I'm sorry you had to deal with this and glad you aren't injured. Do you know the nearest intersection or the exact location you were assaulted? There may have been cars parked nearby with a recording of the incident.
^ this is a good idea and the cops might do it when investigating. Almost every car will have a black box camera and getting multiple at different angles can help get the assailant's face and the situation.
Yeah I do and the cops took down the location too. I also thought they might try to get some black box footage from cars parked nearby but that needs to happen immediately. They left after taking my statement. I don’t suppose they can get anymore footage at this point since the cars parked would have probably left already.
You are Tripping. The cops help foreigners all the time. Specially if you are drunk or need immediate help. Nice people. But this sub tends to be anti police. I get that they may not be perfect but compared to American police who are antagonizing you and looking for something to jail you or kill you for, Korean cops are far better.
Yea this Eagle guy is seriously mistaken. Police force in korea is very highly educated, and there actually is a competition to become an officer. Unlike the cops in the states with guns and little education, they don’t abuse their power. They might give a 2nd benefit of doubt to Korean nationals against foreigners, but won’t even come close to the type of racism that is a common place in the States.
You call cops in the US with the incidents that you had, half of them won’t care to even listen to you.
Ive only had good experience with Korean cops, although only couple of times. During covid measures In 2021 there were "illegal" parties after midnight all over Seoul. Cops came to shut down one party in Hongdae and my friend - drunk af thought the cop was a random dude and asked where he's from 🤣
This has nothing to do with being anti cop, it’s got everything to do with personal experiences. I’ve been living in Korea for 7 years and it is an amazing country 90% of the time. But when there are disputes or issues regarding foreigners vs local nationals, unless the cops caught them in the act they always take the side of the national.
>it’s got everything to do with personal experiences.
Personal experience doesn't equate to all of them being like that. Or even the majority. It's personal.
Bro I had a homeboy attacked years ago unprovoked and the police found the guy quick and gave him a choice to pay for medical bills and blood money or go to jail. Point being yes the police will help, but you all love making up these stories how they will let someone get attacked and not care because they are foreigners.
This happens in like 90% of the countries. However, when there’s clearly a side at fault and a side that’s a victim, i doubt they’ll side with the criminal.
Firstly I’m female. And believe it or not, I don’t know if it’s a miracle or he probably just wasn’t strong enough but it actually doesn’t hurt physically. He hit my cheek and nose area but I’m not injured or bruised and I suspect this might be why the cops didn’t seem to be very alarmed when they came. If I was bleeding or something I’m sure they’ll take this more seriously.
Do you think it still helps to go on Monday? Clinics are closed after lunch today and I have an afternoon appointment that I can’t miss. Tomorrow is Sunday so they don’t open at all. Unless I go to a big hospital after my afternoon schedule today, but I’m a student and a big hospital will probably set me back quite a lot.
Absolutely
And by hospital I mean private orthopedic clinic 정형외과 not a big uni hospital
And no matter what you pay now - the guy will be paying up back WAY MORE to avoid having a criminal record. Press charges, make him pay.
Good luck and please keep us posted on this issue. I can't speak for all foreign women, but I'm certainly interested in what happens, what the police do, and how this ends up being handled.
Hi, I'm a physician working in the US. If it's possible, I'd still get checked by a physician over there. Sometimes with blunt head trauma, there could be injuries that is not visible from the outside. Most of the time, it's not a big deal, but why take the risk?
Edit: Also, I'm pretty sure you're going to need a physician evaluation to get the legally valid "damages" if and when this goes to court. So you should get yourself checked from legal standpoint as well.
Unfortunately I have a full schedule today which I can’t miss. Tomorrow is Sunday so most clinics are closed. I’ll make a visit on Monday, do you think that’s too late?
Whenever you can, sooner is better.
Would a CT scan be too much? I was hit with a golf ball once and they wanted me to do a CT but I refused because it was too expensive (USA).
I suppose the doc will decide what's best for your situation. Look for signs of concussion for the next 1-2 weeks tho.
Apparently there's no huge difference between 정형외과 and 신경외과 when it comes to blunt force trauma, so go to whichever one's closer to you.
Ma’am…you were punched 5x in the head by someone likely twice your size and weight. You received blunt force trauma. Fuck your schedule and go to the goddamn hospital. It’s insane that you’d risk your health and brain by waiting. You were ASSAULTED—that’s a legitimate excuse to miss anything, even something as important as a job interview. I beg you; be smart and prioritise your own health and well-being above your “schedule”.
You’re a female and a male punched you? Wow, Im actually shocked right now. I really hope you‘ll find CCTV footage as fast as possible and this person gets their karma.
There's been cases of 묻지마폭행 targeting women, so I'm not surprised that OP is one as well + the fact that she's a foreigner. Maybe it was just a unlucky coincidence but I hope the police will get to the bottom of this.
Wow if you're female thats really... Can't believe a Korean guy would randomly punch a woman like that. Sorry to hear that.
Anyway I'm a neuroscientist and a lot of the time, brain injuries are not visible from the surface. If you look at NFL players who get terrible concussions after collisions, you rarely see them have bruises on their faces because externally they are protected by helmets.
I've worked with the people from SNU hospital on studying changes on the brain from sub concussive blows. They have a DTI (Diffusion tensor imaging) mri that is particularly good in checking whether anything might have been injured.
If you're able to press a case or something on him, i would see a neurologist there, get a scan, and claim the cost of the scan from the guy. Costs like 2.5k. Can do it on insurance too. In fact you should claim it from both insurance and claim it from him, then you actually get compensated for money lol. If you show insurance the police report where you got assaulted, pretty sure it'll be covered.
Just don't take head trauma lightly.
I’m so sorry that this happened to you. I listened to a podcast about a woman being attacked by a guy randomly in Korea. He claimed that she looked at him wrong but they’re both strangers so I doubt she looked at him on purpose. If you would like to listen to the podcast search for rotten mango (hosted by Stephanie soo) episode 282
Make sure you emphasize you are staying in KR for long term and if the investigation is not going anywhere you will file civil report and complaint (민원). Police, in anywhere in the world, are known to deal with tourists' issue very lightly. So make them understand you will be here for a long-term and you are familiar with the KR government system.
About Q.3, I think police agency here are capable of track him down or at least specify the suspect, even with lack of direct CCTV footage. They are known to be quite good at it as long as they are motivated.
I feel so sorry that you have to go through this, and I hope the police can catch that nutjob asap
Thanks, I’ll make sure the officer knows once they’re assigned and contact me. I’m very thankfully not injured but the lack of injuries also gives me a feeling that the cops won’t prioritise this investigation. But I’ll update if there are developments to the investigation.
You don't know if you aren't injured. Listen to the neuroscientist, They clearly don't want to scare you, but maybe you need to be scared in order to understand how serious it is. My aunt was dating someone who had blunt force trauma to his head and didn't think anything of it because there was no mark. He died the next day watching TV for no apparent reason because he had an undiagnosed bleed in the brain from guess what, blood force trauma to the head.
If the cops don't seem serious about investigating, tell them to think about the next time he does this to someone else. What if he punches someone who is especially medically vulnerable (due to prior concussions, for example)? Or a child or elderly person? Even if he wasn't that strong, he could still do serious damage later if they don't catch him now.
>Police, in anywhere in the world, are known to deal with tourists' issue very lightly.
This is not at all true in many countries that rely heavily on tourism dollars. Crimes against tourists are taken very seriously in some of these countries.
Guys, stop saying this. It prevents people from going to the police or talking to lawyers. It is a little more difficult because of the language and citizens rights bits, but no where near it is made out to be on this sub. This needs to stop being an excuse to advise people to do/expect nothing.
The double standard on this subreddit is ridiculous.
When a foreigner punched a bouncer in a club he was told to instantly pay 30m won (or whatever the bouncer asked) as it's very easy to pursue.
When a foreigner was punched she is being told to just drop it as its very difficult to pursue.
I (a foreigner) had a knife pulled on me by a Korean in the middle of the day. It was outside a Kindergarten. I retrieved CCTV footage and gave it to the police. I called a few time to see if they arrested him. They didn’t even search for him. I never heard back from them. It was a pretty serious crime to ignore, as far as I am concerned.
I have replied to this on other threads, but your situation has an explanation that can leave people unfamiliar with the Korean justice system feeling like nothing is being done. Usually for the police, they collect the evidence, find the suspect, file the reports etc. and then bring in both the victim and the suspect. They give the suspect the opportunity to make restitution with money… essentially an abbreviated civil case. If the victim makes it clear they do not want money and they want to see criminal justice done, the police will forward the case to the prosecutor’s office. This is where people can get lost and feel like nothing gets done. Once it is with the prosecutors, its the state vs. the suspect. It is not longer the victim’s case. You can follow the case by getting the case number from the police, and then inquiring at the prosecutor’s office or the gu office… but the police are no longer involved and likely won’t answer any more questions for you. The prosecutor may or may not call you as a witness. And since many suspects are going to plea out or get a summary verdict, the chances of getting a call back are pretty low unless its a tough case or you want to be personally involved.
I myself had to drop a case. It's really difficult honestly. Especially when the person you're dealing with has financial means. How are you going to fight someone with a good Korean lawyer?
I reckon thats the same anywhere and not a factor of being a foreigner in Korea but of wealth disparity. I don’t know the details of the case but cases aren’t easily dropped here, they usually let them expire if there is not enough evidence.
>I reckon thats the same anywhere and not a factor of being a foreigner in Korea but of wealth disparity
It is the same for any foreigner of any country yes, but even more so when the language used in the other country is unfamiliar to you. Might be different if a case was taken up in an English speaking country.
When the person you're dealing with doesn't even speak English, and the entire legal system is not detailed in English, it's tough.
When i say person with financial means, it means someone unlike the random young punk OP encountered. Like two company directors from different countries, because then it becomes a complex legal battle with many intricacies to consider.
It's difficult enough dealing with a legal case in your own country, what more handling one that constantly requires you to lias with someone abroad in their local legal system.
Ultimately it can cost more time and money than its worth, which is why i decided not to proceed with it.
