Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Qinella]

There's been a lot of talk lately about how Koreans are rude and unkind. People have conceded this in passing, as though it were a given fact. I can't agree with that, and I hate for people to say Dave's is full of racism and xenophobia (I've talked to several people who say they don't post here for that reason).

Something that has always struck me about Korea is how people are so willing to help me out if I have a need, moreso than in the US, even in the South where hospitality is supposedly served for breakfast. I'll list a few of the times when a Korean has done something nice for me. Please add your own.

Most of the random acts of kindness happened in my first year, when I spent 99% of the time walking around with a stupid 'where the hell am I, what the hell am I supposed to do' look on my face.

- The first time in my life ever to hail a taxi, I was so nervous. I had no idea what to do. After a moment, a young agassi walked over and showed me how to get a cab, and then told the cab driver where I was going.

- After taking the wrong bus, I was stuck in an unfamiliar part of Daejeon. I asked the person next to me for help finding the right bus, and they went out of their way to lead me to it since I couldn't understand enough Korean to be told directions.

- After taking the wrong bus again, I found myself at the last stop, far from where I had hoped it was going. The bus driver was sympathetic, and drove me across town, going completely out of his way and possibly getting in trouble with his boss.

- A pojang macha owner gave me and a friend our entire evening's tab suhbisuh style.

- An ajumma and her daughter walked a few blocks with me to find a PC bang when I asked where the closest one was.

- A whole hell of a lot of old people have smiled and bowed at me. That always makes me feel good.

[ella]

My first time reloading my T-money card in the subway, I was reading through the instructions on the machine and a young woman came running over and showed me how to use it. It wasn't exactly difficult to figure out but I appreciated the gesture nonetheless.

I love the bowing, it's quite charming.

[pdx]

My Korean friends I have made through church will bend over backwards to help my roommate and me. They are amazing. They will call customs, check things Korea sites, have offered to buy tickets for us (and let us pay them back) over the phone or online, ask questions at stores for us, take large groups of foreigners to dinner and do all of the ordering and arranging, guide us to a good noraebang, etc. I just cannot believe how many times we've asked a quick question of one of them and they immediately are all over it, trying to find a solution and offering to call places or go places with us.

They are amazing, and life has been so good here because of them.

Others have been extremely kind to us as well. The "security guards" at our officetel keep an eye out for us and deliver to us our packages we receive in the mail. The lady at the local chicken place remembers us and what we order. The people at the bank have always given us an easy time when transferring money.

We have been offered candy, seats on the subway, and smiles from children.

Of course there are rude people everywhere. But I tell people back home that Korean people are great.

[oneofthesarahs]

-I was trying to catch a bus to Changwon, but the lady at the ticket counter was trying to tell me something that I did not understand. There was a Korean woman who was standing near the ticket counter who approached me and told me that I had to pay the bus driver for the ticket. Then she offered to show me which bus left for Changwon (she was going there, too). The bus was pulling out of the station, so she grabbed my arm and chased down the bus with me.

-I once, in passing, made a comment in the teacher's office (to no one in particular) that I wished my apartment had a toaster. A few days later, I had a toaster. All of the Korean teachers chipped in and bought me one.

-On a bus ride to Seoul, a woman got off the bus the rest stop, and I stayed on. When she came back, she had a bottle of water for me.

-One Friday night, I was wistfully looking into a bar (my first weekend here, and I didn't know anyone) as I passed. A group of young Korean people gestured me in, and bought drinks for me all night, even though they barely spoke English. One of the guys offered to introduce me to a friend of his who spoke English very well. The guy he introduced me to is now one of my best friends here.

-A man who works at my local grocery store gives me a ride to work when it is extra cold or raining if he sees me walk by the store.

-The first time I was in Seoul, I was standing in front of a subway map, trying to get my bearings. I didn't need help, I was just trying to familiarize myself with the map, but I had two seperate people come up to me and offer to help me.

-When I had a plumbing issue in my apartment, the plumber was the father of one of my students. He gave me a HUGE discount on the bill.

I could seriously go on and on like this forever.

[jajdude]

I may have the greatest one of all. Once I was in a PC room. I had an envelope of those 100,000 won "checks" in my inside coat pocket, thought it was secure and zippered up. Crashing at a motel, I get a call from ex-boss the next morning. Somebody found the cash, called the bank, who called the ex-boss. I went back to PC room and got my cash, 11 or 12 of those 100,000 notes, pretty much all the money I had to my name. A funny detail is that, written in Korean on the envelope, it said, "man in 40s" --- I was 36 at the time.

Damn that was lucky. When I'm in a "hate Korea" mood that's good one to recall.

[bnrockin]

props to you for making this thread. Although I'm not in Korea yet, I've always noticed how kind my Korean friends are here who come from Korea to learn English.
-Quite often I receive entire nights worth of drinking for free
-great care when I'm drunk
-many invitations to diner
-someone returning a favor X2 for every favor I do
Ever these 2 guys I don't really care for that much-one of them gave up his bed for me when I was drunk one night and he slept on the floor and the other gave me and a few of my friends free drinks at the bar he works at. Yeah, you get the bad banana's in every bunch, but I have always associated Koreans with kindness.

[trinity24651]

Thank you Quinella for starting this post. I leave for Korea next week and it is absolutely wonderful to know that it is not all negative there!!

[SuperFly]

Just yesterday...I was looking for a place I was meeting someone at...I'd followed the directions and the map, but I was about 40 meters short of where I was supposed to be. I must've looked confused, I didn't ask anyone for help thinking I could find it on my own. Adjosshi walks up to me and asks me if he could help out. He gave me great directions and pointed out the building I was looking for. Thats one.

