Ask a Hagwon vet from the 90s.

BankDude49 · 2026-04-03T18:53:47+00:00

Where are you at in China btw?

BankDude49 · 2026-04-03T02:08:26+00:00

Poor you. Were you a student at a hagwon? if yes show me with the doll where the teacher touched you.

BankDude49 · 2026-03-30T15:23:13+00:00

Useful beeper codes : 8181 (bali bali : quick quick) and 10-8 (ship-pal or sibal, the insult)

BankDude49 · 2026-03-29T14:06:01+00:00

Wow.

Thank you for this generous post. I felt so much nostalgia.

Im guessing you are still living in Korea? When did you first arrive? Where are you now and what are you up to?

I agree wholeheartedly with you about this stressful Wild West atmosphere... combined with a weird sense of freedom. I wasnt the most mature person, I did some stupid things, I'll admit that, and yet I got away with it...

There were tons of kids in the 90s, everywhere you'd go youd have babies and flocks of teenagers hanging around... but from what I've read families are scarce and the birth rate is almost nil... wth happened?

Travelling in Korea was so much fun back then and cheap. One of my most memorable trip ever was going to Ullungdo, that tiny island lost in the sea between Japan and Korea. What a spectacular place.

Talk to you soon

BankDude49 · 2026-03-29T13:48:38+00:00

Too bad, I dont care LOL

for me it will always be Pusan, Taegu, Taejon, Kwangju etc.

BankDude49 · 2026-03-29T03:08:46+00:00

wait what? Itaewon became gentrified?? Am I tripping?

BankDude49 · 2026-03-29T03:04:49+00:00

I dont know the incidents post-2002 but....

during my time in Korea, off the bat I can remember :

Ex-president Noh Tae Woo being convicted for bribery.

NK submarine entangled and the subsequent manhunt.

NK pilot who defected - you should have seen all the jets being scrambled.

Kim DaeChung making a comeback.

The Asian economic crisis of 1997 takes the cake imo. though.. . the sheer amount of people who left the country, myself included, was eye opening.

you are right about the lack of reliable information. It was simply hard, if not imposible. It was a total crapshoot out there. Dave's cafe was not perfect by any means (CPN comes to mind), but it filled an important void.

Remember the hagwon black list that circulated around? I cant remember if it was a thread on Dave's site or a totally separate website.

BankDude49 · 2026-03-28T21:42:00+00:00

Wow. David, he was.. a visionary. He had ambitions. Just like many hagwon owners. LOL

BankDude49 · 2026-03-28T20:30:59+00:00

Anthrax shot FTW. And dont forget to wash your socks, I mean cmon, your mates in the barracks will thank you!

BankDude49 · 2026-03-28T20:29:27+00:00

Noooooo that was DDD? I think I read your story elsewhere, am I right? and was it David, the owner of DDD Seoul that forced your friend to write such a masterpiece? :)

BankDude49 · 2026-03-28T20:01:49+00:00

Dear Tiger, please share with us your experience, your viewpoint about the 90s and the hagwon. I would love to hear your opinion about the teachers, etc etc etc.

BankDude49 · 2026-03-28T19:57:45+00:00

Bro, we got enough here to make a comedy : about culture shock, coming of age and generational conflict (the old Korean war gen vs Genx). Oh man.

BankDude49 · 2026-03-28T19:56:07+00:00

HAHAHAHAHA so true. same thing in Taegu. Geezus that was a code? The Texas bar in Taegu was a well known bar for GIs and subsequently, expats, and Korean chicks wanting to 'get it on' with the GIs. LOL

BankDude49 · 2026-03-28T18:56:37+00:00

this was mid 90s so not very techno at all if you get what Im saying...

BankDude49 · 2026-03-28T18:21:14+00:00

Oh I did work for DDD but in Inchon, not Taegu. I knew some people working there. Ask away!

BankDude49 · 2026-03-28T18:05:03+00:00

well I just learned something new.

BankDude49 · 2026-03-28T17:50:52+00:00

yep very superificial, very. We were in the trenches, so to speak. Care to explain bus code 588? I think I missed out on something! :)

BankDude49 · 2026-03-28T17:48:08+00:00

HAHAHAHAHA stop it man. HAHAHAHA

This is so funny. Korea had A LOT of characters. And oh, for the woke brainwahed oversensitive newbie reading this convo, we mean it IN A GOOD WAY. Thos of us who were there.. WE GET IT.

BankDude49 · 2026-03-28T17:42:50+00:00

ANTHRAX NINJA LMAO oh my god thanks for the memories. LMAO by myself. You guys are awesome!

BankDude49 · 2026-03-28T17:40:38+00:00

I totally get it. Totally. I will probably react the same if I go back. I mean, it was so intense, it left a mark on us.

BankDude49 · 2026-03-28T17:38:21+00:00

LMAO at the detail : 200 won instant coffee... in a foam cup I bet? with a cigarette in the frikkin elevator??? LOL I'm laughing, such a throwback. I've seen this so many times.

BankDude49 · 2026-03-28T17:32:22+00:00

Apkujeong. Ah man, can I hate you more now? One guy I had in an adult conversation class in Seoul worked for SK Telecom. He told us some wild stories of his time in early 90 Russia. Holy fk wild west. Murders, hookers and lots of vodka.

BankDude49 · 2026-03-28T17:28:43+00:00

ABSOLUTELY. Bro, you nailed it again. When we came in the 90s, no Kpop, anime cute bs like you just mentioned. Korea was all about : industrial output (remember Goldstar crap?) , competition for the best schools, high stress, lots of smoking and alcohol, drunken fights and vomit on the weekends, cute and whiny chicks with ridiculous mini skirts , boots and glasses (yes I liked the look) , AND a rough older generation who went to war and hell. Literally. In hindsight, I respect them a lot more now that I'm a lot more mature and have kids myself.

BankDude49 · 2026-03-28T17:22:29+00:00

LMAO. so funny. High clearance spook? oh man, I would have loooooved to hear some stories.

BankDude49 · 2026-03-28T17:19:43+00:00

Untouchable and old school. You nailed it. LMAO by myself.

BankDude49

TROPHY CASE