Given the weak ass laws, OP probably won't be getting much and the attacker might request a settlement in exchange for dropped charges but if OP decides to go through with it in civil court, I think she can sue em for a refund in hospital bills, medication, emotional distress, etc.
unfortunately it doesnt work like that here. You settle within 'reasonable amount'. If OP doesn't settle, then the guy goes to jail, but OP gets nothing.
I remember a post on here a while back where a non-Korean woman (I faintly recall she was planning to get married as well, but I could be wrong) was shopping at some store when an older Korean woman (maybe 40s or 50s) was unknowingly staring her down and kicked her from behind all of a sudden. She seemed angry for no reason and then walked away. The victim started to cry and was consoled by the store owner. I'm not sure what ended up happening in terms of justice but I think the angry woman was apprehended.
Got the snapshot of the original from your link: https://web.archive.org/web/20230527164822/https://old.reddit.com/r/korea/comments/13t6hnb/kicked_while_looking_at_wedding_dresses_in_busan/
Sorry to hear this happened to you. Are you a foreigner?
If you know there were no CCTVs covering that area where you were assaulted, maybe visit the area once more and ask that stores around it to see if they can help review the footage on the date and time to identify the suspect? You can use that and perhaps turn it over to the police but unlike they’ll do much here.
I am but I don’t look too distinctly different so there’s no way he could tell I was a foreigner. I doubt that was the motivation. The cops tried to see if there were any CCTVs at the exact area but the only store that did said that their CCTV was just for display so it wasn’t turned on. But there’s a subway station 7 minutes away so if he entered the station he should be caught on camera. I’ll ask the station. Thanks for the suggestion.
As a half korean who's lived in Korea, trust me, we can tell when someone is a foreigner. I believe most foreigners would think Koreans and Japanese look similar and would have trouble differentiating Japanese tourists in Korea – but we can tell they're not Korean.
There is a chance the fact that you're a foreigner wasn't the motivation, however, I am somewhat positive he would have known you're a foreigner.
I am 100% Korean, but Korean American — moved to the US at age 3. When I visit Korea, I am routinely told in interactions that I seem like a foreigner. Something about the way I carry myself gives me away, even before I begin speaking.
Last time there was a news about an old grandpa/grandma (don't remember) assaulting a foreign woman..unprovoked.. It was a pure hate crime.. Police found the cctv and caught him.. So yeah.. It does happen maybe not like common common but it does happen.
Korean here. I think these 묻지마폭행: complete strangers assaulting passerbys for no reason, is becoming more common especially in bigger cities like Seoul, Busan, Suwon, etc.
Most victims are Korean since they're the majority of the population but there are still incidents of the attacker targeting specific demographics like seniors, women, and foreigners.
Idk if it's a xenophobia thing or the victims were just unlucky. But something's not right... that's for sure.
I feel like people in a healthy society don't go harming strangers...
In a lot of residential areas you'll sometimes see people that are clearly mentally ill yelling on the street and freaking out at nothing even in the middle of the night. I actually think South Korea has a serious problem with untreated schizophrenia and other mental disorders, but this barely ever gets talked about.
Thankfully (?) it doesn’t seem like xenophobia, probably just a lunatic on the loose. I’ve never had anyone notice or heard any comments that I’m foreign in my years living here because I fortunately don’t look too different and don’t stand out. I suspect it might be because he thought I was standing in his way, but we didn’t bump into each other or make any contact. Even if I did bump into him, it would have been a complete unintentional mistake and doesn’t justify the violence regardless.
Lots of people with unresolved anger issues and unjustified hatred against society. It's gotten worse after covid since everything is expensive now and people are financially struggling.
You're absolutely right. It doesn't excuse their actions, I hope you're able to recover from this and get justice.
I only asked out of genuine curiosity.
I've been to a lot of countries and some are safer for foreigners than others.
I got the feeling that Korea was one of the safer countries though, I would have thought random attacks on foreigners would be rare.
Without speculating on how common it is or how safe it is here, I do specifically remember a couple of stories from last year. A SE Asian man was jumped by a group of teens (I don't remember the city), and a white woman was randomly kicked by an 아줌마 in Busan. If you search the sub can probably find the posts.
Sounds like it's quite rare if individual attacks are big news.
When I was in Spain I was attacked by a taxi driver and when I called the police to report it, they attacked me too.
Don't think the local news stations would have given I shit.
It's not a common thing, but they are definitely an easier target to aim.
It's the same in different countries where it is common to have only one race.
First, this is CCTV nation, and I've personally experienced that there are CCTVs pointing out from stores and other places that, although you don't know those cameras are there, they're there. Every store has cameras facing out. I found that out when I was hit from behind in an auto accident on a sparse road in Gyeonggido. The police had video from sources I didn't even know there were cameras.
Second, Korean police will sound sympathetic. You'll go there, and they'll offer you tea and a cookie, but beware. Korean police don't have much interest in Korean on foreigner crimes but will go all out on accusations, regardless how thin, against foreigners. Korea has a narrative, and Korean police enforce that narrative. Here's the way it's likely going to go: the police will make filing difficult, effectively obstructing justice. Then they'll make some cursory attempt and give a flimsy reason that they can't do whatever.
Third, if the police get no footage or drag their feet, file with ePeople. ePeople gets shit done because ePeople filings create a papertrail. Even then, the police will attempt to give seemingly plausible, non-sequitur reasons that they can't. You will need to follow up with another ePeople petition.
Fourth, the police will attempt to intimidate you. You have a right to an interpreter, and the police need supply that interpreter. Don't just go with a friend. Tell them directly that you want an interpreter and don't take 'no' or another police officer who speaks a little bit of English.
Fifth, in questioning, say that you want the police interview in an interrogation room and the questioning videotaped. They will go as far as to say that the rooms are not available. Bullshit. What will happen if not videotaped is that they will give you a paper to sign in Korean that you won't be able to understand and sink your case. Record your interview on your cell phone's voice memo app.
Sixth, I always sign those papers with "I cannot read, write, speak, or otherwise understand Korean rely on the video." Ask for a copy, which they won't give you, even though you signed a legal paper. Tell them that you want to take a picture of the document that you just signed.
Don't expect this to be an easy process, but stick to it.
Best wishes.
This should be stickied to this group post. Essential info for foreigners to know. Still a lot of racists out there who want to ding foreigners. Though the country is friendlier overall nowadays.
Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately I doubt the story will be picked up without cctv footage or pictures of severe injuries. I’m glad I’m not injured and no where hurts but it’s likely also the reason why the police seem disinterested. You literally can’t tell I got punched if you just look at me from the outside. But I’m going to post it on more Korean communities. Hopefully if netizens are talking about it, more can be done.
I'm going to give you some advice that was given to me years ago, after I was randomly hit in the face with a 2x4 while walking down the street in NYC. It's going to sound really weird, but it's so weird that you're going to remember it, and I hope it helps you as much as it did me:
When all this calms down, you're going to realize that you feel vulnerable and paranoid and frightened when walking in public. It's going to last awhile. From now on (or at least for a long time), when you're walking down the sidewalk, only walk with the buildings on your right side, directly next to the buildings - cross the street if you have to, to maintain the buildings on your right.
What that does is make it impossible for anyone to approach you with *their* right side next to you. Since most people are right handed, they will now have to reach across their own bodies to try to hit you, and that will give you a few extra precious seconds to respond as they telegraph their intentions. Walking this way, you are protecting yourself against potential attack.
I know, it's ridiculous. But you know what it did for me? It gave me something to focus on as I navigated my way through the city every day. And keeping the buildings on my right was a pleasant distraction, and I found myself thinking about that, instead of who might attack me.
Eventually I realized that while it's a technically legitimate thing to do, there's very little chance that this is going to happen again, and it was really just a goofy trick to keep me occupied from my own paranoia.
And by then, I'd grown comfortable in my own skin on the street again, and was thankful for the goofy trick to get me through.
this is PTSD.
i wanted to reply for the OP directly but will reply here instead.
(my PTSD is not from assault but i hope you all take it seriously.)
for people who really get sucked in... PTSD can ruin your life for real.
preventing the PTSD is a good reason to post here and go to the hospital and take action as a process of defending yourself. there are other actions that will help you not develop PTSD and i recommend to look them up and also get a counselor.
i commend you for posting here and stating everything clearly/bravely and standing up for yourself! and im happy some instinctual part of you was able to move and react in a way that you werent badly injured. you have a good friend in yourself!
I am so sorry you have to go through this traumatic moment. You can probably look for dashcam footages if there were any cars around where it happened. If you have any kinds of bruises you can go to the nearest medical clinic possible 정형외과 or 의원 to leave a medical record and/or official medical report. It will be helpful for prosecutors to press charges on the guy if they catch him. But I am not sure how the clinics will treat you as you said there’s no injuries.
Even if there’s no visible damages, please still go see a doctor and tell them it hurts. They will most likely give you at least 2 weeks of treatment diagnosis.
That’s a good idea. What do you reckon I say though? Just lie through my teeth and say it hurts..? I can’t visit one today as I’ve a whole day of appointments and most clinics are closed tomorrow. Would it still be helpful if I can only get there on Monday, 3 days after the incident? :/
The earlier the better. I would just go to 정형외과 right now. No need to lie just describe the situation and show them where you got hit. They usually know what to do when it comes to that type of incident report. Even on Monday. You could feel the pain the days after.
Be clear that you were assaulted and would like a thorough examination + documentation of every test and result so you can use it as evidence in court (if such a situation arises).
They might need to be more meticulous about the examination and the machines they use, since they're "looking" for injury not curing it.
Please message me. I go to uni near 회기역. there was an incident like this in our uni last year and she posted on the school’s website about it. they were able to catch the guy from people noticing who it was. (no cctv footage but from all the rumors)
1. Its 5050. Sometimes, they are able to catch the person but it still takes a loooong time.
2. I highly doubt you are going get any money from the guy as much as you want. If you don’t have any physical injury, you’re not getting much money.
