There were two reasons why X'Ds~Grrrr... (Guillaume Patry, the most successful non-Korean Starcraft player ever) decided to quit playing Starcraft. One was that he started playing poker, and the other was differing opinions with Daniel Lee about several issues that aren't important. What matters is that him quitting Hexatron (formerly AMD Dream-team) meant that Daniel Lee wanted another non-Korean protoss player on his team.
I had helped Elky practice for alot of his TV matches at this time. Not straight-up games, as I had slim chances, but he'd make me do exact build orders while he practiced a Barracks-float cheese vs. Terran on Bifrost. I was basically his practice slave on multiple occasions but it did earn me brownie points. Also, one day Elky told Grrrr that he should play me and that I'm pretty good. Grrrr reacted like "Lol, no thx, don't want to play newbs, waste of time." Elky, being Elky, then said "Ok best of 5, you vs. him lets bet 100$." I won 3-0 PvP, Elky was very pleased, Grrrr instantly logged off battle.net, then Elky spammed the chat about how good it's going to feel collecting those 10 man-wons (man-won=10,000won=10$).
Elky gave his full recommendation to Daniel Lee and Grrrr admitted to him that I beat him 3-0 so Daniel Lee gave me a try-out vs. some of his players. Luckily he only had me face some of the less-skilled terrans because PvT was my only decent matchup at that time.
All of the sudden I had dropped out of college and was in Seoul, South Korea in Daniel Lee's car as he lectured me telling me I need a haircut because "Looking sharp is always the best for a MAN." That car ride was one of the most intense feelings of anticipation I have ever felt in my life.
Without even dropping my luggage off Daniel took me to meet Grrrr and a couple other Korean players to get some food. As we walked the short walk from parking on the side of the street to the gogi-jib (meat-house,korean BBQ) Grrrr got asked for two autographs from randoms on the street. He signed them in a calm demeanor, obviously not happy to be bothered, but at the same time not irritated at all. A few weeks ago I had my first encounter with Grrrr online sitting in my dorm-room in Cincinnati and now all of the sudden I am in Korea part of his team as his replacement (his contract was going to expire in a couple months and Daniel/Grrrr agreed that he was not going to re-new it).
At the gogi-jib they brought the bowl full of burning coals, put them into the hole in the middle of the table, put the pan on top of it, and Grrrr unloaded the meat onto the tray and started cooking it. He didn't talk so much in English but he was explaining me simple things about Korean culture such as,
"Usually if theres girls in the group they cook/flip the meat and often times even hand feed you the meat wrapped in lettuce. But REAL MEN (with a joking laugh) cook the meat themselves."
He spoke a lot in Korean. I knew barely any Korean words at this point but the fluidity of how he spoke it with the Korean players as if it was his first language was incredible to me. Envy can not describe how I felt. Dinner ended, Daniel Lee paid, I thanked him, and I humbly told Grrrr it was very nice to meet him. Daniel drove me and the Korean players the short drive back to the Sook-so (team-house) and Grrrr parted ways with us as he lived seperately from the team with Elky and MightyAtom nearby our Sook-so.
A few months passed and I was failing at trying to be a Pro-gamer. The Koreans were too good. I was very close to Elky but never really talked to Grrrr much.
To get away from living in a Sook-so with 10 other guys, bad food, no hot water, rare use of air conditioning, and smelly bathrooms I asked Elky if I could come over to their place and watch them play poker/play a little bit myself. He gave me the address and quite haphazard directions to their place. Go right out the door, walk straight to the main road, go left, go straight till the intersection, cross the crosswalk, walk straight until the light, cross the road going right, walk into the side street, go left at the first possible left, then 5th building on your right, go up to 502.
Needless to say on what should have been a mere 5 minute journey I got lost in the streets of Seoul for 2 fucking hours. I finally gave up and got in a cab and showed him the address that I had written down on paper and made it there for a couple chun-wons (1,000won=1$ish).
MightyAtom was at work and Elky left shortly after to meet his girlfriend. It felt a little weird for me there just with Grrrr because I didn't know him well at all and because I was very shy. I was messing around on battle.net talking shit to Assem and Legionnaire telling them how nice the air-conditioning at Grrrr's place was while Grrrr was in the kitchen cooking us some "MANNER TOAST" (as Elky always called it excitedly). Pan greased in butter to toast the bread, cooked ham, eggs, cheese, ketchup. Delicious.
It was about 8 PM now and I had watched Grrrr play poker for a couple hours. "Hey you wanna go drink?"
At this point I had never really 'gone out' in Korea beyond drinking around the Sook-so with the team. I humbly asked "Oh...with who?"
He looked at me like I was retarded, then "Just us!" with a happy "DUH" demeanor.
We took a 15 minute cab ride from Poe-e-dong to Non-hyun-dong to go to a very popular (lots of hot girls) 24-hour drinking tent called Han-shin-pocha. The taxi driver just started talking to us in broken english asking "WHY YOU COME TO KOREA?" Grrrr answered him directly in Korean "I came here to be a Starcraft pro-gamer." The taxi driver was astonished with how well he spoke. I didn't understand a word that was being spoken beyond the Korean pronunciation of Starcraft (Suh-tah-kuh-lep-tuh) but I knew exactly what was going on. Once again, beyond envy.
We walk into Han-shin-pocha and get rushed by 3 Ajumas (korean term for older-ish woman, used generally from a customer to a worker). One of the Ajumas was completely disgusted making gestures and speaking at the speed of light all suggesting that we were not allowed to come in. The other two were politely trying to get us to leave. I didn't understand any of it at the time because I spoke no Korean but this is what ensued:
Angry Ajuma: "NONONONONONONO You can't come in NO white people get out you can't come in blah blah"
Polite Ajumas: "We are sorry but we don't service non-Koreans please leave.
