Stay Away From This Scam in Korea | My First Ever Bad Experience
I never thought that a day will come when I’ll be writing a post about “Scam in Korea”. I came to Korea in 2015 and in these 2 and half years I have never ever had any bad experience. Since moving here, I consider Korea my second homeland and there are lots of reasons behind it. First, I love its people, very kind, honest, helpful and sweet. I love its Food – Jjimdalk, Dalkalbi, Bibimbab, and others. But above all, I love Korea because it is one of the safest countries on earth. I have traveled all over the globe and from all the countries I have visited, Korea is the second safest country. Singapore being the safest on my list. I know no society is perfect but at least I never had a bad experience in Korea, until 3 months ago.
Scam in Korea! The Day It Happened – 3 Months Ago
I was in Myeongdong, one of the famous tourist spots in Seoul, looking to buy a jacket. Suddenly I saw that an Ajumma (old lady) approached me with her daughter. Her daughter started speaking to me in English. She starting asking me where am I from, what do I do and where do I live. Although it was strange for me since Koreans, USUALLY, don’t approach foreigners like this on street. At that time, I thought maybe she is very friendly, so I just kept on introducing myself. After talking about 5 minutes, she asked me if I have any relative who died few years ago. That was a weird question to me. But, yeah I told her that my grandparents are no more with me. The moment she listened to it, she said do you know their soul is in pain 🙁 And I was like WTF! How do you know about their souls? Anyways…. She said, you must come to us, we do some traditional Korean ceremony. Once you give offerings, your grandparents’ souls will rest in peace. I knew this was total crap so I just kept on saying that sorry, I don’t believe in this crap.
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When she found out she can’t trick me, she started showing me pictures of old people and she started saying that she runs an old-age home and “Please give some donations to help these old poor people”. I was like, oh no! Since I just wanted to get rid of her so I just gave her 10,000 Won ( $10USD). That time, I was so pissed off that how come someone try to cheat or scam foreigners by emotionally blackmailing them.
Scam in Korea! It happened again – 2 Weeks Ago
To be honest, I forgot all this thing but 2 weeks ago, I went to Myeongdong and guess what I saw that girl again but this time with a young man. She approached me asking the same things… Where am I from? What I do?……. I came to know that she totally forgot about me 😀 At first I pretend that I also don’t know her. But when she asked about my relatives who’ve died before, I told her, “Hey! We have met before at same place around 3 months ago” 😀 And she was shocked. I told her that don’t try to trick me again with your scam. She did feel shame but then she started asking me to buy her some coffee from 7-Eleven! I was really pissed off again and just left her.
If you are curious how I ended up coming to Korea, read this story: How Korea Diaries Started
And the Scam Story continues – 1 Week Ago
The story doesn’t end here. Last week I was in Hongdae – again a popular touristic and cultural hub in Seoul. I saw a Korean girl and a foreigner girl approaching me. They stopped me and started asking for some address. She was even speaking Korean. My 6th sense started buzzing. Something is fishy here. Instead of giving her directions, I asked her why she didn’t use Naver. Well, she gave me a smile saying that she is too lazy using the internet. But you know what,………. Both of them started getting frank to me… asking me where am I from, what I do… 😀 And I was like Oh wait………… someone has also asked me these kinds of questions before…. And soon they asked me if I have any relative who has died before……. 😀 I said YES (just to see what they say) and then they went like… Please come with us to this Korean Traditional Ceremony… You should give offerings to the dead souls so that they can rest in peace. I was really shocked that there are other Koreans also doing that scam :O
Well, I told them with an angry face, that don’t you dare ask me abt this ceremony thing again. I was so angry that I didn’t enjoy my evening there in Hongdae. But guess what, in the evening I happened to meet another Korean girl in Hongdae area who came to me asking some directions and ended up asking me to go to the ceremony. What a crap!
Watch this video of my experience!
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKTOZ8Q5AhQ[/embedyt]
Anyways, I am not sure how many of you have had this experience before. Let me know in the comment section if you also had such experience. And let’s raise our voice against these scammers…
This is the religious cult Daesun Jinrihoe. You can find out more by visiting my friend’s website JMSCult.com, linked in my comment.
The website itself looks weird… although I am sure its not the same thing which I am talking about.
hahahahaha. Your day was ruined but this post made my day. Very funny indeed.
Lol.. no doubt scammers are everywhere but still in Korea its all related to either religious stuff or these kinds of korean ceremonies… No one attacks you or steals money from you. thats the cool part!
I’ve lived here over 15 years, and I haven’t heard of this scam (though it does seem more like a cult to me– esp if it’s the same girl with a different partner, and given the number of strange cults here– not that cults and scams are mutually exclusive). That said, maybe you fit a profile that they are told to “target” (you do seem *nice*). I haven’t lived in Seoul since 2001! but I go there sometimes. Even in the provinces, though, I meet a lot of religious zealots– many aggressive, but most just annoying. Usually they are some protestant christian group . . . a lot of jehovah’s witnesses. I do not engage them. Of course, why would a Korean ask a foreigner for directs in Seoul? That’s insane! and it’s not as if Never is so difficult to use.