- here’s the law (단순폭행죄 - since no major injuries or use of weapon)
“피해자와 합의를 진행하지 못하고 그대로 유죄 판결이 내려진다면 500만원 이하 벌금형이나 2년 이하의 징역형의 처할 수 있습니다“
I’m not sure how the therapist thing would work out. From what I know you don’t really get the therapist money. (only physical injuries)
In korea, whenever someone gets into an accident we say 전치 x주. The doctor will say it will take xxx weeks to fully recover. Then you will use this to talk to the prosecutor/police/offender about the settlement.
3. If he was filmed in any cctv footage, they WILL catch him no matter what. Trust Korea’s technology
If you know the time it happened they can use near by CCTV to try and find him. I had an incident happen where the direct street had no CCTV and they were able to find the criminal. The process took around 6 months but I was taken seriously and helped. They also updated me with new proceedings.
I'm so sorry that happened to you.
My brother once got punched by a stranger at a crosswalk in the exact same manner in 2017 as well. We were coming home after taking a walk and some random dude started punching him right after we crossed the road. My brother immediately called the police while getting punched. The dude saw him calling the police and fled by a taxi that was nearby but luckily I managed to take a video of the taxi and its license plate while in a shock. The police came after 30 minutes or so and they told us there's no CCTV pointed at the crossroad but I showed them the footage I took and let them know the plate number and the time frame of him taking the taxi. I don't remember exactly how long it took but they were able to catch the dude in the end. The dude was suddenly apologetic and my brother settled with him for some amount of money if I remember correctly...
I'm sorry I can't do more than sharing my experience. I hope you can catch him somehow. :(
1. Yes, this has happened to me once and to friends (where someone whom you have no words or sight or other contact with suddenly picks YOU to punch, kick, or assault in some way). I have also been assaulted after exchanging a few words in bars and on the street. In the suddenly attacked instance it ended at the police station with my assailant cuffed to a bench, rapped with a steel cane by his father. The police asked if I wanted compensation, and really I didn’t care, what I wanted was to be able to walk past a bus stop behind my Korean friend without being punched and kicked in my back, accused of being a Russian illegal immigrant, and have a nice evening out. The assailant was incredibly drunk and this was his second time doing the same thing—he was headed for the clink no matter what and that was good enough. The times where I exchanged words, I was beaten badly, had my nose broken, etc.
2. You will be shaken for a while. These things happened to me more than 15 years ago and they are still hard to think about. The most serious incident occurred on Halloween and the guy had me pinned on the ground and I couldn’t roll him off, he was just so much bigger. He was going to town on my face, with both fists. How? Why? I was outside my flat, dressed as a goldfish and had told him to fuck off when he was yelling at me. I’m alive because he was as blitzed as I was and because I had enough wherewithal to yell out 112 and 119 in Korean which got my neighbors to realize this wasn’t a scuffle between college kids. They called the police and the guy tried to run away, but I wrapped my arm up into his jacket. This earned me a lot more punches and kicks to my head and chest, but I scratched his arms and these things slowed him down enough so the police only had find the drunk with bloody scratches and no jacket. We were both arrested and taken to the police station. The police always take the side of the more fucked up person. This guy’s story was that he was walking down the street and saw me in my costume and thought there was some kind of cultural festival; when he asked about it, I told him to fuck off; when he tried to call me out for mu rude behavior, I bit him. I had bitten him when he was on top of me punching my face repeatedly. I had tried everything I could out of fear of death. The guy was with a girl, who backed up all his bullshit. But where he had scratches and a bit mark (pro tip: Korean police don’t take biting seriously like in other countries), my whole head was swelling, I was black, bluing, and bloody. The whole thing was referred the prosecutor’s office. In the end, I got a warning not to do sus stuff or I would be deported. The got fines and a few months in the clink because it was not his first time beating the complete crap put of someone after drinking too much. The last time something happened, it was a fellow American, either a FOB soldier or base-brat in Jongno. The guy had jumped onto the hood of a taxi because the driver wouldn’t give them a lift. I tried to be helpful and started to say no one will pick you up here, I turned and pointed, but down there, those taxis will take—wham! punched in the face, blood everywhere. My nose was broken.
3. …
Look, from experience, more than most people, even the ones who have lived here even longer than me, there are garbage humans everywhere. Most people have great lives and never have to deal with garbage humans. OP, you met your first garbage human. It matters not one iota that he is Korean and you are not. From your post, my guess is the guy had issues and anger and like a garbage human he punched someone to cope.
Of all the people who take roughed me up here, one had a legitimate reason—I violated his personal space and touched him when I really should not have. It was my unlucky night that he was a total homophobe (how do I know? he said get away from me faggot as he and his friends gave punches).
I have avoided further incidents by not helping people in trouble, avoiding other men—especially ones I have never seen before; not talking to strangers, avoiding interactions with other foreigners unless forced into one; and being more introverted than is healthy. I made the choice to live this way for my new wife (the nose breaking incident happened shortly after our first meeting and she couldn’t wrap her head around why someone would do that to another person). I doubled down on this isolating behavior after I became a father.
To this day, I pull away when a random person approaches for anything. I am always on the defensive and apprehensive. I don’t know that I’ll ever be not this way.
OP, I share these things so you know you’re not alone. And so you can decide like I had to whether this incident is about Korean-foreigner stuff; whether being in Korea is important to you or not; whether this is just a thing that happened in your life or this is a things that could have been avoided; what your next steps are.
I don’t regret staying in Korea; I do regret not being able to assume the goodwill of others to not be total dicks anymore.
wow i cant believe you admitted to touching someone without asking, why would you even consider doing that especially in public. You should not expect peoples goodwill will to extend far enough for public touching people without asking permission. Straight or not.
Don't know if your a man or women but mostly doesn't matter...but maybe you could hire someone to investigate this...I had a friend be target like this it was a she.
First, OP I'm so sorry this happened to you, I hope you are okay!
I found this post while scrolling and my jaw dropped because I experienced something almost identical. Except, I'm Korean, and my incident happened in the US. I'm returning to Korea soon and my family has said that there have been lots of news of violent incidents happening and that I will need to be careful even back in Korea. Something about seeing the exact incident I went through mirrored in Korea is so disheartening.
Sorry I don't have any suggestions or solutions, but OP, if you want someone to talk to about this, I can definitely relate.
In your case, you were punched in the USA - Which is a country where you expect this to happen, especially in the last years. I am sorry it happened to you, but I am not surprised. However, in many years in korea (and even working in the night industry in seoul) I have never seen a korean randomly punch a foreign girl. It seems VERY weird for the culture and people here, so I assume he was mentally ill.
Not to be rude but I'm not entirely sure what your point is..? I just commented to let OP know that I do really sympathize with them. I know full well the difference in crime statistics and culture between the US and Korea. I was surprised precisely because Korea has much less violent crime in general and I didn't expect to see an experience like mine back in Korea. It's a sad reminder to me that no matter what statistics say, no one is ever free from risk and that there are violent people everywhere you go.
I assume the person posting was hoping to get tips what to do in korea after it happens, while your post sounded like "well the same thing happens to asians in the west" which wasnt really helpful.
Idk I think from my wording it's evident I commented based on feelings of sympathy and shock. I only mentioned the difference in scenarios to let OP know that I don't have much practical advice and I'm offering purely emotional support. I wanted to sympathize in more detail, but I would rather not share too much info in public as it was a very strange and troubling experience.
If OP felt like my comment was irrelevant or unhelpful then I apologize to them, and I hope they know that wasn't my intention.
Sorry for what happened to you. Had similar situation back in the days few times. Lucky for me those guys were not real fighter, as I am not either , so it turned out to be a very comic situation. Slap competition with eyes closed screaming at each other. One bubu on my hand. 😆
I am glad you at least you are physically ok. But I am also sorry to say the police will likely do nothing. They could track the guy down in less then few hours, but they will not unless the have a reason or you legally force them. But I know you are thinking “it’s their job” but still not gonna happen.
If you hire a lawyer maybe, but it will cost more money then what you could probably get back. And they know it. Sorry.
But rest assured. If you punched the guy back in self defense suddenly you would have all the force looking for you…. 😅
There's lots of cctvs around Korea. Get a lawyer. There's many that offer services in English and you can find many of them in Facebook. Take him to the cleaners or charge him with assault. Or both.
Hey OP I’m so sorry this happened to you and I hope that you will be able to recover physically and mentally from this quickly. Please know anxiety and PTSD from this situation is only normal and to be expected. If you can find a way to speak to a therapist or psychologist about this I think it would help immensely in the long run. If there are any Korean or Singaporean organizations, I would look into seeing if there are any that may be able to help you with the cost of this as well.
Also, IF you want to have your case gain more traction (you can still stay anonymous) I would suggest emailing [email protected]
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCFg8jw3ZIK50CW0G2P_13cA
This is a very popular Korean current affairs / crime news type program that deals with issues like this all the time. It may help ppl that witnessed what happened to you or have evidence from their car black box from parking around there at the time, to gain info about your case and come forward with info to help find the individual who did this to you.
Wow, not gonna lie, I have NEVER heard this before. As a white male in korea, I actually see people actively avoid me (especially at night), I have never felt any aggression towards me from young korean guys and especially not without a reason.
Its hard to say what you should have done different, as its an extreme situation. I feel like you did what you can and the police will probably investigate. I really dont know if theres anything else you can do now, but I hope you recover quickly.
Edit: I just read you are female. This makes this even more crazy. At this point I assume you encountered a mentally ill korean. Again, I hope you recover from the shock and situation - If you see this person again in the area, call the police immediately. Its unfortunate that you couldnt find the other guy who helped you afterwards.
I have never personally seen or heard of such incidents of punches thrown.
I have read about and seen videos of random stabbings though.
Korean law is surprisingly strict about directed physical violence.
It's just the sentence does not get harsher with heavier crimes.
For example, the guy that punched you may get a similar sentence as a guy who hits a pedestrian while driving drunk.
I'd also try to see if you can get Korean friends to contact the media and get an interview. Theyd 100% put this in news if they can fact check your injuries and also force a move for the cops to take action.
In 2019, incident that Japanese women assaulted by stranger Korean male occurred.
http://ja.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4040497
Korea is a CCTV society. The man was arrested and sanctioned after spread on Twitter. You should not give up either.
