Things Koreans do that irks us

Not sure if I said this given how long this post is, but when you go to the gym and buddy hogs a weight.  He only does one weight and keeps it by him forever even while resting or taking out time to chat on his smart phone.  They take this one size weight and do all kinds of exercise with it.  I don't lift a lot, but I usually use a variety of weights.  IE  I'll do 6 k, then 8, then 10, then 12, etc.  A set of reps with each.  But then some numskull takes 8 kilos and hogs it forever.  A 40 minute workout almost doubles in time because of all the waiting not to mention losing the momentum of continuous exercise.  Then, you try to take the weight while the guy's chatting on his phone or scratching his ass or whatever and he makes an "x" with his hands or tries to use it.  Seriously need some friggen gym etiquette here.  Resting between sets means letting another member take the dumbbell to do a set and it also means getting off the damn machine while chatting on your phone. 

Not sure if I said this given how long this post is, but when you go to the gym and buddy hogs a weight.  He only does one weight and keeps it by him forever even while resting or taking out time to chat on his smart phone.  They take this one size weight and do all kinds of exercise with it.  I don't lift a lot, but I usually use a variety of weights.  IE  I'll do 6 k, then 8, then 10, then 12, etc.  A set of reps with each.  But then some numskull takes 8 kilos and hogs it forever.  A 40 minute workout almost doubles in time because of all the waiting not to mention losing the momentum of continuous exercise.  Then, you try to take the weight while the guy's chatting on his phone or scratching his ass or whatever and he makes an "x" with his hands or tries to use it.  Seriously need some friggen gym etiquette here.  Resting between sets means letting another member take the dumbbell to do a set and it also means getting off the damn machine while chatting on your phone.

The gym behavior of gym goers in Korea bugs the heck out of me too.
I could go on and on forever about it.
But the most disturbing a-holes are the ones that approach me and tell me to stop lifting so heavy and to stop deadlifting.

A very large majority of gyms here in Korea are not actually made for serious gym goers- they don't have the proper flooring to support heavy weights, so when someone who can lift heavy weights comes along, the owners of the gym will try to discourage them from lifting heavy saying things like "that's dangerous, you are scaring everyone else..." blah blah until finally they admit "the flooring is not made for heavy deadlifts..."... well... this isn't a good gym then is it?

So I finally found a decent gym here where I can lift heavy and there are many serious people... but you still have those normal people who are not at all bad for being normal, but are bad because they feel the need to discourage others from doing things that... they don't understand like... lifting heavy? 

Hmm, I was never into weight lifting (very much)

I used to go to use some of the other equipment, but the thing that bothered me most

was the noise.   They'd have some stereo blasting some kind of obnoxious music on 1 side

and every treadmill has their own personal TV blasting away on a different channel.

When I used the treadmill, the TV was off and I would leave it off.

But then some guy who was working at the gym would come and turn it on for me.

So I would turn it off again, and he would come back and turn it on. 

I found the whole experience so noisy and stressful that I gave up on it.   I bought a bike
and started riding through the rice fields.(way more peaceful and enjoyable)

My co-teacher at the time asked my why I didn't go to the gym and I tried to explain to her
about the noise situation;  she replied that I should get an MP3 player to block out the other noise. (yeah, even more noise, that's going to help)

I told her about the bike riding and she thought I was nutz!!!!!!!!!!

Then 1 Monday morning the class asked me what I had done on the weekend, so I told them I went bike riding.   They seemed very surprised and asked why I would do such a thing.   I replied because it's fun.   

Then they finally got it.   My co-teacher and her husband bought bikes and went riding
with their daughter the next weekend and told me how much they enjoyed it.

 

the thing that bothered me most

was the noise.   They'd have some stereo blasting some kind of obnoxious music on 1 side

Some of the gyms sound like a night club.

Really. You can't hear yourself think.


Fortunately there do exist some nice quiet gyms without music playing.

Hmm, I was never into weight lifting (very much)

I used to go to use some of the other equipment, but the thing that bothered me most

was the noise.   They'd have some stereo blasting some kind of obnoxious music on 1 side

and every treadmill has their own personal TV blasting away on a different channel.

When I used the treadmill, the TV was off and I would leave it off.

But then some guy who was working at the gym would come and turn it on for me.

So I would turn it off again, and he would come back and turn it on. 