For some reason Grrrr elected not to speak Korean to them. "Why?"
Angry Ajuma: "Blahblahblahblahblahblahblahblah."
"Follow me." Grrrr then walked right between them into the place, sat down at the table, and started looking at the menu as if these Ajumas didn't even exist.
The ajumas congregated. There were 6 of them now in a huddle like a football team discussing their next play. The pack of Ajumas came up and again the Angry Ajuma took the lead spamming racist nonsense. Everyone in the place was staring at us. I was really nervous and embarassed but Grrrr wasn't phased at all.
He looked the Angry Ajuma right in the eye and finally busted out his Korean.
"Who are you to talk to me like this? Bring your manager over." They didn't know what to be more surprised at, being owned or the fact that he spoke so fluently.
Silence. Shock. Confusion. Compliance.
The Ajumas dispersed and one of them hurrily got the manager. He was a middle-aged man.
"Your staff has been disrespecting my friend and I ever since we walked in. You better give us some free stuff."
His eyes opened up real wide and he apologized profusely and then explained to Grrrr about Army guys starting fights there recently.
"I want a free gye-ran-jjim(Delicious egg stuff) and a free Kim-chi-jiggae(Kimchi-soup)."
"NE!" (Yes sir.)
An ajuma brought our free food.
Grrrr explained to me "In Korean culture if Koreans show resistence and you don't back down they will always eventually give you the respect you deserve."
The manager came over with two beers and said "These are on the house too, I'm so sorry."
My heart-rate was still elevated from the whole situation.
Grrrr raised his beer with a smirk suggesting 'Ain't no thang to a boss.'
i've always wondered what Grrr is up to now, years after his starcraft career. is he still living in korea? still playing poker? perhaps even a bit of starcraft 2?
it would be awesome to hear what all of these old school guys are doing now.
Nice story, must have been scary leaving everything behind and just going to Korea on what seems to have been a whim. Looks like it's worked out well though :D
at first i was liek ' rekrul blog' and then i was like ':-\ wall of text' after 1 min im like ' :-o interesting' after reading i was totally ':O damnnnnnn'
That's quite the initiation to a new country in my opinion.
Grrrr explained to me "In Korean culture if Koreans show resistance and you don't back down they will always eventually give you the respect you deserve."
I've oddly found this true here in Western culture as well.
Grrrr explained to me "In Korean culture if Koreans show resistance and you don't back down they will always eventually give you the respect you deserve."
I've oddly found this true here in Western culture as well.
Great story, gave me a nice smirk :3
Ya true, it is basic human nature, though in Korea it s certainly exaggerated.
You are a fast typer, are´nt you? Great story, hope that i will experience something similar when i move to korea for a few months next year (probably not but im hoping)!
Grrrr truly ain't no bitch. I always enjoy your blogs for sheer entertainment and your writing style just makes it seem like you're there. Also for new things about Korean culture since I'm slowly but surely learning the language <3 5/5
Grrrr explained to me "In Korean culture if Koreans show resistence and you don't back down they will always eventually give you the respect you deserve."
I've heard you say that maybe 3 times now. Is this where you first learned it?
Hearing Grrrr talk in korean is what convinced me that he could succeed doing whatever the fuck he wanted... Not starcraft, hearing him talk in Korean in interviews or bnet attack.
There's very few people I've ever seen or met [ including second generation koreans ] who can just ' learn ' the correct pronunciations and nuances of Korean from studying it. Even if he's lived there all this time its just amazing to me. His English is great, and his korean is great too.
On October 31 2011 07:49 SeRenExZerg wrote: good read.
i've always wondered what Grrr is up to now, years after his starcraft career. is he still living in korea? still playing poker? perhaps even a bit of starcraft 2?
it would be awesome to hear what all of these old school guys are doing now.
I started thinking about this aswell. What happened to this guy? Did i go up in smoke? He sounds like a legend or something.
On October 31 2011 07:49 SeRenExZerg wrote: good read.
i've always wondered what Grrr is up to now, years after his starcraft career. is he still living in korea? still playing poker? perhaps even a bit of starcraft 2?
it would be awesome to hear what all of these old school guys are doing now.
I started thinking about this aswell. What happened to this guy? Did i go up in smoke? He sounds like a legend or something.
He played in GSL 1 prelims, didn't do anything and didn't like sc2 from what i hear.
I've only hear limited stories about Grrrr as I got into SC around 2008. Since he was so good at SC and then went to poker, I'm guessing he was a smart guy. It's cool to know that he was a fucking boss as well.
On October 31 2011 07:49 SeRenExZerg wrote: good read.
i've always wondered what Grrr is up to now, years after his starcraft career. is he still living in korea? still playing poker? perhaps even a bit of starcraft 2?
it would be awesome to hear what all of these old school guys are doing now.
I started thinking about this aswell. What happened to this guy? Did i go up in smoke? He sounds like a legend or something.
He played in GSL 1 prelims, didn't do anything and didn't like sc2 from what i hear.
so what does he do for livelihood? still poker?
he was such a legend its weird to just hear nothing about him since he stopped playing star1
That was a great story. How long had Grrr been in Korea at that point? He sounds so familiar with the culture, like he'd lived there all his life. Ajumma's are so intimidating... ;_;
Essentially, if you really did read every word of this story, this his how you feel when you hang out with the man known as rekrul. You look around, say to yourself "holy shit...", look at rekrul, and say "ain't no thing to a boss."