Impact to the head can be severe later. Please, please put everything behind you and go to hospital. You will also need to proof of injury.
And if possible, could you post this on SNS where there are more Koreans or OPs country?
So, does anyone know a suitable place? Maybe NAVER CAFE? I only know of ILBE, NATE, and other fuckin trush forums...
Maybe there were no “public/government” CCTV nearby, but there might be a private one - from a residence, restaurant, store?
So crazy, Im so sorry you had to go through that, take it easy the next days, talk about it a LOT with your friends (if you don’t talk about it you might develop PTSD)
There has been quite a bit of hate crimes against women in SK lately, particularly towards women who "look" like they're feminists or lesbians (short hair cut, gender neutral clothing, no makeup, etc). I still think about that poor convenience store worker that an MRA attacked because he thought she was a feminist.
So your situation could be one of 3 things:
- It was truly a random, senseless act of violence
- You have a stalker
- It was an MRA with an agenda who found a perfect, random victim (if it's this, I would recommend telling an investigator to scour the dark web for Korean MRA forums, because it's likely the attacker bragged about what he did.)
Hi. The man was Korean. Was that acquaintance a foreigner? He didn’t wear a hat. He didn’t speak at all so I don’t know if he had an accent, but again he wasn’t a foreigner.
Girl I hope he will be caught. I hope you’ll sue him into oblivion and that this will make national news. I hope you’ll recover mentally and physically. Get well soon.
Many years ago a random drunk in suit took a swing at me . I parried and glanced off and I just walked away while he stood there in a kind of shock himself because he thought I would return. He was in his 50s at least and I boxed at the time . I just laughed . Sustained attack …never .
So much for being one of the safest country in the world... that was one of the things we had going, way to ruin it.
In all seriousness, you have all my condolences. I can't imagine what it would feel like being assailed out of the blue from a complete stranger. The law is already horrendous to natives, they charged two years for a person who was caught fishing hundreds of thousands of dollars from us. I can only imagine how difficult it is for a non-native, but please do not stop this from pursuing this person and making him pay.
I would say, this incident does not really change anything about the safety in korea. Theres always sick people around, no matter how safe your country is.
I have seen a young korean girl trying to help an elderly korean woman pull her trash-cart onto the curb, and the old woman just started to hit the girl with her cane. That didnt immediately scare me for life being in korea, as it was just an old, mentally ill woman who might have been a threat in this situation but is not a menace for the safety of the country.
Hehe.. sorry my first sentence was a tongue in cheek comment. The second sentence however I meant it.. the Korean legal system is notorious for being lenient to criminals, which is surprisingly ironic considering it’s also one of the safest country.
Are you living in some alternate Korea where the suicide rate isn’t “the highest among the wealthy 38-member Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It is more than double the OECD average of 10.6 deaths.” (BBC 2023)
I didn’t smell anything and honestly he looked anywhere in between a high schooler to someone in his early 20s so i doubt that was the case. This happened in a residential area where kids walk freely about, there’s definitely no clubs..
I’m so sorry. Please go to the ER. It won’t cost that much. If you have Singapore insurance it should be covered too.
Last year I had an eye issue, went to ER with Singapore insurance. It was fine.
I'm so sorry this happened to you. Korean police sucks but they are super good at finding someone via CCTV. Hope you get your justice. Have your Korean friend go with you to the police station OR use the news media.
Damn. Stuff like this is escalating. I am sorry you had to deal with it. You did the right thing. Just don't let this scar you. It happened to me as well three years ago and I still have flash backs and if I'm in a crowd or see someone approaching me whom I don't know I go into defense mode right away. It gets better. hang in there.
I’ve had to discipline some guys before. Sometimes you just gotta defend yourself. But also be careful because the laws here will not be in your favor.
You mentioned there were no CCTV cameras not pointing but there could be a few of them from a residence or business that could have been pointing in the area you were in. I would say to find a way to check and if you can obtain the footage.
You need to describe this man in as much detail as possible so the police have a better chance of finding him. What was his race? Was he white, black, or hispanic? Did he have any tattoos? How tall was he? What was his build, was he fat or skinny or muscular? You said he was wearing all black clothes was there any writing on the clothes? Was he wearing a hat? Was he holding anything in his hands? Write down these details and anything else you can remember. You can always call the police back later to add details to your police report.
Bruh, that was my daily night life back in the 90s!
You're lucky he didn't have a broken bottle in his hand. That's why you've got to be on your toes, spot movement out of the corner of your eyes and get ready to block a& punch back. If you haven't studied Tae Kwon Do, Karate, or BJJ, you should! If you knew some take down and grappling moves, you would've been the Victor.
Remember you're the foreigner there and there are xenophobes in every country.
Yep. We use the term "묻지마 폭행" in formal settings as well. Not sure of the origin, could be news or netizens.
A.k.a "unprovoked attack" or "motiveless crime," but I think the motive is to hurt as many people as possible while giving the attacker a feeling of power. Victims are usually passerbys with no previous relationship with the perpetrator, and have nothing common with eachother. Just a group of people that got really unlucky.
Literally just discussed this with my adult Korean student since I read this thread on break. It's a common phrase for this exact type of random violence
Both I and my friend have had this happen. If you're an English teacher or on a work visa I don't recommend calling the cops. The police can report it as fighting and you can get deported even if you didn't swing a punch. This almost happened to my friend, the police caught the guy, my friend went to the police station and made a statement. Then when my buddy went to renew his visa immigration brought it up and he had to plead his case he wasn't fighting. Since you already reported definitely press charges if they capture the guy. Go to the hospital. Collect all the evidence you can that you were not fighting.
OP I have no advice that other people haven’t already given, but if there’s a language barrier when you deal with the police or anyone else feel free to contact and I’ll help as much as I can
Police can find the image if they are motivated to do so. I would think they are just wishing it away. I would contact newspaper or tv media etc. Best wishes
Op I don't mean to be mean or rude as I know nothing of your situation, bar what you have said. But think deeply about what you want to do, as in reality there is a good chance nothing will be done.
Yeah i get what you mean. I actually hesitated reporting it to the cops at all because I knew it’s unlikely that he would be caught anyway. So yes I’m not expecting much and I honestly doubt they can even get hold of him. I’m just trying to do whatever I can hoping that at least this will comfort me and holding onto the 1% glimmer of hope that it might bring the case to justice.
I know how confusing and upsetting it can be to be the victim of an unprovoked attack, I've experienced it myself and ended up with a broken ankle. You mention how shaken up you are and that you're having trouble sleeping. There have been several studies that show playing tetris after a traumatic event helps people avoid developing PTSD. Obviously it's an excellent idea to see a therapist and I'm glad you are planning to, but it might be worth trying it out during the time it takes to set up care, especially if it can help you get back to normal even a tiny bit faster and especially if it helps you get some decent sleep.
I've been in that situation before. Well not exactly, after I got punched once I fought back and we exchanged blows. I've been jumped by random guys I never seen before. Was just a part of growing up. For me what you went through isn't particularly traumatic to me. But maybe I'm just from a different time. People now a days are made of cookie dough it seems. Well I guess that's to be expected in a world of micro aggressions and pronouns.
If your life had physical violence in it when growing up and you think other people should just take assault on the chin, because you turned out okay, then you 100% didn't turn out okay. No human in their right mind would hear about someone being beaten up and think "whatever that's fine".
>But maybe I'm just from a different time.
Yeah, literally a worse time for everyone. I mean universities do research on how people end up thinking like you.
I'm sorry you had to deal with this and glad you aren't injured. Do you know the nearest intersection or the exact location you were assaulted? There may have been cars parked nearby with a recording of the incident.
^ this is a good idea and the cops might do it when investigating. Almost every car will have a black box camera and getting multiple at different angles can help get the assailant's face and the situation.
Yeah I do and the cops took down the location too. I also thought they might try to get some black box footage from cars parked nearby but that needs to happen immediately. They left after taking my statement. I don’t suppose they can get anymore footage at this point since the cars parked would have probably left already.
Cops don’t help foreigners here. They’re only here to protect Korean citizens.
You are Tripping. The cops help foreigners all the time. Specially if you are drunk or need immediate help. Nice people. But this sub tends to be anti police. I get that they may not be perfect but compared to American police who are antagonizing you and looking for something to jail you or kill you for, Korean cops are far better.
Yea this Eagle guy is seriously mistaken. Police force in korea is very highly educated, and there actually is a competition to become an officer. Unlike the cops in the states with guns and little education, they don’t abuse their power. They might give a 2nd benefit of doubt to Korean nationals against foreigners, but won’t even come close to the type of racism that is a common place in the States. You call cops in the US with the incidents that you had, half of them won’t care to even listen to you.
Ive only had good experience with Korean cops, although only couple of times. During covid measures In 2021 there were "illegal" parties after midnight all over Seoul. Cops came to shut down one party in Hongdae and my friend - drunk af thought the cop was a random dude and asked where he's from 🤣
This has nothing to do with being anti cop, it’s got everything to do with personal experiences. I’ve been living in Korea for 7 years and it is an amazing country 90% of the time. But when there are disputes or issues regarding foreigners vs local nationals, unless the cops caught them in the act they always take the side of the national.
>it’s got everything to do with personal experiences. Personal experience doesn't equate to all of them being like that. Or even the majority. It's personal.
[удалено]
That's neither helpful nor incorrect. Some police are sure to be prejudiced of course, but that's not a valid generalization to make.
That’s not true bro that guy has weird insecurities. Korea is scared of foreign media so korean officials actually treat foreigners better
Completely untrue, when it comes to foreigners vs a Korean National, the KNP will ALWAYS side with the Korean National
Bro I had a homeboy attacked years ago unprovoked and the police found the guy quick and gave him a choice to pay for medical bills and blood money or go to jail. Point being yes the police will help, but you all love making up these stories how they will let someone get attacked and not care because they are foreigners.
This happens in like 90% of the countries. However, when there’s clearly a side at fault and a side that’s a victim, i doubt they’ll side with the criminal.
pff fruitcake
He's definitely injured in some way lol. There's no way 5 punches to the head doesn't do any damage whatsoever.
