if a foreigner did buy her services, it would have made blazing headlines, I’m sure. And some kind of harsher witch hunt than the one you see. Sure, it’s backwards. I think they escaped military rule in 1993. Give them a break. Some people still think installing a general’s daughter as Pres will somehow equate a 2nd miracle economy and such. I don’t see it all. Where’s the loans and grants coming from the US and Japan for that? Based on war retribution, Vietnam War participation, etc.
Park Chung Hee died. Park Geun Hye can never be him or do what he did. The only people benefiting are some old people from Young Nam, who will regain power, even at the expense of screwing over their own party’s better suited politician for both the economy, national security, and foreign relations, Lee Myung Bak.
Nope, they’d rather go with fulfilling the desires of corrupt politicians lusting for regaing power.
Lee Myung Bak has problems of his own — the alleged $850 million savings account will be an anchor around his neck, especially if the supposed “X-File” credibly establishes undue growth of the fund during the time Lee was Mayor of Seoul. But if it turns out he’s got $850M and saved all that money from his Hyundai pay-packet, I’d like to meet his broker!
[NEWS FEATURE] Have the Daejeon language hagwon gone too far?
“Private education institutes, or hagwon, in the city of Daejeon recently launched what amounted to a vigilante campaign by offering cash rewards to informers who exposed foreign English-language instructors who illegally teach private classes. Many of those who witnessed the campaign firsthand described it as a witch-hunt, with fines, blacklisting, and deportation being the consequence of this frontier justice.”
I have a question for all of the Japanese posters on this Blog. Why is it that you have one of the kinkiest peoples on the planet but no one will openly discuss sex?
I second that video rec. If I had $1000 to throw at those guys, I’d pay them to get better haircuts and monthly gym memberships to buff those scrawny middle school bods.
“I have a question for all of the Japanese posters on this Blog. Why is it that you have one of the kinkiest peoples on the planet but no one will openly discuss sex?”
You might want to ask that to the Korean readers while you’re at it, with all their motels with exotic English names like ‘Pleasure’ and ‘Couple’ (those are for tourists), the host bars and bordellos (those are for American soldiers), softcore porn on TV (those are for dirty old men), and porn sites (those a sports newspaper).
Oh, and the Japanese docu. He’s not that great of a con artist (”In my experience you have to be a long term customer to become my girlfriend”, come on!), but luckily for him Osaka apparently doesn’t have a short supply of women who are low in self-esteem or dating experience.
“luckily for him Osaka apparently doesn’t have a short supply of women who are low in self-esteem or dating experience.”
In the documentary, it was said that 80% of the host bar’s customers were women who worked in the sex industry. After spending several hours meeting men’s emotional and physical needs, these women plunk down cash to get male attention and feel in control. Paying makes them feel they own the guy, at least for the time being. Although they all professed to love the hosts, all of the women admitted that they go to different bars. One of the host guys was right on the mark when he said that if he slept with a woman, that would be the end of the relationship. It is a perpetual cat-and-mouse game between the host and the customer, and both know it at some level yet cannot completely block their natural emotions, for both are human beings with human needs.
Please don’t keep us in the dark anymore. I can’t wait to hear who you are blaming prostitution in Korea on. Did the prostitution come to Korea from Uzbekistan? Angola, Bahrain, Kyrgyzstan? Zimbabwe? Maybe Ethiopia? Could it be you are trying to blame the USA?
Oh yeh…I forgot. Everything in this country is Japan’s fault! Unless of course a white person is involved…then revert to blaming the USA. Absolutely brilliant!
prostitution is a ubiquitous profession to be found in every society, every region of the world.
In most societies, it is done behind the doors, in the dark. Creo.
In Japan, society has been way more open towards sex for centuries.
That’s all I will say about it.
My statement about love motels is inherently based upon fact.
Love motels did not exist in Korea prior to 1991.
Instead, yu ghwans and hotels and places where they sell liquor were used.
Doubt me? Ask a Korean. Or a longtime foreign resident of Korea.
Love motels as a concept and its explicit nature of “hey, people come here, rent a room, and have sex, we’ll provide rooms to stimulate the experience”…that is a Japanese business invention.
Lee MyeungBak and Park Gunhey are really duking it out and Park’s people are attacking Lee with baseless accusations, including the “X-file”.
Lee came out in public and said he had no land or money hidden. And, he did not gain from shady stock deals.
Park’s people had no evidence to present yet, other than innuendoes.
Next week will bring more fights between these two.
Meanwhile, Kim Daejung, the biggest assho Korea has produced next to Kim IlSung and Kim Jongil, is back making speeches about everything he did was right.
Some, including myself, think he is just afraid to go to prison at his old age. After Rho is gone, some people will dig out all the stinkies on Daejung. There are many that he is hiding.
That was pretty good. A little too long, but good. The building’s landlord probably makes money but the rest of those guys are lucky if they make it through the month.
“In the documentary, it was said that 80% of the host bar’s customers were women who worked in the sex industry.”
As I was saying, lucky for them that there isn’t a shortage of women there who don’t have much dating experience or low self esteem. The women who, by their own admission, are caught up in the vicious of selling sex in order to have the money to pay for the attention of these con artists (what else do you call someone who opens overly priced bottles of liquor against the pleas of the customer?) have low self-esteem. Makes me wonder if that whole side of the sex industry in Japan was not thought up by pimps who wanted to keep their women in perpertual servitude.
My favorites are this one, Marginal Revolution (economics - the proprietor, Tyler Cowan, however, is a polymath), and Art de Vany’s Evolutionary Fitness.
I went to Costco today and I was flabbergasted at the quantity of “Costco Onion Salad” (a pack or two of sweet pickle relish, ketchup and mustard, and a heaping helping of chopped onions from the hot-dog onion dispenser) being consumed. Yet I’ve only ever seen anyone eat this at Costco. Has anyone seen this odd salad being eaten anywhere else?
The number of people in that place, and their propensity to find the choke point and then block it up right there, will one day be the cause of my aneurysm.
Also, today something happened to me that I’d read about on other folks’ blogs, but had not previously run across personally. An older gentleman leaned right into my cart and rummaged around to inspect its contents — while I was standing right there holding the push-handle! Then, after he’d satisfied himself as to what was in there, he walked away, all without making eye contact or acknowledging my existence. Weird!
sending goodbye letters saying by the way I had AIDS
Not what it said. Apparently we English teachers aren’t doing a very good job, because a lot of people don’t seem to grasp that what the email said and what the Chosun Ilbo implied that it said are two quite different things.
A testimonial by a poor, unsuspecting Canadian shopper who was trying to mind his own business…but no, he had to become the victim of a visual and olfactory assault.