I found the whole experience so noisy and stressful that I gave up on it.   I bought a bike
and started riding through the rice fields.(way more peaceful and enjoyable)

My co-teacher at the time asked my why I didn't go to the gym and I tried to explain to her
about the noise situation;  she replied that I should get an MP3 player to block out the other noise. (yeah, even more noise, that's going to help)

I told her about the bike riding and she thought I was nutz!!!!!!!!!!

Then 1 Monday morning the class asked me what I had done on the weekend, so I told them I went bike riding.   They seemed very surprised and asked why I would do such a thing.   I replied because it's fun.   

Then they finally got it.   My co-teacher and her husband bought bikes and went riding
with their daughter the next weekend and told me how much they enjoyed it.

 

 

I use to love biking.  It was nice to ride when the air was clean.  But, this year....

i know there's at least one study that showed that exercising outside was better for you than not exercising in polluted areas. the overall inflammation decrease outweighed not exercising outside. so i wouldn't stress too much about running or biking outside.

i need to find it again. i don't think it mentioned about cycling indoors or treadmilling.

i know there's at least one study that showed that exercising outside was better for you than not exercising in polluted areas. the overall inflammation decrease outweighed not exercising outside. so i wouldn't stress too much about running or biking outside.

i need to find it again. i don't think it mentioned about cycling indoors or treadmilling.

That can't be the case when it's over 150.
I went for a run one nighta year or two ago and stupidly didn't look at the air quality reading before going. I was doing wind sprints and it fukced me up for a good 2-3 weeks after. Swollen throat, sinus infection and bronchitis that hung around for like a month afterwards.

i know there's at least one study that showed that exercising outside was better for you than not exercising in polluted areas. the overall inflammation decrease outweighed not exercising outside. so i wouldn't stress too much about running or biking outside.

i need to find it again. i don't think it mentioned about cycling indoors or treadmilling.

That can't be the case when it's over 150.
I went for a run one nighta year or two ago and stupidly didn't look at the air quality reading before going. I was doing wind sprints and it fukced me up for a good 2-3 weeks after. Swollen throat, sinus infection and bronchitis that hung around for like a month afterwards.

"Our model indicates that in London health benefits of active travel always outweigh the risk from pollution. Even in Delhi, one of the most polluted cities in the world -- with pollution levels 10 times those in London -- people would need to cycle over five hours per week before the pollution risks outweigh the health benefits," said study leader Dr. Marko Tainiio, of the University of Cambridge in England."

"The researchers found that if cycling for 30 minutes, a pollution concentration (PM2.5) of 95 microgram/m3 (seen in less than 1% of cites according to the WHO Ambient Air Pollution Database) is required to meet the tipping point.
The breaking point is reached at a concentration of 160 microgram/m3.
For an average urban pollution concentration the tipping point would be reached after seven hours of cycling per day.
If walking for 30 minutes, the tipping and breaking points would be at a concentration above 200 microgram/m3, meaning in an average urban area, the tipping point would be reached after 16 hours of walking per day."

Idk your mileage may very. Basically if it's below 160, you're probably fine. If it's above 160 avoid doing more than 30 of running/biking or no more than 90 walking.

This probably also has to do with how your own body deals with inflammation/allergies. Also, I'm assuming this is a long term benefit thing. IE your body will have a net positive from exercising overall, but maybe you will see bad things if you're just starting or maybe just an off day.

I have been in Korea 2 months now, and only had really good experiences up until now. However, this weekend, I bought a bus ticket for my dog so I didn't have to hold her carrier in my lap the entire 4-hour trip from Seoul to Chungbuk, and a girl INSISTED on taking my dogs spot despite that there were 2 open seats elsewhere. She kind of stood in the aisle and just looked at me expectantly, and I showed her the 2 tickets I had bought, pointed to one ticket and at myself, then to the other ticket and to my dog in the other seat, and she still just stood there, waiting for me to move my dog. I was honestly, very pissed off. If it was a short bus ride, that's fine. But considering I paid 30,00 won for the bus fare so I could be comfortable instead of miserable for 4 hours straight, I was very upset. Then she has the audacity to close both the air vents completely, so I'm sweating my butt off the entire time. My dog got really antsy after about 3 hours, and started panting once she closed the vents, so I had to take her out of her crate and put her on my lap. Then, she had the audacity to look annoyed when my dog tried to get her attention and wagged her tail excitedly. I should have just stood my ground.

i know there's at least one study that showed that exercising outside was better for you than not exercising in polluted areas. the overall inflammation decrease outweighed not exercising outside. so i wouldn't stress too much about running or biking outside.

i need to find it again. i don't think it mentioned about cycling indoors or treadmilling.