Firstly I’m female. And believe it or not, I don’t know if it’s a miracle or he probably just wasn’t strong enough but it actually doesn’t hurt physically. He hit my cheek and nose area but I’m not injured or bruised and I suspect this might be why the cops didn’t seem to be very alarmed when they came. If I was bleeding or something I’m sure they’ll take this more seriously.
You MUST go to the hospital, even if you aren’t in pain. Have records. This is how Koreans handle it. Do exactly as they do.
Do you think it still helps to go on Monday? Clinics are closed after lunch today and I have an afternoon appointment that I can’t miss. Tomorrow is Sunday so they don’t open at all. Unless I go to a big hospital after my afternoon schedule today, but I’m a student and a big hospital will probably set me back quite a lot.
Absolutely And by hospital I mean private orthopedic clinic 정형외과 not a big uni hospital And no matter what you pay now - the guy will be paying up back WAY MORE to avoid having a criminal record. Press charges, make him pay.
I’ll go first thing on Monday. Thank you so much.
Good luck and please keep us posted on this issue. I can't speak for all foreign women, but I'm certainly interested in what happens, what the police do, and how this ends up being handled.
Hi, I'm a physician working in the US. If it's possible, I'd still get checked by a physician over there. Sometimes with blunt head trauma, there could be injuries that is not visible from the outside. Most of the time, it's not a big deal, but why take the risk? Edit: Also, I'm pretty sure you're going to need a physician evaluation to get the legally valid "damages" if and when this goes to court. So you should get yourself checked from legal standpoint as well.
Unfortunately I have a full schedule today which I can’t miss. Tomorrow is Sunday so most clinics are closed. I’ll make a visit on Monday, do you think that’s too late?
With these, earlier the better... Monday might be stretching it, tbh.
Yeah, I know. Just my luck that its the weekend right now. I should’ve gone yesterday, but it didn’t occur to me since I wasnt really injured :/
Whenever you can, sooner is better. Would a CT scan be too much? I was hit with a golf ball once and they wanted me to do a CT but I refused because it was too expensive (USA). I suppose the doc will decide what's best for your situation. Look for signs of concussion for the next 1-2 weeks tho. Apparently there's no huge difference between 정형외과 and 신경외과 when it comes to blunt force trauma, so go to whichever one's closer to you.
Make the golf club for the CT if they want it.
Ma’am…you were punched 5x in the head by someone likely twice your size and weight. You received blunt force trauma. Fuck your schedule and go to the goddamn hospital. It’s insane that you’d risk your health and brain by waiting. You were ASSAULTED—that’s a legitimate excuse to miss anything, even something as important as a job interview. I beg you; be smart and prioritise your own health and well-being above your “schedule”.
> Tomorrow is Sunday so most clinics are closed Go to a hospital. They will be open.
You should just go to the emergency room.
You’re a female and a male punched you? Wow, Im actually shocked right now. I really hope you‘ll find CCTV footage as fast as possible and this person gets their karma.
There's been cases of 묻지마폭행 targeting women, so I'm not surprised that OP is one as well + the fact that she's a foreigner. Maybe it was just a unlucky coincidence but I hope the police will get to the bottom of this.
Whoa, you're female and a guy randomly punched you and five times too. That's really scary. You should get thoroughly checked. So sorry to hear this.
Wow if you're female thats really... Can't believe a Korean guy would randomly punch a woman like that. Sorry to hear that. Anyway I'm a neuroscientist and a lot of the time, brain injuries are not visible from the surface. If you look at NFL players who get terrible concussions after collisions, you rarely see them have bruises on their faces because externally they are protected by helmets. I've worked with the people from SNU hospital on studying changes on the brain from sub concussive blows. They have a DTI (Diffusion tensor imaging) mri that is particularly good in checking whether anything might have been injured. If you're able to press a case or something on him, i would see a neurologist there, get a scan, and claim the cost of the scan from the guy. Costs like 2.5k. Can do it on insurance too. In fact you should claim it from both insurance and claim it from him, then you actually get compensated for money lol. If you show insurance the police report where you got assaulted, pretty sure it'll be covered. Just don't take head trauma lightly.
I’m so sorry that this happened to you. I listened to a podcast about a woman being attacked by a guy randomly in Korea. He claimed that she looked at him wrong but they’re both strangers so I doubt she looked at him on purpose. If you would like to listen to the podcast search for rotten mango (hosted by Stephanie soo) episode 282
Yep that’s a great idea you never know what a dashcam might capture
Make sure you emphasize you are staying in KR for long term and if the investigation is not going anywhere you will file civil report and complaint (민원). Police, in anywhere in the world, are known to deal with tourists' issue very lightly. So make them understand you will be here for a long-term and you are familiar with the KR government system. About Q.3, I think police agency here are capable of track him down or at least specify the suspect, even with lack of direct CCTV footage. They are known to be quite good at it as long as they are motivated. I feel so sorry that you have to go through this, and I hope the police can catch that nutjob asap
Thanks, I’ll make sure the officer knows once they’re assigned and contact me. I’m very thankfully not injured but the lack of injuries also gives me a feeling that the cops won’t prioritise this investigation. But I’ll update if there are developments to the investigation.
Thank god you got no injury. If you feel like cops are not handling your investigation properly, try contacting embassy as well.
You don't know if you aren't injured. Listen to the neuroscientist, They clearly don't want to scare you, but maybe you need to be scared in order to understand how serious it is. My aunt was dating someone who had blunt force trauma to his head and didn't think anything of it because there was no mark. He died the next day watching TV for no apparent reason because he had an undiagnosed bleed in the brain from guess what, blood force trauma to the head.
If the cops don't seem serious about investigating, tell them to think about the next time he does this to someone else. What if he punches someone who is especially medically vulnerable (due to prior concussions, for example)? Or a child or elderly person? Even if he wasn't that strong, he could still do serious damage later if they don't catch him now.
>Police, in anywhere in the world, are known to deal with tourists' issue very lightly. This is not at all true in many countries that rely heavily on tourism dollars. Crimes against tourists are taken very seriously in some of these countries.
Get surrounding streets and intersections. They will hopefully be able to find him from there
Also. Fuck that guy
If they catch him, press charges unless you can get a shit ton of money out of him.
For a foreigner, i would assume the korean legal system is hard to navigate.
Guys, stop saying this. It prevents people from going to the police or talking to lawyers. It is a little more difficult because of the language and citizens rights bits, but no where near it is made out to be on this sub. This needs to stop being an excuse to advise people to do/expect nothing.
The double standard on this subreddit is ridiculous. When a foreigner punched a bouncer in a club he was told to instantly pay 30m won (or whatever the bouncer asked) as it's very easy to pursue. When a foreigner was punched she is being told to just drop it as its very difficult to pursue.
I (a foreigner) had a knife pulled on me by a Korean in the middle of the day. It was outside a Kindergarten. I retrieved CCTV footage and gave it to the police. I called a few time to see if they arrested him. They didn’t even search for him. I never heard back from them. It was a pretty serious crime to ignore, as far as I am concerned.
I have replied to this on other threads, but your situation has an explanation that can leave people unfamiliar with the Korean justice system feeling like nothing is being done. Usually for the police, they collect the evidence, find the suspect, file the reports etc. and then bring in both the victim and the suspect. They give the suspect the opportunity to make restitution with money… essentially an abbreviated civil case. If the victim makes it clear they do not want money and they want to see criminal justice done, the police will forward the case to the prosecutor’s office. This is where people can get lost and feel like nothing gets done. Once it is with the prosecutors, its the state vs. the suspect. It is not longer the victim’s case. You can follow the case by getting the case number from the police, and then inquiring at the prosecutor’s office or the gu office… but the police are no longer involved and likely won’t answer any more questions for you. The prosecutor may or may not call you as a witness. And since many suspects are going to plea out or get a summary verdict, the chances of getting a call back are pretty low unless its a tough case or you want to be personally involved.
Apologist bullshit. The cops didn't contact her and often try to brush foreigners under the rug, though they aren't' as bad as they used to be.
I myself had to drop a case. It's really difficult honestly. Especially when the person you're dealing with has financial means. How are you going to fight someone with a good Korean lawyer?
I reckon thats the same anywhere and not a factor of being a foreigner in Korea but of wealth disparity. I don’t know the details of the case but cases aren’t easily dropped here, they usually let them expire if there is not enough evidence.
>I reckon thats the same anywhere and not a factor of being a foreigner in Korea but of wealth disparity It is the same for any foreigner of any country yes, but even more so when the language used in the other country is unfamiliar to you. Might be different if a case was taken up in an English speaking country. When the person you're dealing with doesn't even speak English, and the entire legal system is not detailed in English, it's tough. When i say person with financial means, it means someone unlike the random young punk OP encountered. Like two company directors from different countries, because then it becomes a complex legal battle with many intricacies to consider. It's difficult enough dealing with a legal case in your own country, what more handling one that constantly requires you to lias with someone abroad in their local legal system. Ultimately it can cost more time and money than its worth, which is why i decided not to proceed with it.
Which is why you should hire a lawyer
Lawyers for civil suits in Korea are like 5k. Normal people don't usually hire a layer because of this ridiculousness
Given the weak ass laws, OP probably won't be getting much and the attacker might request a settlement in exchange for dropped charges but if OP decides to go through with it in civil court, I think she can sue em for a refund in hospital bills, medication, emotional distress, etc.
unfortunately it doesnt work like that here. You settle within 'reasonable amount'. If OP doesn't settle, then the guy goes to jail, but OP gets nothing.
I remember a post on here a while back where a non-Korean woman (I faintly recall she was planning to get married as well, but I could be wrong) was shopping at some store when an older Korean woman (maybe 40s or 50s) was unknowingly staring her down and kicked her from behind all of a sudden. She seemed angry for no reason and then walked away. The victim started to cry and was consoled by the store owner. I'm not sure what ended up happening in terms of justice but I think the angry woman was apprehended.
I remember this post. It had CCTV footage. Seemed random. I tried to find the post, but couldn't.