…but I’m thinking about shortening it to ‘The Costco Onion Salad’
Here the first few paragraphs (it’s a very rough first draft)…
I first noticed a strange behavior developing amongst some shoppers two years ago while I was at Costco. It began with anorexic looking young ladies going to the condiments table. They apparently hadn’t bought anything that would require condiments, nevertheless they were taking large quantities of shredded onions (the kind you normally put on a hot-dog). Some would fill a plate, others would use an empty soda cup. I became quite intrigued and somewhat repulsed by the sight. I thought about it for many long minutes–so long that my slice of pizza had gotten cold. I finally came to the conclusion that they were following some kind of onion diet or were vegetarians, although some of the truly anorexic looking ones might have been dragged along by their parents. Between revealing their eating disorder or eating they had picked what had the least amount of calories at the cafeteria: shredded onions.
The next time I went to Costco, ajummas had begun exhibiting the same behavior. They were too plump to be anorexic, so I had to come up with an alternative answer to the riddle of the disappearing onions.
The cafeteria cashiers would give the the old broads dirty looks, as if to challenge the kleptomaniacal housewives, but these diligent homemakers were too determined to be intimidated by the 20 year-olds; they just kept on cranking away at the onion dispenser with an air of entitlement. I thought to myself, “It’s as if they were trying to show them that they are somehow better than the Costco cashiers.” I was amused at the thought that the irony had been lost on them. The onion bandits, seemingly content with their petty thievery–”I sure showed that cashier who’s got more ‘chemyeon’”–, would return to their tables with overflowing plates of onion in hand.
Next week, I noticed that the disease had spread to the young ones. Customers that were in their 20s would take way more onions than they could possibly eat in one sitting while making sure they’ve covered the overflowing plate with every kind of condiment they could lay hands on before returning to their tables, spilling most of that deadly mixture along the way. My nostrils would blister at the smell of onions, mustard, and relish. I could try to find an explanation, but I fear there is no way to rationalize it anymore.
“Also, today something happened to me that I’d read about on other folks’ blogs, but had not previously run across personally. An older gentleman leaned right into my cart and rummaged around to inspect its contents — while I was standing right there holding the push-handle! Then, after he’d satisfied himself as to what was in there, he walked away, all without making eye contact or acknowledging my existence. Weird!”
I’ve only ever had this happen in China. While in Korea, fellow shoppers would rubberneck but not actually stick their heads into my cart.
“As I was saying, lucky for them that there isn’t a shortage of women there who don’t have much dating experience or low self esteem. The women who, by their own admission, are caught up in the vicious of selling sex in order to have the money to pay for the attention of these con artists (what else do you call someone who opens overly priced bottles of liquor against the pleas of the customer?) have low self-esteem. Makes me wonder if that whole side of the sex industry in Japan was not thought up by pimps who wanted to keep their women in perpertual servitude.”
Couldn’t the same be said about men who pay for sex? I’m not talking about high-priced call girls with pretty faces and ample bosoms but ordinary prostitutes who cater to middle-class and working class men. What is the difference between meeting physical needs and emotional/mental needs? Both are human needs. Indeed, some johns seek conversation as much as sex from sex workers. These bar hosts shower the women with attention they could not get from ordinary Japanese men in the same way that prostitutes provide men with sexual services that they might not get at home. Sexual release via prostitution is not more legitimate or normal than emotional release via bar host.
Watching the video, I felt sad for men and women who pay for sexual contact rather than seeking out and enjoying a healthy relationship with a whole person.
I stumbled upon his blog while googling about paleolithic diets. As someone who never understood why people run long distances, his sensible, balanced approach to fitness appeals to me. Interval training is gaining recognition in the US.
Were talking about that movie in particular. Men who see prostitutes is another topic of discussion and doesn’t have any affect on whether these women were confident or smart enough to know they were being fleeced.
I’ll admit, after a while you start hearing and seeing things in that movie that makes you wonder who was being played: the hosts , the women, or the film makers.
One thing for sure: he’s tried soju for himself instead of relying on the description of a Korean if he knows it’s ‘vodka-like’; otherwise, he would have written that it was “Korean whiskey”, which it ain’t.
Ah, the strange appeal of the ground onion dispenser at Costco. I think it has to do with onions being something that customers would normally have to buy, but that in this case are being provided for free. And, apparantly, many customers at Costco Korea units can’t resist the draw of a free onion.
My God, look, they’re free - free - unfuckingbelievable! Give me your plate!
Thanks for the reference to de Vany. I’ve been devolving to a paleolithic diet/lifestyle (some would just say cro-magnon in general)for about 9 months now in a very haphazard experimental manner. I’ve dropped 40 pounds of fat and put on 20 pounds of muscle, and have maintained the same weight for about 6 months (with a steadily shifting balance between fat and muscle) after initially shedding 20 pounds. Body fat percentage is now 10.5%. What de Vany has to say is helpful in conceptualizing this process.
“Were talking about that movie in particular. Men who see prostitutes is another topic of discussion and doesn’t have any affect on whether these women were confident or smart enough to know they were being fleeced.
I’ll admit, after a while you start hearing and seeing things in that movie that makes you wonder who was being played: the hosts , the women, or the film makers.”
Your presumption of fleecing seems to stem from repeat visits over the years and the women’s professions of love. Even Issei was smart enough to know that those professions of love weren’t real, and the women themselves admitted to frequenting different bars. Some of them had boyfriends, too. Do you remember Issei saying he disliked that one customer the most because of her manipulative ways? The movie made the points a few times that being a host is a high burnout job.
I chuckled at some of the pickup lines the guys used to try to lure customers. I would guess they are good conversationalists and fun to be with. It seems like fleecing because a lot of cash is thrown around, but the girls earn $10,000 a night for doing a few blowjobs and handjobs. It’s not a lifestyle I wish for, but I wouldn’t presume these women, some of whom had boyfriends, to be lacking in dating experience or self-esteem although one woman did admit that prostitution was a low-status job which made it hard to find a boyfriend. The lifestyles of the hosts and customers may be more a reflection of consumerism as a substitute for spirituality. Japan is the land of enjo koje, compensated dating.
Costco in Korea–it’s all true. I’ve never witnessed the Free Onion Feast because I never go near the food court, it always looks like Animal Planet over there.
And the onslaught on the free samples…is there some kind of famine in Yangjae we haven’t heard about? People just stand over those tables devouring the stuff as fast as the lady can fry them up. They’re SAMPLES people!
The last time I was there, for the umpteenth time, I had to shove some biatch’s cart out of the way that was parked sideways next to the sample table so it blocked the entire aisle, as the growing line of sheeple behind us stood silently, doing nothing as usual.
I also get the women peering into/rummaging through our cart, so if their cart is nearby I walk over and start going through their shit.
Best to go on a weekday morning to preserve your sanity.
I don’t think they earn 10 000$ a night. It’s more like 10 000$ a month
and…
“Thanks for the reference to de Vany. I’ve been devolving to a paleolithic diet/lifestyle (some would just say cro-magnon in general)for about 9 months now in a very haphazard experimental manner.”
If you can make it to the Costco at Sangbong, anytime, even a weekend afternoon, you’ll find it so empty you could fire a cannon down the center aisle and hit no one. In and out in 30 minutes, easy.
Still plenty of free samples, if you dare eat that crap.
