Like this morning. Sue told us this story about a woman who was worried that her son never married. One day, she found out he was gay. Apparently, his boss had “forced” him to become gay.
This story came up after Stella showed up with a baseball cap on (meaning “bad hair day”), telling us that she HAD TO drink last night. She’s a freelance translator for LG and the Chinese clients she’ll be translating for this Friday invited her out for dinner.
In Korea, you can’t say no to that. You can’t refuse a work-related invitation; otherwise it’s seen as rude and could be really bad for business.
But not only do you HAVE TO show up for dinner. You CANNOT refuse a drink. And God knows how wasted those businessmen can get. So you basically drink the whole night long and end up being totally drunk.
Some people have this trick where they hide a bucket under the table and empty their glass when no one’s looking. Stella couldn’t find one I guess…
So anyway, they told me how Korean bosses basically own you and you pretty much have to do whatever they ask you to do. Thus Sue’s story about the gay dude.
I thought it was quite funny because where I come from, you’re born gay; you don’t “become” gay. Maybe in some developing countries people are forced to have sex with people from the same sex for money. But that’s not being gay; it’s sexual slavery!
I found out that Korean mentality towards homosexuality is very conservative. The housewives insisted that public opinion has improved a lot on the matter, but it still seems to be a hell of a ride to be gay in Korea.
Ironically, it’s a very touchy-feely society. Girls hold hands, touch each other and so do boys, who would especially look gay in a foreign country when they’re drunk and hug each other.
Moreover, people see naked bodies every time they go to the sauna. Back home, nakedness is a very private thing… except for nudists and strippers!
