This is just a quick note of appreciation for the (relatively) fast and courteous service I got at the American embassy last Wednesday.
Yeah, they were just doing their jobs but, considering how easy it is for minor bureaucrats to use their positions to be dicks (and having experienced that often enough to half-expect it), it is still worthy of the occasional shout out.
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
guess you’re one of the lucky ones!
I’ve had good luck with the US Embassy, too. Nice folks up there.
I’d like to give a shout out to the post office for picking up that letter I was trying to stick in the box at 5:04PM even though last pick-up is at 5:00PM. Way to go the extra mile there guys.
While we are on the subject of government employees, I’ve had nothing but excellent experience with the DMV by worldcup stadium, I even told the ladies there that they put every American DMV I had ever been to to shame. Then another time, I was to go on a business trip to Nigeria and needed a range of vaccinations for relatively rare stuff, the local 안과 referred me to some government run health office down towards DongDaeMun that seemed quite elated that I was even there, they did a stellar job. Alas, I’ve never had a good experience at the omokgyo immigration office.
I’ve had kind service at the American Embassy as well. Maybe not super fast, but, considering all the people there…and about a million times better than the immigration office in Insadong. The douchebags working at my local dong office, however, can all go die in a fire.
Seconding the DMV by world Cup Stadium. When I got my license, the woman was really nice, and even congratulated me on passing the test. The woman in the “Buy the Way” or whatever across the street was also very nice and spoke awesome English (said it was her major before she got married).
The U.S. embassy in Seoul has always treated me kindly, as well as the consulate in Frankfurt and the embassy in Manila. U.S. State seems to be consistently professional. Quite a contrast with the Korean embassy in Manila, though…
Every Korean embassy I’ve ever been to has sucked major ass. Self-importamt littel Napolean-compleex5 pricks that make ekm so angry I can barelty type!!
I’ll leave it at that before I have an aneurysm.
had some great chicken wings tonight. crispy yet juicy.
I’d like to thank the ajumma at Lotte Mart for giving me an extra cup of Iced Tea that she was demonstrating. Great lady, nice service!
Yeah, she is just doing her job, but was great to allow me to get another small cup.
obs.: what kind of post is this???
I’d like to thank the kind doctors at the Samsung Kangbuk Hospital emergency room who stopped manipulating my broken leg after I screamed and cried like a girl. They doped me up good after that. I’d also like to thank the nurse who didn’t slap me after I felt her up in the drug-induced haze. And there’s the taxi driver who carted me around on his back when he saw I couldn’t stand. So many kindnesses.
Odd — my experiences with the Korean consulate in Osaka and embassy in Beijing have been quite positive. They’ve been friendly and, in the case of the Beijing embassy, went out of their way to help my wife and I.
I”d like to thank the nurse at St. Mary’s who offered morphine as a pain killer when I had my hand taken apart and put back together 5 years ago. I demurred; but it’s the thought that counts. I’ve been thinking about it ever since.
)
seconds on the Beijing Korembassy – saw a poster I REALLY HAD TO HAVE on the walls there (“Korea – as much fun as work!” an actual poster created by the National tourist Agency in the 90′s) and the embassy guard TOOK IT OFF THE WALL and loaned it to me for a couple of hours so I could get it copied up proper. Of course I had to provide a reasonably creative and handy cover story – but the idea that they would do that…..damn! It is now my most prized possession…well, that and the block of ‘extra bitey’ cheddar cheese in my fridge.
Where is the extra bitey cheddar cheese sold? Presumably you’re talking about the Bega brand from Australia. Extra bitey seems to have disappeared from store shelves — at least the stores I frequent — and I miss it. Koreans, of course, react to such sharp cheddars as if we were asking them to take a bite of a urinal cake, so I’m not surprised the product is not widely available.
grammarmaven – that sounds like an awesome poster. Can you scan it and put it on the web somewhere?
I haven’t had any dealings with the US Embassy yet, but given the multiple visas I’ve gotten as well as the stamp happy (and sticker happy) folks at Immigration, I’m going to need them to add pages soon. I am glad to hear that they are indeed helpful and competent, given that the building that they work in is not the friendliest looking place.