Late last night...Wolgok Jim Jill Bang. I left me old glasses on the shower stall after taking a shower, headed off for the saunas and the hot water pools...a few minutes later an older adjosshi walks up to me and says in perfect English..."You may want to take better care of your glasses, I see they're Ray Bans and made in Italy...someone could steal them..."

Thats two in one day.

[princess]

No Korean acts of kindness to the princess? I find that hard to believe![/quote] Oh, I have received MANY acts of kindness from Koreans, of course. One of them is my boyfriend so of course, he does nice things for me. He came to my place Sunday and fixed my loose door lock. I didn't even expect him to. He comes in my place, pulls out a screwdriver, and goes to it. That was really sweet. I have been lost before, and had Koreans walk with me down the street to show me the place in question. I have met more kind Koreans than not so kind Koreans.

[uberscheisse]

the general kindness of koreans is the main selling point of this country. the sour-ass fruitcakes wheezed and moaned about on this board are really few and far between.

i'm not going to contribute too much to this thread, but i have to say that i've been treated like a king on more occasions than i can count, and it's been touching.

[Chamchiman]

Just yesterday I was walking through the underground arcade to City Hall. I wanted to find the right exit, and as I was staring at the map on the wall the guy next to me said, "May I help you?" I shot him a big smile and said, "No thank you."

I've found that when I'm just sitting on the subway, or reading a book in the park, it's entirely possible that some Korean (usually a dude older than me) will come up to me and start an English conversation. In those situations I either practice my Korean, pretend I'm Russian, act a little standoffish, or apologize meekly and walk ten meters and sit elsewhere. BUT, when I'm standing around looking at a map or doing a stop-and-look-around on a sidewalk, it's possible (and I'm even beginning to think likely) that somebody will, after a short period of time, offer to help me WITH NO ENGLISH CONVERSATION STRINGS ATTACHED. It's lovely really. It's to the point where, if asked, I'll give advice to newbies who don't know how to get around town on the subway to stand around looking purposely confused and scratch their head - somebody will probably give them a hand.

My contribution to the board - I was in Incheon Airport four years ago, trying to figure out those frickin international card phones to get a call through to my folks. Some Korean dude tried in vain to help me out, so he hauls out his cell phone and insists that I make the call. I only talked for a few minutes, but it probably cost him a few bucks. Then he gives me his card, and instead of telling me to give him a call for samgyeopsal and soju (which I expected - "new waeguk friend") he simply said, "If you need any help while you're in the airport today, I'd be happy to help you out until my flight boards in a few hours."

When my students ask me what I think of Korean people, I usually say something like, "I think many Korean people are kind, because they've usually been kind to me." This is followed by a chorus of "Teacher. No!"s, but I have to stand by what I say - whether they're unkind or indifferent to their fellow Koreans or not has nothing to do with me, and whether this trend of helpfulness exists in other, more rural parts of the country is for someone else to comment on.

[Ya-ta Boy]

[Zolt]

Had a generally good experience here, but the best was when I was on my way back from Jeju last summer with my arm in a sling. Lots of random people would chat up to me, ajummas in the train would give me fruits and snacks, some dudes on the ferry invited me to go up to their place for a weekend (near a ski resort, might take them up on that..). Even foreigners would chat up to me (now that's a first!). It was almost too much.

It's true that you need to be visibly helpless for these acts of kindness to happen, but it's nice when they do.

[flint]

A few weeks ago I was walking to work and yapping on my cell phone. Didn't pay enough attention to where I was going and ended up tripping on a raise in the sidewalk. I went ass over kettle, smashing down into my right knee and side. Hit hard enough that I cracked a rib.

This little Korean woman, one of the ones you see everyday selling milk, rushed out of a store. She helped me up, dusted me off, all the while asking if I was ok. I was in shock, from the stupid accident not her helping, in pain, and embarassed at my stupidity. I told her I was ok, thanked her, and left. At the time I couldn't remember saying thank you to her. So I tracked her down the next day and thanked her. Bought some milk too.

I appreciate her help. It made me feel good about people at a time I would have just found something to complain about., like my own stupidity for not watching where I was going.

[Homer]

Good thread to start Quin.....

Too many acts of kindness to speak of really and I have similar stories as those posted already. The generous people definitively outnumber the idiots who end being the odd case here and there.

One small example anyway.

A few weeks after I arrived in Korea, I was playing soccer with a local group of people (I was of the course the only waeguk on the pitch). Anyway, during a game on a sunday afternoon I hurt my right knee (or rather re-hurt it as it was an old injury from past sports days). I could not walk on my own so two of my teamates, dudes I just met a couple of weeks ago helped me to their car and drove me the nearest clinic.

This is no big deal so far but pretty cool of them anyway.

After seeing the doctor and getting some meds (pain killers) they drove me to my appartment (they waited at the hospital with me the whole time).

The next day I called in sick and arranged things with my school so I could stay home for the rest of the week (I was lucky that it worked out...). At around noon, my doorbell rings and the ajuma that lives next to me is standing there with a platter of food (soup, rice...). She smiles and offers me the food. Long story short, she did this for the next 3 days and refused money for it each time I offered.

Suffice it to say that later, after I healed I bought her a nice gift at Lotte to say thanks. That lady was one of the kindest person that I have ever met. I was her neighbor for 2 years and she always went out of her way to help or be nice.

I could also mention the amazing generosity I encounter each sunday in the nearby park when I go play Korean chess with the local Korean dudes who hang out there. The patience they showed when I was learning the language and the offers of food and drink. The many gifts they offered when my son was born and the way they treat him when they see him...