RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

The older people get...the more...

Circumstance: Today, in a huge cafe. It is the size of 2 villas put together, 3 floors. Maybe 1/3 full at most. (lots of places all over)

I am there with 5 other people at a large table playing a board game and having our coffee. I can hear people yelling from the other side of the building and laughing. A guy behind on speakerphone talking on the phone. We are not being loud or anything over the top IMO. After 10 min a lady from 2 tables comes over to tell us to be quiet.... We obviously obliged and tried to keep it down but why is it that she just didn't move to the other side of the building? Why did she not go over to any of the Koreans making noise right beside her?

 I mean, I guess this is a rhetorical question and also just a rant but wtf....

Korean 'jeong', maybe?  I had a Korean friend tell me that a reason that Koreans are noisy in groups is to show other Koreans what a great time they're having, how well they're bonding and what great mates they are.  'Jeong' overload!!  Artificially so, most of the time.  If the other Koreans were really noisy, then why should another Korean burst their 'jeong' bubble.  You're just an easy target as you ain't got no 'jeong'. 

I remember a while back being in 'SeolBing' in Shinchon with my Korean friend and there was a table of 6 or so young Koreans (20s) next to us, and they were unreal with their over-reaction to jokes, smacking the table, ridiculous over the top laughing, shouting out answers, that stupid clapping when someone makes a joke.  Most of it seemed so over the top as to just be a show of what good mates they were.  Even my Korean friend was shaking his head at how ridiculous their noise was.   

Circumstance: Today, in a huge cafe. It is the size of 2 villas put together, 3 floors. Maybe 1/3 full at most. (lots of places all over)

I am there with 5 other people at a large table playing a board game and having our coffee. I can hear people yelling from the other side of the building and laughing. A guy behind on speakerphone talking on the phone. We are not being loud or anything over the top IMO. After 10 min a lady from 2 tables comes over to tell us to be quiet.... We obviously obliged and tried to keep it down but why is it that she just didn't move to the other side of the building? Why did she not go over to any of the Koreans making noise right beside her?

 I mean, I guess this is a rhetorical question and also just a rant but wtf....

Korean 'jeong', maybe?  I had a Korean friend tell me that a reason that Koreans are noisy in groups is to show other Koreans what a great time they're having, how well they're bonding and what great mates they are.  'Jeong' overload!!  Artificially so, most of the time.  If the other Koreans were really noisy, then why should another Korean burst their 'jeong' bubble.  You're just an easy target as you ain't got no 'jeong'. 

I remember a while back being in 'SeolBing' in Shinchon with my Korean friend and there was a table of 6 or so young Koreans (20s) next to us, and they were unreal with their over-reaction to jokes, smacking the table, ridiculous over the top laughing, shouting out answers, that stupid clapping when someone makes a joke.  Most of it seemed so over the top as to just be a show of what good mates they were.  Even my Korean friend was shaking his head at how ridiculous their noise was.   

I've seen this too. Each culture has its issues, but yeah, Korean culture places a truly MASSIVE emphasise on pretenses.

I've seen this too. Each culture has its issues, but yeah, Korean culture places a truly MASSIVE emphasise on pretenses.

Hence, when eating a fairly standard ddeokbokki for a tv program, they will act like it is the single greatest meal they've ever had in their life.

Bi-yearly reminder of Crab Man.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_wv8hNCYK0&

Circumstance: Today, in a huge cafe. It is the size of 2 villas put together, 3 floors. Maybe 1/3 full at most. (lots of places all over)

I am there with 5 other people at a large table playing a board game and having our coffee. I can hear people yelling from the other side of the building and laughing. A guy behind on speakerphone talking on the phone. We are not being loud or anything over the top IMO. After 10 min a lady from 2 tables comes over to tell us to be quiet.... We obviously obliged and tried to keep it down but why is it that she just didn't move to the other side of the building? Why did she not go over to any of the Koreans making noise right beside her?

