a lot has been happening recently. Korea's an interesting place, and only now do I realize that there's so much to be learned. the proper adage for the events that transgressed within the last two hours: never trust a stranger (especially abroad). 

it's been a while since I last wrote an entry, but today's events must be recorded in some form. I made my way to 은행동 by taking the train to 중앙로, as always. ate 떡볶이 at a street stand, treated myself to affogato-flavored 빙수, and bought some skincare products from Nature Republic.

just as I'm about to cross the street and enter the subway station to head home, this woman ahead of me turns around and stares intently into my eyes. it was creepy as hell (she was very pretty, though... hahaha).

"저, 혹시 지금 시간이 있으세요?"

"네... 근데 제가 한국 사람이 아닌데요."

"아, 한국말 잘해요. 저는 'study people' 사람이에요. 20분만은 필요해요."

she was accompanied by this man who just conveniently had a translation app on hand. looking back, I believe they were definitely prepared well ahead of time. I was just another "easy, naive-looking target". I figured: okay, 20 minutes for a study about cultural experiences isn't bad at all. broaden your worldviews, yeah?

little did I know.

they wanted me to buy them both coffee... it was expensive, too. I had the wits to buy only one, but I should've gotten nothing at all—if you want to interview me, why don't you buy the coffee? it was fishy from the start.

apparently, the woman's a kindergarten teacher who's 26 years old. her name is 황성진. the other guy? well, he never mentioned a single thing about himself, and when I asked him about his occupation, he said it had something to do with "the holy order". w h a t ?

she started off with this philosophical discussion about Korean culture and the necessity for filial loyalty, or 효도, as they translated for me. it's some ancient Korean doctrine that has its roots in Confucianism. she drew a tree, labeling the roots as "ancestors", the body as "family", and the head as "you" (or "me", whatever the point of view is), subsequently asking me which was most important to me. response:

"저한테 가적은 제일 중요해요. 제 부모님은 저를 많이 사랑해서 복 많이 받은 사람이에요."

I respected everything she had to say, and was pretty hyped about how the rest of this "study"/interview would go.

then they started getting weird.

they kept spewing this nonsense about my needing to go perform filial rites at some temple alone with them. something felt really, really off. by that time, about maybe 35 minutes had passed. huh, interesting. 

naturally, I told them no matter how much they tried to convince me, there was no way that I'd follow some strangers I'd only just met somewhere. what's even more funny is that they tried to dismiss my ardent Catholicism. his translation app (which wasn't Google's) had this message (verbatim 90%, give or take a few): "You won't success for you or ancestors if you pray." like what? I respect Confucianism and all, but goodness, let me breathe with my own faith. I asked them why they were trying so hard to convince me even after 40-50 minutes had passed, and all he had to say was: it's fate, or we have a connection with you. I was about ready to burst with tears at that point. who's naive enough to fall for that? this is your only chance to honor your relatives. it's your only, only chance. I thus called a friend from Seoul, and he promptly told me never to trust those kinds of people. I knew something felt off. I left right away, but in the rare possibility that they might just be some zealous, religious people (highly unlikely...), I apologized for wasting their time, if I did at all. I didn't apologize for saying the Korean equivalent of "bullshit" in response to their claiming that our meeting was fate.

so, some reflections: they were either traffickers or scammers targeting naive-looking people. I'm definitely not a fool, so it's clear their scheme didn't work on me.

regarding the philosophical side of things: whether or not their scheme was grounded in Confucianism and Korean culture, I learned a lot—I don't necessarily agree with all of it. who says there's only one chance in your life to pay respects to your elders? hell, I pray to God every Sunday for my wellbeing, that of my family, that of my friends, that of the world. and this thing about fate? sorry, but I make my own decisions, and if you think that we have some kind of special connection, hate to break it to ya, but life ain't a Korean drama.

I did give her a prank call back on Kakaotalk once I returned home, offering to sing for her. what a day.

you learn new things all the time.

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