Oh thanks Sonia for a detailed comment. Well here is what I’d say about preachings vs scam..
i) There are ofcourse lots of Koreans who preach about a new religion, some talk abt God mother, some are related to JW . org something…… But they won’t ask you for money.. this scam is tricking people to attend a korean ceremony by emotionally blackmailing them and later on charging them a lot……. I read few comments where they charge around 200,000 won from a foreigner…. that’s insane.
ii) About me being nice 😀 Lol yeah I met these people 2 times a day.. actually 2 times in 2 hours 😀 May be there are hiring more and more scammers 😀 Or may be that was just my bad day.. I really hope some one should catch them and this is stopped…. Now I even see some foreigners with koreans also playing these tricks.. Gosh..
If you joined the God the Mother people they would extract money out of you for their god, Jang Gil-ja.
I reported to the Korean police about my encounter with the same cult as well. They called themselves Buddhists who wiped moss rocks. Besides the point, at Guro Digital Complex, I was told to give the amount of years I lived times ten. I think that’s where the 200,000 won came from when you read that other blog. The police filed my report as inconclusive due to lack of evidence. It was quite strange, at the time too, the police department said they had bigger fish to fry. I said, I can take you to their ritual site where you bow and “pray” to the ancestors who’ve passed away. It’s unfortunate, but, as another commenter who’s lived in Korea for over 15 years said, just say no and avoid them. At Guro Digital, I’ve seen so many *nice* (usually younger) Korean females finding it so hard to say no; so uncomfortable, I’ve seen a couple of girls run away from these persistent beggars, and one even cried once reaching the stop light and alone. I was heartbroken to watch all that go down. I, too, encountered many of them at Guro Digital Complex (line 2). Always a different older female with a younger, different female. (Then, once inside Jamil station, a man and a women. Both mid-thirties.) Yet, when I encountered a stern cult lady who was in 50’s, she became so upset I said I wanted to leave. She pushed me to the ground, multiple times, telling me to pay. A male, security guard even felt uncomfortable and stepped out the building multiple times as I was being held against my will at the three KEB ATMs. The younger girl who was in her twenties watched in awe. I don’t blame her. She was there to learn, in my opinion. Also, this 20-year old confessed to me she couldn’t afford a college education, I felt pity for these folks. The uncalled for bullying that the older Korean lady did was not cool, but her argument was I wasted her time talking to her. She was the one I reported to the police the following morning. Yet, another time, a lady who looked like a hair stylist overheard the conversation a different cult lady and I were having as she was walking and the hairstylist actually yelled at the cult lady who was telling me my ancestors were in pain! Then, the bold hairstylist held my wrist, as we were walking away from the cult on the street and towards Guro Digital Complex subway station. This definitely helped me avoid the cult lady. The cult lady who pushed me down to the floor several times, before all of that happened, I actually didn’t mind buying these poor folks Dunkin Donuts (also at Guro Digital Complex). I mean, it’s unfortunate, yes. Yet, who can tell them to stop? I’ve seen them around Sinchon since 2012. Always in shanty, unnamed buildings, all with the same images of a golden male statue and a white temple. It is what it is. I agree, more people need to shove them away, like gypsies. I just keep in mind they, too, have a right to live despite their nuance to steal or scam. Lol, I do hope future *kind looking* foreigners stop and think-twice. Simply say, “no,” and walk away. (I sure kept giving them the benefit of the doubt. *Don’t do that folks.)
All ao ehat he said are teue..they are buddist who always asked for dinations in any streets ebentualy they foun? out rhat people dont want to give them…they did it for a test to test someone…or perhaps a trick…
A similar thing happened to me in Hongdae. I was crossing the road when a man approached me asking for directions to a bookshop or something. I said I had no idea because I had just arrived, then he started questioning me about where I was going, did I have any plans, where was I from etc. In the middle of the road. Then the lights changed and we almost got run over. It was very weird. Anyway, we moved off the road and then he talked at me for about 10 minutes about his life and where he learnt English and his job (a “history” teacher). It was actually very tiring just listening to him talk and talk and talk. Then he asked me to come with him to his house where we would wear traditional dress and perform a ceremony so that I could learn about Korean culture. Which as a tourist sounds very interesting, but I can’t trust a random guy on the street. He was very nice and polite so I said no thanks and tried to walk away. He was very insistent and even said “no charge”. Yeah, sure. I just kept on saying no then he walked away. Then 5 minutes later a young woman approached me asking similar questions and I just said I was busy.
There’s absolutely no reason a local would approach a foreigner on the street unless they want something from you.
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I had a similar experience, 3 times in 2 days in Hongdae. Young woman with a friend the same age, asking for directions, then asking similar questions as the ones you mentioned. No dead relatives question though. Instead they just introduce themselves as university student who are member of a cultural organisation of some sort and offer to bring you to a meetup in their “studio”. I thought this was a genuine attempt to bond and show me their culture the first time and i felt bad for declining as i was too tired. The day after, the same girl, with another friend, in the same neighborhood, was coincidentaly on her way to that studio again (even though she said the day before she was only doing it that day and the day before – i.e. yesterday was the only day she was available to show me). Less than 5 minutes later, another girl with a friend approached me with the exact same speech, using the interest in Korean culture as bait. Same odd use of the word ” studio” which these people seem constantly on their way to…
Scam seems like a harsh word. They’re asking for money and providing prayers. If you believe that works is up to you, but it’s not like they’re faking accidents. If they’re creating a threatening environment at some point to coerce payment that wasn’t agreed upon, that’s different. It’s not clear from this story if that ends up being the case or not.
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