RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

If someone turned my phone to silent while I wasn't even in the room, I wouldn't even realise it wasn't already on silent. 

I'd also feel embarrassed for being so unprofessional at work that my phone was ringing and shouting Kakao at the top of it's lungs in the teachers office.

I've told people to turn their phones off in cinemas on multiple occasions no matter their age. If you feel like someone sitting in front of you in a cinema is entitled to sit on their phone during a movie (forbidden obviously) gets a pass from Confucianism you need to take the quilt off. I had one guy on the phone talking for over 2 minutes in Avengers end game and old Avec was the only one with any balls to tell him to get out or stfu. Y'all ain't cultural angels, you're scared little foreigners.

a bit related: the public school teacher's office i used to work in had the most amount of drama i've ever seen in an office. it was ridiculous. teachers acting more childish than the actual students i would teach

i'm not surrpsied with the drama-aftermath of turning a teacher's phone over - everyone seems to act like absolute babies in school offices

If someone turned my phone to silent while I wasn't even in the room, I wouldn't even realise it wasn't already on silent. 

I'd also feel embarrassed for being so unprofessional at work that my phone was ringing and shouting Kakao at the top of it's lungs in the teachers office.

Yeah, there is very little reason to have your phone with the alert on. If you're at home? I don't give a shit.

But ANYWHERE else, there are very, very few reasons. You're a doctor? Alright. Some sort of emergency professional? Alright.

But, no, sorry. Working in the VPs office? Hell no. Phones screens turn on when they get a message. Just leave the phone face up, FFS.

You leave to go to the bathroom?  PHONES HAVE A LIGHT ON THEM WITH DIFFERENT COLOURS TO ALERT YOU WHAT KIND OF THING HAPPENED FOR AN ALERT.

Hell, there's no real reason to even have it on vibrate most of the time. If I had a little machine on my desk that said a random English word at a decent decibel level every four minutes, everyone around me would tell me to get rid of the f-ing thing, a phone is no different.

a bit related: the public school teacher's office i used to work in had the most amount of drama i've ever seen in an office. it was ridiculous. teachers acting more childish than the actual students i would teach

i'm not surrpsied with the drama-aftermath of turning a teacher's phone over - everyone seems to act like absolute babies in school offices

I could imagine that but in my middle school here where i work i am really impressed by the professional attitude that everyone has. They are great people - unless they all gossip in Korean. I don't feel like they gossip and I've never seen anyone get heated or even frustrated.  The senior teacher here is so nice and she always makes an effort to speak to me and help me with Korean. Maybe this is an abnormally good staff room.

Actually one day a students mom had a meltdown in our staff room. She was crying and then screaming and then on the floor kicking the floor. It was ridiculous. I think she was upset that  her son was having ongoing problems with a teacher there.  She might have been mentally unstable. After when i asked about it, the teachers here didn't say much and were pretty calm about it. 

Rant:
I'm at school and I'm getting some work done in the teacher's lounge. I have to go use the bathroom. Now I'm not one of those people who takes my phone into the bathroom. That's just gross. Anyways, I come back and I see the local douchejosshi standing and tapping on my phone. He then gives me this glare and walks back to his desk. This is in front of everybody and now they're all staring at me. Obviously it's "Make the foreigner feel uncomfortable again" time. Apparently my phone was loud or something, but it's not like they're quiet with their lip-smacking. Anyways, what passive-aggressive nonsense. He could have just told me politely and not been an utter douche about it. We all make mistakes but some Koreans take that as an excuse to just lord it over you. I'm so sick of this Confucian crap of finding every little thing wrong with you and having people constantly judge you on it and comment on it like my weight, or how I should hold this that way or do that.

(Reality of the situation- Guy who turned off the phone was afraid you thought he was looking through it for d*ck pics. No one else cared, just like how probably in Avec's case people glanced over and went back to thinking about some crap they're buying on 11st.) I do think it can come across as rude to touch other people's stuff. At the same time I also like the idea that we might be getting all worked up over nothing in this case.

well, the high school i worked at was great

but the elementary schools? christ. i've seen grown adults have actual tantrums. the most memorable was a 50 year old woman screaming, sobbing, stamping her feet. i thought something terrible had happened, something truly awful. turns out...someone put the printer next to her desk

In the West, a person usually gets promoted when they show some gumption, a solid work-ethic etc.
In Korea, you get promoted based on your age your relationship with your seniors and you ability to stick to the rules... essentially, "maintaining the Confucian harmony".

