A Reader Responds: Safety in Korea
My Korean American friend Calvin sent me this link: http://www.safetygearhq.com/ If you're at all concerned about your safety, buy a self defense device.
When this man offered me a free banana, he did it in a crude way and gave his card playing, chain smoking buddies one of "those" looks.
A reader's response to the 'Weirdest Encounters' post. She asked to remain nameless:
"I wrote to you a while back to tell you how much I love your blog. I recently saw it again, and I'm sorry to hear about your gross experiences with some Korean men. Unfortunately, many older men seem to think anything is okay. I've had some bad experiences too (one of the standouts being a masturbating taxi driver).
The worst happened just last week: while on my way to work, a guy punched me out of the blue, then threw a glass bottle at my face; if I hadn't ducked, my face would have been cut. Fortunately, I got out of it with a cut on my head. The crazy thing is, they say he probably won't get jail time, even though he's done this before. After the hearing, it's plain to me he's a woman hater who will do this again. And it's crazy that a Canadian English teacher just got six months for forging a college degree! A little unbalanced in terms of justice....
Anyway, I felt compelled to write after reading your stories...I'm so happy that you're not letting those experiences affect your time in Korea. But also, as I'm sure many people have already told you: be careful! And unfortunately Korean men, especially those with liquor in them, are not known for being demure and charming."
13 comments:
You know, I never seem to have those problems. Just once in my life I would have loved to have been sexually harassed. Actually, society in almost every country has been on a decline. I would not think that Korea is much different.
I am thankful that my wife isn't the best cook and baker. I would weigh 350 lbs if she was. I love food and love to cook. Any meat that can be grilled can be on my list.
MUD
Hi Eva: OMG, that girl's experience sounds horrible! And the sad thing is that I can believe it happened. Did she ever talk to the Canadian Embassy? She really should. Although she is but one person here, part of the Embassy's job is to ensure that their countrymen are adequately and properly represented.
There is so much I want to say about the seedy side of Korea; maybe I'll do a post, after I do the whole good girl/bad girl thing. =) But, I'll leave you with this: when my mom and her sisters were young, as in your age, whenever they rode the bus in Korea, they would carry with them a clothespin: not to pin their dresses, but to poke the pervs who were getting their "happy faces" on at the girl's expense. The sad thing is that my mom was cutting edge: most Korean girls, even to this day, just sit there and suck it up.
I still say kick them in the nuts. It'll be a lesson they never forget. Hee (gotta thank WF for that one)
I'm speechless. It's an absolute outrage. Never have I been so ashamed to be a Korean man reading these awful experiences. Please don't hate us all because of these some retarded sick bastards. They are just under civilized people living in an under civilized country. I suggest you ladies get one of those zapping guns. Seriously, you should get one. It will work great on pervs. Once you zap them, stomp on their crotch really hard before you take off. I'm actually not kidding. You really should do this.
the zapping gun comment was written by Calvin
Once I was standing on the sidewalk in Chonan, waiting for a bus, and this man walked by and said "Sex..." sort of under his breath. Then he walked by again and caught my eye and said "Sex 잘 해요?" I just kind of shook my head and moved behind some other people, but later I thought of all sorts of things I could have said to him.
Then there was the guy sitting behind me on the bus in Nonsan who was petting my shoulder, or the guy in Puyo who shook my hand and started finger-humping my palm. That was weird.
I'm not sure if it's because I'm a Korean guy or so, but I totally advocate taking a bat and cracking some skulls with it. Pervs who lack a social consciousness about them that they don't feel absolutely ashamed of themselves when they direspect others in such ways don't deserve to live. Indeed, the insentience of death and their sense of the world probably amount to about the same thing, so I don't believe there'd be a signicant difference there. :)
I don`t how to explain to you about you weird encounters for the banana thing.
Next time, when you are given a banana. Reject it.
That old wolf is insulting you indirectly by giving you a banana for free.
His meaning of handing you a banana is sort of like..a replica of a penis. He is testing whether you accept it or not.
That is why that old wolf give his friends a smirk look when you accept it. But whatever it is, I advise you not to accept any fruits or vegetables that is long shape from any of those old wolves.
But you can accept it from a ajumma or grandmother thou.
it's a little more scary to be harrassed in a forgien country, but ladies, have you forgotten how certain males act in your very own country, province/state, city? I'm from Canada, and have been propositioned on a saturday afternoon at the mall, been grabbed at in public places, catcalled, followed, I could go on. Sexual harrasment exist's where ever you go I am sad to say. I am NOT saying we should excuse it or accept it at all, but don't be surprized and shocked when it happens!
Just kick them in the crotch, thet'll get the message:)
Sorry to hear about your negative experiences.
Although they're probably not kang-pa, their behavior is similar to that of a typical kang-pa. A kang-pa is tantamount to being called a hoodlum, jackass, idiot, moron you choose.
Actually a kang-pa is somewhat like an organized crime extortionist criminal. They're bad people and scums of the earth. Just thinking about these creeps / idiots gives me the whillies.
Ciao
yeah, it's disgusting what the guy did. Men do this all over the world though. Asian women in the states get this kind of low-life treatment when they walk on the street or walk past construction sites. It's usually hispanics that will whistle or say something sexually explicit. The smart thing is to just ignore these ignoramuses. Hopefully, not that many korean men are handing you a banana like that, lol.
In Asia, Korean men are known to be women beater.
women beater? no I don't think so. Abuse is a common problem around the world. There are over 2.5 million cases of abuse, including rape, in the US each year. about 1.5 to 2.5 thousand women are murdered each year by their significant others in the US. I don't think we can say that KOREAN men take the lead in abuse of women.
Tom, thanks for shedding some light. the, "korean men are women beaters" comment was absurd
Post a Comment