Korean Job Discussion Forums

icnelly · Joined: 25 Jan 2006 Location: Bucheon

This was on Sunday. A korean guy I had just bumped into on the street and I decided to split a taxi to Itaewon. I got out first and the guy I had just met, and didn't even talk to during the ride refused to let me give him any money. My korean is terrible, but he said something about being a friend; he physically pushed my wallet away and opened the door for me.

That's awesome, right?

polonius · Joined: 05 Jun 2004

A couple Thanksgivings ago, I went down to Hannam market to buy a turkey. As I was walking back to Hangangjin Station, a 70 man came up to me and grabbed one handle of the bag and walk me, not only to the station, but all the way down to the tracks. I am 30 something, and NEVER in North American would I or have encountered something like this.

I have many stories from my teachers where Koreans have taken them exactly where they wanted to go in a taxi, and have paid for the taxi. (or some such other story of random acts of kindness)

But then, I have also had Koreans whom where less than kind and have tried to pick a fight with me. There a good and bad people everywhere.

Hater Depot · Joined: 29 Mar 2005

Koreans gave me a sweet, low-stress job where I could save a lot of money for two years. That was pretty awesome of them.

Yu_Bum_suk · Joined: 25 Dec 2004

Koreans gave me one of the worst jobs and one of the best jobs I've ever had in my life.

poet13 · Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 8:46 pm Post subject:

I can't even begin to recount the cool things Koreans have done for me.

kimchi_pizza · Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 9:11 pm Post subject:

The last time outta many great experiences?

Ah, the time my motorcycle broke down in the middle of two provinces and B.F.E. I walked up to the HQ of a contruction crew and they helped me call a flatbed tow truck. We waited for the truck by a conversation in broken English/Korean/Konglish and a few shots of soju. That soju got me good 'cause I was giddy as a school girl going back to town in the tow truck. It still turned out to be a good and memorable trip. I tip my hat to those fellers...

cubanlord · Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Location: In Japan!

A few weeks ago, I transfered a lot of money home and didn't think I was going to find a great deal on an airline ticket. A Korean lent me almost $1,500 USD to pay for the ticket, and, waited almost 2.5 weeks after the time she lent me the money to get paid back.
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Yesterday, for my birthday, a Korean gave me 4 free drinks easily totallying over 10,000 WON.
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Two weeks ago, a Korean gave my wife dental work at cost.
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4 days ago, I got a free pizza from our favorite Korean pizza place
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2 days ago, a Korean waived my movie rental late fees, and because one of the dvd's did not work on my computer (wrong region), gave me a free rental
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7 days ago, a Korean stopped and waved me by so that I wouldn't be ran over by cars.
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several times, several days...weeks....months...years ago....a Korean.....

lowpo · Joined: 01 Mar 2007

mercury · Joined: 05 Dec 2004 Location: Pusan

Once an Emart cashier actually opened up one of those bright orange bags for me.

annabel · Joined: 12 Jun 2006 Location: Daegu

One random act of kindness that sticks out in my mind, although there have been many:

I was in Seoul once with a couple of friends and we were trying to find a Yeogwan in the pouring rain but couldn't figure out the way. We jumped inside a Family Mart or something like that to ask the clerk for directions, but the clerk didn't know. Another customer who was there with a broken leg and crutches overheard us though and insisted on going outside to show us, making his friend come along who was holding his umbrella and helping him. We didn't want him to trouble himself like that but he wanted to make sure we went the right way and even hobbled over to a taxt to tell the taxi driver where to go!

Oh and another one that's happened to me that I find kinda amusing (but a bit exasperating at the same time) was when I was waiting in a hospital and had an old man order me to sit down. No I wasn't in his way or anything. I wasn't even the one who was sick. Happened to me a couple times, actually.

mercury · Joined: 05 Dec 2004 Location: Pusan

kimchi_pizza · Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 1:42 am Post subject:

mercury · Joined: 05 Dec 2004 Location: Pusan

sojourner1 · Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 2:29 am Post subject:

Yes, today I was at Emart and the cashier opened the orange bag and put my orange and grape juice 2 bottle combo into it. I thought this was kind, but also a way to speed me up on bagging my things.

The first time I was in Insadong looking for the Seoul Backpackers hostel, I got lost using the Lonely Planet book that has worthless maps. A Korean woman see me studying my map, looked at my lacking foreign made map, and walked me a long ways for about a half hour all the way there. I thought she was simply going to explain how to get there when she just kept going, in high heels mind you. I offered my umbrella as it was sprinkling outside and a little money, but she declined. She was meeting her friends at a nearby subway station just a few minutes away who were waiting for her after she had called them on her cell phone.
I thought this was extraordinary kindness and thoughtfullness. Guess some things happen for a reason, becuase I probably would had been lost well into the night or ended up never finding that place.

Outside of Seoul, I do not see many outwardly friendly people, but I am sure they exist.

merkurix · Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Location: Not far from the deep end.

In March I was carrying a ton of stuff from Lotte Mart that I could barely (and I mean that literally) barely handle everything (I was holding several bags in both hands; had stuff slung around my back; was holding stuff under my armpit and between my knees; even my teeth were holding a smaller bag). One really kind taxi ajeossi not only stepped out of his taxi to give me a hand loading all of my stuff onto his taxi, but once we arrived to my apartment he also got out to help me unload all of my stuff and made a few back and forth trips into my apartment with stuff(with his cab running and the meter off, no less). It is single random super-kind ajeossis that make me forgive one-hundred rude ones in seconds.