On October 31 2011 09:53 seraphe wrote: That was a great story. How long had Grrr been in Korea at that point? He sounds so familiar with the culture, like he'd lived there all his life. Ajumma's are so intimidating... ;_;
4-5ish years, he came originally in 1999 then moved there in 2000.
He studied Korean at a hag-won for a year I believe.
Yo Rekrul, how much do you fancy your life of today versus what it was back then? Do you feel nostalgic at times? Are GiYom and Elky any different in this regard?
I remember when your name started becoming more known back in the day and then when I heard you were going to Korea I was all, "Who the fuck is this Cinci kid?". I still think one of my favorites was you vs Cobalt on LT where you exchanged bases.
Grrrr explained to me "In Korean culture if Koreans show resistence and you don't back down they will always eventually give you the respect you deserve."
I've heard you say that maybe 3 times now. Is this where you first learned it?
You always have the best stories. I'm so glad you share them with us once in a while. These windows into aspiring BW progamer life, or just life in Korea in general, are so great.
Grrrr explained to me "In Korean culture if Koreans show resistence and you don't back down they will always eventually give you the respect you deserve."
I've heard you say that maybe 3 times now. Is this where you first learned it?
Answer me.
Hmm I kinda learned it here. The first time I went to a club with Grrrr the waiter tried to rip us off and he argued for 30 mins fighting unreal to get the bill down was the first real example tho. That was the day the monster was truly born.
On October 31 2011 07:38 Rekrul wrote: I had helped Elky practice for alot of his TV matches at this time. Not straight-up games, as I had slim chances, but he'd make me do exact build orders while he practiced a Barracks-float cheese vs. Terran on Bifrost.
lol is this the strategy he tried vs Boxer in the OSL?
Hey Rek, i'm just wondering, and sorry if you've already said it before, but how come you and all the oldschool BW Pros don't try 2 play sc2 as pros? even just for fun, i mean id certainly watch you guys :D
On October 31 2011 07:49 SeRenExZerg wrote: i've always wondered what Grrr is up to now, years after his starcraft career. is he still living in korea? still playing poker? perhaps even a bit of starcraft 2?
it would be awesome to hear what all of these old school guys are doing now.
What a great story! I had a smile on my face the WHOLE time .Grrrr seemed like a complete boss too. He would of been an awesome person to meet and talk to irl.
On October 31 2011 07:54 NB wrote: at first i was liek ' rekrul blog' and then i was like ':-\ wall of text' after 1 min im like ' :-o interesting' after reading i was totally ':O damnnnnnn'
5/5
Fixed that for you, don't think i've read a boring/wall type blog from rekrul yet. Always an interesting read.
lol.. Being fluent as a foreigner is definitely an adventure over there. I would try to keep the fluency under wraps as much as possible, for possible ambush situations like these hehe
On October 31 2011 14:56 acerockolla wrote: lol.. Being fluent as a foreigner is definitely an adventure over there. I would try to keep the fluency under wraps as much as possible, for possible ambush situations like these hehe
oh mann that envy you feel when a foreigner speaks korean like a BOSS to native koreans is such a good motivator for learning the language. hopefully you'll write more stories involving your korean language skills.
Haha hell yeah Koreans will respect you and give you free stuff if you show them that you took the time and effort to speak their language fluently.
I always get a positive tingly feeling when I see a western foreigner speaking an Asian language.
I still remember this black guy I knew that was talking to his wife on the phone in 100% fluent Japanese. The guy has TV commercials and everything in Japan.
*thumbs up to the blog* I need to learn more Korean, but it's so hard The pronunciation of some words is straight up brutal for me to enunciate.
I've been here for almost 4 years and I still only know basic Korean.
On October 31 2011 14:56 acerockolla wrote: lol.. Being fluent as a foreigner is definitely an adventure over there. I would try to keep the fluency under wraps as much as possible, for possible ambush situations like these hehe
I play dumb as often as possible.
Oh damn I would abuse this so much just to shut someone down and show them hey you shouldn't be so fucking rude! <3
On October 31 2011 16:42 Silentness wrote: Haha hell yeah Koreans will respect you and give you free stuff if you show them that you took the time and effort to speak their language fluently.
I always get a positive tingly feeling when I see a western foreigner speaking an Asian language.
I still remember this black guy I knew that was talking to his wife on the phone in 100% fluent Japanese. The guy has TV commercials and everything in Japan.
*thumbs up to the blog* I need to learn more Korean, but it's so hard The pronunciation of some words is straight up brutal for me to enunciate.
I've been here for almost 4 years and I still only know basic Korean.
Grrrr explained to me "In Korean culture if Koreans show resistence and you don't back down they will always eventually give you the respect you deserve."
I've heard you say that maybe 3 times now. Is this where you first learned it?
Answer me.
Hmm I kinda learned it here. The first time I went to a club with Grrrr the waiter tried to rip us off and he argued for 30 mins fighting unreal to get the bill down was the first real example tho. That was the day the monster was truly born.
Cool. I've read that story somewhere.
To date it's the only real thing I know about living in SK. Rekrul facts.
On October 31 2011 21:00 Cyber_Cheese wrote: Oh wow that was epic! I suddenly really want to know what happened to Grrr!
Yeah, rek needs to update us on the latest Grrr news. Maybe he just walks the streets of Seoul with no permanent home and sleeps with hot girls and has a ton of money and is incredibly handsome?
Had the honor of playing DotA and HoN with Guillaume, such a chill guy and so humble. Really made me appreciate him even more, beyond his successes in BW and poker.