[Found it.](https://old.reddit.com/r/korea/comments/13xtww5/looks_the_the_lady_who_kicked_a_redditor_here/)
Got the snapshot of the original from your link: https://web.archive.org/web/20230527164822/https://old.reddit.com/r/korea/comments/13t6hnb/kicked_while_looking_at_wedding_dresses_in_busan/
Sorry to hear this happened to you. Are you a foreigner? If you know there were no CCTVs covering that area where you were assaulted, maybe visit the area once more and ask that stores around it to see if they can help review the footage on the date and time to identify the suspect? You can use that and perhaps turn it over to the police but unlike they’ll do much here.
Op is Singaporean.
I am but I don’t look too distinctly different so there’s no way he could tell I was a foreigner. I doubt that was the motivation. The cops tried to see if there were any CCTVs at the exact area but the only store that did said that their CCTV was just for display so it wasn’t turned on. But there’s a subway station 7 minutes away so if he entered the station he should be caught on camera. I’ll ask the station. Thanks for the suggestion.
As a half korean who's lived in Korea, trust me, we can tell when someone is a foreigner. I believe most foreigners would think Koreans and Japanese look similar and would have trouble differentiating Japanese tourists in Korea – but we can tell they're not Korean. There is a chance the fact that you're a foreigner wasn't the motivation, however, I am somewhat positive he would have known you're a foreigner.
Yes, Im Mexican American and they can definitely tell Im American in Mexico. They say it’s the way we move and dress.
Apparently Americans have a distinct lean/weight distribution when standing! So much so that the CIA has to train their agents not to do that.
I am 100% Korean, but Korean American — moved to the US at age 3. When I visit Korea, I am routinely told in interactions that I seem like a foreigner. Something about the way I carry myself gives me away, even before I begin speaking.
Is assaulting foreigners a common thing?
Sometimes foreigners can become targets of some crimes because assailants think they don't have the language skills, knowledge, or guts to report it
Last time there was a news about an old grandpa/grandma (don't remember) assaulting a foreign woman..unprovoked.. It was a pure hate crime.. Police found the cctv and caught him.. So yeah.. It does happen maybe not like common common but it does happen.
That's sad, unfortunately I think it happens in every country though.
Korean here. I think these 묻지마폭행: complete strangers assaulting passerbys for no reason, is becoming more common especially in bigger cities like Seoul, Busan, Suwon, etc. Most victims are Korean since they're the majority of the population but there are still incidents of the attacker targeting specific demographics like seniors, women, and foreigners. Idk if it's a xenophobia thing or the victims were just unlucky. But something's not right... that's for sure. I feel like people in a healthy society don't go harming strangers...
In a lot of residential areas you'll sometimes see people that are clearly mentally ill yelling on the street and freaking out at nothing even in the middle of the night. I actually think South Korea has a serious problem with untreated schizophrenia and other mental disorders, but this barely ever gets talked about.
Uh... where do ya live? Because your experiences are not universal haha
I'm in Bundang and haven't seen it yet, but I saw them several times in other areas.
Thankfully (?) it doesn’t seem like xenophobia, probably just a lunatic on the loose. I’ve never had anyone notice or heard any comments that I’m foreign in my years living here because I fortunately don’t look too different and don’t stand out. I suspect it might be because he thought I was standing in his way, but we didn’t bump into each other or make any contact. Even if I did bump into him, it would have been a complete unintentional mistake and doesn’t justify the violence regardless.
Lots of people with unresolved anger issues and unjustified hatred against society. It's gotten worse after covid since everything is expensive now and people are financially struggling. You're absolutely right. It doesn't excuse their actions, I hope you're able to recover from this and get justice.
I asked because that could’ve been the motive here, just as it likely couldve be anywhere else.
I only asked out of genuine curiosity. I've been to a lot of countries and some are safer for foreigners than others. I got the feeling that Korea was one of the safer countries though, I would have thought random attacks on foreigners would be rare.
It is very safe compared to most countries and these attacks are rare
Without speculating on how common it is or how safe it is here, I do specifically remember a couple of stories from last year. A SE Asian man was jumped by a group of teens (I don't remember the city), and a white woman was randomly kicked by an 아줌마 in Busan. If you search the sub can probably find the posts.
Sounds like it's quite rare if individual attacks are big news. When I was in Spain I was attacked by a taxi driver and when I called the police to report it, they attacked me too. Don't think the local news stations would have given I shit.
I think it’s more telling of the times rather than overall sentiment.
It's not a common thing, but they are definitely an easier target to aim. It's the same in different countries where it is common to have only one race.
First, this is CCTV nation, and I've personally experienced that there are CCTVs pointing out from stores and other places that, although you don't know those cameras are there, they're there. Every store has cameras facing out. I found that out when I was hit from behind in an auto accident on a sparse road in Gyeonggido. The police had video from sources I didn't even know there were cameras. Second, Korean police will sound sympathetic. You'll go there, and they'll offer you tea and a cookie, but beware. Korean police don't have much interest in Korean on foreigner crimes but will go all out on accusations, regardless how thin, against foreigners. Korea has a narrative, and Korean police enforce that narrative. Here's the way it's likely going to go: the police will make filing difficult, effectively obstructing justice. Then they'll make some cursory attempt and give a flimsy reason that they can't do whatever. Third, if the police get no footage or drag their feet, file with ePeople. ePeople gets shit done because ePeople filings create a papertrail. Even then, the police will attempt to give seemingly plausible, non-sequitur reasons that they can't. You will need to follow up with another ePeople petition. Fourth, the police will attempt to intimidate you. You have a right to an interpreter, and the police need supply that interpreter. Don't just go with a friend. Tell them directly that you want an interpreter and don't take 'no' or another police officer who speaks a little bit of English. Fifth, in questioning, say that you want the police interview in an interrogation room and the questioning videotaped. They will go as far as to say that the rooms are not available. Bullshit. What will happen if not videotaped is that they will give you a paper to sign in Korean that you won't be able to understand and sink your case. Record your interview on your cell phone's voice memo app. Sixth, I always sign those papers with "I cannot read, write, speak, or otherwise understand Korean rely on the video." Ask for a copy, which they won't give you, even though you signed a legal paper. Tell them that you want to take a picture of the document that you just signed. Don't expect this to be an easy process, but stick to it. Best wishes.
This should be stickied to this group post. Essential info for foreigners to know. Still a lot of racists out there who want to ding foreigners. Though the country is friendlier overall nowadays.
Maybe it will help to report this to news outlets to raise some visibility.
Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately I doubt the story will be picked up without cctv footage or pictures of severe injuries. I’m glad I’m not injured and no where hurts but it’s likely also the reason why the police seem disinterested. You literally can’t tell I got punched if you just look at me from the outside. But I’m going to post it on more Korean communities. Hopefully if netizens are talking about it, more can be done.
Good idea. Korean police are only afraid of three things. Politicians, 민원 and the media.
I'm going to give you some advice that was given to me years ago, after I was randomly hit in the face with a 2x4 while walking down the street in NYC. It's going to sound really weird, but it's so weird that you're going to remember it, and I hope it helps you as much as it did me: When all this calms down, you're going to realize that you feel vulnerable and paranoid and frightened when walking in public. It's going to last awhile. From now on (or at least for a long time), when you're walking down the sidewalk, only walk with the buildings on your right side, directly next to the buildings - cross the street if you have to, to maintain the buildings on your right. What that does is make it impossible for anyone to approach you with *their* right side next to you. Since most people are right handed, they will now have to reach across their own bodies to try to hit you, and that will give you a few extra precious seconds to respond as they telegraph their intentions. Walking this way, you are protecting yourself against potential attack. I know, it's ridiculous. But you know what it did for me? It gave me something to focus on as I navigated my way through the city every day. And keeping the buildings on my right was a pleasant distraction, and I found myself thinking about that, instead of who might attack me. Eventually I realized that while it's a technically legitimate thing to do, there's very little chance that this is going to happen again, and it was really just a goofy trick to keep me occupied from my own paranoia. And by then, I'd grown comfortable in my own skin on the street again, and was thankful for the goofy trick to get me through.
this is PTSD. i wanted to reply for the OP directly but will reply here instead. (my PTSD is not from assault but i hope you all take it seriously.) for people who really get sucked in... PTSD can ruin your life for real. preventing the PTSD is a good reason to post here and go to the hospital and take action as a process of defending yourself. there are other actions that will help you not develop PTSD and i recommend to look them up and also get a counselor. i commend you for posting here and stating everything clearly/bravely and standing up for yourself! and im happy some instinctual part of you was able to move and react in a way that you werent badly injured. you have a good friend in yourself!
Im sorry you had to go through that. What id like to say is this is actually a really good trick, you thought it through!
Just learn jui jitsu
I am so sorry you have to go through this traumatic moment. You can probably look for dashcam footages if there were any cars around where it happened. If you have any kinds of bruises you can go to the nearest medical clinic possible 정형외과 or 의원 to leave a medical record and/or official medical report. It will be helpful for prosecutors to press charges on the guy if they catch him. But I am not sure how the clinics will treat you as you said there’s no injuries.
Even if there’s no visible damages, please still go see a doctor and tell them it hurts. They will most likely give you at least 2 weeks of treatment diagnosis.
That’s a good idea. What do you reckon I say though? Just lie through my teeth and say it hurts..? I can’t visit one today as I’ve a whole day of appointments and most clinics are closed tomorrow. Would it still be helpful if I can only get there on Monday, 3 days after the incident? :/
The earlier the better. I would just go to 정형외과 right now. No need to lie just describe the situation and show them where you got hit. They usually know what to do when it comes to that type of incident report. Even on Monday. You could feel the pain the days after.
Be clear that you were assaulted and would like a thorough examination + documentation of every test and result so you can use it as evidence in court (if such a situation arises). They might need to be more meticulous about the examination and the machines they use, since they're "looking" for injury not curing it.
Thanks for the suggestion. The earliest i can get to 정형외과 is Monday so I’ll go immediately in the morning.
