Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ted]

People,
One of the reasons why I think EFL in Korea is so enjoyable is because it doesn't have the same snootiness that many professions back in the home country seem to have. I noticed that back home it was a rat race and everyone was always scrutinizing you to see how "culturally astute" you were, well, here it's much easier, if I want to watch wrestling, wear shorts to work, drink beer from the can, read comics, listen to Ted Nugent, scratch myself in public, people don't thumb their noses down at me, and that's something you don't get back home; back home it's all about keeping up with the Joneses, having a prestige degree, whereas here you don't have to have an education, people accept you for what you are, back home everyone is concerned with having "grown up" tastes in music, here if you don't listen to Mozart you don't get snobs sneering at you, if I want to listen to Nugent, I have friends who will listen to it with me, not uptight people who look down on it, people here don't go on and on about opera, literature, history, etiquette books, etc, why? Because they're sharp enough to know how shallow that whole scene is, and that laid back living offers more. People here accept you for who you are, not what you listen to, not what you read, etc. So, you read tonnes of classic literature, listen to opera, and wear fancy suits, does that mean you are happy? Hell, no, and I think that's why EFL people have it more on the ball than the elitists back home. People here accept me for who I am and don't expect me to change ever, and that's what makes me feel rich.

[captain kirk]

yes, right. the work is easy if you get in a school with a director who's cool. like the kids. live day to day. there aren't any BIG expectations directed towards you. though i think the consensus of Koreans is that teaching in a hagwon isn't 'cutting edge' performance executed by the sharpest blades. and it's a great way to live contentedly. we've all popped out of pressure cookers back home as regards expectations. the kids here are pushed to succeed and advance. you are an outsider in an almost closed society. superficially, among the adults. professionally, among the boss and co-workers. GREETED by the kids. eventually, gently, a person might want more out of life. or learn to live with less. the secret to being happy here is to appreciate the little things. does that make for a small life, or a contented life? I wouldn't trust the judgement of someone rushing by.

[Canuck]

[whiskey jack]

hey Ted. You gotta know.I have been in Korea for 5 years. Its just as snooty in this world as it back in our own.Sound like you were raised by Romantic composers or something. By the way I don' t think the Jones' follow the opera. Maybe Muffy and Buffy do. Elitists rise beyond the rat race. EFL teachers are in the middle of it. They are not all that better off. Just because the rent is free doesn't make life easier.

[JennyJJ]

Perhaps the best thing about living overseas is that you can reinvent yourself - and find out who you really are - free of the judgement of family and peers. Though what most find out is that you are who you are - the same person turns up wherever you go. A lot of people go overseas to escape themselves - only to find that they followed along.

But, yes, it is a great opportunity to explore just who you are and who you want to be.

I doubt that any of us miss the pressure for a bigger house, bigger mortgage, bigger 401k, cooler SUV and yada yada yada.