And the onslaught on the free samples… is there some kind of famine in Yangjae we haven’t heard about? People just stand over those tables devouring the stuff as fast as the lady can fry them up. They’re SAMPLES people!
The free samples company is a former client of mine (personality conflict with the Korean-American manager made working for them unbearable), and very nice people. Don’t knock on the free samples! Plus, they are providing good part-time jobs for kindly ajummas. No more vinyl skirts.
My children love the free samples at Costco. In truth if I let them run amok for a longer period grazing from the free sample tables we wouldn’t have to venture into the Costco Onion Salad™ mosh pit.
Free sample grazing is a cross-cultural phenomenon, methinks. Back in the states I knew many people, and heard of still others, whose regular Saturday lunch/recreation destination was Sam’s Club, BJ’s, Costco, et al.
The onion salad may be a Unique Situation, though.
Load’em up with relish, onions, ketchup, and mustard.
But to tell the truth, I never considered it a salad.
I just felt like I had to add on as much as possible since I was eating the most over priced hot dog in the vicinity.
I kind of stopped doing it a couple years ago, when MLB ball parks were either getting unsanitary with the upkeep, ran out of supplies, and left the onion machine empty, or it seemed a moot point.
Maybe they were inspired by the US tv beef commericial. The one where one dude claims
Yes, I have eaten condiments as a meal.
By the way, what do your children think of Koreans who eat that salad, rummage thru your cart?
If you can make it to the Costco at Sangbong, anytime, even a weekend afternoon, you’ll find it so empty you could fire a cannon down the center aisle and hit no one. In and out in 30 minutes, easy.
By the way, what do your children think of Koreans who eat that salad, rummage thru your cart?
My children weren’t present for the cart-rummaging. They do think there’s something amiss with getting elbowed out of the way by adults. We haven’t tried the Costco Onion Salad™ (who knows, it may be good despite its resemblance to chemical weaponry) but my older daughter is starting to notice others eating it.
My wife and I used to live in Eemoon-Dong, near the Soangbong unit, and I agree that it’s much less crowded there. These days, however, I’m not going to cruise all the way over there, since I’d just end up wasting any time saved at Sangbong on the added travel time to get there.
And, on that other topic, don’t forget the pogangmacha missy-jok in their vinyl aprons and rubber boots (and sometimes a free sample or two - of dukkboggi, that is).
Yeah, uhh, that’s right. It’s a looong way to Sangbong - you don’t want to drive all that way. Forget it.
Changing topics, I caught a few minutes of some show on Olive last night, don’t know whether it was new footage or old, but in any case, if I might make a polite request to the young foreign males: Please refrain as much as possible from allowing yourself to be filmed on the sidewalks of Hongdae at 3 am, beer in each hand, harrassing local cuties in short skirts. And at the very least, don’t actually give drunken interviews where you praise the beauty of Korean women, between gulps of brew swilled from a plastic cup, and giving a thumbs-up to the camera before whistling at a passing chickie.
The narration and headlines applied later are non-stop 외국인this and 외국인 that.
Bah, those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. Just go to Youtube and search for ‘drunk Korean’; you’ll be amazed by the number of results.
Linkd, I’m curious as to how they were able to even find these drunk 외국인 among the thousands of drunk Korean kids staggering, falling down and barfing in Hongdae. You know, it’s almost as if they went looking for them with some sort of agenda…hmmm…. But I guess drunk Korean guys win this round because they don’t admit on camera that they’re chasing tail too.
Without a doubt, the postings about Costco were the funniest I have read in some time and really are accurate. I can not begin to count the number of times I have had someone peer into my shopping cart to see what I purchase…but to be honest I have not had anyone rummage through it. The day that happens I think I will end up giving the offender a little lesson on how many Korean curse words and insults this foreigner knows.
As for the Hongdae drinking thing…that is such an old subject…when will the Korean media let this die? I think a better story for them would be to investigate all those adult PC rooms that actively download child porn for their customers to view in their little cubicles….but that is just my opinion.
Careful with the glass house routine…I looked up on youtube the “Drunk Korean” and found that there were more than a few videos depicting foreigners in some pretty stupid situations - especially the alleged English teacher who was found drunk in the garage.
“rummage through”? Does that mean “to search thoroughly by handling, turning over, or disarranging the contents of”?
That’s probably not the case, or is it?
Oh, rummage is the correct way to describe the inspection to which the contents of my cart were subjected. Honestly, as I saw the inspection plan developing, I giddily thought to myself, He’s really going to do it! The whole thing was so bemusing that I didn’t say anything — I just stood there and gawped. Just as I was about to ask the gentleman if there was anything I could explain — the razor blades, the crock pot, perhaps the vitamin supplements — he abruptly left.
My daughter Deborah is almost 10, which is the age where kids start to get self-conscious (and when Koreans generally stop treating little half-Korean girls like special little princesses, and more like a freak show). She was discomfited by all the staring and wanted to know why everybody was staring at her that way. That’s because these people are fucking rude, dear.
On the topic of Sperwer’s workout plan and body fat percentage, it really is amazing. For a 55 year-old guy he looks at least — at least! — 15 years younger. (From a distance, if you squint.) We had some occasion to meet today and seeing him shambling along in his ballcap and jeans, I took him for some late-30ish GI. It seemed odd that some other foreigner would be visiting the same out-of-the-way Coffee Bean as we had scheduled to meet. Then, it was him. D’oh!
The bad news is, now that he’s all muscley he’s shaving his body — if he’s doing it like a real bodybuilder he Shaves Everywhere — and I was on edge the whole time thinking about that and whether I was going to have to look at it.
“Careful with the glass house routine…I looked up on youtube the “Drunk Korean” and found that there were more than a few videos depicting foreigners in some pretty stupid situations - especially the alleged English teacher who was found drunk in the garage.”
What did you expect when the most popular alcohol is only 75cents a bottle at the convenience store?
Does Costco sell condoms? Make sure you’ve got about half a dozen boxes at the bottom of your cart. When he or she looks up at you, flash a big smile with a thumbs up.
The old gentleman could be doing market research. He might like to know what “foreigners” buy in Korean Costco. He may be a venture capitalist thinking about opening a shop in New York or Prague.
If you had any product produced in Korea, he would have called his son-in-law telling him, “Westerners are buying our umbrellas. I think we can export umbrellas to the US. Set up a company quick. I just saw another Miguk buying our umbrellas.”
Or, he might have been just curious. About westerner’s purchasing habit. He might have been smiling if you had a dirty magazine, a big box of condom or a colorful panty. Koreans think all male westerners are sex-maniacs.
You must understand Koreans have been growing in a society where privacy is a foreign concept. Korea have been as is a tribal society. Privacy is not respected.
If you do the opposite and “rummaging” on Korean gentleman’s cart, 50% of them will not mind. They will even be honored that you are interested in their purchase and lifestyle. I am not condoning these behaviors that are obviously wrong and Brendon is pretty irated.
However, these things happen in a foreign land. People have grown up with a different set of values. Things will change but only slowly.