So since there's presumably not too many 6'5 tall white loud assholes out in korea, do you have a reputation yet in your area?? Or a badass nickname?? Cuz I'm imagining that that every time you step out on the streets at night where people know you, it's like one of those old Wild West movies where the streets clear out and all the poor little wives are telling their kids to be quiet because white godzilla is out.
Thank you very much Rekrul. If you ever feel like writing another story, I'm sure you know that you'll have many eager readers. I wish somethings like that happened to me
I never read long walls of text, but you got me hooked so quickly Great read always nice to learn more about BW players and the culture since I'm a new sc2 player T_T
On October 31 2011 09:38 HeavOnEarth wrote: Did you write this story because you were the Grrrrr` to someone's rekrul? or just bored =p
LOL
You know it's funny you say that. Back in high school i was fascinated with Starcraft and the whole scene. I believe it was around 03' when I had saw that rekrul had qualified for wcg. Never having talked to any pros, I wasn't sure if I should tell him grats or not. Surely he shouldn't be bothered reading my pitiful fan boy ra ra's...
I decided to just send a short pm on wgtour. "congrats on your win, gl with the future games". One hour later in my inbox "thanks, I will do my best "
It's been like 8 years and I haven't forgot how it made me feel. Great blog 5/5
You have the best stories. Not just in a 'oh wow you know famous people' kind of way, but there's always a coming of age angle that I like and a genuine emotional impact. Sounds roflfeely but it's true.
On November 01 2011 10:03 tabbott26 wrote: Wow, I didn't realise the "your staff have been harassing us and being disrespectful, now we want free stuff!" would go down so well...
Great read though, 7/5
I doubt it was exactly those words. xD
Sweet blog tho! Stuff like this continues the legends of old. I'm glad it was posted 10 years late.
I've never been denied service in a shop/restaurant here (Seoul) before (I guess it's got something to do with being a woman and therefore not so easily identified as being in the military.) However, it's always fun when a taxi driver tries to stop me from getting into their cab. I just sit there repeating my destination in Korean, and if they feign ignorance then out comes my hangul subway map to point them in the correct direction. It doesn't happen often, but some people here can be quite aggressive for no good reason (Myself included if I get shoved on the subway.)
On the flip side there have been people who've gone out of their way to help me (finding directions, giving me random freebies etc.) So it balances out when placed next to the ones who think they can cut in line infront of me (and not get called on it lol) or push/elbow etc.
Your blogs are always so amazing . I actually spent all yesterday reading every single one of your blogs all the way back to the first one. So many epic stories
What resources did you use to learn korean? Was it going to a korean hagwon like grrr did? I live in korea as an english teacher and would love to learn the language but i just have no time. Between work, girlfriend, and not being a shut in when i actually have a small amount of time i just have not had the opportunity to learn. I need some good at home resourcea because i live secently far from seoul and cant commute for lessons as well.
On November 01 2011 12:20 NeverGG wrote: I've never been denied service in a shop/restaurant here (Seoul) before (I guess it's got something to do with being a woman and therefore not so easily identified as being in the military.) However, it's always fun when a taxi driver tries to stop me from getting into their cab. I just sit there repeating my destination in Korean, and if they feign ignorance then out comes my hangul subway map to point them in the correct direction. It doesn't happen often, but some people here can be quite aggressive for no good reason (Myself included if I get shoved on the subway.)
On the flip side there have been people who've gone out of their way to help me (finding directions, giving me random freebies etc.) So it balances out when placed next to the ones who think they can cut in line infront of me (and not get called on it lol) or push/elbow etc.
Of course many times customer-less taxis have just driven past because I'm a foreigner (though generally when I'm with 1-3 other white people when I'm alone it rarely ever happens). They are not being racist, they simply just don't want the hassle of having to deal with a communication barrier.
I can't remember a single time like you describe where a Korean taxi driver wanted me to get out of their cab simply because I was a foreigner.
Their reasoning is always one of: 1. They are near the end of their shift and only want to go in a specific direction. (a nice tip can fix this) 2. They are long distance cabs only. For example those cabs in kang-nam that only want to go to bun-dang. (a nice tip can fix this) 3. They are from far away due to a ride they just gave or just recently moving to Seoul and don't know the lay-out of a the land at all. (telling them where to go can fix this)
So it's probably you being ignorant to the language / their needs instead of them being racist.
Korean taxi drivers are incredibly well mannered. I've only had one try to rip me off once and I'm sure he never tried to rip off another foreigner after that.
On November 01 2011 12:20 NeverGG wrote: I've never been denied service in a shop/restaurant here (Seoul) before (I guess it's got something to do with being a woman and therefore not so easily identified as being in the military.) However, it's always fun when a taxi driver tries to stop me from getting into their cab. I just sit there repeating my destination in Korean, and if they feign ignorance then out comes my hangul subway map to point them in the correct direction. It doesn't happen often, but some people here can be quite aggressive for no good reason (Myself included if I get shoved on the subway.)
On the flip side there have been people who've gone out of their way to help me (finding directions, giving me random freebies etc.) So it balances out when placed next to the ones who think they can cut in line infront of me (and not get called on it lol) or push/elbow etc.
Of course many times customer-less taxis have just driven past because I'm a foreigner (though generally when I'm with 1-3 other white people when I'm alone it rarely ever happens). They are not being racist, they simply just don't want the hassle of having to deal with a communication barrier.
I can't remember a single time like you describe where a Korean taxi driver wanted me to get out of their cab simply because I was a foreigner.