When you ask your CT if you can leave early, even if it's 10min, by agreeing she officially gives you permission to break the rules. Should another staff member ask where you're off to and you blab, you could jeopardize her career. Petty and ridiculous, I know, but that's how Korea works. When you ask, unless you've got a really good relationship and your CT really trusts you, she's going to give you the official spiel.

You do realize that the west largely functioned on a seniority system until fairly recently. Basically post-WWII. And some of it still lingers today in companies where distinguishing employees is difficult and they want to avoid lawsuits. Not to mention how people now get promoted to meet diversity quotas and whatnot. And of course many still get promoted because of connections and how good you play ball. Saying this is uniquely Korean and non-Western is a bit of a stretch.

And yes, CYA to avoid liability is a thing in the West as well.

I witnessed a rather incredible ajumma blowout at Daiso yesterday. There were about 4 cashiers working, all dealing with customers. A giant walking visor barged her way through the line, then put her basket on the surface next to the register where a young guy had put his stuff. Immediately the ajumma started huffing and muttering because the man who was already paying for his goods continued to receive said service, apparently at a speed that was unsatisfactory to her. Eventually the 20 seconds of waiting just became unbearable and she tore into the cashier and the customer with a barrage of "What's going on? Why are you taking so long?" laments and accusations. Of course everyone just avoided eye contact and let her carry on. By the time I made it out of the shop, she was still there, verbally bulldozing the cashier.


I love Daiso.

.... at Daiso yesterday.
I love Daiso.

 

Just don't mention it to a Korean.  Just now, I was in the main teacher's room.  My co-teacher mentioned about my newish sweater, and where I bought it.  I said 'Uniqlo'.  Wow!  Cue about 10 teachers all putting in their two cents about how I shouldn't be shopping in Uniqlo.     Weeping Jesus.  The Social Studies teacher even asked if I knew why Uniqlo is not good.  Of course I said, 'Yes', with a shrug.  I took the brunt of the nonsense with quiet aplomb and I'm still  my eyes now.  Adults!  Grown people!!  And, yes, I read about that Uniqlo advert that a small percentage of Koreans reacted to so that Uniqlo pulled it last week.  Blind nationalism really is a stupid thing.   

If someone turned my phone to silent while I wasn't even in the room, I wouldn't even realise it wasn't already on silent. 

I'd also feel embarrassed for being so unprofessional at work that my phone was ringing and shouting Kakao at the top of it's lungs in the teachers office.

Yeah, there is very little reason to have your phone with the alert on. If you're at home? I don't give a shit.

But ANYWHERE else, there are very, very few reasons. You're a doctor? Alright. Some sort of emergency professional? Alright.

But, no, sorry. Working in the VPs office? Hell no. Phones screens turn on when they get a message. Just leave the phone face up, FFS.

You leave to go to the bathroom?  PHONES HAVE A LIGHT ON THEM WITH DIFFERENT COLOURS TO ALERT YOU WHAT KIND OF THING HAPPENED FOR AN ALERT.

Hell, there's no real reason to even have it on vibrate most of the time. If I had a little machine on my desk that said a random English word at a decent decibel level every four minutes, everyone around me would tell me to get rid of the f-ing thing, a phone is no different.

I usually keep my phone on vibrate.
I rarely get calls, and message vibrations are short, but last long enough to notice them.
I also keep my phone on a book on my desk, or in my pocket, so it makes very little noise.

.... at Daiso yesterday.
I love Daiso.

 

Just don't mention it to a Korean.  Just now, I was in the main teacher's room.  My co-teacher mentioned about my newish sweater, and where I bought it.  I said 'Uniqlo'.  Wow!  Cue about 10 teachers all putting in their two cents about how I shouldn't be shopping in Uniqlo.     Weeping Jesus.  The Social Studies teacher even asked if I knew why Uniqlo is not good.  Of course I said, 'Yes', with a shrug.  I took the brunt of the nonsense with quiet aplomb and I'm still  my eyes now.  Adults!  Grown people!!  And, yes, I read about that Uniqlo advert that a small percentage of Koreans reacted to so that Uniqlo pulled it last week.  Blind nationalism really is a stupid thing.   