About Onion Salad and Free sample azummas, you have to understand Korea is a still poor country. Some people are shameless. But, the basic reason is poverty.
You must pity these po’ folks who are filling their stomachs with free food. They must be in dire straits indeed. Making fun of these poor folks is as low as “rummaging” through someone else’s cart without permission.
Brendon, have more understanding on these people’s plight. They are smiling outside but hurting inside. They must be mortgaged up to their neck and living on a credit card. One day, you hear about your neighbors jumping from their apartment window.
On the topic of Sperwer’s workout plan and body fat percentage, it really is amazing. For a 55 year-old guy he looks at least — at least! — 15 years younger. (From a distance, if you squint.) We had some occasion to meet today and seeing him shambling along in his ballcap and jeans, I took him for some late-30ish GI. It seemed odd that some other foreigner would be visiting the same out-of-the-way Coffee Bean as we had scheduled to meet. Then, it was him. D’oh!
The bad news is, now that he’s all muscley he’s shaving his body — if he’s doing it like a real bodybuilder he Shaves Everywhere — and I was on edge the whole time thinking about that and whether I was going to have to look at it.
BTW–I heard AMCHAM won’t be giving out gifts at the Labor Day picnic this year. Last year, it was supposed to be one gift bag per family, but that got ugly in a hurry. One expat biz type said he had to drop his bag and run for the bus, kind of like a bank robber tossing bills in the air to get away from the cops.
‘Costco’ and ‘Korea as an impoverished nation’ - somehow I’m having trouble putting those together. I don’t know - maybe it’s the membership fees, or the plentitude of luxury- and leisure-lifestyle products on offer, or the many Korean customers’ carts filled to the brim with those products.
Incidentally, Sangbong used to (and perhaps still does) have the most expensive item I’ve ever seen on display at a Costco anywhere: a Rolex Daytona for KW25,000,000. Now, why Costco would think that customers would buy this watch from them instead of an AD when price is similar is a puzzler. However, when Costco puts an item like that on offer to its general customers, I think we can pretty much give up the notion that its customers act the way they do because they’re too poor to afford an onion.
“Incidentally, Sangbong used to (and perhaps still does) have the most expensive item I’ve ever seen on display at a Costco anywhere: a Rolex Daytona for KW25,000,000.”
Funny–North Korea has a similar deal going: “The resort (Mount Keumgang) is expanding its duty-free stores, offering such items as an $18,600 (€13,900) Rolex watch — worth nearly 27 years salary for a North Korean worker.”
Thanks for the link. My favorite part was the comment from the resort manager:
“This area is for reunification and for natural beauty,” Yoo said. “If you get rid of the political things from your mind, then you can appreciate all these good things.”
Yes - just get rid of those pesky ‘political things’, and everything will be good again. Oh, and by the way, please don’t forget to leave the USD300 per visitor with the front desk as you leave.
And, on that other topic: I wonder if there’s a connection between the checking out of the foreigners’ carts at Costco and the checking out of the foreigners’ ‘packages’ at the public baths and restrooms?
“Re: Sperwer and Carr–The less encouragement, the better.”
I’m actually encouraged to see such homoerotic banter. I always thought men were too homophobic to (pardon the pun) insert themselves into gay guy jokes.
If they had enough money, would they eat “onion salad”? I guess there are some who enjoys freebies but then there are some who do it because they do not have enough money to fill their stomach with the regular menu item. Poverty! What else?
Most Koreans are mortgaged up to their neck. If the foreign investments start leaving Korea as it happened in Japan in 1980s, the stock market and the house price will go into unending spiral down.
#97, I’m really thinking you’re clueless about this one. When I was a kid gay banter was verboten, but for the last twenty, twenty-five years it’s been quite common. Maybe our macho is that we do the gay banter but not in front of chicks? (thinking aloud)
101 Comments
A documentary about host bars. Nothing to download or install.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_.....459369.stm
Question: Why are we so eager to jump on Koreans for this sort of thing, but never speak out about the problem back home?
Simple proximity?
NOTE: Not saying it’s acceptable either way. I just want to bring up the seeming double standard in the discussion.
#2 That is because Koreans only play the victim role and blame foreigners.
foreigners are only blamed when they are involved.
No foreigners were blamed in the recent case. Not one.
if a foreigner did buy her services, it would have made blazing headlines, I’m sure. And some kind of harsher witch hunt than the one you see. Sure, it’s backwards. I think they escaped military rule in 1993. Give them a break. Some people still think installing a general’s daughter as Pres will somehow equate a 2nd miracle economy and such. I don’t see it all. Where’s the loans and grants coming from the US and Japan for that? Based on war retribution, Vietnam War participation, etc.
Park Chung Hee died. Park Geun Hye can never be him or do what he did. The only people benefiting are some old people from Young Nam, who will regain power, even at the expense of screwing over their own party’s better suited politician for both the economy, national security, and foreign relations, Lee Myung Bak.
Nope, they’d rather go with fulfilling the desires of corrupt politicians lusting for regaing power.
Lee Myung Bak has problems of his own — the alleged $850 million savings account will be an anchor around his neck, especially if the supposed “X-File” credibly establishes undue growth of the fund during the time Lee was Mayor of Seoul. But if it turns out he’s got $850M and saved all that money from his Hyundai pay-packet, I’d like to meet his broker!
About those North Korean Benjamin Franklin’s …
http://www.counterpunch.org/china06042007.html
“The Federal Reserve Board has debunked allegations of large-scale laundering of the notorious North Korean “Supernote” $100 bills.”
Has anyone checked out the hoopla in Daejeon?? Here’s the link from the Korea Herald…….Foreign English Teachers, Beware! You are being watched!!
https://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2007/06/07/200706070069.asp
[NEWS FEATURE] Have the Daejeon language hagwon gone too far?
“Private education institutes, or hagwon, in the city of Daejeon recently launched what amounted to a vigilante campaign by offering cash rewards to informers who exposed foreign English-language instructors who illegally teach private classes. Many of those who witnessed the campaign firsthand described it as a witch-hunt, with fines, blacklisting, and deportation being the consequence of this frontier justice.”
I have a question for all of the Japanese posters on this Blog. Why is it that you have one of the kinkiest peoples on the planet but no one will openly discuss sex?
#2 Without reading the article: because Korea is home.
#1 seouldout
Interesting video….At first you think it is all fun and money, but it just gets more nihilistic as it rolls on.
I second that video rec. If I had $1000 to throw at those guys, I’d pay them to get better haircuts and monthly gym memberships to buff those scrawny middle school bods.
“I have a question for all of the Japanese posters on this Blog. Why is it that you have one of the kinkiest peoples on the planet but no one will openly discuss sex?”
You might want to ask that to the Korean readers while you’re at it, with all their motels with exotic English names like ‘Pleasure’ and ‘Couple’ (those are for tourists), the host bars and bordellos (those are for American soldiers), softcore porn on TV (those are for dirty old men), and porn sites (those a sports newspaper).
