::A Geek in Korea::

On random street corners around the city you will see shifty, shady looking guys with their hands holding out cash. No, they aren’t perverts, and they aren’t weird drug dealers. They are guys trying to sell newspapers. I see them around when I walk near department stores, markets, or near some apartments. Usually they go up to people and say, “Hey, would you like some money up front to sign up for a newspaper? I’ve got newspaper subscriptions. You want newspapers delivered to your home? Easy cash, just sign up!”

Consider the fact that people PAY you to subscribe to a Korean newspaper. Most Korean newspapers aren’t the best quality (ahem, yellow journalism, cough). These street corner men make money through simple harassment. They lure you in, then make it impossible to cancel the newspaper with some contract, then get all of your personal information, ensuring they make all their money back and then some. Canceling newspapers is such a headache in Korea that they need to offer money up front for people before someone would even consider the undertaking. It’s like Columbia House but for shitty Korean newspapers.

Usually these people will come up to you while you wait to cross the street, trapping you for a few minutes unless you’d rather jump in front of a bus than deal with them. I’m immune to their harassment. They never really bother me since they assume I’ll skip out on paying before they’d earn their up front cash back.

While most of the newspaper hawkers are shameless and tireless, the people in my neighborhood that do newspaper harassment are extremely lazy. I only seem the outside one day a week bothering people. We walk past them when we shop for fruit at the market. They sit on the sidewalk smoking cigarettes all day and roasting in the hot sun.  One of them will be standing up to talk to the people that try to walk by them.  When another person goes by they make a very half hearted pitch.

They don’t even bother flashing the cash first to grab your attention anymore if they aren’t standing. They simply say, “Ehhh, newspaper?”

This actually comes across as more seedy than their normal method of transaction. If you are going to bother me, at least stand up and make the full pitch. You might be disheartened by being ignored all day, but at least go through the motions.