 I mean, I guess this is a rhetorical question and also just a rant but wtf....

I have a story similar to that too.
In my 2nd year in Korea, I was on the bus to my travel school. Another foreign teacher was on the bus, we were sitting together and talking and were the quietest people on the bus.
We were near the back, and most of the other people were up the front. Anyway, some Korean group was really loud, to the point we could barely hear ourselves talking. Eventually, this Korean guy gets up, comes over to us, and screams something in Korean. Then goes and sits back down. We try being a bit quieter but, he keeps looking back to see if we are talking. Eventually the lady behind him, comes over to us, and based on her hand gestures, tries to explain, that the man wants us to be quiet.
We just nod like, ok ok, and carry on.

The man, now comes over to us again, and grabs the collar of my shirt and looks like he is going to attack us. Me and the other foreign teacher pull out our phones and start recording the man. Once he saw us filming him, he lets me go, and goes and sits back down. He didn't do or try anything after that.

I can't think of one culture that doesn't have its loud moments. Singling out North Americans is ridiculous.

I recently had a guy bothering me about fishing in a lake where Koreans were also fishing. He didn't say anything to the Korean men and blamed me for the garbage left by a dirty Korean. I told him that I hadn't left the garbage (in Korean) and to mind his own business (in English), the latter with an obviously fake smile. He didn't understand what I said and smiled back. I've decided that next time a racist Korean harasses me, I'm going to respond back with something really obnoxious and a massive smile.

"I regret that you were born of a family of ill repute, but your conception being the result of a financial transaction is something for which I cannot be blamed." 

"I regret that you were born of a family of ill repute, but your conception being the result of a financial transaction is something for which I cannot be blamed." 

Lol

I'm leaning to the belief that it's an old person thing.

I regularly train at the local stadium, which has a 400m track and soccer field. You'll usually find no more than one person walking the track or a few kids playing soccer on the field.

In this case, there were a few kids practicing free kicks on the field and I was doing wicket drills on the grass. This old fart walks up to me and starts berating me for "ruining the grass" by running on it. I ignore him and he infuriated, he goes to squeal to the security guard before leaving. The security guard, a young guy, apologises to me and claims the old man is just trying to be a nuisance and I should keep training.

My complex has a spot where no cars park. It was late afternoon and I wanted to do a few minutes of jump-rope as part of my routine. I went about my business, making far less noise than the group of ajjoushis (smoking like chimanes, swearing, spitting and dropping coffee cups) sitting on a makeshift bench about 15m from me, inside the complex... there are big no smoking signs right next to them.

This old lady, ignores the litter being created the clouds of smoke, cacophony of obscenities and enthusiastic discharges of sputum, but walks up to me and tells me I'm being too loud.

Lol

I'm leaning to the belief that it's an old person thing.

I regularly train at the local stadium, which has a 400m track and soccer field. You'll usually find no more than one person walking the track or a few kids playing soccer on the field.

In this case, there were a few kids practicing free kicks on the field and I was doing wicket drills on the grass. This old fart walks up to me and starts berating me for "ruining the grass" by running on it. I ignore him and he infuriated, he goes to squeal to the security guard before leaving. The security guard, a young guy, apologises to me and claims the old man is just trying to be a nuisance and I should keep training.

My complex has a spot where no cars park. It was late afternoon and I wanted to do a few minutes of jump-rope as part of my routine. I went about my business, making far less noise than the group of ajjoushis (smoking like chimanes, swearing, spitting and dropping coffee cups) sitting on a makeshift bench about 15m from me, inside the complex... there are big no smoking signs right next to them.

This old lady, ignores the litter being created the clouds of smoke, cacophony of obscenities and enthusiastic discharges of sputum, but walks up to me and tells me I'm being too loud.

Are you still training with your 'Jeong is bullshit' t-shirt on or the one that says 'Kiss my jeong, assholes'?