That can't be the case when it's over 150.
I went for a run one nighta year or two ago and stupidly didn't look at the air quality reading before going. I was doing wind sprints and it fukced me up for a good 2-3 weeks after. Swollen throat, sinus infection and bronchitis that hung around for like a month afterwards.

"Our model indicates that in London health benefits of active travel always outweigh the risk from pollution. Even in Delhi, one of the most polluted cities in the world -- with pollution levels 10 times those in London -- people would need to cycle over five hours per week before the pollution risks outweigh the health benefits," said study leader Dr. Marko Tainiio, of the University of Cambridge in England."

"The researchers found that if cycling for 30 minutes, a pollution concentration (PM2.5) of 95 microgram/m3 (seen in less than 1% of cites according to the WHO Ambient Air Pollution Database) is required to meet the tipping point.
The breaking point is reached at a concentration of 160 microgram/m3.
For an average urban pollution concentration the tipping point would be reached after seven hours of cycling per day.
If walking for 30 minutes, the tipping and breaking points would be at a concentration above 200 microgram/m3, meaning in an average urban area, the tipping point would be reached after 16 hours of walking per day."

Idk your mileage may very. Basically if it's below 160, you're probably fine. If it's above 160 avoid doing more than 30 of running/biking or no more than 90 walking.

This probably also has to do with how your own body deals with inflammation/allergies. Also, I'm assuming this is a long term benefit thing. IE your body will have a net positive from exercising overall, but maybe you will see bad things if you're just starting or maybe just an off day.

I think that is a big part of it. As a Korean ENT once told me, "Your weakness is your throat". Whatever that means.

Cheers for the information.

Oops... Theateacher is my predecessor, apparently I was logged in under her account automatically! The previous post was actually mine, to clarify.

Oops... Theateacher is my predecessor, apparently I was logged in under her account automatically! The previous post was actually mine, to clarify.

I agree with what you said last. You bought the ticket, and you should have just said no. That is all hindsight though, and the next time you head out on a long trip, you will have a different perspective on how to handle it. It reminds me of the (yes another) airline story that popped up not to long ago. The guy bought a flight for his toddler, then was told that the toddler couldn't sit there, and that the seat would be given to another passenger. At least you did have the chance to say no and not get kicked off though, as he and the family got booted for standing up for "what was right." Anyway, I should stop writing before I just start off on something else...

Ya, now you know how to handle situations like those. When you first come you are hyper-aware of offensive and breaking social norms. After a while you see the selfishness and spite. You give less of a f uck.

In terms of vents or windows in my immediate vicinity, they are under my dominion. If you close them, I will reopen them.

i know there's at least one study that showed that exercising outside was better for you than not exercising in polluted areas. the overall inflammation decrease outweighed not exercising outside. so i wouldn't stress too much about running or biking outside.

i need to find it again. i don't think it mentioned about cycling indoors or treadmilling.

That can't be the case when it's over 150.
I went for a run one nighta year or two ago and stupidly didn't look at the air quality reading before going. I was doing wind sprints and it fukced me up for a good 2-3 weeks after. Swollen throat, sinus infection and bronchitis that hung around for like a month afterwards.

"Our model indicates that in London health benefits of active travel always outweigh the risk from pollution. Even in Delhi, one of the most polluted cities in the world -- with pollution levels 10 times those in London -- people would need to cycle over five hours per week before the pollution risks outweigh the health benefits," said study leader Dr. Marko Tainiio, of the University of Cambridge in England."

"The researchers found that if cycling for 30 minutes, a pollution concentration (PM2.5) of 95 microgram/m3 (seen in less than 1% of cites according to the WHO Ambient Air Pollution Database) is required to meet the tipping point.
The breaking point is reached at a concentration of 160 microgram/m3.
For an average urban pollution concentration the tipping point would be reached after seven hours of cycling per day.
If walking for 30 minutes, the tipping and breaking points would be at a concentration above 200 microgram/m3, meaning in an average urban area, the tipping point would be reached after 16 hours of walking per day."

Idk your mileage may very. Basically if it's below 160, you're probably fine. If it's above 160 avoid doing more than 30 of running/biking or no more than 90 walking.

