What the ... Police Request?!?!?!?

I was perusing the Action Against MBC Facebook page when I saw something that made me shake my head. It is the perfect example, as if we need another, of why it is so easy to say South Korea is not foreigner friendly and how it is racist.

A guy posted about an article on Busan News. The gyst of it is that Busan Police are telling employers not to allow their foreign workers to go to Haeundae Beach because there have been some sex crimes committed there by foreigners.

Wow. Using that lack of logic and the Virginia Tech shooting the US should be asking all Universities to not allow Korea students.

What a bunch of fucktards.

What the ... work ethic?!?!?!?

One of the things I find lacking here in Canada is some of the work ethic I encountered it South Korea. I am not talking about the coming to work even though you are coughing up a lung and will infect everyone else BS. I am talking about the not calling in sick for petty and/or selfish shit.

A co-worker here wants a 3 day weekend. S/He calls in sick. They want a day, or days, off and didn't get them ... call in sick. They don't give a shit how it will fuck over the rest of us. As long as it is good for them.

I miss working with people who didn't pull shit like that.

What the ... excuse?!?!?

I was reading an article David Wills wrote in Busan Haps and the subsequent comments from readers. A couple stuck out, especially one by a person going by the name AnESLteacher.

It's a good article.


I agree... every time a foreigner screws up, it sets all of us back. It's a normal reaction. It happens everywhere. 


We must also always show respect to the locals, we are guest here.  Even to the @$$hole ajoshis.


I do believe that things are changing, with every year fewer and fewer people point at me.


And with time, once all these kids that we are presently teaching grow up, racism will become less of a problem.

An interesting comment. There is some truth to it but part of it left me shaking my head. 

It's a normal reaction. It happens everywhere. 

Really? If that is true, that people react that way every where, why was there no outcry against Koreans in America over the Virginia Tech shooting? From what I have seen the over reaction to the deeds of a few foreigners gets blown up more in Korea than in the US or Canada. A lot more.

What the ... interesting coincidence?!?!?!

What an interesting coincidence. You remember back in February when I posted a copy of an email death threat I received? The one that turned out to have been rehashed by an unimaginative asshole?

It arrived around January of 2012. Two things blog wise were going on in the months preceding that. Anonyjohn was off licking his wounds and trolling David's site. Douchey D, Doctor Thiessen, or someone pretending to be him, was trolling around my blogs. Both of them got smacked around on the blog by me. My eyes were aimed more at DD when I mentioned then that it could be a coincidence but I am not a big believer in coincidences.

I have a new email, with some extras added, from some Anonytard using AOL.com this time.

Isn't the internet great. It allows shitheads like yourself to say shit that would, in real life get your head cracked open.

Hopefully you'll suffer the same fate fucking cunt.


Please turn to the loaded gun in your drawer, put it in your mouth, and pull the trigger, blowing your brains out. You'll be doing the whole world a favor. Shitbag.


I would love to smash your face in until it no longer resembled anything human, faggot.


Can you please remove yourself from the gene pool? Preferably in the most painful and agonizing way possible? Retard


Die painfully okay? Prefearbly by getting crushed to death in a garbage compactor, by getting your face cut to ribbons with a pocketknife, your head cracked open with a baseball bat, your stomach sliced open and your entrails spilled out, and your eyeballs ripped out of their sockets. Fucking bitch


I really hope that you get curb-stomped. It'd be hilarious to see you begging for help, and then someone stomps on the back of your head, leaving you to die in horrible, agonizing pain. Faggot


Shut the fuck up f aggot, before you get your face bashed in and cut to ribbons, and your throat slit.

 It is kind of interesting that this one has appeared after I slammed Anonyjohn for being the idiot that he is. Coincidence? As I said, I am not a big believer in coincidences.


Regardless, I don't feel honoured this time. I am sad. It is sad that the best the fuckwit could do was rehash something else other anonytards have used to try and intimidate people. Something that was used months ago to try and scare me. It just goes to reinforce the idea that these fucktards are pathetic.

What the ... assumption?!?!?!?

It doesn't always pay to be nice.

I was at Road King one night enjoying an R&J (Romeo and Juliet) Churchill and some rum with friends. A waitress, also a friend, came up to me and started talking about a foreigner she had just served at the bar. He is so nice and so good and so pure. I quickly deduced he was pretty typical of Western men.

Why would I think that? She told me how she served him with a smile. After talking with him for a few minutes she had asked him if he would like to meet for coffee the next day. He was very enthusiastic about it.

Why would that make me think anything but positive thoughts? She smiled at him and treated him like a person. Ergo, in his mind, she must want him. Why else would she have been nice to him? Why else would she have asked him out for a coffee? When I told her this she didn't want to believe it. So she went back to the bar and talked to him again.


When she came back to my table she was pouting. I was right. He took her kindness for interest in him. When she asked about coffee that confirmed it for him. She must want him.


