Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Yes]

in the interest of balance, i'm going to list some areas that can be challenging about life in korea--

5. little to no pedagogical support or performance feedback: it's true that my employer has been very responsive to my scheduling needs and also to my requests for materials, but neither the director or owner are experienced educators. and it's a small institute where i work so there is no head teacher. i often wish i could bounce ideas off of somebody or have an experienced teacher observe my class & give me some feedback, but that kind of vision is utterly lacking in my experience.

4. for females: korean men are at best extremely reserved and at worst, lacking mojo entirely. if you're a female like me who has previously lived in the balkan/mediterranean area, you're going to find yourself pining for those amazing hunks in a painful way.... i've seen a lot of very handsome korean men, no doubt-- but they just generally don't pay attention to me (except for a good number of my students but that's a no-no). there's always the western teachers, thank goodness, they are cuties, for sure. but if you're like me & you have a thing for foreign men, especially dark & handsome ones with facial hair and deep accents...come to macedonia with me on my next vacation...!

3. the food can get really tiring after a while: when i first came, i loved it. i think i was even addicted to kimchi. now, i go to great, great lengths to avoid consuming any typical korean dish. i just can't stomach it anymore.

2. it's hard to find nice clothes & shoes-- one major observation i've had is this-- you don't really need to bring any toiletries. you can get high quality shampoos, body creams, cosmetics etc here no problem. however, *do* bring good shoes & outerwear. finding quality footwear (especially dressy shoes that are comfortable) and winter coats is difficult and when you do, they are quite pricey. accessories and basic clothing items can be found for a bargain. outdoor clothing (hiking & camping gear) should definitely be brought with you & not bought here.

1. i can't even think of one more!!! let's see, if i really stretch... okay, got it: friends/family aren't likely to come visit you here. it's not an appealing vacation destination. when i was in latin american and also in eastern europe, it was easy to entice pals to hop on a plane to visit. here, i have to do a lot of selling to get friends to consider it, and usually the deal is only sealed when i mention how easy it would be to visit japan or thailand while they're here....


of course, this is just based on my experience, people. hope it's helpful.

[yingwenlaoshi]

1 - It's boring
2 - It's hard to get anything done at times
3 - The restaurant food does get tiring. It's not that good.
4 - Apartments (nuff said?)
5 - People here are annoying in many ways. Not all the time

[Bibbitybop]

[Dev]

1. The lack of politeness / consideration for other people in public.
2. Noisy apartments.
3. Overpriced foreign goods.
4. Tha lack of services in English. I just called Asiana Airlines and their voice message system does not have an English option. Unbelieveable. This kind of thing makes Korea unattractive to foreign businessmen.
5. Korean sidewalks.

[ajgeddes]

1. Overpriced/lack of foreign goods
2. Price of housing
3. People everywhere, even when you get away.
4. The noise (Stolen from YBS)
5. Hmmmm... it is a pain in the butt getting a flight in this country.

All in all, a pretty lame list.

*EDIT*

[Zark]

1. vomit in the streets
2. that kim-chee sewer smell that seems to exist everywhere
3. fighting drunks on the streets after 11 pm
4. limited cuisine
5. filthy bathrooms

[desperation]

I keep hearing about noisy apts. WTF? Are the neighbors in the buildings or the streets loud or both? Are the walls all too flimsy? I was shown how taiwan's buildings notoriously crumble after 15-20 yrs......everywhere you look...

[Dev]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

1. The pushing and bumping.
2. The food. There's enough Korean food I like but also plenty I don't and they really make an abortion of some 'western' or 'fushion' food. My small town has one European restaurant and I lived here for a year and went there nine or ten times before I knew it was supposed to be a European restaurant.
3. The noise. Koreans genuinely cannot live without it.
4. The insecurity complex that exists at a personal, family, institutional, and national level.
5. An English educational system that's so bad it has to pay a fortune to import completely unqualified foreigners. Oh wait, is that really a negative?

[JongnoGuru]

Living and teaching? Move it to Job-related.

[mnhnhyouh]

Sorry, to fresh to list five, but thought I might comment on noisy apartments. IN my first week in my apartment, my neighbour was playing loud music at 2am. I thumped on the wall a few times and they turned it down.

Fast forward a couple of months, and I arrived home from work at about 11pm, and turned some music on. The third song was much louder than the first two, and I was not in the room when it came on.

Cue loud thumping on the wall from said neighbour. I quickly turned it down. Looks like we have an understanding The previous occupant said he had continuous sound wars with his this person, but it looks like he just didnt know how to deal with it.

h

[xingyiman]

1. Terrible food. When you first get to Korea your opinion of Korean ns along the lines of "I really like it". After a while you figure out that it's just different and really tastes vile in comparison.

2. ANy non Korean food is outrageously expensive. Parmesean cheese for 10,000 w per container. Pizza cheese for 12,000 w per bag. It adds up.

3. Difficulty of finding companionhip. I don't care what everyone says finding a TRUE girlfriend in Korea is somewhat of an exercise in futility. I am NOT talking about the gal who is all too eager to date you because she wants some free English lessons or the ugly tramp who is shunned by Korean males cause she's a little bit overweight/ugly by their standards and doesn't mind being called a bitch and/or *beep* by guys when she walks with you down the street. It's tough to get hitched here in the sense of finding someone who you really click with who will enter into a reciprocal relationship where your needs are taken care of.

4. Racism. Yes when you are here long enough you will experience it. Sooner or later. And if you haven't already figured it out, lots of those "compliments" you are always getting are really vieled insults.

5. Not much to do. I live in Bangkok and this place is like Disneyland compared to Korea. Korea is for the Koreans.

[desperation]

[Junior]

1) Xenophobia.: Most Koreans show nervousness, and often extreme discomfort around anyone who is not Korean. Their actions typically betray the fact that they don't quite regard you as human.

2) Inability to express oneself in the Language. Korean seems to be incredibly difficult to learn. The reaction of Koreans to you speaking their language is also incredibly trying after a while.

3) Irritation: Koreans values, habits, and ways of thinking are perfectly designed to enrage the average westerener.

4) Frustration Oftentimes your whole day may be wasted because of some unforeseen cultural misunderstanding, difficulty, or inability to get something done or be properly understood.

5) Continual nasty surprises. Its the lack of control: you don't know whats going on or what people are planning, in the workplace and out. Just walking down the street you are oftentimes hit with some unforseeable circumstance. At work things may be sprung on you last minute. Its hard to judge their behaviour or what they will do next, never mind how you will handle it without speaking their language.

[Newbie]

It's not home

Dirty

Stinky

Forced frienships.... there are very few foreigners here I'd be friends with back home.

Lack of variety