TBT: My First Encounter With A Racist Korean

It's the 16th of April, nth day since the lockdown. I could not think of anything to blog besides ranting about how unfair my employer has been. I have already sent all my ugly feelings toward my employer into the void so I think I am done with that.

Earlier while doing some chores while thinking about what movies to binge watch next, I suddenly remember that painful incident in early 2000 in this Korean company that I worked. Let us hide this company in the name of LG Collins. I was thinking about not watching another Korean drama and lo and behold this was what crossed my thoughts. I have a weird RAM sometimes.

So this was the story. Back in early 2000, me fresh out of college would take any job any company would offer the naive, shy and so ignorant me. I applied for an entry-level position in this Korean company in Pasig that distributed electronic appliances in the Philippines. The kind human resource lady told me that this position was for a reliever to a staff going on a maternity leave, but I could apply for a permanent position when there's an opening. I took the offer because I could use some experience from that reputable company. And Pasig was just one ride away, location very accessible and those times heavy traffic was rare in the area.

So I started right away, introduced to the department after the usual HR blah blah blah then I sat with the staff who started to train me through her huge belly and shiny face ( and hair). It was an all-female department, managed by an unmarried woman in her forties, I think the youngest was I thought to be around my age. There were two student trainees too. Only two were nice to me, three monsters and the rest did not care about my existence. Except for the two trainees who were extra nicer to me.

Their office was a huge open space with cubicles with division as high just above my waist. So if you stand up from your cubicle you would see everyone in the entire floor. They had this sophisticated computerized system that made them an almost paperless transactions. Only the Executives, which were from South Korea, that changed every five years, who have their own offices and bathroom. Their restrooms are labeled "For Executives Only". I was told that their new executive just arrived a few months back and was kind of strict.

Anyway to begin with my horrible experiences I would start with what that pregnant bitch with oily hair did to me. In the first week she trained me and things went fine. In the beginning of the second week, I left my notes at home because I changed bag and left my notes unintentionally. When I could not remember the steps (computer system) to click next, she got furious and never talked to me the whole day. Her hormones, I had to understand.

The following day, I printed a document in the common printer. There was one printer shared by all the staff and it jammed. I pressed the on off button and when nothing happened I returned to my table and asked someone who do I ask for help with that damn printer then this not so prety lady yelled "WHO TURNED THIS PRINTER OFF there were important blah blah blah!" and her mouth was foaming acid. I told her it was me and I apologized and she ignored me.

In the same week, or so before it, I thought, I brought my own lunch and ate with the trainees on a spare table near the manager's table. The following days, I was told that we were not allowed to eat there anymore. I was told that the manager saw me eating there alone since the trainees were not on schedule and the manager did not seem to like it. Like what? The pregnant bitch jokingly told me, napag iinitan ka lang ni maam kasi bago ka.

But above all this, this was the worst that made me not go back in that company the following day, my first encounter with a Korean. It was early in the morning, the assistant manager, Susan, the kindest of them all was eating breakfast at her table ( this was allowed) so I made a little chat with her while she finished. I told her that though she ate a lot it did not look on her. It was the truth. She ate a lot of rice for breakfast. It was a nice atmosphere when all of a sudden the male Korean executive was approaching her direction. I stood up from the chair I was sitting, it was just in front of her table and sat to the nearest one hastily. The ugly Korean asshole a step away from Susan, in his Hitler tone of voice "Susan lets talk!" And then he pulled the chair, that chair where I sat, dragged and thrown it somewhere within the strenght of his pale thin arms, then pulled another chair out of nowhere and sat there like he was an angry bull then talked to Susan like it was nothing. Let me put this in Tagalog: hinila nya ng padabog yung silya na inupuan ko, hinagis nya sa isang tabi at humila ng isa pang silya at dun sya naupo.

Nobody explained to me why it happened. Everyone went on their work like normal, and I, wished that the ground would just swallow me alive.

And that day, it was a lesson learned, first hand experience that Koreans are rude and have no respect for Filipinos. That they looked down on us like slaves.

Five o clock came, I was so quiet while gathering my things, holding back tears, decided not to show up the next day and did not tell anyone good bye. It was one of the worst two weeks of my life at LG Electronics, a Korean company based in the Pasig City Philippines. That night, I cried like I had stage four cancer.