Long after you and your "The rest of the world should just think like me" butt are gone, the Koreans will still be dealing with the Japanese.

Long after you and your "The rest of the world should just think like me" butt are gone, the Koreans will still be dealing with the Japanese.

The way how China is aggressively expanding it's zones of control and influence, maybe not. 

.... at Daiso yesterday.
I love Daiso.

 

Just don't mention it to a Korean.  Just now, I was in the main teacher's room.  My co-teacher mentioned about my newish sweater, and where I bought it.  I said 'Uniqlo'.  Wow!  Cue about 10 teachers all putting in their two cents about how I shouldn't be shopping in Uniqlo.     Weeping Jesus.  The Social Studies teacher even asked if I knew why Uniqlo is not good.  Of course I said, 'Yes', with a shrug.  I took the brunt of the nonsense with quiet aplomb and I'm still  my eyes now.  Adults!  Grown people!!  And, yes, I read about that Uniqlo advert that a small percentage of Koreans reacted to so that Uniqlo pulled it last week.  Blind nationalism really is a stupid thing.   

Long after you and your "The rest of the world should just think like me" butt are gone, the Koreans will still be dealing with the Japanese.

"dealing with the japanese" and acting like an adult aren't mutually exclusive

.... at Daiso yesterday.
I love Daiso.

 

Just don't mention it to a Korean.  Just now, I was in the main teacher's room.  My co-teacher mentioned about my newish sweater, and where I bought it.  I said 'Uniqlo'.  Wow!  Cue about 10 teachers all putting in their two cents about how I shouldn't be shopping in Uniqlo.     Weeping Jesus.  The Social Studies teacher even asked if I knew why Uniqlo is not good.  Of course I said, 'Yes', with a shrug.  I took the brunt of the nonsense with quiet aplomb and I'm still  my eyes now.  Adults!  Grown people!!  And, yes, I read about that Uniqlo advert that a small percentage of Koreans reacted to so that Uniqlo pulled it last week.  Blind nationalism really is a stupid thing.   

Long after you and your "The rest of the world should just think like me" butt are gone, the Koreans will still be dealing with the Japanese.

"dealing with the japanese" and acting like an adult aren't mutually exclusive

Sometimes, I think 'Maybe, I'm a bit tough on little Martin', then I see his stupid hackneyed nonsense like this, and then I think, 'Nah!'. 

These are adults who been to Japan, many of them a number of times.  My VP was a Japanese teacher.  I was asked how much my sweater cost, like that was important.  Was it in the sale?  The Social Studies teacher, as I said, grilled me about if I knew why they don't like Japan at the moment.  Like I said, I took it.  No problems.  I don't think less of them, that's cool.  I get it that Martin in his Korean/Americaness has stupid nationalism flowing through him.  I, however, don't.  When this is all finished and things go back to 'normal', we'll still be shaking our heads at how nationalist fervour can remove the logic and rationality from someone in one fell swoop. 

.... at Daiso yesterday.
I love Daiso.

 

Just don't mention it to a Korean.  Just now, I was in the main teacher's room.  My co-teacher mentioned about my newish sweater, and where I bought it.  I said 'Uniqlo'.  Wow!  Cue about 10 teachers all putting in their two cents about how I shouldn't be shopping in Uniqlo.     Weeping Jesus.  The Social Studies teacher even asked if I knew why Uniqlo is not good.  Of course I said, 'Yes', with a shrug.  I took the brunt of the nonsense with quiet aplomb and I'm still  my eyes now.  Adults!  Grown people!!  And, yes, I read about that Uniqlo advert that a small percentage of Koreans reacted to so that Uniqlo pulled it last week.  Blind nationalism really is a stupid thing.   

Long after you and your "The rest of the world should just think like me" butt are gone, the Koreans will still be dealing with the Japanese.

It's the Koreans who expect everybody else to think and act their way over Japan. Not everybody in Korea wishes to join their mob, but they will bully those who don't. People have a right to shop where they wish and not be harassed over their consumer choices.

Also, Korea started this whole drama by violating the 1965 treaty between Japan and Korea with the court ruling last year.

.... at Daiso yesterday.
I love Daiso.