Their reasoning is always one of: 1. They are near the end of their shift and only want to go in a specific direction. (a nice tip can fix this) 2. They are long distance cabs only. For example those cabs in kang-nam that only want to go to bun-dang. (a nice tip can fix this) 3. They are from far away due to a ride they just gave or just recently moving to Seoul and don't know the lay-out of a the land at all. (telling them where to go can fix this)
So it's probably you being ignorant to the language / their needs instead of them being racist.
Korean taxi drivers are incredibly well mannered. I've only had one try to rip me off once and I'm sure he never tried to rip off another foreigner after that.
LOOL, I remember this.. wasnt this posted somewhere?
On November 01 2011 12:20 NeverGG wrote: I've never been denied service in a shop/restaurant here (Seoul) before (I guess it's got something to do with being a woman and therefore not so easily identified as being in the military.) However, it's always fun when a taxi driver tries to stop me from getting into their cab. I just sit there repeating my destination in Korean, and if they feign ignorance then out comes my hangul subway map to point them in the correct direction. It doesn't happen often, but some people here can be quite aggressive for no good reason (Myself included if I get shoved on the subway.)
On the flip side there have been people who've gone out of their way to help me (finding directions, giving me random freebies etc.) So it balances out when placed next to the ones who think they can cut in line infront of me (and not get called on it lol) or push/elbow etc.
Of course many times customer-less taxis have just driven past because I'm a foreigner (though generally when I'm with 1-3 other white people when I'm alone it rarely ever happens). They are not being racist, they simply just don't want the hassle of having to deal with a communication barrier.
I can't remember a single time like you describe where a Korean taxi driver wanted me to get out of their cab simply because I was a foreigner.
Their reasoning is always one of: 1. They are near the end of their shift and only want to go in a specific direction. (a nice tip can fix this) 2. They are long distance cabs only. For example those cabs in kang-nam that only want to go to bun-dang. (a nice tip can fix this) 3. They are from far away due to a ride they just gave or just recently moving to Seoul and don't know the lay-out of a the land at all. (telling them where to go can fix this)
So it's probably you being ignorant to the language / their needs instead of them being racist.
Korean taxi drivers are incredibly well mannered. I've only had one try to rip me off once and I'm sure he never tried to rip off another foreigner after that.
Nice way to spin it as being my fault.
I'm not talking about the ones who tell me they only want to go to certain places due to their shift ending. That's fine by me. It's the ones who pick me up by choice and then pretend they can't understand a word I'm saying/get aggressive towards me. (For example when my Mum and I took a short cab ride to Myeongdong and were chatting. The taxi driver tried to drown our voices out by turning the radio up louder and louder until we couldn't hear eachother.)
There's no communication barrier if I've got the name of my destination written in hangul (which I always do incase.) Plus my language level isn't so low that I can't communicate the name of my own home station. I'm hardly ever out at night so these are cabs being caught during the afternoon or morning. Not all of them are incredibly well mannered as you put it - I find most of them to be efficient, but silent. Some are lovely (one even gave me a bottle of ginseng drink when he saw I had a cough, and I've had plenty who want to chat.) However, that's kind of a sweeping generalization both about myself (Thanks for the 'You're ignorant of the language' dig there. How do you know my language skills? I've not spoken to you in over a year.) and taxi drivers in general.
Remember just because something hasn't happened to you doesn't mean it doesn't happen to other people.
On November 01 2011 12:20 NeverGG wrote: I've never been denied service in a shop/restaurant here (Seoul) before (I guess it's got something to do with being a woman and therefore not so easily identified as being in the military.) However, it's always fun when a taxi driver tries to stop me from getting into their cab. I just sit there repeating my destination in Korean, and if they feign ignorance then out comes my hangul subway map to point them in the correct direction. It doesn't happen often, but some people here can be quite aggressive for no good reason (Myself included if I get shoved on the subway.)
On the flip side there have been people who've gone out of their way to help me (finding directions, giving me random freebies etc.) So it balances out when placed next to the ones who think they can cut in line infront of me (and not get called on it lol) or push/elbow etc.
Of course many times customer-less taxis have just driven past because I'm a foreigner (though generally when I'm with 1-3 other white people when I'm alone it rarely ever happens). They are not being racist, they simply just don't want the hassle of having to deal with a communication barrier.
I can't remember a single time like you describe where a Korean taxi driver wanted me to get out of their cab simply because I was a foreigner.
Their reasoning is always one of: 1. They are near the end of their shift and only want to go in a specific direction. (a nice tip can fix this) 2. They are long distance cabs only. For example those cabs in kang-nam that only want to go to bun-dang. (a nice tip can fix this) 3. They are from far away due to a ride they just gave or just recently moving to Seoul and don't know the lay-out of a the land at all. (telling them where to go can fix this)
So it's probably you being ignorant to the language / their needs instead of them being racist.
Korean taxi drivers are incredibly well mannered. I've only had one try to rip me off once and I'm sure he never tried to rip off another foreigner after that.
Nice way to spin it as being my fault.
I'm not talking about the ones who tell me they only want to go to certain places due to their shift ending. That's fine by me. It's the ones who pick me up by choice and then pretend they can't understand a word I'm saying/get aggressive towards me. (For example when my Mum and I took a short cab ride to Myeongdong and were chatting. The taxi driver tried to drown our voices out by turning the radio up louder and louder until we couldn't hear eachother.)
There's no communication barrier if I've got the name of my destination written in hangul (which I always do incase.) Plus my language level isn't so low that I can't communicate the name of my own home station. I'm hardly ever out at night so these are cabs being caught during the afternoon or morning. Not all of them are incredibly well mannered as you put it - I find most of them to be efficient, but silent. Some are lovely (one even gave me a bottle of ginseng drink when he saw I had a cough, and I've had plenty who want to chat.) However, that's kind of a sweeping generalization both about myself (Thanks for the 'You're ignorant of the language' dig there. How do you know my language skills? I've not spoken to you in over a year.) and taxi drivers in general.
