Ulsan Awareness and Safety Night 2015

Whenever you come to a new place it always takes time to adjust and to understand things. Sadly, at times things can take a turn for the worst. While many have the time of their lives here in Ulsan, some have had an unfortunate experience and it is why the event was planned.

Amanda Bell, Sean O’Gorman and Kristen Svenstrup Keuler put together a night to help raise awareness for safety in Ulsan. Safety has always been an issue in Ulsan. It seems like a safe place but the reality is that you have be aware just like you would in any other city in the world.

For those who missed the night, I have put together a little of what each of speaker from the night had to say. I will also add a bit to clarify details and elaborate the points that were made.

Police Inspector Oh Joowon

One of the most active members of the Ulsan police force is Inspector Oh. He contributes so much to the expat community and I really have great respect for his efforts. last night he talked briefly about what the police service can do for you and how to report a crime. Inspector Oh gave out some great information about reporting crimes.

When calling 112 for the police you can immediately request an English-speaking operator as soon as you call. If they do not understand you, say “yeong-eoh” (English in Korean) and they should put you through. Try to speak as clear and as direct as you can.

Jimm Lee

Jimm is the official translator for the Ministry of Labour. He spoke last night about a new system that has been put into many taxis to track and send the location of the exact cab that you are in. It works by utilizing an NFC chip and once you have the app installed on your phone (android only) then all you have to do is hold your phone over the sticker in the cab.  The app will gather the information including driver and license plate info and allow you to send your location to friends and family via text. According to Jim, these stickers are now law and taxis must have them in their cabs.

Also note that you can transmit your location to your friend from Kakao talk as well. Simply tap the “+” next to the text field and then swipe to find “location” it will send your location to whoever you are texting. Another useful tool is google maps. If you search for you destination, google maps will then track your current location. This helps if the taxis starts taking you in the wrong direction or attempts a “short cut” to make some extra cash to worse, attempt to assault you.

The video above will give you more details about how the app works and go through the finer details of downloading it and using it on your android phone.

Deirdre Madden

Safety is always an important issue and Dee gave a great talk about safety tips for women. One of the biggest points that she brought up was knowing your home address. If you are calling in an emergency, knowing your address in Korean is a big asset when calling the police in an emergency.

Also having your keys ready is also a good idea. Dee mention that they can be put between your fingers (wolverine style!) to jab and stash at an attacker. My advice is also to be aware of your surroundings and to be prepared when you are heading home. That means to remove any headphones before you get to your apartment and have your keys  ready so that you can get into your apartment quickly.

Once you get in, Dee mention about the use of wedges and door-chains. Many intruders may try to force their way in by pretending to be a cable guy to get you to open the door. Deirdre talked about getting the getting the information of the repair man and calling the company to make sure that it is real visit.

Another thing to do is to never open your door to anyone. Use your intercom to talk and as a look out to see if they are still hanging around. If your apartment does not an intercom, talk through the door. Asking who they are “nu-gu say yo?” and then calling a friend or your landlord to come by is another good idea.

If you have an electronic lock, use the switch on the back at night to disable the lock. There have been cases where people have figured out the door code by several means and getting in. Al mentioned about cleaning your keypad regularly as the dirt and smears will show which numbers you are regularly using.

You can also use your camera as a tool to report would-be attackers. Record and take pictures of suspicious people when you see them. Share it with the Ulsan Online Facebook group. Inspector Oh regularly checks the group and will respond especially if you tag him in the post. This is a great asset that we have and works even better if we come together as a solid community.

Jason Teale

As the current editor of Ulsan Online, I want the expat population to pull together more as a community. Over the years I have seen the group get fractured into different parts. So that when events like this occur that we get a true community together.

One of the unique things that we have here in Ulsan is the presence of a community and that is something that I do not want to lose. The community events that are held around the city need our support as well. Now, I bet you are wondering how this has anything to do with safety, right?

The closer we are as a community the stronger we are. When you find yourself in a bad situation, you have a community of people that are there to help. This goes for all situations too. Over the years I have seen this community raise money for numerous cause that directly helped people in Ulsan.

Coming together as group also means getting to know the people around you and around the city. So that if a taxi driver starts acting strange and you find yourself in a strange area, people can come to help.

Thank You

Once again I just want to thank the organizers of this event for their hard work in putting together something that can really help a lot of people here in Ulsan. I would also like to thank Al from Cima for opening up early for the event. It is businesses like this that we need to support. These places are a part of the community and they need our support to keep them around.