I don't know what it is about a lot of guys in the west, or at least Canada and the U.S., most are just that full of themselves. If a woman smiles at them and makes eye contact they take it to mean she wants him.


I haven't been able to find a link to the story but I remember a news story about a year before the above happened. It was probably around 2006 or 7. A chain of stores in the U.S. was forcing it's cashiers to make eye contact and smile at all customers. The cashiers were PISSED. 


Why? Because most guys would assume the cashier was interested in them. The company ended up backing off from the policy after the shit storm of complaints that it caused.


Sometimes, with some people, it just doesn't pay to be overly nice.

Ramyon

I was in Sobey's a week ago and what did I see ... ramyon from Korea. Holy fuck ... kimchi ramyon!!! That is what I am talking about baby!

It has been over 2 years since I had any ramyon. After looking at the sodium levels on the packages here in Canada I was turned off. When I saw the stuff from South Korea, especially the spicy one I always got when I lived in Cheongju, I had to get it.

I added some veg and some jalapeno sausage. Gourmet fucking ramyon! Damn!

What the ... solidarity?!?!?!?

And now for something completely different. A post not about the usual suspects (AnonyJohn, KKKorean Sentry, Korea Times).

The brother of one of my co-workers lived and taught in South Korea. P, my co-worker, went to Seoul 5 or more years back to visit his brother. Last night we ended up talking about life in South Korea.

He was not impressed with Seoul or Koreans. Overall, he found Seoul a fairly dirty city and the citizens rude. Which I can't fully disagree with. Compared to Halifax Seoul is pretty dirty. Hell even Cheongju is. If you can't block out the staring, pointing, spitting, and such behaviour people do come off as rude.


Another co-worker had joined and was listening to our discussion. He asked why the ESL teachers didn't form a union so they wouldn't get screwed over. P, who is one of our shop stewards, couldn't stop laughing for a while. He knows how that would end up.


I mentioned ATEK to them. Now, I am NOT an authority on the life, times, and fall of ATEK. (Here are some links you can check out if you want to find out more.) When I first heard about it I reserved judgement. Part of me hoped they would do well. Part of me was pretty sure they would fail. Part of me just didn't give a shit because I wasn't part of them even though they claimed to represent me.


For me, the certainty that ATEK was doomed came about during the Swine Flu BS of 2009. People were exposed to H1N1 at an EPIK (or was it GEPIK?) get together that summer. The Koreans were sent home to be self-quarantined with their families. The foreigners were all put in a hospital. Some were whisked away from their apartments by ambulance to be quarantined. They were stuffed in rooms with few creature comforts to while away their time. 


A group of ESL teachers on the internet got together and organized help for the "prisoners". They rallied people to donate books, games, food, anything that could help the "patients" while away their time. It was a great idea and the organizers still deserve a tip of the hat for their efforts. What does this have to do with disappointment in ATEK? Everything.


This was the perfect opportunity for ATEK to show that they were there to help ESL teachers regardless of the problem. They did jump on the bandwagon many days after the aid was started but for me it was too little to late. (AnonyJohn has decided to be my own little Grammar Nazi. Did I use the right "to" AnonyJohn?) They should have been there for these people from the start and they weren't. If ATEK couldn't be there at a time like this when would they be? At that point I figured they were doomed to failure. Unfortunately, time would eventually prove me right. 


It is kind of funny when I think back. I had held back any criticism of ATEK before that moment. When I mentioned on another blog that I thought ATEK had screwed the pooch this time the reaction from some of the ATEK pushers was funny. One of them told me to get off my high horse. Seriously?  An organization that claimed to be there for ALL ESL teachers, except F VISA holders, whether they accepted the representation or not, was NOT there for some ESL teachers in need. It was the perfect moment for ATEK to shine. And they were no where to be seen until they started to ride the coat tails of the few who started to help the people in quarantine. To me that was very telling. ATEK went for the big headlines (human rights complaints) instead of helping the little people.

It wasn't even just ATEK itself that had me thinking it would fail. My own dealings with other ESL teachers had a hand in that. When the owners of Ivy School were screwing Spock and myself over it was the perfect time for the foreigner ESL teachers to stick together. After all, if they would fuck one person over they would, and did, fuck everyone over. But that isn't how the others saw it. They were more worried about themselves than anything else. So they paid lip service to Spock and I but did and said nothing else. Immediate self-interest and preservation trumped anything else. but I am starting to digress. :)

It was an interesting conversation with some co-workers that brought back some memories of my time in South Korea.

AnonyJohn ... alive and trolling.

I don't feel like spamming up David's blog with comments about or to John so I figured I would write about it here instead. John, aka AnonyJohn aka Johnny Boy aka What a Fucktard, still trolls around David's blog.