As for the officials of the ROK Consulate in Fukuoka and Los Angeles, I’ve found the staff of both of them to be helpful and courteous. But I imagine that Fukuoka’s Korean consulate still has that damned guard who constantly yells at the foreigners for not lining up properly.
staff the US Embassy ACS here is first rate. Always helpful. Somebody with connections needs to tell the Ambassador etc that.
Went to the Myanmar Embassy today to get a tourist visa for next month. The Burmese man there was a great help (I could tell he was Burmese) unlike the Korean woman behind the glass who I ran into on Weds when I got there after visa application time. She was amazed that an independent traveler wanted to go there.
The Korean Embassy in Bangkok has always been nice to us. Last summer they stayed open after hours so the wife could pick up her new visa after the cab driver got totally lost, saved us 3 extra days in Bangkok. The Houston Consulate though have always been a been a bunch of aholes to us
I’d like to take this opportunity to all of you that have both accepted me as a member of your online community and have been willing to challenge your own minds with a viewpoint different to your own. Initially I signed on here as dlatn, then dong9ching9, also as swlee, kerplunk, and various others…
Through all that time we have share, grown and learned together.
Now we are all aware how diminished is the USA’s position is in the world, how its economy is ridiculed, morality questioned, and industries pilloried.
But no matter how times have been rough, we have always reached out to The Marmot’s Hole and not been left in want.
For what started out as a blog about Korea for a community of English teachers, American GIs and sycophantic Korean immigrants to the US Badok, has slowly blossomed into a forum for west and east to discuss Korea related issues.
For this we should all be truly appreciative.
Andy Jackson, R. Elgin and Dram man are still complete dicks though!
Damn, B. Morgan….or whatever….just got done watching Episode 2, season 1 of Star Trek (‘Classic’) “The Man Trap” – also known as William Shatner’s debut episode….anyways, it’s about a shape-shifting alien ‘beast’ that sucks the salt out of humans…..I’m not accusing you of salt sucking or anything, but the shape shifting reminded me a little of your….can I say… ‘turgid confession’?
dokdo, I’m sorry to be a pigdog, but the poster is like a personal trademark, ask around, I’m sure the clever Hole dwellers can figger out who I am toot suite, and I can arrange a personal viewing, with latte thrown in. Actually, it’s a little too large to scan (again, that is….the first one cost a bundle)
Brendan, I’m a great admirer and would certainly crack open the Bega if you stopped by (say, for a poster viewing and latte tasting), but I’m afraid I can’t reveal any new source of it here….as you probably know, Emart stopped, Home Plus stopped, and Cosco never had it. I picked it up in Manila a month or so back….
And since this thread like all others I’ve seen on marmot have gone totally ADD (please don’t analyze the grammar on that, I’m the maven after all), I’d like to propose this for a post by one or more of you geeky experts….this is too good to live in the thread department:
What’s the best tunnel to be in when the Hiroshima-sized Nork thermonuke hits Seoul? I certainly hope that you guys take all factors into consideration, such as tunnel elevation, ground cover, angles and bends, air circulation, reinforcement, escape routes, proximity to probable ground zero, etc.
As opposed to major bureaucrats? How would you like to be called a bureaucrat just for doing your job? If anybody ever called me a bureaucrat Id tell them to file a form and get in line.
What does this post have to do with me? What do any of Andy’s posts have to do with me?
RJKoehler,
Are you a Korean citizen? I wouldn’t be surprised, but I’m new to the blog.
Brendon: Bega can (or at least recently could be – I haven’t been there for awhile) had in either of the Wood & Brick locations. Also at the Hyatt deli. [Then of course there is the lifetime supply I’ve laid in my wine cellar.)
@22
He DOES wear a hanbok… but he’s not a Korean citizen.
“r.rac June 5, 2009 at 9:54 pm #17
“staff the US Embassy ACS here is first rate. Always helpful. Somebody with connections needs to tell the Ambassador etc that.”
Consider it done.
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