This probably also has to do with how your own body deals with inflammation/allergies. Also, I'm assuming this is a long term benefit thing. IE your body will have a net positive from exercising overall, but maybe you will see bad things if you're just starting or maybe just an off day.

These stats totally ignore the fact that the intensity and not just the duration of the exercise as well as the person's physical condition would play a huge part in determining the 'tipping point'.

um yeah it's not a huge detailed report. that would take years and years and countless variables. i think "cycling" is considered intense usually. i'm sure it has to do with how much air is being pumped in and out. cycling would be about as intense as you get outdoors for a sustained long period of time.

there's also a study on mice using intense pollution conditions and still found exercise was better overall. i need to find it.

I have been in Korea 2 months now, and only had really good experiences up until now. However, this weekend, I bought a bus ticket for my dog so I didn't have to hold her carrier in my lap the entire 4-hour trip from Seoul to Chungbuk, and a girl INSISTED on taking my dogs spot despite that there were 2 open seats elsewhere. She kind of stood in the aisle and just looked at me expectantly, and I showed her the 2 tickets I had bought, pointed to one ticket and at myself, then to the other ticket and to my dog in the other seat, and she still just stood there, waiting for me to move my dog. I was honestly, very pissed off. If it was a short bus ride, that's fine. But considering I paid 30,00 won for the bus fare so I could be comfortable instead of miserable for 4 hours straight, I was very upset. Then she has the audacity to close both the air vents completely, so I'm sweating my butt off the entire time. My dog got really antsy after about 3 hours, and started panting once she closed the vents, so I had to take her out of her crate and put her on my lap. Then, she had the audacity to look annoyed when my dog tried to get her attention and wagged her tail excitedly. I should have just stood my ground.

1) You paid for that seat. It's yours.

2) Leave the dogs at home and get a pet sitter. No one wants to be on a bus smelling and listening to your dog. People used to have the class to leave their pets at home, not anymore. What if someone on the bus has allergies?

People need to get a grip when it comes to their pets. It's a dog. It can handle you being away for 2 days.

I hate when people stop in the middle of the sidewalk when it's crowded to talk/look at their phone, or stop in the middle of the sidewalk when it's crowded and abruptly change directions without first looking to see who's behind them, thus slamming into you. Or when people walk 3-4 deep across the sidewalk without caring if people are trying to get past. And when they are walking towards you and so deep into staring at their phone they don't look up until right before they walk into you and then they do the little gasp when they look up surprised to see you right in front of them. 

I used to move out of the way of the last type of folks but these days it's so annoying that I just keep going and when they get close enough I say "앞에 보세요!" loudly to startle them. Makes me feel better. Lol!

I have been in Korea 2 months now, and only had really good experiences up until now. However, this weekend, I bought a bus ticket for my dog so I didn't have to hold her carrier in my lap the entire 4-hour trip from Seoul to Chungbuk, and a girl INSISTED on taking my dogs spot despite that there were 2 open seats elsewhere. She kind of stood in the aisle and just looked at me expectantly, and I showed her the 2 tickets I had bought, pointed to one ticket and at myself, then to the other ticket and to my dog in the other seat, and she still just stood there, waiting for me to move my dog. I was honestly, very pissed off. If it was a short bus ride, that's fine. But considering I paid 30,00 won for the bus fare so I could be comfortable instead of miserable for 4 hours straight, I was very upset. Then she has the audacity to close both the air vents completely, so I'm sweating my butt off the entire time. My dog got really antsy after about 3 hours, and started panting once she closed the vents, so I had to take her out of her crate and put her on my lap. Then, she had the audacity to look annoyed when my dog tried to get her attention and wagged her tail excitedly. I should have just stood my ground.

1) You paid for that seat. It's yours.

2) Leave the dogs at home and get a pet sitter. No one wants to be on a bus smelling and listening to your dog. People used to have the class to leave their pets at home, not anymore. What if someone on the bus has allergies?

People need to get a grip when it comes to their pets. It's a dog. It can handle you being away for 2 days.

She's a nasty, childish little git, resorting to little passive aggressive games out of spite. I'm surprised they let you take the dog out, but their policy seems to permit it and you paid for it so the seat is yours.

I have to agree with Mr.DeMartino, and as a pet owner, unless it's an emergency, leave the dog at home.
I'd be pretty pissed and consider you a selfish twit if I had to sit near your dog for 3hrs, trying to keep its fur off my clothes and tolerating the smell and potential noise.