 

Just don't mention it to a Korean.  Just now, I was in the main teacher's room.  My co-teacher mentioned about my newish sweater, and where I bought it.  I said 'Uniqlo'.  Wow!  Cue about 10 teachers all putting in their two cents about how I shouldn't be shopping in Uniqlo.     Weeping Jesus.  The Social Studies teacher even asked if I knew why Uniqlo is not good.  Of course I said, 'Yes', with a shrug.  I took the brunt of the nonsense with quiet aplomb and I'm still  my eyes now.  Adults!  Grown people!!  And, yes, I read about that Uniqlo advert that a small percentage of Koreans reacted to so that Uniqlo pulled it last week.  Blind nationalism really is a stupid thing.   

Long after you and your "The rest of the world should just think like me" butt are gone, the Koreans will still be dealing with the Japanese.

It's the Koreans who expect everybody else to think and act their way over Japan. Not everybody in Korea wishes to join their mob, but they will bully those who don't. People have a right to shop where they wish and not be harassed over their consumer choices.

Also, Korea started this whole drama by violating the 1965 treaty between Japan and Korea with the court ruling last year.

I have a huge amount of respect for my CT, not because she agrees with me, but because she's developed a critical brain in a place which doesn't encourage it and got very irate when this whole mess re-surfaced... AGAIN. She told me, though I knew before, that Korea and Japan reached a final settlement in the 60s. Once you've settled, it's final, you can't demand settlement again.


When a student got heckled, in class, for admitting that he wanted to travel to Japan, she fiercely defended him.

The old mindset still wrestles with the tenants of Democracy and free speech.  I need some fresh, plain t-shirts and I'm off to Uniqlo on Saturday. If Koreans want me to buy their clothing, improve the quality and drop the price, simple.

"dealing with the japanese" and acting like an adult aren't mutually exclusive

Just because YOU think it's a trivial issue doesn't mean it is one. We have a multitude of various boycott novements going on around the world, some on far more trivial issues thsn the admittedly politically roused issue of wartime sexual slavery.

It's the Koreans who expect everybody else to think and act their way over Japan. Not everybody in Korea wishes to join their mob, but they will bully those who don't. People have a right to shop where they wish and not be harassed over their consumer choices.

Also, Korea started this whole drama by violating the 1965 treaty between Japan and Korea with the court ruling last year.

I don't think what was described constitutes harassment. I think it more describes an opinionated conversation.

I think at least 50% of started this goes to the country that invaded the other snd occupied it for decades. Agreed that MoonCo. has some responsibility for this as well. Finally the treaty doesn't have the greatest level of legitimacy considering it was agreed to by a military dictatorship. Not that I agree with what's going on.

I just think it's equally juvenile for a bunch of people who might be here only temprarily or have every intention of leaving to criticize the actions of people who will be dealing with this long after they're gone. The Japanese are not some completely innocent party. I think a reasonable look at this has to at least partially consider the nationalism of the Abe government as well as that of Korea.

I mean, complainjng about Korean nationalism when it comes to an Abe-lead Japan is a bit odd.

I have a huge amount of respect for my CT, not because she agrees with me, but because she's developed a critical brain in a place which doesn't encourage it and got very irate when this whole mess re-surfaced... AGAIN. She told me, though I knew before, that Korea and Japan reached a final settlement in the 60s. Once you've settled, it's final, you can't demand settlement again.

As I said, for many Koreans they don't feel like "they" settled it. The agreement was made by Park Chung-Hee whom roughly 1/3rd-1/2 regard as an illegitimate dictator who was also a collaborator during the Japanese occupation.

It would be akin to asseting the legitimacy of a treaty made by Franco. Technically legitimate it may be, but you can see where the problems are.

  I get it that Martin in his Korean/Americaness has stupid nationalism flowing through him.  I, however, don't. 

My opinion about Korea is tinged with nationalism because I'm ethnically Korean.  Or what because I'm American?

And I'm the one with stupid nationalism flowing through them.

I'm talking about people having long-trm skin in the game and the degree of loyalty, heritage, and investment they have in the country and community. Korea may just he snother country to you, one to which you have zero loyalty and minimal concern for, bug it's quite a different matter for others.

Now if you're a long-termer who anticipates dying here and your kids growing up and living here, that's a different matter. You have real skin in the game then. You will actually have to deal with the consequences then.