Oh, and the Japanese docu. He’s not that great of a con artist (”In my experience you have to be a long term customer to become my girlfriend”, come on!), but luckily for him Osaka apparently doesn’t have a short supply of women who are low in self-esteem or dating experience.
Not good at the con? I’m no expert, but if those guys are pulling in USD10,000-30,000 per month, then it seems like they’ve got some skills.
“luckily for him Osaka apparently doesn’t have a short supply of women who are low in self-esteem or dating experience.”
In the documentary, it was said that 80% of the host bar’s customers were women who worked in the sex industry. After spending several hours meeting men’s emotional and physical needs, these women plunk down cash to get male attention and feel in control. Paying makes them feel they own the guy, at least for the time being. Although they all professed to love the hosts, all of the women admitted that they go to different bars. One of the host guys was right on the mark when he said that if he slept with a woman, that would be the end of the relationship. It is a perpetual cat-and-mouse game between the host and the customer, and both know it at some level yet cannot completely block their natural emotions, for both are human beings with human needs.
love motels concept was imported. I’ll let you guess where it was from.
Come’ on. They haven’t jammed a phone booth with naked people or made videos of more than a hundred people doing it in some kind of huge room.
To my knowledge, which may be limited due to my age at the time, Racing Girls per say is pretty recent and imported from…
they seem to prefer in the secret, if I were to judge.
PS. seouldout, thanks for the link. Lots of interesting movies there.
WJK
Please don’t keep us in the dark anymore. I can’t wait to hear who you are blaming prostitution in Korea on. Did the prostitution come to Korea from Uzbekistan? Angola, Bahrain, Kyrgyzstan? Zimbabwe? Maybe Ethiopia? Could it be you are trying to blame the USA?
Oh yeh…I forgot. Everything in this country is Japan’s fault! Unless of course a white person is involved…then revert to blaming the USA. Absolutely brilliant!
prostitution is a ubiquitous profession to be found in every society, every region of the world.
In most societies, it is done behind the doors, in the dark. Creo.
In Japan, society has been way more open towards sex for centuries.
That’s all I will say about it.
My statement about love motels is inherently based upon fact.
Love motels did not exist in Korea prior to 1991.
Instead, yu ghwans and hotels and places where they sell liquor were used.
Doubt me? Ask a Korean. Or a longtime foreign resident of Korea.
Love motels as a concept and its explicit nature of “hey, people come here, rent a room, and have sex, we’ll provide rooms to stimulate the experience”…that is a Japanese business invention.
adopted by Korean business men.
Anyone see the anti-whitey teacher doco on Olive tv? I think the name of the show was Pandora’s Box.
do you find it amusing that Korea blames things on foreign nations?
Why?
Let’em blame’em. China, Russia, Mongolia, US, Japan, etc.
You don’t see them blaming Angola, blaming Norway, blaming Vietnam, blaming Canada, India, Thailand, right?
There’s a reason for the blame. Whether or not that is good, I won’t judge.
IF there was a need to pick whose influence was best, there is no hesitation.
The Yuan Empire once had its day in Korea as well. Yes, it did.
White English teachers used to be a rarity, especially when I was a kid. I’ll speculate that they were highly esteemed and well tolerated until
some people started doing things like sexual abuse, sending goodbye letters saying by the way I had AIDS, what else?
Maybe smoking pot.
i’m not sure if it was legal, but my white English teachers were US Army officers in Seoul.
Lee MyeungBak and Park Gunhey are really duking it out and Park’s people are attacking Lee with baseless accusations, including the “X-file”.
Lee came out in public and said he had no land or money hidden. And, he did not gain from shady stock deals.
Park’s people had no evidence to present yet, other than innuendoes.
Next week will bring more fights between these two.
Meanwhile, Kim Daejung, the biggest assho Korea has produced next to Kim IlSung and Kim Jongil, is back making speeches about everything he did was right.
Some, including myself, think he is just afraid to go to prison at his old age. After Rho is gone, some people will dig out all the stinkies on Daejung. There are many that he is hiding.
“A documentary about host bars.”
That was pretty good. A little too long, but good. The building’s landlord probably makes money but the rest of those guys are lucky if they make it through the month.
I’d like to congratulate baduk on working the term “assho” and the phrase “dig out all the stinkies” into his post. Bravo.
is there a good Korean War computer game worth buying?
“In the documentary, it was said that 80% of the host bar’s customers were women who worked in the sex industry.”
As I was saying, lucky for them that there isn’t a shortage of women there who don’t have much dating experience or low self esteem. The women who, by their own admission, are caught up in the vicious of selling sex in order to have the money to pay for the attention of these con artists (what else do you call someone who opens overly priced bottles of liquor against the pleas of the customer?) have low self-esteem. Makes me wonder if that whole side of the sex industry in Japan was not thought up by pimps who wanted to keep their women in perpertual servitude.
Can anybody recommend a good (non-Korean) blog?
My favorites are this one, Marginal Revolution (economics - the proprietor, Tyler Cowan, however, is a polymath), and Art de Vany’s Evolutionary Fitness.
Not related to host bars or Korea, but the documentary on the little-known and sadly gone Jeff Buckley is very good.
If you’re willing to follow the opinions of the establishment, peninsular, you may check out the award-winners of the blogosphere:
http://2007.bloggies.com/
for economics, you can’t beat Brad Setser:
http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/setser
and Steven Roach:
http://www.morganstanley.com/views/gef/index.html
I went to Costco today and I was flabbergasted at the quantity of “Costco Onion Salad” (a pack or two of sweet pickle relish, ketchup and mustard, and a heaping helping of chopped onions from the hot-dog onion dispenser) being consumed. Yet I’ve only ever seen anyone eat this at Costco. Has anyone seen this odd salad being eaten anywhere else?
The number of people in that place, and their propensity to find the choke point and then block it up right there, will one day be the cause of my aneurysm.
Also, today something happened to me that I’d read about on other folks’ blogs, but had not previously run across personally. An older gentleman leaned right into my cart and rummaged around to inspect its contents — while I was standing right there holding the push-handle! Then, after he’d satisfied himself as to what was in there, he walked away, all without making eye contact or acknowledging my existence. Weird!
I think I’m ready to move to Prague.
You eat the “Costco Onion Salad” and then exhale on others to have them move their carts and stop them rummaging through yours.
#25:
Not what it said. Apparently we English teachers aren’t doing a very good job, because a lot of people don’t seem to grasp that what the email said and what the Chosun Ilbo implied that it said are two quite different things.
I’m writing a crime novel.
The working title is:
A testimonial by a poor, unsuspecting Canadian shopper who was trying to mind his own business…but no, he had to become the victim of a visual and olfactory assault.
