[Ulrich Kinbote]

Tonight, at a restaurant in Gwangju, Korea, I was given a fish cutlet that tasted like rancid bait. I am not a fussy eater. But this was bad. I went outside--pretending to answer my mobile--to spit my second mouthful into the gutter. I dry retched twice. Inside, I sat at the table for a long time trying to decide what to do because this is not my culture and I can't speak Korean very well. So I called a Korean friend. He said, "In Korea, you still have to pay." But even so, I couldn't bring myself to pay for two mouthfuls of a meal that had made me sick. In the end I told the waitress (in my halting Korean) that the cutlets were inedible, probably rotten, and I didn't want to pay the full price.

Big mistake.

Everyone in the tiny restaurant overheard; including the fat sheman cook who comes charging out of the kitchen in a filthy apron, brandishing a metal coriander; she screams at me in Korean: "Fussy eater! Where are you from? Eh? ****ing foreigner! Pay the full price!"

I grab my bag and cut and don't look back.

Now I'm home I feel sick, and guilty. I'm just wondering what other's would've done in the same situation.

[turtle777]

You've done the right thing.

If it was rotten, you shouldn't pay for it. Heck, you should call the health department on them.

-t

[Ulrich Kinbote]

Originally Posted by what_the_heck

You've done the right thing.

If it was rotten, you shouldn't pay for it. Heck, you should call the health department on them.

-t

That's what I think. But what about the "when in Rome" proverb? Should you travel with your social and cultural customs, or surrender them at the arrivals gate?

[Wiskedjak]

Originally Posted by Ulrich Kinbote

That's what I think. But what about the "when in Rome" proverb? Should you travel with your social and cultural customs, or surrender them at the arrivals gate?

I'm all for checking your social and cultural customs at the door when travelling, but one shouldn't be required to pay for a defective product, anywhere in the world.

[Mastrap]

Unless this was a specialty dish that just wasn't to your taste you've done the right thing.

I had a sensationally bad curry a couple of years ago, here in Toronto. I called the waiter over and sent it back to the kitchen, refused an offer for something else from the menu and went next door for lunch instead.

If something is inedible, don't pay for it. It rewards laziness.

[Ganesha]

Depends if the owner or it state you are in, has the right to kill/excute you for this.

[Ulrich Kinbote]

Originally Posted by Mastrap

Unless this was a specialty dish that just wasn't to your taste you've done the right thing. .

No. It was a cheap restaurant and a cheap, outa-the-freezer fish cutlet like you'd buy at the supermarket.

I suddenly don't care about the moral question cos' I'm getting sick. Fever, stomach pains, aches...

[11011001]

You should probably go to a doctor!

Even in Korean culture you had the right to leave, or they should have given you another meal. Either way, it's their fault.. don't feel bad.

If it was me, I would have paid just to spite them.

This brings me to a little rant. There are many (though not everyone) Koreans who don't respect foreigners. This is with good reason (Korean war, American foreign policy, the American military bases in Korea, the bad behavior of the soldiers there, etc), but it doesn't bode well for visitors from any western country. I've gotten it a lot, and its the only thing I hate about Korea. It's rare though. Koreans are some of the most friendly, most hospitable people I have ever met.

[Ulrich Kinbote]

Originally Posted by 11011001

You should probably go to a doctor!

Even in Korean culture you had the right to leave, or they should have given you another meal. Either way, it's their fault.. don't feel bad.

If it was me, I would have paid just to spite them.

This brings me to a little rant. There are many (though not everyone) Koreans who don't respect foreigners. This is with good reason (Korean war, American foreign policy, the American military bases in Korea, the bad behavior of the soldiers there, etc), but it doesn't bode well for visitors from any western country. I've gotten it a lot, and its the only thing I hate about Korea. It's rare though. Koreans are some of the most friendly, most hospitable people I have ever met.

It is not just because of a negative perception of foreigners. It also has to do with a myth of racial superiority. This myth was developed and promulgated during the Japanese occupation of Korea. The Japanese attempted something close to cultural erasure (banning the language, cultural traditions, and so on) and tried to subsume Korea into Japan and make Koreans Japanese. The myth of Korean racial purity and superiority was developed by Korean scholars(supporting their arguments with a lot of eugenic quackery about pure bloodlines) to protect Koreans from this erasure and preserve their feeling of being different and special. It still exists today, as a hangover from that period of Korean history. It accounts for a lot of racist behaviour from Koreans.

[mitchell_pgh]

Regardless of where you are, you don't pay for bad food at a restaurant. It's one thing if you didn't care for it (tried something new and didn't like it) and totally another if it's uneatable.

That's why you pay at the end of the meal.

[moonmonkey]

Pay for it and don't go again.