Remember just because something hasn't happened to you doesn't mean it doesn't happen to other people.
On November 01 2011 12:20 NeverGG wrote: I've never been denied service in a shop/restaurant here (Seoul) before (I guess it's got something to do with being a woman and therefore not so easily identified as being in the military.) However, it's always fun when a taxi driver tries to stop me from getting into their cab. I just sit there repeating my destination in Korean, and if they feign ignorance then out comes my hangul subway map to point them in the correct direction. It doesn't happen often, but some people here can be quite aggressive for no good reason (Myself included if I get shoved on the subway.)
On the flip side there have been people who've gone out of their way to help me (finding directions, giving me random freebies etc.) So it balances out when placed next to the ones who think they can cut in line infront of me (and not get called on it lol) or push/elbow etc.
Of course many times customer-less taxis have just driven past because I'm a foreigner (though generally when I'm with 1-3 other white people when I'm alone it rarely ever happens). They are not being racist, they simply just don't want the hassle of having to deal with a communication barrier.
I can't remember a single time like you describe where a Korean taxi driver wanted me to get out of their cab simply because I was a foreigner.
Their reasoning is always one of: 1. They are near the end of their shift and only want to go in a specific direction. (a nice tip can fix this) 2. They are long distance cabs only. For example those cabs in kang-nam that only want to go to bun-dang. (a nice tip can fix this) 3. They are from far away due to a ride they just gave or just recently moving to Seoul and don't know the lay-out of a the land at all. (telling them where to go can fix this)
So it's probably you being ignorant to the language / their needs instead of them being racist.
Korean taxi drivers are incredibly well mannered. I've only had one try to rip me off once and I'm sure he never tried to rip off another foreigner after that.
Nice way to spin it as being my fault.
I'm not talking about the ones who tell me they only want to go to certain places due to their shift ending. That's fine by me. It's the ones who pick me up by choice and then pretend they can't understand a word I'm saying/get aggressive towards me. (For example when my Mum and I took a short cab ride to Myeongdong and were chatting. The taxi driver tried to drown our voices out by turning the radio up louder and louder until we couldn't hear eachother.)
There's no communication barrier if I've got the name of my destination written in hangul (which I always do incase.) Plus my language level isn't so low that I can't communicate the name of my own home station. I'm hardly ever out at night so these are cabs being caught during the afternoon or morning. Not all of them are incredibly well mannered as you put it - I find most of them to be efficient, but silent. Some are lovely (one even gave me a bottle of ginseng drink when he saw I had a cough, and I've had plenty who want to chat.) However, that's kind of a sweeping generalization both about myself (Thanks for the 'You're ignorant of the language' dig there. How do you know my language skills? I've not spoken to you in over a year.) and taxi drivers in general.
Remember just because something hasn't happened to you doesn't mean it doesn't happen to other people.
LOL that wasn't ur fault either rite
It's wrong to talk at a polite level with my mother after not seeing her for over a year? Yeah, shit - I'm such a bad person I guess >.>
On November 01 2011 12:20 NeverGG wrote: I've never been denied service in a shop/restaurant here (Seoul) before (I guess it's got something to do with being a woman and therefore not so easily identified as being in the military.) However, it's always fun when a taxi driver tries to stop me from getting into their cab. I just sit there repeating my destination in Korean, and if they feign ignorance then out comes my hangul subway map to point them in the correct direction. It doesn't happen often, but some people here can be quite aggressive for no good reason (Myself included if I get shoved on the subway.)
On the flip side there have been people who've gone out of their way to help me (finding directions, giving me random freebies etc.) So it balances out when placed next to the ones who think they can cut in line infront of me (and not get called on it lol) or push/elbow etc.
Of course many times customer-less taxis have just driven past because I'm a foreigner (though generally when I'm with 1-3 other white people when I'm alone it rarely ever happens). They are not being racist, they simply just don't want the hassle of having to deal with a communication barrier.
I can't remember a single time like you describe where a Korean taxi driver wanted me to get out of their cab simply because I was a foreigner.
Their reasoning is always one of: 1. They are near the end of their shift and only want to go in a specific direction. (a nice tip can fix this) 2. They are long distance cabs only. For example those cabs in kang-nam that only want to go to bun-dang. (a nice tip can fix this) 3. They are from far away due to a ride they just gave or just recently moving to Seoul and don't know the lay-out of a the land at all. (telling them where to go can fix this)
So it's probably you being ignorant to the language / their needs instead of them being racist.
Korean taxi drivers are incredibly well mannered. I've only had one try to rip me off once and I'm sure he never tried to rip off another foreigner after that.
Nice way to spin it as being my fault.
I'm not talking about the ones who tell me they only want to go to certain places due to their shift ending. That's fine by me. It's the ones who pick me up by choice and then pretend they can't understand a word I'm saying/get aggressive towards me. (For example when my Mum and I took a short cab ride to Myeongdong and were chatting. The taxi driver tried to drown our voices out by turning the radio up louder and louder until we couldn't hear eachother.)
There's no communication barrier if I've got the name of my destination written in hangul (which I always do incase.) Plus my language level isn't so low that I can't communicate the name of my own home station. I'm hardly ever out at night so these are cabs being caught during the afternoon or morning. Not all of them are incredibly well mannered as you put it - I find most of them to be efficient, but silent. Some are lovely (one even gave me a bottle of ginseng drink when he saw I had a cough, and I've had plenty who want to chat.) However, that's kind of a sweeping generalization both about myself (Thanks for the 'You're ignorant of the language' dig there. How do you know my language skills? I've not spoken to you in over a year.) and taxi drivers in general.