…but I’m thinking about shortening it to ‘The Costco Onion Salad’
Here the first few paragraphs (it’s a very rough first draft)…
I first noticed a strange behavior developing amongst some shoppers two years ago while I was at Costco. It began with anorexic looking young ladies going to the condiments table. They apparently hadn’t bought anything that would require condiments, nevertheless they were taking large quantities of shredded onions (the kind you normally put on a hot-dog). Some would fill a plate, others would use an empty soda cup. I became quite intrigued and somewhat repulsed by the sight. I thought about it for many long minutes–so long that my slice of pizza had gotten cold. I finally came to the conclusion that they were following some kind of onion diet or were vegetarians, although some of the truly anorexic looking ones might have been dragged along by their parents. Between revealing their eating disorder or eating they had picked what had the least amount of calories at the cafeteria: shredded onions.
The next time I went to Costco, ajummas had begun exhibiting the same behavior. They were too plump to be anorexic, so I had to come up with an alternative answer to the riddle of the disappearing onions.
The cafeteria cashiers would give the the old broads dirty looks, as if to challenge the kleptomaniacal housewives, but these diligent homemakers were too determined to be intimidated by the 20 year-olds; they just kept on cranking away at the onion dispenser with an air of entitlement. I thought to myself, “It’s as if they were trying to show them that they are somehow better than the Costco cashiers.” I was amused at the thought that the irony had been lost on them. The onion bandits, seemingly content with their petty thievery–”I sure showed that cashier who’s got more ‘chemyeon’”–, would return to their tables with overflowing plates of onion in hand.
Next week, I noticed that the disease had spread to the young ones. Customers that were in their 20s would take way more onions than they could possibly eat in one sitting while making sure they’ve covered the overflowing plate with every kind of condiment they could lay hands on before returning to their tables, spilling most of that deadly mixture along the way. My nostrils would blister at the smell of onions, mustard, and relish. I could try to find an explanation, but I fear there is no way to rationalize it anymore.
“Also, today something happened to me that I’d read about on other folks’ blogs, but had not previously run across personally. An older gentleman leaned right into my cart and rummaged around to inspect its contents — while I was standing right there holding the push-handle! Then, after he’d satisfied himself as to what was in there, he walked away, all without making eye contact or acknowledging my existence. Weird!”
I’ve only ever had this happen in China. While in Korea, fellow shoppers would rubberneck but not actually stick their heads into my cart.
“As I was saying, lucky for them that there isn’t a shortage of women there who don’t have much dating experience or low self esteem. The women who, by their own admission, are caught up in the vicious of selling sex in order to have the money to pay for the attention of these con artists (what else do you call someone who opens overly priced bottles of liquor against the pleas of the customer?) have low self-esteem. Makes me wonder if that whole side of the sex industry in Japan was not thought up by pimps who wanted to keep their women in perpertual servitude.”
Couldn’t the same be said about men who pay for sex? I’m not talking about high-priced call girls with pretty faces and ample bosoms but ordinary prostitutes who cater to middle-class and working class men. What is the difference between meeting physical needs and emotional/mental needs? Both are human needs. Indeed, some johns seek conversation as much as sex from sex workers. These bar hosts shower the women with attention they could not get from ordinary Japanese men in the same way that prostitutes provide men with sexual services that they might not get at home. Sexual release via prostitution is not more legitimate or normal than emotional release via bar host.
Watching the video, I felt sad for men and women who pay for sexual contact rather than seeking out and enjoying a healthy relationship with a whole person.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06.....r=1&hp
Anyone else see this article?
Yes, I guess you didn’t notice it has already been blogged:
http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/.....the-beast/
“Art de Vany’s Evolutionary Fitness.”
I stumbled upon his blog while googling about paleolithic diets. As someone who never understood why people run long distances, his sensible, balanced approach to fitness appeals to me. Interval training is gaining recognition in the US.
Sonagi,
Were talking about that movie in particular. Men who see prostitutes is another topic of discussion and doesn’t have any affect on whether these women were confident or smart enough to know they were being fleeced.
I’ll admit, after a while you start hearing and seeing things in that movie that makes you wonder who was being played: the hosts , the women, or the film makers.
“http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/10/world/asia/10korea.html?pagewanted=1 &_r=1&hp
Anyone else see this article?”
One thing for sure: he’s tried soju for himself instead of relying on the description of a Korean if he knows it’s ‘vodka-like’; otherwise, he would have written that it was “Korean whiskey”, which it ain’t.
Ah, the strange appeal of the ground onion dispenser at Costco. I think it has to do with onions being something that customers would normally have to buy, but that in this case are being provided for free. And, apparantly, many customers at Costco Korea units can’t resist the draw of a free onion.
My God, look, they’re free - free - unfuckingbelievable! Give me your plate!
“One thing for sure: he’s tried soju for himself instead of relying on the description of a Korean if he knows it’s ‘vodka-like’”
Probably just looked it up on Wikipedia.
After a yummy “Costco Onion Salad” head over to Starbucks for a free milk and sugar drink.
Linkd, Thanks for the blog references, I’ll give ‘em a go.
Sonagi:
Thanks for the reference to de Vany. I’ve been devolving to a paleolithic diet/lifestyle (some would just say cro-magnon in general)for about 9 months now in a very haphazard experimental manner. I’ve dropped 40 pounds of fat and put on 20 pounds of muscle, and have maintained the same weight for about 6 months (with a steadily shifting balance between fat and muscle) after initially shedding 20 pounds. Body fat percentage is now 10.5%. What de Vany has to say is helpful in conceptualizing this process.
“Were talking about that movie in particular. Men who see prostitutes is another topic of discussion and doesn’t have any affect on whether these women were confident or smart enough to know they were being fleeced.
I’ll admit, after a while you start hearing and seeing things in that movie that makes you wonder who was being played: the hosts , the women, or the film makers.”
Your presumption of fleecing seems to stem from repeat visits over the years and the women’s professions of love. Even Issei was smart enough to know that those professions of love weren’t real, and the women themselves admitted to frequenting different bars. Some of them had boyfriends, too. Do you remember Issei saying he disliked that one customer the most because of her manipulative ways? The movie made the points a few times that being a host is a high burnout job.
I chuckled at some of the pickup lines the guys used to try to lure customers. I would guess they are good conversationalists and fun to be with. It seems like fleecing because a lot of cash is thrown around, but the girls earn $10,000 a night for doing a few blowjobs and handjobs. It’s not a lifestyle I wish for, but I wouldn’t presume these women, some of whom had boyfriends, to be lacking in dating experience or self-esteem although one woman did admit that prostitution was a low-status job which made it hard to find a boyfriend. The lifestyles of the hosts and customers may be more a reflection of consumerism as a substitute for spirituality. Japan is the land of enjo koje, compensated dating.
Costco in Korea–it’s all true. I’ve never witnessed the Free Onion Feast because I never go near the food court, it always looks like Animal Planet over there.
And the onslaught on the free samples…is there some kind of famine in Yangjae we haven’t heard about? People just stand over those tables devouring the stuff as fast as the lady can fry them up. They’re SAMPLES people!
The last time I was there, for the umpteenth time, I had to shove some biatch’s cart out of the way that was parked sideways next to the sample table so it blocked the entire aisle, as the growing line of sheeple behind us stood silently, doing nothing as usual.
I also get the women peering into/rummaging through our cart, so if their cart is nearby I walk over and start going through their shit.