As a simple test, wear a red 'Korea Fighting' t-shirt and see what happens.  I'd expect different treatment.

Ugh, all of this reminds me of a drunk adjeosshi who tried to tell a friend and me to shut up or get off the bus because he said we were being too loud, which we weren't -- we were literally talking in very quiet tones, but we were seated behind him, and I guess he really didn't want to hear any English. There were others on the bus also talking right next to him, and they were twice as loud as we were, but he chose to single us out. I'm pretty sure it's because he thought we were easy targets and that everyone would empathize with him against the foreigners.

Everyone stopped talking to watch us after this asshole's outburst. We literally just gave him the death stare until he turned his stupid ass back around, and we kept right on chatting. He tried to say something to us again after a few minutes, but I think I might have looked like I was about to lay into him, so he changed his mind, and he got off the bus at the next stop. A few people started giggling and talking about him when he left.

"I regret that you were born of a family of ill repute, but your conception being the result of a financial transaction is something for which I cannot be blamed." 

Lol

I'm leaning to the belief that it's an old person thing.

I regularly train at the local stadium, which has a 400m track and soccer field. You'll usually find no more than one person walking the track or a few kids playing soccer on the field.

In this case, there were a few kids practicing free kicks on the field and I was doing wicket drills on the grass. This old fart walks up to me and starts berating me for "ruining the grass" by running on it. I ignore him and he infuriated, he goes to squeal to the security guard before leaving. The security guard, a young guy, apologises to me and claims the old man is just trying to be a nuisance and I should keep training.

My complex has a spot where no cars park. It was late afternoon and I wanted to do a few minutes of jump-rope as part of my routine. I went about my business, making far less noise than the group of ajjoushis (smoking like chimanes, swearing, spitting and dropping coffee cups) sitting on a makeshift bench about 15m from me, inside the complex... there are big no smoking signs right next to them.

This old lady, ignores the litter being created the clouds of smoke, cacophony of obscenities and enthusiastic discharges of sputum, but walks up to me and tells me I'm being too loud.

What's with these older Korean people? When I was in China and now here in Taiwan, the older people are the most friendly. I don't get it.

I'm leaning to the belief that it's an old, racist person thing.

^ Fixed it for you.

Ever take a taxi and the driver drives while tooting his horn every 10m for no reason other than he has ingrained it into his muscle memory.

Ever take a taxi and the driver drives while tooting his horn every 10m for no reason other than he has ingrained it into his muscle memory.

What about the ones who've tweaked the power on their horns so much so that they'd drown out the 'Big Bang'?

That, or if you put a duck in front of it, then sounded the horn, you'd have a humane way to remove feathers, but then a duck with an insomnia problem from their little ears ringing.  Poor duck. 

Ever take a taxi and the driver drives while tooting his horn every 10m for no reason other than he has ingrained it into his muscle memory.

What about the ones who've tweaked the power on their horns so much so that they'd drown out the 'Big Bang'?

That, or if you put a duck in front of it, then sounded the horn, you'd have a humane way to remove feathers, but then a duck with an insomnia problem from their little ears ringing.  Poor duck. 

You've gone quackers.

I get in these stubborn to-and-fro ruts...

First, a while back was with the old Chemistry teacher who keeps turning off the air cleaner in the teacher's office because he doesn't like it.  I mean it cleans the air for all the teachers.  So I turn it back on, and then he turns it off again, then if I'm in the teacher's room I'll turn it on again.  This carried on for a few weeks at least three/four times a day.

Second, I wrote about here earlier this year, with the careers teacher thinking he can spread out all his printouts on my desk as I don't really stay in that room.  So he spread them out, I come to school early to next day so placed them all back on his desk neatly.  Then during the day, he'd put them back, and the next morning, I put them all back on his desk.  This lasted a week.

