Does that include blue-eyed foreigners like you and me, or are we just talking about the nasty brown-skinned ones?

Both. I’ve paraphrased Chris Rock many a times here, but I’ll do it again — as much as “we” like to bitch about the media giving us a “bad rap,” when I’m at my neighborhood ATM at night and I’m looking over my shoulder, I’m not looking for the Chosun Ilbo. I’m looking for foreigners.

A month back when I had a minor fiasco in regards to getting a substantial amount of cash from my Australian credit card (which I commented here about at the time), I was taken to a seat behind the tellers, given a coffee and told to wait whilst they made some calls in regards to my transaction. I’m just sipping my coffee, looking around (ok, looking at the tellers’ behinds) and see less than 3 feet away an official-looking unzipped bank bag fulled to the brim with Sejongs just lying around beside a chair.

No one was paying amount to me, I had a sizeable bag on me and could have whisked away some of the Sejongs had I felt inclined.

But, alas, I’m far too conscientious and - need I say - a pussy to ever do such a thing!

Excellent advice! Good job fanning the flames.

“I haven’t managed to see the video, but it actually sounds very suspicious to me. 160k just left on the ground and thieves just happen to be on the spot at the right time?”

Yes, you’re right, you haven’t watched the video but you are sure the foreigner is getting railroaded.

Does that include blue-eyed foreigners like you and me, or are we just talking about the nasty brown-skinned ones?

Seriously though, as much as I like the relative safety of Korea and think Koreans are generally an honest bunch, there are no shortage of local 도둑. I’ve had 2 bikes nicked, my sister had her bag snatched and my friend was sucker punched for his wallet in a mini-stop.

The only reason this gets play is because the thieves were…well, we all know the story.

I haven’t managed to see the video, but it actually sounds very suspicious to me. 160k just left on the ground and thieves just happen to be on the spot at the right time?

An idiot from a country where it has traditionally been safe to walk around with large amounts of cash.

Oh, please. There are signs at the banks near my home to beware of dudes on scooters, who apparently like to drive by people as they leave the bank, snatch their bags (hopefully full of money), then drive off. Those signs have been there for years. None of those scooter drivers are foreigners (at least that I know of).

Korea may be safer in most ways than many other countries, but if you cannot afford to lose something, it only makes sense to be more careful.

What kind of idiot carries around that much money in cash? That’s just ridiculously stupid.

An idiot from a country where it has traditionally been safe to walk around with large amounts of cash.