Best to go on a weekday morning to preserve your sanity.
Sonagi,
I don’t think they earn 10 000$ a night. It’s more like 10 000$ a month
and…
“Thanks for the reference to de Vany. I’ve been devolving to a paleolithic diet/lifestyle (some would just say cro-magnon in general)for about 9 months now in a very haphazard experimental manner.”
Been foraging for onions at Costco?
If you can make it to the Costco at Sangbong, anytime, even a weekend afternoon, you’ll find it so empty you could fire a cannon down the center aisle and hit no one. In and out in 30 minutes, easy.
Still plenty of free samples, if you dare eat that crap.
The free samples company is a former client of mine (personality conflict with the Korean-American manager made working for them unbearable), and very nice people. Don’t knock on the free samples! Plus, they are providing good part-time jobs for kindly ajummas. No more vinyl skirts.
My children love the free samples at Costco. In truth if I let them run amok for a longer period grazing from the free sample tables we wouldn’t have to venture into the Costco Onion Salad™ mosh pit.
Free sample grazing is a cross-cultural phenomenon, methinks. Back in the states I knew many people, and heard of still others, whose regular Saturday lunch/recreation destination was Sam’s Club, BJ’s, Costco, et al.
The onion salad may be a Unique Situation, though.
I’ve never been able to get near the samples to try them….
Vinyl skirts are kinda sexy |)
Ut videam, I think I’d skip on the samples at BJ’s.
“Costco Onion Salad™”
Good one. Do I have to pay you royalties now if I use the term?
to be honest, i used to do something similar.
But with a major league ball park, $6 hot dog.
Load’em up with relish, onions, ketchup, and mustard.
But to tell the truth, I never considered it a salad.
I just felt like I had to add on as much as possible since I was eating the most over priced hot dog in the vicinity.
I kind of stopped doing it a couple years ago, when MLB ball parks were either getting unsanitary with the upkeep, ran out of supplies, and left the onion machine empty, or it seemed a moot point.
Maybe they were inspired by the US tv beef commericial. The one where one dude claims
Yes, I have eaten condiments as a meal.
By the way, what do your children think of Koreans who eat that salad, rummage thru your cart?
beer
Shhhhh!!!!!
My children weren’t present for the cart-rummaging. They do think there’s something amiss with getting elbowed out of the way by adults. We haven’t tried the Costco Onion Salad™ (who knows, it may be good despite its resemblance to chemical weaponry) but my older daughter is starting to notice others eating it.
My wife and I used to live in Eemoon-Dong, near the Soangbong unit, and I agree that it’s much less crowded there. These days, however, I’m not going to cruise all the way over there, since I’d just end up wasting any time saved at Sangbong on the added travel time to get there.
And, on that other topic, don’t forget the pogangmacha missy-jok in their vinyl aprons and rubber boots (and sometimes a free sample or two - of dukkboggi, that is).
Sorry for typos…
“to be honest, i used to do something similar.
But with a major league ball park, $6 hot dog.
Load’em up with relish, onions, ketchup, and mustard.”
It’s not the same. You actually bought the hotdogs, they don’t. Heck, some of them don’t even buy anything at the cafeteria.
I just had lunch (’komtang’)at the restaurant nextdoor and with all this talk about onions that’s all I could taste in the soup and the kimchi.
Yangpa and circuses.
Yeah, uhh, that’s right. It’s a looong way to Sangbong - you don’t want to drive all that way. Forget it.
Changing topics, I caught a few minutes of some show on Olive last night, don’t know whether it was new footage or old, but in any case, if I might make a polite request to the young foreign males: Please refrain as much as possible from allowing yourself to be filmed on the sidewalks of Hongdae at 3 am, beer in each hand, harrassing local cuties in short skirts. And at the very least, don’t actually give drunken interviews where you praise the beauty of Korean women, between gulps of brew swilled from a plastic cup, and giving a thumbs-up to the camera before whistling at a passing chickie.
The narration and headlines applied later are non-stop 외국인this and 외국인 that.
Then the Costco at Sangbong’s days may be numbered.
For me, compared with travel time to Yangpyeong from our current home, it is longer - that’s why I switched.
Linkd,
Bah, those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. Just go to Youtube and search for ‘drunk Korean’; you’ll be amazed by the number of results.
…not that there’s anything wrong with getting crazy and drunk (or crunk as kids call it nowadays) once in a while.
Linkd, I’m curious as to how they were able to even find these drunk 외국인 among the thousands of drunk Korean kids staggering, falling down and barfing in Hongdae. You know, it’s almost as if they went looking for them with some sort of agenda…hmmm…. But I guess drunk Korean guys win this round because they don’t admit on camera that they’re chasing tail too.
Without a doubt, the postings about Costco were the funniest I have read in some time and really are accurate. I can not begin to count the number of times I have had someone peer into my shopping cart to see what I purchase…but to be honest I have not had anyone rummage through it. The day that happens I think I will end up giving the offender a little lesson on how many Korean curse words and insults this foreigner knows.
As for the Hongdae drinking thing…that is such an old subject…when will the Korean media let this die? I think a better story for them would be to investigate all those adult PC rooms that actively download child porn for their customers to view in their little cubicles….but that is just my opinion.
Careful with the glass house routine…I looked up on youtube the “Drunk Korean” and found that there were more than a few videos depicting foreigners in some pretty stupid situations - especially the alleged English teacher who was found drunk in the garage.
This one is classic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_auoRTgGLuQ
“rummage through”? Does that mean “to search thoroughly by handling, turning over, or disarranging the contents of”?
That’s probably not the case, or is it?
Oh, rummage is the correct way to describe the inspection to which the contents of my cart were subjected. Honestly, as I saw the inspection plan developing, I giddily thought to myself, He’s really going to do it! The whole thing was so bemusing that I didn’t say anything — I just stood there and gawped. Just as I was about to ask the gentleman if there was anything I could explain — the razor blades, the crock pot, perhaps the vitamin supplements — he abruptly left.
My daughter Deborah is almost 10, which is the age where kids start to get self-conscious (and when Koreans generally stop treating little half-Korean girls like special little princesses, and more like a freak show). She was discomfited by all the staring and wanted to know why everybody was staring at her that way. That’s because these people are fucking rude, dear.
Mr. Carr, it’s called Find the Cheese. I usually get a satisfied look from the ajumma when after she discovers a block of sharp cheddar in the cart.
On the topic of Sperwer’s workout plan and body fat percentage, it really is amazing. For a 55 year-old guy he looks at least — at least! — 15 years younger. (From a distance, if you squint.) We had some occasion to meet today and seeing him shambling along in his ballcap and jeans, I took him for some late-30ish GI. It seemed odd that some other foreigner would be visiting the same out-of-the-way Coffee Bean as we had scheduled to meet. Then, it was him. D’oh!
The bad news is, now that he’s all muscley he’s shaving his body — if he’s doing it like a real bodybuilder he Shaves Everywhere — and I was on edge the whole time thinking about that and whether I was going to have to look at it.
Including the ears?