Remember just because something hasn't happened to you doesn't mean it doesn't happen to other people.
LOL that wasn't ur fault either rite
It's wrong to talk at a polite level with my mother after not seeing her for over a year? Yeah, shit - I'm such a bad person I guess >.>
brits r all loud and annoying without trying to be u should know that
On November 01 2011 12:20 NeverGG wrote: I've never been denied service in a shop/restaurant here (Seoul) before (I guess it's got something to do with being a woman and therefore not so easily identified as being in the military.) However, it's always fun when a taxi driver tries to stop me from getting into their cab. I just sit there repeating my destination in Korean, and if they feign ignorance then out comes my hangul subway map to point them in the correct direction. It doesn't happen often, but some people here can be quite aggressive for no good reason (Myself included if I get shoved on the subway.)
On the flip side there have been people who've gone out of their way to help me (finding directions, giving me random freebies etc.) So it balances out when placed next to the ones who think they can cut in line infront of me (and not get called on it lol) or push/elbow etc.
Of course many times customer-less taxis have just driven past because I'm a foreigner (though generally when I'm with 1-3 other white people when I'm alone it rarely ever happens). They are not being racist, they simply just don't want the hassle of having to deal with a communication barrier.
I can't remember a single time like you describe where a Korean taxi driver wanted me to get out of their cab simply because I was a foreigner.
Their reasoning is always one of: 1. They are near the end of their shift and only want to go in a specific direction. (a nice tip can fix this) 2. They are long distance cabs only. For example those cabs in kang-nam that only want to go to bun-dang. (a nice tip can fix this) 3. They are from far away due to a ride they just gave or just recently moving to Seoul and don't know the lay-out of a the land at all. (telling them where to go can fix this)
So it's probably you being ignorant to the language / their needs instead of them being racist.
Korean taxi drivers are incredibly well mannered. I've only had one try to rip me off once and I'm sure he never tried to rip off another foreigner after that.
Nice way to spin it as being my fault.
I'm not talking about the ones who tell me they only want to go to certain places due to their shift ending. That's fine by me. It's the ones who pick me up by choice and then pretend they can't understand a word I'm saying/get aggressive towards me. (For example when my Mum and I took a short cab ride to Myeongdong and were chatting. The taxi driver tried to drown our voices out by turning the radio up louder and louder until we couldn't hear eachother.)
There's no communication barrier if I've got the name of my destination written in hangul (which I always do incase.) Plus my language level isn't so low that I can't communicate the name of my own home station. I'm hardly ever out at night so these are cabs being caught during the afternoon or morning. Not all of them are incredibly well mannered as you put it - I find most of them to be efficient, but silent. Some are lovely (one even gave me a bottle of ginseng drink when he saw I had a cough, and I've had plenty who want to chat.) However, that's kind of a sweeping generalization both about myself (Thanks for the 'You're ignorant of the language' dig there. How do you know my language skills? I've not spoken to you in over a year.) and taxi drivers in general.
Remember just because something hasn't happened to you doesn't mean it doesn't happen to other people.
LOL that wasn't ur fault either rite
It's wrong to talk at a polite level with my mother after not seeing her for over a year? Yeah, shit - I'm such a bad person I guess >.>
brits r all loud and annoying without trying to be u should know that
I'm just trying to help/educate NeverGG. I don't like it when people attempt to blame racism or whatever when they live in another country and don't speak the native language. You either gotta adapt or gtfo!
Not that Koreans aren't racist because they certainly are LOL (though since 2000 it's gotten wayyyyy better)
On November 02 2011 09:38 Rekrul wrote: I'm just trying to help/educate NeverGG. I don't like it when people attempt to blame racism or whatever when they live in another country and don't speak the native language. You either gotta adapt or gtfo!
Not that Koreans aren't racist because they certainly are LOL (though since 2000 it's gotten wayyyyy better)
For your information I speak more than enough Korean to use a taxi. I don't need educating by someone like you. When did I ever use the word racism? I'm not going to bother to debate this with you further because you definitely see all my opinions (personal and public) as being inferior to your own so there's really no point.
Really you can understand these things in Korean now?
Their reasoning is always one of: 1. They are near the end of their shift and only want to go in a specific direction. (a nice tip can fix this) 2. They are long distance cabs only. For example those cabs in kang-nam that only want to go to bun-dang. (a nice tip can fix this) 3. They are from far away due to a ride they just gave or just recently moving to Seoul and don't know the lay-out of a the land at all. (telling them where to go can fix this)
Their reasoning is always one of: 1. They are near the end of their shift and only want to go in a specific direction. (a nice tip can fix this) 2. They are long distance cabs only. For example those cabs in kang-nam that only want to go to bun-dang. (a nice tip can fix this) 3. They are from far away due to a ride they just gave or just recently moving to Seoul and don't know the lay-out of a the land at all. (telling them where to go can fix this)
I'd be impressed if so!
Once again - it's been over a year since we've spoken so of course my Korean has improved a bit. It's still not great, but I can understand basic exchanges provided the topics (like public transport/food etc) are familiar.
On November 02 2011 09:38 Rekrul wrote: I'm just trying to help/educate NeverGG. I don't like it when people attempt to blame racism or whatever when they live in another country and don't speak the native language. You either gotta adapt or gtfo!
