Korean Job Discussion Forums

ella · Joined: 17 Apr 2006

Is there anyplace you can go to get a free meal in Busan?

goodgood · Joined: 22 Nov 2006 Location: seoul

I think all temples have free meals from 12-1. Might just be on weekends though, I'm not sure.

Or, if you finally accept a job, they will pay you in something called won, and you can use that to trade for food and lots of other fun stuff.

crazylemongirl · Joined: 23 Mar 2003 Location: almost there...

Wise advice.

jlb · Joined: 18 Sep 2003

Are you really that desperate now that you're looking for free meals? Just accept a job offer! The Won for food at the grocery store makes a lot of sense...

ella · Joined: 17 Apr 2006

I'm just going to be there for a day. So you can get a meal at the Buddhist temples within the city? How exactly does it work, you just grab a bowl and get in line then offer to do dishes afterward or something?

Benicio · Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 5:16 pm Post subject:

So are you some kind of travelling beggar or what?

You're willing to get online and search for this, but unwilling to pay 3,000 Won for food?

I really do not get this!

Benicio · Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 5:22 pm Post subject:

Reminds me of my first roommate here.
He was so cheap, he didn't want to spend money on anything.

Every weekend, he would go down to Lotte and try to fill up on the free samples they hand out in the aisles so he wouldn't have to pay for lunch.

He refused to use dishwashing soap because he said it was a waste of money. Even after I bought a big bottle myself for a whopping 1,300 Won, he still wouldn't use it. The plates would still have food crust on them after he washed them.

The only thing he would spend money on was his gym membership which he went to everyday to get his money's worth. Since he was working out all the time, his metabolism was very, very high. That meant he was hungry all the time. Since he was so cheap, he didn't want to pay for food. He would just sit around and b1tch and constantly say "I'm f***ing starving! I'm f***ing starving!".
It was a real treat living with him!

Greekfreak · Joined: 25 May 2003

Hey, you can help a sistah out, can't yeh?

Most foreigners are notoriously cheap anyway, but this does take the cake. Are you also hitchhiking in a pair of shoes that you borrowed 10 years ago with nothing but ketchup and sugar packets to keep you going?

I've heard of 'you can't take it with you', but this is carrying it a bit too far. What's worse is that somebody actually came up with a proper response.

Benny Blanco--we gotta get together this week for some brew--you up for it?

khyber · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Compunction Junction

dusil subway.
there is a mosque there. At some point in time they have free food there.

peony · Joined: 30 Mar 2005

is it really worth it to seek out free food all over a city that you will only be in for 1 day? surely you can spare a few thousand won for a cheap meal, heck a roll of gimbap is 1000won and pretty filling! or ask for 500 won worth of ddukbokki! anything is preferable to begging for food in some type of religious establishment no?

ella · Joined: 17 Apr 2006

Sitting in on a meal at a Sikh temple is done by tourists in India all the time. If you're a guy, you can often get a place to bed down for the night, too, unless the temple is on a popular pilgrimage route. There's nothing disdainful about it, they welcome everyone. The Buddhist or Muslim temple meals here are only for beggars, then?

4 months left · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

For "short time" I'm sure you can get anything you want to eat after and maybe a little extra for a tip! Laughing

hubba bubba · Joined: 24 Oct 2006

Just what we need in Busan...another cheap, freaky waegook. Free food???? I really hope this is a joke.

If you are on an interview and they like you, they might take you out for lunch.

Or you could pony up a whopping Oh Chun and have a meal... Just a thought.

Ya-ta Boy · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994

To keep things in perspective...

This is the same person who offered to show some poster where restaurants are IF he bought her a free meal.

Fresh Prince · Joined: 05 Dec 2006 Location: The glorious nation of Korea

1000 won will get you an entire roll of kimbop and the obligatory side dishes that come with it. Just find a shop that says kimbop. Kimbop is similar to sushi. If you don't have 1000 won then you can always find a store and pay 500 won for a box of crackers or ramen. I lived off that for my first six weeks. If I had to do it over again I would have gone to the kimbop shops and spent the 1000 won for a much healthier meal.

Just a suggestion:

Find a hogwan that's hiring and don't try to negotiate the contract at all. If there is something fishy about it then post it on Daves or else just accept the job if offered. Have a friend give some constructive criticism about your appearance. Is your breath minty fresh, hair combed well, spoken language accent free, clothes fresh smelling, if you smoke does it stay on your clothes, if you don't look like the traditional weygook then maybe tone down the differences a little, get a hair cut, etc, ... Maybe there is something about the way you look that is giving your potential employers some negative vibes. Try not to seem desperate in your interviews by thinking positive and being polite. You don't really need to volunteer how long you have been here. Make it a goal to spend all day interviewing. If your in Busan show up to a school and think of it as a new start. Show why your a good teacher despite things that may make you look like you aren't.

Good luck Smile

If you accept a job with any hogwan, after the first week most will give you an advance on your pay if you ask. It's only a year contract, not the end of the world.