“Careful with the glass house routine…I looked up on youtube the “Drunk Korean” and found that there were more than a few videos depicting foreigners in some pretty stupid situations - especially the alleged English teacher who was found drunk in the garage.”
What did you expect when the most popular alcohol is only 75cents a bottle at the convenience store?
My comment was aimed at both sides of the fence.
Easy way to take care of the nosy shopper:
Does Costco sell condoms? Make sure you’ve got about half a dozen boxes at the bottom of your cart. When he or she looks up at you, flash a big smile with a thumbs up.
Yeah, Dogbert; even the ears; and the nose.
Brendon:
I’d never do that to someone of your delicate sensibilities.
On the other hand, if you keep it up, I may do an LBJ on ya.
The old gentleman could be doing market research. He might like to know what “foreigners” buy in Korean Costco. He may be a venture capitalist thinking about opening a shop in New York or Prague.
If you had any product produced in Korea, he would have called his son-in-law telling him, “Westerners are buying our umbrellas. I think we can export umbrellas to the US. Set up a company quick. I just saw another Miguk buying our umbrellas.”
Or, he might have been just curious. About westerner’s purchasing habit. He might have been smiling if you had a dirty magazine, a big box of condom or a colorful panty. Koreans think all male westerners are sex-maniacs.
You must understand Koreans have been growing in a society where privacy is a foreign concept. Korea have been as is a tribal society. Privacy is not respected.
If you do the opposite and “rummaging” on Korean gentleman’s cart, 50% of them will not mind. They will even be honored that you are interested in their purchase and lifestyle. I am not condoning these behaviors that are obviously wrong and Brendon is pretty irated.
However, these things happen in a foreign land. People have grown up with a different set of values. Things will change but only slowly.
About Onion Salad and Free sample azummas, you have to understand Korea is a still poor country. Some people are shameless. But, the basic reason is poverty.
You must pity these po’ folks who are filling their stomachs with free food. They must be in dire straits indeed. Making fun of these poor folks is as low as “rummaging” through someone else’s cart without permission.
Brendon, have more understanding on these people’s plight. They are smiling outside but hurting inside. They must be mortgaged up to their neck and living on a credit card. One day, you hear about your neighbors jumping from their apartment window.
On the topic of Sperwer’s workout plan and body fat percentage, it really is amazing. For a 55 year-old guy he looks at least — at least! — 15 years younger. (From a distance, if you squint.) We had some occasion to meet today and seeing him shambling along in his ballcap and jeans, I took him for some late-30ish GI. It seemed odd that some other foreigner would be visiting the same out-of-the-way Coffee Bean as we had scheduled to meet. Then, it was him. D’oh!
The bad news is, now that he’s all muscley he’s shaving his body — if he’s doing it like a real bodybuilder he Shaves Everywhere — and I was on edge the whole time thinking about that and whether I was going to have to look at it.
There’s something vaguely queer about this….
how about that dude going thru Carr’s basket was just an asshole?
I vaguely remember the same happening to me,
But I was a CHILD minding the shopping cart in Korea.
I was thinking, why is this ajumma picking thru what we’re buying?
I think it has to do with a lack of respect.
My intution is that the dude, in his stupid little mind, didn’t see Mr. Carr as his equal. That’s why he didn’t say anything or look face to face.
I may be wrong, but kind of like how kyopos supermarket workers or kyopo moving services refer to non Korean workers as “ae-deul.”
I’m talking about grown men.
vaguely queer? - anything less than the full Liberace isn’t queer enough for you?
Bend over, cupcake.
Baduk, Korea is the world’s 11th- or 12-largest economy. It isn’t so poor that people have to forage in Costco for onions.
Koreans be gettin’ their freak on at Costco.
I’ve been working for Korean law firms for 10 years already — not that there’s anything wrong with that! This should be no problem.
I think Costco should put out cubes of butter on a toothpick and see how quickly the ajummas hoover them.
Re: Sperwer and Carr–The less encouragement, the better.
BTW–I heard AMCHAM won’t be giving out gifts at the Labor Day picnic this year. Last year, it was supposed to be one gift bag per family, but that got ugly in a hurry. One expat biz type said he had to drop his bag and run for the bus, kind of like a bank robber tossing bills in the air to get away from the cops.
‘Costco’ and ‘Korea as an impoverished nation’ - somehow I’m having trouble putting those together. I don’t know - maybe it’s the membership fees, or the plentitude of luxury- and leisure-lifestyle products on offer, or the many Korean customers’ carts filled to the brim with those products.
Incidentally, Sangbong used to (and perhaps still does) have the most expensive item I’ve ever seen on display at a Costco anywhere: a Rolex Daytona for KW25,000,000. Now, why Costco would think that customers would buy this watch from them instead of an AD when price is similar is a puzzler. However, when Costco puts an item like that on offer to its general customers, I think we can pretty much give up the notion that its customers act the way they do because they’re too poor to afford an onion.
“Incidentally, Sangbong used to (and perhaps still does) have the most expensive item I’ve ever seen on display at a Costco anywhere: a Rolex Daytona for KW25,000,000.”
Funny–North Korea has a similar deal going: “The resort (Mount Keumgang) is expanding its duty-free stores, offering such items as an $18,600 (€13,900) Rolex watch — worth nearly 27 years salary for a North Korean worker.”
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap.....php?page=2
Don’t think they get the Onion Feast there, though.
Baduk - surely the #84 post was a joke….sarcastic and very witty…at least I am hoping it was a joke, otherwise you are really out of touch with Korea
michael,
Thanks for the link. My favorite part was the comment from the resort manager:
“This area is for reunification and for natural beauty,” Yoo said. “If you get rid of the political things from your mind, then you can appreciate all these good things.”
Yes - just get rid of those pesky ‘political things’, and everything will be good again. Oh, and by the way, please don’t forget to leave the USD300 per visitor with the front desk as you leave.
And, on that other topic: I wonder if there’s a connection between the checking out of the foreigners’ carts at Costco and the checking out of the foreigners’ ‘packages’ at the public baths and restrooms?
“Re: Sperwer and Carr–The less encouragement, the better.”
I’m actually encouraged to see such homoerotic banter. I always thought men were too homophobic to (pardon the pun) insert themselves into gay guy jokes.
robert neff,
If they had enough money, would they eat “onion salad”? I guess there are some who enjoys freebies but then there are some who do it because they do not have enough money to fill their stomach with the regular menu item. Poverty! What else?
Most Koreans are mortgaged up to their neck. If the foreign investments start leaving Korea as it happened in Japan in 1980s, the stock market and the house price will go into unending spiral down.
Korea will wind up where Mexico is at right now.
Korea will wind up where Mexico is at right now.
That would be great. It’d make it much simpler to go home to visit family.
income disparity has always been an issue in Korea.
#97, I’m really thinking you’re clueless about this one. When I was a kid gay banter was verboten, but for the last twenty, twenty-five years it’s been quite common. Maybe our macho is that we do the gay banter but not in front of chicks? (thinking aloud)