Things Koreans do that irks us

Slamming doors.

I can't abide people who can't use a door without shaking the entire building once they're in their homes.

It's not uncommon in other countries but it just feels like everyone does it here.

Slamming doors.

I can't abide people who can't use a door without shaking the entire building once they're in their homes.

It's not uncommon in other countries but it just feels like everyone does it here.

Oh my GOD. Yes. I get that apartment doors here are a bit heftier than what most Westerners are used to but, even factoring that in, I cannot make sense of the force that some people must use. The last apartment I lived in, it sounded like someone was violently storming out of an argument every. single. time.

I feel like Koreans are very stomp-y and pace a lot. Even at hotels I can hear the person above me stomping until 2 am.

The flat-footed way that my male students run in the hallway. I couldn't make that much noise running if I tried. Add to that the yelling that accompanies it.

Annoying.

I feel like Koreans are very stomp-y and pace a lot. Even at hotels I can hear the person above me stomping until 2 am.

The flat-footed way that my male students run in the hallway. I couldn't make that much noise running if I tried. Add to that the yelling that accompanies it.

Annoying.

They might have fallen arches. Or perhaps they're always caught by surprise.

Service staff serving Koreans ahead of foreigners.

Seriously, if a Korean person butts in or jumps the queue, tell them to wait their turn.

Slamming doors.

I can't abide people who can't use a door without shaking the entire building once they're in their homes.

It's not uncommon in other countries but it just feels like everyone does it here.

How about LEAVING DOORS WIDE OPEN?!

Doors wide open when using air conditioning or heat wastes fossil fuels which makes the atmosphere more polluted.

The higher people crank up the heat the more air pollution we’ll have to breathe. ㅠ ㅠ

Internet Explorer

I know this is not a fault of the overwhelming majority here.  We have to use what works.

Still, it 2022.  When will IE go the way of Friendster and AOL IM and LinkinPark.exe?

Yeah, also one of my pet hates. Just tell them to get to the end of the line and wait like everyone else. The indignant look some give is just laughable.
Thankfully, it's nowhere as bad as yesteryear.

Edit: You know the same thing used to happen back in NZ where I lived. The Korean fisherman used to barge in to the front of the supermarket checkout queues. The cashers would always tell them to piss off back to the end of the line. They would nod their heads and go. So...they did understand.

Second edit as my memory returns: The Japanese, Russian, and all the rest of the fisherman ( and other seamen) did know about waiting in line at the supermarket, the local pubs, the local...etc...but never the Koreans. My wife used to hang her head in shame at times. She called them knuckle draggers. This was back in the early 80s.

If someone that age does it now, no excuses.

But a 50 year old doing it in the early 80s, well...if he stood in line he wouldn't have gotten on board the S.S. Meredith Victory. I know, change and all. That is some seriously effed up stuff to go through.

Anyways, I show patience to 70+ year olds who do that crap. They at least have an excuse. Anyone else, just call them out. Be forceful. Stand your ground. Make a stink.

On the Seoul subway, do they still storm onto the packed train before anyone can get off? This used to boggle my mind. I travelled from Gangnam to Jamsil every day and as soon as the doors opened they would storm the Bastille even though there wasn't room for a mouse. Getting off was a real problem and once or twice I just couldn't get off in time and had to get off at the next stop and then catch the train back to Jamsil. I really hope with Covid, this has changed.

On the Seoul subway, do they still storm onto the packed train before anyone can get off?

No, they haven't done this for about 15-20 years. I guess those public information videos must have worked their magic.

On the Seoul subway, do they still storm onto the packed train before anyone can get off? This used to boggle my mind. I travelled from Gangnam to Jamsil every day and as soon as the doors opened they would storm the Bastille even though there wasn't room for a mouse. Getting off was a real problem and once or twice I just couldn't get off in time and had to get off at the next stop and then catch the train back to Jamsil. I really hope with Covid, this has changed.

In my experience, this is much less common than it used to be, but I just saw three ajeosshi do it on Friday, so it's not extinct. 

On the Seoul subway, do they still storm onto the packed train before anyone can get off? This used to boggle my mind. I travelled from Gangnam to Jamsil every day and as soon as the doors opened they would storm the Bastille even though there wasn't room for a mouse. Getting off was a real problem and once or twice I just couldn't get off in time and had to get off at the next stop and then catch the train back to Jamsil. I really hope with Covid, this has changed.

These days it seems to only happen when the car pulls up and there are people waiting on the platform and the car has empty seats. They try to squeeze through whatever cracks they can to get a shot at those seats.  But most of the time I use it during rush hour so there’s no point in trying to push on first. There are never empty spots to sit.

The answer is eat noodles. Its the winner. Im winner. Im the winz. The noodle shop experience here is next level wtf.

Things that I do that irks Koreans:
Talk
Show my face in public
Breathe
Sit within 100 yards of them
Wear my "China invented Kimchi" shirt around town.

Accusing my wife and I of coming to Korea to have sex with Korean women, and saying that also to our friends, a gay male Canadian couple.

Korea is generally a collectivist society...except when it comes to interacting with strangers outside. When it comes to getting on the train, all the collectivism goes out the window and it's every man for himself

Telling me that I need to learn Korean.

Maybe I already am. Maybe I already have. Maybe I just don't want to talk to you.

Telling me that I need to learn Korean.

Maybe I already am. Maybe I already have. Maybe I just don't want to talk to you.

This, and getting stared at. Man I hated getting stared at. Where and when I grew up it was something we learned as toddlers. Don't stare.

Trying your best to speak Korean and if you're pronunciation isn't 100% perfect, they pretend to not understand you while demanding you learn Korean.

One of the things that makes learning the local language enjoyable is when you manage to burble out "hello" in the local tongue that kinda sounds like how they speak, everyone tells you how great you speak their language. Okay....I'll put in the effort.

Bballi bballi culture

Waiting for 5 seconds isn't going to dramatically slow your day down. Relax and take a chill pill. You don't have to be in a hurry 24/7

Bballi bballi culture

Waiting for 5 seconds isn't going to dramatically slow your day down. Relax and take a chill pill. You don't have to be in a hurry 24/7

In big cities I see that.

But I have spent over a decade in towns smaller than 80,000 (a small city back home, granted). And here the SMALL DICK/OLD DICK ENERGY is bigger: i am a Korean male 40ish to 55ish and I want to cut in line and buy my cigarettes or soju before you all, and i do it hips open and all strutts.