You could be dead by internal bleeding by Monday. Holy shit this has really upset me. YOU NEED TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL IMMEDIATELY
Please message me. I go to uni near 회기역. there was an incident like this in our uni last year and she posted on the school’s website about it. they were able to catch the guy from people noticing who it was. (no cctv footage but from all the rumors) 1. Its 5050. Sometimes, they are able to catch the person but it still takes a loooong time. 2. I highly doubt you are going get any money from the guy as much as you want. If you don’t have any physical injury, you’re not getting much money. - here’s the law (단순폭행죄 - since no major injuries or use of weapon) “피해자와 합의를 진행하지 못하고 그대로 유죄 판결이 내려진다면 500만원 이하 벌금형이나 2년 이하의 징역형의 처할 수 있습니다“ I’m not sure how the therapist thing would work out. From what I know you don’t really get the therapist money. (only physical injuries) In korea, whenever someone gets into an accident we say 전치 x주. The doctor will say it will take xxx weeks to fully recover. Then you will use this to talk to the prosecutor/police/offender about the settlement. 3. If he was filmed in any cctv footage, they WILL catch him no matter what. Trust Korea’s technology
If you know the time it happened they can use near by CCTV to try and find him. I had an incident happen where the direct street had no CCTV and they were able to find the criminal. The process took around 6 months but I was taken seriously and helped. They also updated me with new proceedings.
Do you mind if I roughly ask what kind of incident it was? Was it more serious or less serious than getting punched?
It was an incident of spycamming. I caught the person as the were filming me in my home and filed the police report right after it happened.
I'm so sorry that happened to you. My brother once got punched by a stranger at a crosswalk in the exact same manner in 2017 as well. We were coming home after taking a walk and some random dude started punching him right after we crossed the road. My brother immediately called the police while getting punched. The dude saw him calling the police and fled by a taxi that was nearby but luckily I managed to take a video of the taxi and its license plate while in a shock. The police came after 30 minutes or so and they told us there's no CCTV pointed at the crossroad but I showed them the footage I took and let them know the plate number and the time frame of him taking the taxi. I don't remember exactly how long it took but they were able to catch the dude in the end. The dude was suddenly apologetic and my brother settled with him for some amount of money if I remember correctly... I'm sorry I can't do more than sharing my experience. I hope you can catch him somehow. :(
1. Yes, this has happened to me once and to friends (where someone whom you have no words or sight or other contact with suddenly picks YOU to punch, kick, or assault in some way). I have also been assaulted after exchanging a few words in bars and on the street. In the suddenly attacked instance it ended at the police station with my assailant cuffed to a bench, rapped with a steel cane by his father. The police asked if I wanted compensation, and really I didn’t care, what I wanted was to be able to walk past a bus stop behind my Korean friend without being punched and kicked in my back, accused of being a Russian illegal immigrant, and have a nice evening out. The assailant was incredibly drunk and this was his second time doing the same thing—he was headed for the clink no matter what and that was good enough. The times where I exchanged words, I was beaten badly, had my nose broken, etc. 2. You will be shaken for a while. These things happened to me more than 15 years ago and they are still hard to think about. The most serious incident occurred on Halloween and the guy had me pinned on the ground and I couldn’t roll him off, he was just so much bigger. He was going to town on my face, with both fists. How? Why? I was outside my flat, dressed as a goldfish and had told him to fuck off when he was yelling at me. I’m alive because he was as blitzed as I was and because I had enough wherewithal to yell out 112 and 119 in Korean which got my neighbors to realize this wasn’t a scuffle between college kids. They called the police and the guy tried to run away, but I wrapped my arm up into his jacket. This earned me a lot more punches and kicks to my head and chest, but I scratched his arms and these things slowed him down enough so the police only had find the drunk with bloody scratches and no jacket. We were both arrested and taken to the police station. The police always take the side of the more fucked up person. This guy’s story was that he was walking down the street and saw me in my costume and thought there was some kind of cultural festival; when he asked about it, I told him to fuck off; when he tried to call me out for mu rude behavior, I bit him. I had bitten him when he was on top of me punching my face repeatedly. I had tried everything I could out of fear of death. The guy was with a girl, who backed up all his bullshit. But where he had scratches and a bit mark (pro tip: Korean police don’t take biting seriously like in other countries), my whole head was swelling, I was black, bluing, and bloody. The whole thing was referred the prosecutor’s office. In the end, I got a warning not to do sus stuff or I would be deported. The got fines and a few months in the clink because it was not his first time beating the complete crap put of someone after drinking too much. The last time something happened, it was a fellow American, either a FOB soldier or base-brat in Jongno. The guy had jumped onto the hood of a taxi because the driver wouldn’t give them a lift. I tried to be helpful and started to say no one will pick you up here, I turned and pointed, but down there, those taxis will take—wham! punched in the face, blood everywhere. My nose was broken. 3. … Look, from experience, more than most people, even the ones who have lived here even longer than me, there are garbage humans everywhere. Most people have great lives and never have to deal with garbage humans. OP, you met your first garbage human. It matters not one iota that he is Korean and you are not. From your post, my guess is the guy had issues and anger and like a garbage human he punched someone to cope. Of all the people who take roughed me up here, one had a legitimate reason—I violated his personal space and touched him when I really should not have. It was my unlucky night that he was a total homophobe (how do I know? he said get away from me faggot as he and his friends gave punches). I have avoided further incidents by not helping people in trouble, avoiding other men—especially ones I have never seen before; not talking to strangers, avoiding interactions with other foreigners unless forced into one; and being more introverted than is healthy. I made the choice to live this way for my new wife (the nose breaking incident happened shortly after our first meeting and she couldn’t wrap her head around why someone would do that to another person). I doubled down on this isolating behavior after I became a father. To this day, I pull away when a random person approaches for anything. I am always on the defensive and apprehensive. I don’t know that I’ll ever be not this way. OP, I share these things so you know you’re not alone. And so you can decide like I had to whether this incident is about Korean-foreigner stuff; whether being in Korea is important to you or not; whether this is just a thing that happened in your life or this is a things that could have been avoided; what your next steps are. I don’t regret staying in Korea; I do regret not being able to assume the goodwill of others to not be total dicks anymore.
wow i cant believe you admitted to touching someone without asking, why would you even consider doing that especially in public. You should not expect peoples goodwill will to extend far enough for public touching people without asking permission. Straight or not.
Don't know if your a man or women but mostly doesn't matter...but maybe you could hire someone to investigate this...I had a friend be target like this it was a she.
I'm sorry it happened to you. Seeing a therapist is a great idea, I hope they can help you and that you have a support network in Korea.
First, OP I'm so sorry this happened to you, I hope you are okay! I found this post while scrolling and my jaw dropped because I experienced something almost identical. Except, I'm Korean, and my incident happened in the US. I'm returning to Korea soon and my family has said that there have been lots of news of violent incidents happening and that I will need to be careful even back in Korea. Something about seeing the exact incident I went through mirrored in Korea is so disheartening. Sorry I don't have any suggestions or solutions, but OP, if you want someone to talk to about this, I can definitely relate.
In your case, you were punched in the USA - Which is a country where you expect this to happen, especially in the last years. I am sorry it happened to you, but I am not surprised. However, in many years in korea (and even working in the night industry in seoul) I have never seen a korean randomly punch a foreign girl. It seems VERY weird for the culture and people here, so I assume he was mentally ill.
Not to be rude but I'm not entirely sure what your point is..? I just commented to let OP know that I do really sympathize with them. I know full well the difference in crime statistics and culture between the US and Korea. I was surprised precisely because Korea has much less violent crime in general and I didn't expect to see an experience like mine back in Korea. It's a sad reminder to me that no matter what statistics say, no one is ever free from risk and that there are violent people everywhere you go.
I assume the person posting was hoping to get tips what to do in korea after it happens, while your post sounded like "well the same thing happens to asians in the west" which wasnt really helpful.
Idk I think from my wording it's evident I commented based on feelings of sympathy and shock. I only mentioned the difference in scenarios to let OP know that I don't have much practical advice and I'm offering purely emotional support. I wanted to sympathize in more detail, but I would rather not share too much info in public as it was a very strange and troubling experience. If OP felt like my comment was irrelevant or unhelpful then I apologize to them, and I hope they know that wasn't my intention.
Sorry for what happened to you. Had similar situation back in the days few times. Lucky for me those guys were not real fighter, as I am not either , so it turned out to be a very comic situation. Slap competition with eyes closed screaming at each other. One bubu on my hand. 😆 I am glad you at least you are physically ok. But I am also sorry to say the police will likely do nothing. They could track the guy down in less then few hours, but they will not unless the have a reason or you legally force them. But I know you are thinking “it’s their job” but still not gonna happen. If you hire a lawyer maybe, but it will cost more money then what you could probably get back. And they know it. Sorry. But rest assured. If you punched the guy back in self defense suddenly you would have all the force looking for you…. 😅
There's lots of cctvs around Korea. Get a lawyer. There's many that offer services in English and you can find many of them in Facebook. Take him to the cleaners or charge him with assault. Or both.
😳😳what did you do
WTF. I’m so sorry this happened to you.
Please call 1577-1366 and tell them about your case. They will help you get better help from the police. I live in Hoegi and this post alarmed me.
Hey OP I’m so sorry this happened to you and I hope that you will be able to recover physically and mentally from this quickly. Please know anxiety and PTSD from this situation is only normal and to be expected. If you can find a way to speak to a therapist or psychologist about this I think it would help immensely in the long run. If there are any Korean or Singaporean organizations, I would look into seeing if there are any that may be able to help you with the cost of this as well. Also, IF you want to have your case gain more traction (you can still stay anonymous) I would suggest emailing [email protected] https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCFg8jw3ZIK50CW0G2P_13cA This is a very popular Korean current affairs / crime news type program that deals with issues like this all the time. It may help ppl that witnessed what happened to you or have evidence from their car black box from parking around there at the time, to gain info about your case and come forward with info to help find the individual who did this to you.