When David wrote about Creationist Corea John had to chime in. (It still feels strange to call him David and not KRD.)

john / June 16, 2012

I see Flint still likes following me.


Mental problem? Yikes. I bet the two of you get all uppity and upset when theists “unfairly” judge atheists. Yet, here you are disrespecting billions of people based on their beliefs.


The true pointlessness is in the fact that atheists like you are absolute hypocrites. It’s sad that you cry about the disrespect you “suffered” from Christians (although I imagine no Christian has ever gone to you and treated you badly for your beliefs), but can’t care to respect others.


Everyone things they’re smarter than the other, and you’re no different. You’re still an immature child.

I had thought about just ignoring him and not feeding the troll. But ... I was bored. :)

Flint / June 20, 2012

What to do? What to do? Feed the troll or not? Engage the zealot or not? Oh what the hell, I am bored right now and have a few minutes to kill.

Anonyjohn there you go again making assumptions. Who ever said I was an atheist?

And where exactly in my 8 word comment did I say you had mental problems? Or is it just your poor writing style showing through again? I remember past comments where you would start off talking about a couple of people. Then when called on it you would say “I wasn’t talking about you.”

See the mention of John's poor writing style? Did I call it or what? He actually tried to use the old "I wasn't talking about you excuse." again. He is sadly predictable.

Some things to keep in mind. The OP was written by David. The 1st comment was mine. The second David's. Then JohnnyBoy made the above comment. So, before John there were only two people who commented. In John's 3rd sentence he talks about "the two of you". Which anyone would think was directed at David and I. Anyone except John in his latest comment.

john / July 4, 2012

Notice how I refer to David in the second person “you,” while I refer to you, Flint, in the third person? That post wasn’t addressed to you. I know David is an atheist. In my post, I never called you as an atheist. Read it again.

Also, David calls religion a mental problem in his “article.”

Finally, if you’re not a creationist, based on your earlier post, then you are probably atheist. The way you word it also indicates that you’re probably not agnostic.

I see John is still trying to change reality to suit his narrative. Before he even suggested that I read what he posted again I had. I read it a couple of times. You have to when John writes because his style is lacking and the bat shit is strong. Every time I read it I saw the same thing. A comment aimed at me followed by something aimed at "the two of you" not a single "you" like Johnny claimed. He did use that form of "you" in his third paragraph. I guess he is the one who needs to go back and read what he wrote again. Or he could just keep denying reality like he usually does.

You have to love his attempts at logic. They are good for a laugh. He never said  I am an atheist but if you aren't a creationist you are probably an atheist. Which would mean he is now basically saying I am an atheist. David called creationism a mental problem. Using John's twisted logic that equates to calling religion a mental problem. Wow. What leaps. What an ... AnonyJohn.

WSJ Commenters 3

4:50 am June 8, 2012

Expat Hypocrisy wrote:


“South Korean media, as happens in other countries, tend to scapegoat, deride and criticize foreigners for a variety of reasons, some real but many exaggerated. English teachers, in particular, get an outsized heap of criticism from the South Korean media, owing in part to the fact that, as elsewhere, scary stories about children get lots of attention.”


In the same way that foreign bloggers “scapegoat, deride and criticize” Koreans? I have a problem with this criticism especially when it comes from expat bloggers who have no qualms about disrespecting their host country. I don’t believe anyone should be scapegoated, but work on your own house first before criticizing others.

Ah yes, the old "don't disrespect your host country" line. A favourite of apologists second only to the "it happens in your country" excuse. Which the fucktard manages to cram into his last sentence.

I love it when they try to equate complaining about poor treatment with showing disrespect to your host country. It is just so bat shit.

Why the wouldn't people complain when they are treated badly ANYWHERE? Especially when they are actually living and working in the country in question! Paying taxes. Contributing to the economy. It is happening to them where they are living and working NOT in their home country so of course it would is relevant.

When people encounter racist behaviour anywhere they should speak out. I complained about the stupidity I encountered in South Korea and on my other blog I complain about the stupidity I encounter at home in Canada, and anywhere else I encounter it. 

What a fucking moron.

What the ... top headline?!?!?

What is the TOP headline story in the Korea Times for Wednesday, July 4, 2012?

Yes, that is actually what they put as the top headline. Beauty contestants believe 'leg line' most important: survey. What the kimchi?!?!?


The leg line is more important than anything else going on in South Korea or the world. What are the number one headlines at some other papers?


The International Herald Tribune: Pakistan Opens NATO Supply Line as Clinton Apologizes


The National Post: Amid cabinet shuffle speculation, Bev Oda finally calls it quits.


The Times: Barclays adrift as scandal sucks in Bank of England.


How about another Korean English language paper the Joongang Daily: Lee’s elder brother queried in bribe case This was actually Korea Times 2nd headline.  What was Joongang's number 2 headline? Provisional pact with Japan already signed in April. How could they have missed the leg line story?!?!??