This last couple of weeks, with the contract English teacher.  One of the teacher's father-in-law passed away, so we all got a box of rice cakes.  So I ate mine.  But the contract teacher decided to put his full box on my desk, whether he thought I'd eat them I'm not sure, but like i said I don't really sit at my desk.  So in the morning, I'd put it back on his desk.  Then when I came in the next day, the box was back on my desk.  Obviously, rice cakes go to shit after a couple of days.  We kept this up until yesterday, when he finally decided to throw them away. 

Never experienced that at work, but it's like a neverending war I have with my neighbor. My first battle with him involved him taking the adverts from his door and sticking them onto mine. Then I'd stick it right back on his door, and it would go back and forth like that for a few days before he'd finally give up and throw his own gawddamn trash away... or toss it onto the floor for the landlady to clean up, I know he's done this at least a couple of times. Then the process would repeat itself the next time someone stuck adverts on the doors. It finally stopped when I ****** slammed the advert back on his door one time. I didn't actually think he was home, I was just having a bad day and took it out on the advert and his door, haha. But after that, he never stuck his trash on my door again.

I've continued to have issues with him, though. The odd thing is he's not consistent about his bullshit. He'll start something up, it'll go on for a few months, and then he'll stop. I'm pretty sure it's because a lot of what he does affects the other tenants, too, and the complaints pile on until the landlady finally steps in and gets him to stop. Not sure why she hasn't forced him to move out, yet, he's such a pain in the ass, and I don't think they're related, but I don't ****** know.

Just felt so defeated today and literally stopped the class, mid-lesson, sat down and did work on my computer while the students sat in silence. I've encountered this before and managed to swallow my frustration and get through the lesson, but today I just couldn't. The fact that the aircon was broken and it was 32 degrees in the class might've been a factor.

I've been teaching the 6th grade class in question for 2yrs, and almost every other lesson I've had to reteach and remind them what a noun is. After teaching, I'd elicit a few nouns from them to make sure they understood and most of them would get it right. Mind you, there a few who seem to have the gift of supreme density. By the next lesson, they'd have completely forgotten.

I used the same teaching approach at my other schools and most of the students could easily give me 10 nouns on demand.

After going through a really well-made PPT, if I don't mind saying so myself, for one of the more interesting lessons from the book (one about appearances), the students didn't show the slightest bit of interest. This isn't a badly behaved or noisy class, they just don't seem retain anything.

Before explaining what an adjective was, I decided to review nouns and verbs. Of course, not one of them bothered to engage in the lesson and just sat there staring blankly. At that moment I just couldn't bring myself to reteach a noun again. All my will and passion to get these kids to learn something just left and I just put the boardmarker down and busied myself with my computer.

By the way, I have no CT at that school.

Not sure what I'm going to do next week, but right now, I'm set on being giving homework to write and and explain what a noun and a verb is (in Korean so they understand), along with at least 50 examples of each. If a student isn't able to or willing tell me what a noun, verb or adjective is on command, I'll make them redo said homework. I really don't care if they dislike me, but if they can at least get through elementary school knowing what the 3 most important parts of speech are and how to identify them, I'll be happy that I've done my job.

I've been teaching the 6th grade class in question for 2yrs, and almost every other lesson I've had to reteach and remind them what a noun is.

I'll be happy that I've done my job.

I teach in an academic high school and students have to pass a test to come here, so the general level of my students is pretty good.  But when I have my writing evaluation marking there is one student, who is now 2nd grade, that seems to guess all of her spellings by how it sounds.  She's 17 years old, she's been studying English for god knows how long, and she's still guessing the spelling of 'puhrends'.  She is a really nice kid and she tries hard but I'm not sure how she can get to this age, having read and studied English for this long, and to have not taken in anything she'd read to the point that she is still guessing the spelling of these simple words.  I asked my co-teacher about her and if she had some dyslexia or some other learning difficulty and they said no.       I'm sure it's too late, with another 300 students to teach, to go back and try and fix this.