overnight on the roof of my 15 story apartment building, came back the next afternoon: poof.

Had someone come canvassing door to door pretending to be a high school student collecting money for the poor (he was obviously not a high school student, and it was around 10 pm). Went into the living room to talk about it with my wife, came back into the study 5 minutes later and he had slid open the screen and stolen some Vietnamese Dong I had sitting on a shelf. Would have loved to see the expression on his face trying to cash it in at the the bank: it had a bunch of zeros on it but was actually worth about 3 bucks.

Had my car vandalised, twice. The last time was just a few days ago: I started work at a friend's hogwon just to help them out for a few weeks, parked the car in front of the hogwon on the first day, and some kid(s) covered the driver's side in ice cream and broke the door handle. Guess they really wanted to get in. Funny, eh?

Was attacked (read: sucker-punched) without provocation on 2 occasions.

Friends have had money, motorbikes, books, etc etc stolen. Yet when I go down to the little supa the halmoni leaves the cash till wide open and in full view. The beer delivery guys have open bed trucks that any kid worth his salt with a skateboard would've scooted by and ripped off a dozen times already.

Anyway, don't buy that crap about low crime rate. Several police officers I know tell it as it is: it happens, and a lot of it goes unreported.

[aldershot]

road trip from incheon to gyeong-ju. urine stop along the way. locked the doors and left handbags and backpacks inside. gone for maybe 5 minutes, i returned to a jarred lock on the driver's side. first thought, "jeez, the car's been broken into". then checked all our stuff: wallets are there, 1000$ cameras are there, everything's intact. arrive at said destination and go to pay the hotelier, when i check inside my wallet. cash was gone. friends' cash was gone.

the best thieves i've ever (not) encountered. didn't steal the good stuff, didn't steal the entire wallet, just the cash. i give those guys cudos.

[mithridates]

[Homer]

You meant them.

Those people over there..standing next to they and those.

[JongnoGuru]

[mithridates]