Korean Job Discussion Forums

cibomatto · Joined: 30 Aug 2006 Location: NY

I just had an argument about Fan death with my girlfriend. I think she is really mad..

OMG 1ST fight in 2 years...

more to follow.... SHEEESH

cibomatto · Joined: 30 Aug 2006 Location: NY

Her: would you let me sleep in the same situation that the guy died? as an experiment?
Her: would you let me do that?
Her: sleep in that TINY room with the fan on?
Me: HAHAHAHAHAH
Her: if I die in the room, you will believe that?
Me: You wouldnt DOE
Me: DIE
Her: see?
Her: let's stop talking about it.

WOW.. I dont know what to say.. she went to bed.. Oh Gosh.. I want to think this is silly but man I never heard her be this way... I should call...SHEESH

Julius · Joined: 27 Jul 2006

haha.
Now go and turn the fan on in her room

cibomatto · Joined: 30 Aug 2006 Location: NY

it started with this as a topic of discussion..
http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=93367

I said the only way for it to be true is if that fan was a deception that transformed to a robot and killed this unfortunate man.

She did NOT like that statement one bit

jdog2050 · Joined: 17 Dec 2006

Bondgirl · Joined: 26 May 2007 Location: in my Aston Martin

A lot of Italians believe that if you drink ice cold water on top of a warm meal you will get congestione and die. I tried to argue that how come you would only die of it on Italian soil? Why don't people suffer in other countries where it is common place to drink cold water and eat warm food? Why haven't I seized up and died? They'd tell me a lot of 'scientific' info and say I have so far just got lucky. It is a matter of time until my gut seizes up and I die.
So spare a thought for your girl, she really believes you are not concerned about her safety and putting her at serious risk. Doesn't matter that there is no logic, you can both argue till your heads melt, you both think the other is nuts. Just let the woman sleep soundly with-out the fan, she will really appreciate it. She probably festers about other things too, but the fan on while you sleep .. there is a limit, it is frankly too dangerous!

Smee · Joined: 24 Dec 2004 Location: Jeollanam-do

newton kabiddles · Joined: 31 Mar 2007

King Baeksu · Joined: 22 Oct 2006

Cibomatto, show her this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_Death

The money-shot quote:

"It's hard to imagine death by fan, because to die of hypothermia, one's body temperature would have to get down to 28 [�C], drop by 10 degrees [Celsius] overnight. We've got people lying in snowbanks overnight here in Winnipeg and they survive."

-- Gord Giesbrecht, a physical education professor at the University of Manitoba in Canada, is a leading expert on hypothermia

Dysupes · Joined: 24 May 2005

RACETRAITOR · Joined: 24 Oct 2005 Location: Seoul, South Korea

I can't understand why Koreans have such a strong reaction to it. If you pointed out to an average westerner it's safe to go swimming without waiting 30 minutes after a meal (not saying it's true or not), I doubt you'd get a strong insistence that "It's science" and "I know someone it happened to so it's not funny."

Junior · Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Location: the eye

buster brown · Joined: 26 Aug 2005 Location: Seoul

I haven't yet gotten into a debate about fan death, but I can understand it better after a discussion with one of the workers in our office.

A few weeks ago, when the temperatures were in the upper 20's everyday, I got tired of going into the office and seeing the doors and windows open as the air conditioner worked away. So, I mentioned to one of the assistants that I didn't understand something about Koreans and wanted her to explain it to me. After asking about the a/c, windows and doors open, etc. she said something to the effect of: "We learned that you have to change the air when you turn on the a/c. There are fumes that accumulate overnight that must be removed or it's harmful to our bodies." Of course, I began to grin and pushed the point. "So, where did you learn this, in school or at home?" "Oh, we learned it." I could see she was starting to get irritated, so I let her off the hook and went on about my business. I really wanted to ask her if a worker has to come once a month and recharge the freon as it's constantly leaking out, but I'd rather have a decent working environment.

In many situations, alot of the Koreans I've encountered have a sense of unquestioning conviction and belief that I'll never, never, ever understand. One of our Western cultural values is to ask "Why?" whenever something doesn't make sense. Do they beat it out of kids with the test-first education system or is it more deeply rooted than that?

Alright, it's late and I'm trying to solve too many of the world's problems. I'm at a point now where I'm counting the days to my upcoming vacation. I need a break from Korea.

VanIslander · Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 7:36 am Post subject:

ajgeddes · Joined: 28 Apr 2004 Location: Yongsan

When I first started dating my girlfriend, she believed in fan death. I asked why it only happened to Koreans. "Is it because Koreans are inferior and weak compared to other humans?" After that and telling her how naive it was, she stopped believing in it and we started sleeping everynight with the fan on and the windows closed. And guess what... we didn't die even once. Now she laughs when other people mention it.