How many times have you been stolen?

When I have lived in Korea, how many times do I have to be picked my pockets for a lifetime?

In Korea, rather than losing things in the face of being pickpockets, it is often case that people mistakenly lose something at a drink or in any confused space. Even in this case, I have heard many times when people get back to the place where they just left things, things are still intact, someone give it to lost goods center, or if it’s a cell phone, the people who get the phone try to give it back by calling someone on contact list.

In Korean words, pickpockets is called ‘소매치기’ which is derived from the term ‘pulling out of goods from long sleeves in Joseon Dynasty period. Back then people put things in the hem of their dress not using bags, which is gradually disappearing in Korea.

I was told that Korean people who have lived without any fear of pickpocketing would be heavily pickpocketed while traveling to Europe, and I became one of them. It is an experience of being pickpocketed that I experienced while traveling to Spain a while ago.

As soon as I arrived in the city called ‘Bilbao’ from Barcelona, I had to use the city tram or bus to get to my hostel.
Uncomfortably, each city has a little different transportation system, and some of them do not have English version. I was looking for a place to buy a ticket for about five minutes, but I could find only a machine to clock in transportation cards near the station. Then I found one guy looks like Mexican waiting for tram.

I asked him how to buy single ticket here, but he didn’t understand English and I don’t understand Spanish. Then he started to use body language I get it. He had two cards, so he gave me one and asked me to take the tram coming at that moment. I got on the tram, thanks for his favor, but I found that the tram was going to opposite direction. I got off immediately, and he got off too. On the station where we got off we can find recharging machine and he tried to teach me how to use it with his card.

When I opened my wallet to recharge it, it has only 50 euros. The machine doesn’t accept it. Unlike me, he wasn’t panic. He brought me toward the fish store around, and I can change my money with touching their wet gloves. So far, he was a good young man who helped Asian who were not able to communicate spending his time. However, the problem arose after this.

Finally, we succeeded in recharging it, and after saying thank you I was going to be on my way. He gestured for me to come and see how to touch the card to the reader machine to the last minutes, and lastly, he took a card and emphasized how to use it few times. For the moment, he put his hand in my pocket of jacket with the other hand. It gave me a chill and I stopped his hand, but for one second, he took his hand out of my pocket and went immediately.

I looked at my pocket and wallet, but he didn’t touch my wallet. When I pondered it again, I unconsciously put 50 euros into my jacket pocket while taking the money out of my wallet. He looked at it and took the money at the end. I realized that, and just stood surprised on the street for about five minutes.

The second pickpocket occurred after arriving at the hostel. It’s more like a simple stealing without facing it in person. When I arrived at the hostel, I decided to put only small money on my wallet from now on, then I put 50 euros in my wallet. It was my mistake to put the bag which has wallet on my bed. The 50 euros disappeared while I was in bathroom.

There were two people who took a nap from daytime in the room and a fat guy who wandered around and is in his underwear only, but I cannot guess at all. I cannot suspect anyone easily. As soon as I arrived at hostel, my money was stolen, and I really didn’t want to stay in the hostel anymore, but I don’t have any choice. I had to take a walk for so many hours to soothe my upset.