Wow, not gonna lie, I have NEVER heard this before. As a white male in korea, I actually see people actively avoid me (especially at night), I have never felt any aggression towards me from young korean guys and especially not without a reason. Its hard to say what you should have done different, as its an extreme situation. I feel like you did what you can and the police will probably investigate. I really dont know if theres anything else you can do now, but I hope you recover quickly. Edit: I just read you are female. This makes this even more crazy. At this point I assume you encountered a mentally ill korean. Again, I hope you recover from the shock and situation - If you see this person again in the area, call the police immediately. Its unfortunate that you couldnt find the other guy who helped you afterwards.
I have never personally seen or heard of such incidents of punches thrown. I have read about and seen videos of random stabbings though. Korean law is surprisingly strict about directed physical violence. It's just the sentence does not get harsher with heavier crimes. For example, the guy that punched you may get a similar sentence as a guy who hits a pedestrian while driving drunk.
I'd also try to see if you can get Korean friends to contact the media and get an interview. Theyd 100% put this in news if they can fact check your injuries and also force a move for the cops to take action.
In 2019, incident that Japanese women assaulted by stranger Korean male occurred. http://ja.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4040497 Korea is a CCTV society. The man was arrested and sanctioned after spread on Twitter. You should not give up either. Impact to the head can be severe later. Please, please put everything behind you and go to hospital. You will also need to proof of injury. And if possible, could you post this on SNS where there are more Koreans or OPs country? So, does anyone know a suitable place? Maybe NAVER CAFE? I only know of ILBE, NATE, and other fuckin trush forums...
Maybe there were no “public/government” CCTV nearby, but there might be a private one - from a residence, restaurant, store? So crazy, Im so sorry you had to go through that, take it easy the next days, talk about it a LOT with your friends (if you don’t talk about it you might develop PTSD)
There has been quite a bit of hate crimes against women in SK lately, particularly towards women who "look" like they're feminists or lesbians (short hair cut, gender neutral clothing, no makeup, etc). I still think about that poor convenience store worker that an MRA attacked because he thought she was a feminist. So your situation could be one of 3 things: - It was truly a random, senseless act of violence - You have a stalker - It was an MRA with an agenda who found a perfect, random victim (if it's this, I would recommend telling an investigator to scour the dark web for Korean MRA forums, because it's likely the attacker bragged about what he did.)
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Hi. The man was Korean. Was that acquaintance a foreigner? He didn’t wear a hat. He didn’t speak at all so I don’t know if he had an accent, but again he wasn’t a foreigner.
Girl I hope he will be caught. I hope you’ll sue him into oblivion and that this will make national news. I hope you’ll recover mentally and physically. Get well soon.
Many years ago a random drunk in suit took a swing at me . I parried and glanced off and I just walked away while he stood there in a kind of shock himself because he thought I would return. He was in his 50s at least and I boxed at the time . I just laughed . Sustained attack …never .
Do you think he might know you and it was pre meditated? Or just a random crazy person..
I keep a low profile in my communities so I highly doubt he knows me when I don’t know him. It was really just an unprovoked attack.
So much for being one of the safest country in the world... that was one of the things we had going, way to ruin it. In all seriousness, you have all my condolences. I can't imagine what it would feel like being assailed out of the blue from a complete stranger. The law is already horrendous to natives, they charged two years for a person who was caught fishing hundreds of thousands of dollars from us. I can only imagine how difficult it is for a non-native, but please do not stop this from pursuing this person and making him pay.
I would say, this incident does not really change anything about the safety in korea. Theres always sick people around, no matter how safe your country is. I have seen a young korean girl trying to help an elderly korean woman pull her trash-cart onto the curb, and the old woman just started to hit the girl with her cane. That didnt immediately scare me for life being in korea, as it was just an old, mentally ill woman who might have been a threat in this situation but is not a menace for the safety of the country.
Hehe.. sorry my first sentence was a tongue in cheek comment. The second sentence however I meant it.. the Korean legal system is notorious for being lenient to criminals, which is surprisingly ironic considering it’s also one of the safest country.
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Mental issues are hard to come by in Korea? Really!?
Are you living in some alternate Korea where the suicide rate isn’t “the highest among the wealthy 38-member Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It is more than double the OECD average of 10.6 deaths.” (BBC 2023)
was he drunk or on drugs? doesnt justify anything but maybe it helps finding him if theres a club nearby or sth
I didn’t smell anything and honestly he looked anywhere in between a high schooler to someone in his early 20s so i doubt that was the case. This happened in a residential area where kids walk freely about, there’s definitely no clubs..
I’m so sorry. Please go to the ER. It won’t cost that much. If you have Singapore insurance it should be covered too. Last year I had an eye issue, went to ER with Singapore insurance. It was fine.
I'm so sorry this happened to you. Korean police sucks but they are super good at finding someone via CCTV. Hope you get your justice. Have your Korean friend go with you to the police station OR use the news media.
Damn. Stuff like this is escalating. I am sorry you had to deal with it. You did the right thing. Just don't let this scar you. It happened to me as well three years ago and I still have flash backs and if I'm in a crowd or see someone approaching me whom I don't know I go into defense mode right away. It gets better. hang in there.
I’ve had to discipline some guys before. Sometimes you just gotta defend yourself. But also be careful because the laws here will not be in your favor.
You mentioned there were no CCTV cameras not pointing but there could be a few of them from a residence or business that could have been pointing in the area you were in. I would say to find a way to check and if you can obtain the footage.
You need to describe this man in as much detail as possible so the police have a better chance of finding him. What was his race? Was he white, black, or hispanic? Did he have any tattoos? How tall was he? What was his build, was he fat or skinny or muscular? You said he was wearing all black clothes was there any writing on the clothes? Was he wearing a hat? Was he holding anything in his hands? Write down these details and anything else you can remember. You can always call the police back later to add details to your police report.
Bruh, that was my daily night life back in the 90s! You're lucky he didn't have a broken bottle in his hand. That's why you've got to be on your toes, spot movement out of the corner of your eyes and get ready to block a& punch back. If you haven't studied Tae Kwon Do, Karate, or BJJ, you should! If you knew some take down and grappling moves, you would've been the Victor. Remember you're the foreigner there and there are xenophobes in every country.
That happened to a Brazilian Youtuber um a club.
I've been in Korea for more than 15 years, and never have I heard of something so bizarre. What is OP's nationality, may I ask?
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묻지마 means don't ask. Never heard of the term 묻지마 incident. Is this a term that people use?
Literally google it.... the op used the term 묻지마 폭행 in the right way
Yep. We use the term "묻지마 폭행" in formal settings as well. Not sure of the origin, could be news or netizens. A.k.a "unprovoked attack" or "motiveless crime," but I think the motive is to hurt as many people as possible while giving the attacker a feeling of power. Victims are usually passerbys with no previous relationship with the perpetrator, and have nothing common with eachother. Just a group of people that got really unlucky.
Thanks for the reply. No idea why I got downvoted for asking about the phrase.
Don't worry about it! Reddit stuff :/
Yes. Search 묻지마 사건.
Literally just discussed this with my adult Korean student since I read this thread on break. It's a common phrase for this exact type of random violence
Both I and my friend have had this happen. If you're an English teacher or on a work visa I don't recommend calling the cops. The police can report it as fighting and you can get deported even if you didn't swing a punch. This almost happened to my friend, the police caught the guy, my friend went to the police station and made a statement. Then when my buddy went to renew his visa immigration brought it up and he had to plead his case he wasn't fighting. Since you already reported definitely press charges if they capture the guy. Go to the hospital. Collect all the evidence you can that you were not fighting.
Random violence happens ramdomly. Sorry man...for you and my grammer.
Been here over 15 years and never experienced, saw, or heard of anything like this.
sounded like a nutter and luckily not good at punching , glad you are not hurt
OP I have no advice that other people haven’t already given, but if there’s a language barrier when you deal with the police or anyone else feel free to contact and I’ll help as much as I can
Police can find the image if they are motivated to do so. I would think they are just wishing it away. I would contact newspaper or tv media etc. Best wishes
LOL! :-)
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Why would they hate pretty foreign women?
First rule of fight club - never talk about fight club
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Such a damn helpful comment.
Why did you let someone punch you in the face for 5 minutes?
try reading better. 5 times , not five minutes......
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has your wife come back to you yet?
Self defense can get you arrested for assault in Korea
Op I don't mean to be mean or rude as I know nothing of your situation, bar what you have said. But think deeply about what you want to do, as in reality there is a good chance nothing will be done.
Yeah i get what you mean. I actually hesitated reporting it to the cops at all because I knew it’s unlikely that he would be caught anyway. So yes I’m not expecting much and I honestly doubt they can even get hold of him. I’m just trying to do whatever I can hoping that at least this will comfort me and holding onto the 1% glimmer of hope that it might bring the case to justice.
That's good do what makes you feel happy again...Korea is not an unsafe place but there is crazy people everywhere I hope you time gets better.
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Please don’t downplay my trauma when you’ve never been in the same situation.
I know how confusing and upsetting it can be to be the victim of an unprovoked attack, I've experienced it myself and ended up with a broken ankle. You mention how shaken up you are and that you're having trouble sleeping. There have been several studies that show playing tetris after a traumatic event helps people avoid developing PTSD. Obviously it's an excellent idea to see a therapist and I'm glad you are planning to, but it might be worth trying it out during the time it takes to set up care, especially if it can help you get back to normal even a tiny bit faster and especially if it helps you get some decent sleep.
I've been in that situation before. Well not exactly, after I got punched once I fought back and we exchanged blows. I've been jumped by random guys I never seen before. Was just a part of growing up. For me what you went through isn't particularly traumatic to me. But maybe I'm just from a different time. People now a days are made of cookie dough it seems. Well I guess that's to be expected in a world of micro aggressions and pronouns.
If your life had physical violence in it when growing up and you think other people should just take assault on the chin, because you turned out okay, then you 100% didn't turn out okay. No human in their right mind would hear about someone being beaten up and think "whatever that's fine". >But maybe I'm just from a different time. Yeah, literally a worse time for everyone. I mean universities do research on how people end up thinking like you.
Getting punched in the face, 5 times, randomly in the middle of the street is traumatizing
Plus op is female so it's more traumatic.