Ba Da Bump... Korean style

There are many things good about Korea - the healthy food, the clean streets, the fast and efficient government systems (boy do I love how fast Immigration works here in processing documents). And then, there are the downsides, too. Like being constantly bumped by people - from all walks of life. Yup, everyone does it.

It started this morning when I came back from the bus stop after bringing Billy to his school bus. I walked back to our apartment and waited for the elevators to open up. People filed out and the last one, a middle school girl, practically mowed me down when she hurried out. Not a word of apology or even a glance back at me.


What is it with Koreans and their lack of respect for personal space? I really didn't put much thought about personal space until I got married (to an American). It's a concept that most Westerners apply, respecting one's personal space when they walk down the street, sit on the street bench or stand in the subway.


Take for example what would generally happen when you walk down a busy street in Seoul. It's practically every man for himself. Businessmen, mothers with their kids and worst offenders of them all, adjumas and little ol' ladies would bump, crash and sometimes walk into you if you are not careful. We have taken to make sure our kids are always protected. But it seems that almost everytime Billy or Jai would complain that an old lady or a man bumped into them and it hurt. There was one time, an old lady knocked Jai down literally on the street trying to catch a bus. Bill wanted to race after the lady and punch her since Jai on his hands and knees on the street, stunned from the shoving that he got. He was 8 then.


When Jai left for the Philippines last year, he was adept in dodging this crazy korean human dodgeball. Most of the times, the culprits would just walk on as if nothing happen even if our kids would let out a cry of pain. In the past, Bill would yell at them and sometimes elicit a half-assed murmur of apology. Now, I do the yelling because I am sick and tired of being a punching bag with errant shoulders, over-sized bags and elbows (not to mention having to rub Billy's head when he gets hit).

Now we we go out walking, Bill takes the offensive. He sticks his elbows out and makes sure he braces himself when he encounters a passerby. With Bill's mass and size, people usually gets thrown back a couple of steps. When this happens, they actually have the nerve to be angry at Bill. *shakes my head* How can a race of people be so clueless? One thing though, if they did this kind of thing in a busy street of New York or Manila, they won't just get shouted at, they may get shot at. And that's a fact.