Not that Koreans aren't racist because they certainly are LOL (though since 2000 it's gotten wayyyyy better)
you're trying to have fun at her expense more than you're trying to teach her anything, you can at least be honest about that
On November 02 2011 09:38 Rekrul wrote: I'm just trying to help/educate NeverGG. I don't like it when people attempt to blame racism or whatever when they live in another country and don't speak the native language. You either gotta adapt or gtfo!
Not that Koreans aren't racist because they certainly are LOL (though since 2000 it's gotten wayyyyy better)
you're trying to have fun at her expense more than you're trying to teach her anything, you can at least be honest about that
I feel bad when Koreans have to deal with dumb white people in general. This has nothing to do with having fun.
If someone can't handle a tiny amount of criticism they probably shouldn't be posting in my blog LOL
Really you can understand these things in Korean now?
Their reasoning is always one of: 1. They are near the end of their shift and only want to go in a specific direction. (a nice tip can fix this) 2. They are long distance cabs only. For example those cabs in kang-nam that only want to go to bun-dang. (a nice tip can fix this) 3. They are from far away due to a ride they just gave or just recently moving to Seoul and don't know the lay-out of a the land at all. (telling them where to go can fix this)
I'd be impressed if so!
Once again - it's been over a year since we've spoken so of course my Korean has improved a bit. It's still not great, but I can understand basic exchanges provided the topics (like public transport/food etc) are familiar.
On November 02 2011 09:38 Rekrul wrote: I'm just trying to help/educate NeverGG. I don't like it when people attempt to blame racism or whatever when they live in another country and don't speak the native language. You either gotta adapt or gtfo!
Not that Koreans aren't racist because they certainly are LOL (though since 2000 it's gotten wayyyyy better)
you're trying to have fun at her expense more than you're trying to teach her anything, you can at least be honest about that
I feel bad when Koreans have to deal with dumb white people in general. This has nothing to do with having fun.
If someone can't handle a tiny amount of criticism they probably shouldn't be posting in my blog LOL
Thanks for calling me a dumb white person too. Last time I checked you're white and definitely far from perfect.
On November 02 2011 09:38 Rekrul wrote: I'm just trying to help/educate NeverGG. I don't like it when people attempt to blame racism or whatever when they live in another country and don't speak the native language. You either gotta adapt or gtfo!
Not that Koreans aren't racist because they certainly are LOL (though since 2000 it's gotten wayyyyy better)
you're trying to have fun at her expense more than you're trying to teach her anything, you can at least be honest about that
I feel bad when Koreans have to deal with dumb white people in general. This has nothing to do with having fun.
If someone can't handle a tiny amount of criticism they probably shouldn't be posting in my blog LOL
Thanks for calling me a dumb white person too. Last time I checked you're white and definitely far from perfect.
Next time you feel as if they are giving you shit just say 빨리 가자 걱정하지마 (bbali ka ja kuck jung ha ji ma - hurry up lets go don't worry) and there will no longer be any problems.
On October 31 2011 21:00 Cyber_Cheese wrote: Oh wow that was epic! I suddenly really want to know what happened to Grrr!
Yeah, rek needs to update us on the latest Grrr news. Maybe he just walks the streets of Seoul with no permanent home and sleeps with hot girls and has a ton of money and is incredibly handsome?
On November 02 2011 18:29 mel_ee wrote: Can white people get away with banmal to older koreans?
Obviously it's all relative, but in general yes. If they know you can speak some korean yet elect to not use jondemal they will very often atleast make a comment though, but u can make them like it.
On November 02 2011 18:29 mel_ee wrote: Can white people get away with banmal to older koreans?
Obviously it's all relative, but in general yes. If they know you can speak some korean yet elect to not use jondemal they will very often atleast make a comment though, but u can make them like it.
it's like a mutual beneficial situation where the older korean feels like he's talking to a cute little kid so it's alright, and rek feels like he's getting around the trouble of having to learn respectful speech//wrapping his insolent american mind around the concept of ever having to show respect to anyone, so as long as that relationship holds stable it's fine.
On November 03 2011 05:01 Schnake wrote: That was awesome to read, haha. It is really hard to imagine Rekrul being shy if you only have read his stories on TL...
having some manner toast right now, but instead of ham, i've got butter pan fried leftover roast chicken, and instead of ketchup, i've got bbq sauce. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
I had your blog entry in my bookmarks for the last two weeks, because your title and the name Grrr caught my eye. Now I sit here sipping my tea and had a great time. This was very insightful and I love how Grrr handled those Korean waitresses. Great memories of yours. 5/5
Owh man, now I regret even more for not saying hi to you and Grrr at the Rio 2009, it was in the que for the 2000 dollar nl event, I was 3 steps behind, I was like clapping my hand looking for a way to say hi. Going through dialogues, like "Hey, I know DRone", or Hey, I played you on fake nickz, or, HEY I got 50.000 games of protoss, we are really alike, but I kept being shy, and after I didn't jump at it right away, so much time has passed so now it felt like it was too late.
You were very tall I remember, and Grrr was laughing at your jokes, he had some music head phone thingys on and looked very dashing.
Awesome story too
EDIT: Ps, Grrr seems like a really awesome friend to have, Elky too lol
EPT
rekrul blog'
.Grrrr seemed like a complete boss too. He would of been an awesome person to meet and talk to irl. 
The pronunciation of some words is straight up brutal for me to enunciate. 
!!!
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft/images/5/5a/ElkyBio.png)
![[image loading]](http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/elkY_SCOOP_final_table.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.the-players-edge.com/Elky-Grospellier.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://fr.pokerworks.com/img/articles-img/pokerstars-high-roller-event-pokerstars-caribbean-adventure-bertrand-elky-grospellier-2009-01-09.png)
Elky is a fucking boss. 