Thank you Shin Na-Yun and the Korea Times for bringing this "important" story to us and maintaining your the tile of Worst in the Nation.

Shit Herr Consoleman Says about ESL wages.

Why ESLers able to live like King in Korea
by Consoleman » Sun Jul 01, 2012 11:08 am

S.Korea spent about $6 billion dollars per year in ESL education and have scored 121st place (2009 data - 157 countries) in speaking test.
So how did $6 billion with 20,000 naive English speaking teachers only able to scored 121th place (even worst than North Korea - who learned English from N.Korean teacher and worst than most African countries).


There's gotta be something wrong with education system, and ESL teachers as well.


One would think from the title of Herr Consoleman's thread and what he wrote that ESL teachers in South Korea are personally getting the $6 Billion a year. Of course, what he says has nothing to do with actually explaining why ESLers can live like kings.

Did I live like a king when I was in South Korea? Hmmm ... small ConApt hardly seems like a castle. Part of your pay scammed in some way by the school. (The favourite method of doing that seemed to be charging you double or more of the income tax rate, which they pocket.)

Now to be fair I did live well. I did save some money, but spent the bulk of it in South Korea. Thanks to the lower cost of living I was able to do more within Korea than I would at home. Go out more often. Travel more, when I had time off.

The funny thing is he has a point but his batshit obscures it. There IS something wrong with the education system in South Korea, not just the ESL part of it, and the teachers are part of the problem. They just aren't the part of it him and his fellow KKKlan members think they are.

The SYSTEM allows hagwons to hire people whose only claim to fame as a teacher is being born in an English speaking country and having a University degree. Hagwons prefer to hire younger teachers, fresh out of Uni. One might even call them NAIVE  English speaking teachers because most haven't travelled abroad, let alone worked in another country. Not because they are skilled but because they are easier to screw over than more mature and experienced people.

Which would jibe with some of what he says later in the thread.

These ESL Hagwons aren't that stupid, they're using mainly North American to grab market share of $6 billion dollar a year industry.

Yes. The hagwons are a big part of the problem. All they care about is making money and not educating the students. Which is why students will be in classes that are too high a level for them. It keeps the parents happy. Low marks aren't sent home. Shit that drove me crazy at times when I worked at hagwons. They aren't stupid. They are just fucking greedy and will screw over the teachers as quickly as the students/parents to make a buck.

Having been exposed to Herr Consoleman's written English the last few years I think he should be complaining about the English education system in Australia. After all, he spent at least High School there, plus University, and his written English is bad. Just look at some of his sentences in this thread starting with the title.

Why ESLers able to live like King in Korea

It should read: Why are ESLers able to live like kings in Korea? or even How are ESLers able to live like kings in Korea?

So how did $6 billion with 20,000 naive English speaking teachers only able to scored 121th place (even worst than North Korea - who learned English from N.Korean teacher and worst than most African countries).

Where the hell do you even start with that clunky sentence?!?!? He makes it sound like naive English speaking teachers scored 121st place on a test. "Worst" than? Really? Fuck Herr Consoleman ... ewww didn't mean it that way ... you should see about suing the Australian Education system because they definitely didn't teach you proper English. How in the fuck can he communicate at work?!?!?

Oh well, at least he is entertaining in an insane kind of way. :)

What the ... health report?!?!?

Once again the Korea Times, worst in the nation, has lowered the bar of stupidity. A friend pointed out an article titled Korean food better than Western one against weight gain: research. It is hard to decide what to talk about first, the article overall or the poor English.

Let's go with English first. The article is so poorly written it could have been a Herr Consoleman production.

"Korean food better than Western one against weight gain: research." 

It left me wondering what one Western food Korean food is better than? 

"A research team announced on March 28 that Korean food helps people not gain weight as its actual absorption of calories is about 10 percent lower than meat-oriented Western food of the same calories." 


Wait a minute! Hold it! Korean food absorbs calories? What the kimchi?!?!?

"Scientists presume that Koreans has absorbed low calories  ... " 


Ok, enough of beating that horse. You get the point.

Then you have the gist of the article. My friend Bald Flint said it best and I will paraphrase him.

What genius! Foods made from rice and vegetables are healthier than fried chicken and Coke! Thank god for the scientists who figured this stuff out and The Korea Times for reporting it! Is it any wonder that there was no reporter named as being responsible for the article?

Shit Herr Consleman Says about Immigrants.

"Koreans have right to say "Go back to your country" to any foreigners specially these from North America."

Herr Consoleman wrote that nugget in response to a discussion about American racism towards Asians. Considering the fucktard has decided to settle in a foreign country, Australia, yet still spew out his racist bullshit one has to wonder how he would feel if Australians exercised a similar right and told him to go back to Korea? Or better yet, forced him to return to the Fatherland to live.