Good lord

I have been in Korea 2 months now, and only had really good experiences up until now. However, this weekend, I bought a bus ticket for my dog so I didn't have to hold her carrier in my lap the entire 4-hour trip from Seoul to Chungbuk, and a girl INSISTED on taking my dogs spot despite that there were 2 open seats elsewhere. She kind of stood in the aisle and just looked at me expectantly, and I showed her the 2 tickets I had bought, pointed to one ticket and at myself, then to the other ticket and to my dog in the other seat, and she still just stood there, waiting for me to move my dog. I was honestly, very pissed off. If it was a short bus ride, that's fine. But considering I paid 30,00 won for the bus fare so I could be comfortable instead of miserable for 4 hours straight, I was very upset. Then she has the audacity to close both the air vents completely, so I'm sweating my butt off the entire time. My dog got really antsy after about 3 hours, and started panting once she closed the vents, so I had to take her out of her crate and put her on my lap. Then, she had the audacity to look annoyed when my dog tried to get her attention and wagged her tail excitedly. I should have just stood my ground.

1) You paid for that seat. It's yours.

2) Leave the dogs at home and get a pet sitter. No one wants to be on a bus smelling and listening to your dog. People used to have the class to leave their pets at home, not anymore. What if someone on the bus has allergies?

People need to get a grip when it comes to their pets. It's a dog. It can handle you being away for 2 days.

She's a nasty, childish little git, resorting to little passive aggressive games out of spite. I'm surprised they let you take the dog out, but their policy seems to permit it and you paid for it so the seat is yours.

I have to agree with Mr.DeMartino, and as a pet owner, unless it's an emergency, leave the dog at home.
I'd be pretty pissed and consider you a selfish twit if I had to sit near your dog for 3hrs, trying to keep its fur off my clothes and tolerating the smell and potential noise.

Good lord

Yeah, my ex and I had a cat, and then two cats about a month before I ended it.

We'd go to Seoul and 6 hours later she'd day, "I hope the cat is ok."

It's a cat. I love cats, but he'll be fine for the 10 hours we'll be gone. Calm the f down.

You can literally leave a cat for 4 days if you leave enough shit out for it.

I have been in Korea 2 months now, and only had really good experiences up until now. However, this weekend, I bought a bus ticket for my dog so I didn't have to hold her carrier in my lap the entire 4-hour trip from Seoul to Chungbuk, and a girl INSISTED on taking my dogs spot despite that there were 2 open seats elsewhere. She kind of stood in the aisle and just looked at me expectantly, and I showed her the 2 tickets I had bought, pointed to one ticket and at myself, then to the other ticket and to my dog in the other seat, and she still just stood there, waiting for me to move my dog. I was honestly, very pissed off. If it was a short bus ride, that's fine. But considering I paid 30,00 won for the bus fare so I could be comfortable instead of miserable for 4 hours straight, I was very upset. Then she has the audacity to close both the air vents completely, so I'm sweating my butt off the entire time. My dog got really antsy after about 3 hours, and started panting once she closed the vents, so I had to take her out of her crate and put her on my lap. Then, she had the audacity to look annoyed when my dog tried to get her attention and wagged her tail excitedly. I should have just stood my ground.

1) You paid for that seat. It's yours.

2) Leave the dogs at home and get a pet sitter. No one wants to be on a bus smelling and listening to your dog. People used to have the class to leave their pets at home, not anymore. What if someone on the bus has allergies?

People need to get a grip when it comes to their pets. It's a dog. It can handle you being away for 2 days.

She's a nasty, childish little git, resorting to little passive aggressive games out of spite. I'm surprised they let you take the dog out, but their policy seems to permit it and you paid for it so the seat is yours.

I have to agree with Mr.DeMartino, and as a pet owner, unless it's an emergency, leave the dog at home.
I'd be pretty pissed and consider you a selfish twit if I had to sit near your dog for 3hrs, trying to keep its fur off my clothes and tolerating the smell and potential noise.

Good lord

Yeah, my ex and I had a cat, and then two cats about a month before I ended it.

We'd go to Seoul and 6 hours later she'd day, "I hope the cat is ok."

It's a cat. I love cats, but he'll be fine for the 10 hours we'll be gone. Calm the f down.

You can literally leave a cat for 4 days if you leave enough shit out for it.

Also just a side thing...I live in Chungbuk and it's 1-2 hours from Seoul, What kinda bus were you on?