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Tourists behaving badly: Lost in translation in South Korea (video)
This terribly embarrassing video making the rounds shows how learning just a little bit of the local language can help prevent a massive misunderstanding.
Robert J. Koehler of The Marmot's Hole informs us that the incident occurred between a 24-year-old African-American English teacher and a 61-year-old man on a crowded bus in South Korea. According to Koehler, "The elderly man reportedly said "니가 여기 앉아" (a sign of consideration) but not knowing Korean, the man in question interpreted "니가" [pronounced "nigga" and meaning "you"] as the N-word which led to his violent outburst."
Of course, the only accounts we have of this incident come from the Korean media. But, insult or not, this ugly American - an English teacher, no less - sets the perfect example of how not to act in a foreign country - or even in your own home town. Really dude, turn it down a notch, will ya?
Filed under: Asia, South Korea, Video
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Amy Aug 29th 2011 9:46PM
This is the most disgusting display of bad manners I have ever seen or heard. He is in someone else's country acting like a ignorant fool.
gov111w Aug 29th 2011 3:39PM
This is nothing new for a whole group of people who suffer from a complex of persecution. The always assume that the world is against them and they blame every failure of any sort on this imaginary persecution. It is far time that these folks get on with it and stop looking for reasons to explain their own failures.
iconoclast Aug 29th 2011 3:06PM
You're acting just as dumb as he was.
Kat Aug 29th 2011 3:48PM
Shame on that idiot. The elderly man wasn't fighting back, he just sat in his seat. He's in someone else's country he should act in an apropiate manner. It isn't worth fighting and he should have just let it go.
Bill Aug 29th 2011 3:15PM
I really hope we get to hear the apparent aggressor's side of this incident. It is hard to believe he can defend himself; nevertheless he should be given a chance.
Crys Aug 29th 2011 3:27PM
So, let me get this straight. This ignoramus puts his hands on a woman on the bus and knocks her from her seat, but nobody steps in to help until the end of the video when he got in the older man's face. That was shocking to me that nobody helped, and people even laughed at the beginning. It's a wonder he wasn't detained as well. Even in America, you can't pull a woman from her seat without being charged with assault, and you don't get in an older person's face like that. He should be rotting in some jail in South Korea before being deported and having his passport revoked.
xspixels Aug 29th 2011 3:36PM
its not wonder everybody hates america and americans, when dumbasses like this are our representing our country
gov111w Aug 29th 2011 3:40PM
You would think that this was a NYC subway the way he assulted and attacked those much smaller women. I mean this is one brave macho dude right...he actually terrorized those women...This man was out of control...perhaps high on something...attacking smaller older women ...not much lower than that !!!!
Flea Aug 29th 2011 3:41PM
So disturbing! This obviously culturally ignorant American needs to attend anger management classes. NOT a global citizen in any sense of the word. Grow up and leave the juvenile attitude at home in your basement. And please do not have children or teach children because you clearly are a bad role model !!!
gov111w Aug 30th 2011 4:28PM
I agree Bill, We should give him a chamnce to blame it on some one else. Perhaps his third grade teacher, or his landlord...there is always his parents as well....seems to me that this guy is exactly whay he appears to be ....a punk bully who gets off threatening and beating older, smaller women.....
justspeech.wordpress.com Aug 29th 2011 3:57PM
There is no excuse for his behavior but as a young african american male that has completed his degree and doesnt have the traditional coporate look he probably gets alot of negative attention and may even have had to overcome obstacles that the average american hasnt had to therefore believing that someone has called you a nigger is something that wouldnt be taken lightly after you have work so hard to not be the average nigga (er) . Sadly he responded in the typical nigger way.
Junmai Aug 29th 2011 5:23PM
Complete bs, I want to go to S. Korea heck I want to live there and I am an African-American female. I am angered by your comment. "Naega = I", are you telling me he had the ignorant assumption to go to a foreign country and not learn at least customs or some language. F**k Korean is so much easier to learn that Japanese or Chinese. Let's be serious, he assaulted someone. Even if that man had said something racially provocative, he assaulted somebody.
I just want to say to thanks for fucking it up for the rest of us. I've seen S.Koreans do blackface and have a negative outlook on blacks. But now they have proof in their own country. Makes my future life that much harder.
Kuta Aug 30th 2011 10:11AM
Just goes to show that no behavior however socially , culturally and legally inappropriate by black people will find someone to defend them on the basis of their race. Why we have mobs running amok in the US composed almost solely of out of control blacks.
Rob Aug 29th 2011 4:02PM
A perfect example of what the Black race wishes they could eliminate from their culture, the Nigga subculture! For some reason many younger people of various races strive to be this. This subculture sickens and disgust me as well as it should you. People need to stop being so afraid to stand together and stop fools of this nature and eliminate this kind of behavior. As a society we need to stop condoning this behavior and treat it as a disease and stop it before it infects anymore of our children.
patrick Aug 29th 2011 8:38PM
After reading everyones comments i have to say the thing that bothered me the most is that this man teaches someones childern that could have been any race up there doing the same thing BUT a teacher ??????hmmmmm makes you wonder where our school systems are going
UncleRayDad Aug 29th 2011 4:15PM
Why doe this have to be about race or whole races of people getting on with their lives. This is one individual who happens to be African American and an idiot, even though we don't know what set him off. We often see Mel Gibsons, Brittney Spears and the like going off but no one ever says he's a stupid white Irish or she's a poor white trash decendent. Yet every time a black man acts up, you racist pigs criticize our whole community.
Duistin2313 Aug 29th 2011 4:53PM
Yea we do dumb ass!! you racist fuck
Rob Aug 29th 2011 7:55PM
No your wrong. Most of the time white people get labeled racist first thing to the point that they just about wear it as a necklace. If you read you will see that Mel and Brittany got tons of crap said about them. They were the butt of many jokes and racial comments. White people have to share the blame for every bad thing that has ever happened in History solely because most of the Nations of the world were ruled by this race. Just wait your race will get a shot at being blame for eternity for something done while in power. It will make since at the time but later will be seen as an atrocity.
Wow-CT Aug 29th 2011 6:41PM
@ UncleRayDad - You are wrong, and your idle anger will become the same ill-directed hatred this man showed on the bus. All colors and races said Britney was an idiot when she acted like an idiot. And when Mel G acted like and got drunk and spoke like an A*hole, people also lambasted him. It's not a race thing - it's an idiot, usually lack of guidance and education thing. You cannot rationalize this man's behavior by saying 'non-blacks' are not hard enough on 'non-blacks'. AND you can argue, we have lots to do on this front too, but it is a poor argument for being RIGHT, not white.
Word.
Mae Aug 29th 2011 4:11PM
Based off of one person...right.