Korean Job Discussion Forums

[captain kirk]

Ha! I saw something that has me howling now thinking about it. There are trainers, three men, three women, who float around my Hotel California health-uh (health club), perched on a mini-mountainside with Hotel California-ish pseudo Spannish architecture (now where did that come from, in Korea? Cali health worshipper central, I guess, trendy lycra hipsters central!). Well, I asked, and to have a trainer for an hour costs 40,000 won! Yikes. What had me laughing like hell today was a trainer feeling up a customer's buttcheeks while the guy did deep knee bends hugging a ten kilo weightdisc across his chest like a teddy bear made of pain.

I mean the trainer was watching the knee bending patron's butt like it was a cake in the oven, and he reached out, when the knee-bender was at maximum butt flex, to touch it for some reason, cup it, every time, with both hands, stereophonic butt cupping. Now what the hell is that!!!?When I saw this I shouted over at them, 'you're touching that guy's ass, creepy!!! hahahaha!'. The trainer looked suddenly embarrassed and a little pissed, which was a priceless snapshot in time. His buddy, another trainer, was laughing and so was the patron who was having his butt cupped at the Moment of Maximum Butt-Muscle Pump (for god knows what scientific reason). Lawrd, hahaha, I've seen lots of comedy there but this was award-winning. What cameraderie!

[zappadelta]

This thread really needs pics to take off. It could be a good one though.

[cubanlord]

[Kimchi Cowboy]

I once saw a guy on the seated incline leg-press (sorry, I'm not enough of a gym guy to know the exact name of the machine...) He had a good amount of weight on it, and he had his legs completely straight - knees locked, which I've been given to understand is a big no-no on leg presses. He was literally BOUNCING the weight up and down, flexing his legs just a couple inches then up to full lock again.

[excitinghead]

When I lived in Jinju, I worked out at in the mornings at a very small gym round the corner of my house. Every day at 11, like clockwork, the owner would order a coffee girl over, and 2 of his friends would arrive with a bag of hot steaming mashed potatos, and once the girl arrived with her thermos of cheap instant coffee all four of them would get stuck in to both. This happened every single day for the 6 months I went there.

Being a small gym and me being a regular, they often would stop me in the middle of my workout and ask if I wanted to join them. My Korean was good enough to politely decline but not to say I couldn't think of a more bizarre and less appetising combination to eat during my hot sweaty workouts.

Not funny sorry, but it stuck in my mind, and they're probably still doing it now 6 years later. My female friend at a different gym had better stories: hers was a combination gym/jim-jil-bang/bathouse so the gym was effectively split into two mens's and women's sections. That meant that usually the first thing she saw as she was walking in was 4 or 5 naked 55 year-olds jogging on the treadmills. That stuck in her memory too, but she'd rather it didn't.

[billybrobby]

I was in a gym and I watched this guy lift a giant barbell, a very very heavy weight, and then RETURN it to it's ORIGINAL POSITION. Just lifted it up and put it right back where it was. I mean, he didn't accomplish anything at all! Why move that huge weight just to put it back where it was?!? And then he did again! And again! And another guy jumped on this machine and started running but he wasn't GOING ANYWHERE. Just running in place. What an idiot!! I tapped him on the shoulder and told him that the whole point of running is to GET SOMEWHERE (duh!) but he just looked at me like I'm the moron. So I just walked back to the vibrating belt machine that I was using and watched these two idiots completely waste their time.

[RACETRAITOR]

I know an American girl who got a gym membership last year. She told me, first of all, about the legendary pubic hair blowdryers. She also told me there was one Korean girl she always saw naked there with the most unbelieveable hot body ever. Shortly after that, my friend became a lesbian.

Whenever I see a gym in Seoul, they seem to go by the name "Fitness" rather than "Health." I always see signs that say "휘트니스" and I always think "Witness" at first.

[ella]

I can't wait to take a Step class, or any aerobics class, as there are no certifying programs or exams here (that I know of, anyway).

[Thunndarr]

[Qinella]

Billy B. that reminds me of the Nacirema tribe written about by anthropologist Horace Miner in the 50s.

The fundamental belief underlying the whole system appears to be that the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease. Incarcerated in such a body, man's only hope is to avert these characteristics through the use of ritual and ceremony. Every household has one or more shrines devoted to this purpose. The more powerful individuals in the society have several shrines in their houses and, in fact, the opulence of a house is often referred to in terms of the number of such ritual centers it possesses. Most houses are of wattle and daub construction, but the shrine rooms of the more wealthy are walled with stone. Poorer families imitate the rich by applying pottery plaques to their shrine walls. � 4

While each family has at least one such shrine, the rituals associated with it are not family ceremonies but are private and secret. The rites are normally only discussed with children, and then only during the period when they are being initiated into these mysteries. I was able, however, to establish sufficient [504 begins ->] rapport with the natives to examine these shrines and to have the rituals described to me. � 5

The focal point of the shrine is a box or chest which is built into the wall. In this chest are kept the many charms and magical potions without which no native believes he could live. These preparations are secured from a variety of specialized practitioners. The most powerful of these are the medicine men, whose assistance must be rewarded with substantial gifts. However, the medicine men do not provide the curative potions for their clients, but decide what the ingredients should be and then write them down in an ancient and secret language. This writing is understood only by the medicine men and by the herbalists who, for another gift, provide the required charm.

more here

[gmat]

[Dev]

I'll tell you what pisses me off in gyms here,

1) Guys doing ab exercises on the flat benches just when you want to start your chest workout. Use an ab bench or find a mat buddy!

2) Guys planting themselves right in the middle of the floor so they can get in your way when you're trying to pass or do a benching exercise.

3) Guys who jump in front of you when you're using the mirror doing a heavy bench or shoulder press exercise. These guys typically do some kind of light dumbell exercise with the 5 kilo dumbells. I wanna kill these guys.

[crazy_arcade]

an adjumma at the gym in high heels....

three squash courts but you're not allowed to play with a partner, only by yourself because it's too "dangerous" (they still haven't heard of safety glasses in this county).

I like the guys that go around to every machine possible and spend about 15 seconds on each. Jump on the bike...2 minute --finished, head over to the leg press...2 reps --finished, run over to the free weights, 2 reps-- finished, jump on the tread mill...walk for 5 minutes--finished, head on over to the shoulder press...do 3 reps--finished. It's hilarious.

[cubanlord]

[SeoulFinn]