Korean Job Discussion Forums

Newbie · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

I am. And, I feel the majority of poster here are.

I don't hate the place, I don't love it. Korea's just, as they say, "so-so"... Sure, I love to make fun of Korea and get a good laugh out of the place, cuz in many ways Korea is just a 14 year old boy trying to be cool. What can you do but chuckle, swipe'em across the head and say in a condescending way, "That'a boy!"...That's what I think people don't understand about "Dave's"... VERY few people here actually "hate" Korea. We're just amused with it and continually amazed with the wackiness of it.

I will say though, being in the middle causes some confusion for me. I really don't understand either side of the spectrum. On one side, you have the folk who just love Korea. Sorry, but how sad was your life back home that you prefer this place? Did you not have any friends .... no family? I really pity you if this is where you really want to be.

Then you have the people that just hate the place? Why bother? Man, life here is so easy. Easy job, easy money, easy fame. You just have to learn to roll with it. If you're so miserable here, chances are you're gonna be miserable everywhere.

So, to the newbies who love to play the "go home" card: don't be so silly. The hate on this board is rare, and most of the time, it isn't even hate. It's just a bunch of Shocked

Richard Krainium · Joined: 12 Jan 2006

Newbie · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

RobertX · Joined: 07 May 2006

sometimes i love this place
sometimes i hate it

stevemcgarrett · Joined: 24 Mar 2006

Newbie:

Thanks for your honesty--we could use more of that around here.

My only reaction is that in China few expats would say that. They either love it or hate it, most being of the former opinion.

And that is what I find revealing about expats in Korea, namely, that there attitude is often at best blase. Hardly ever do I hear a sincerely felt ringing endorsement of this place.

oneofthesarahs · Joined: 05 Nov 2006 Location: Sacheon City

I love it, but mostly because I feel like I'm on the world's longest vacation. I stay up late every night, sleep in late, spend the majority of my day genuinely having fun (I love teaching, and kids are just fun to be around). I have disposable income. I spend most of my weekends either taking road trips or just lazily tooling around town on my bike. I have met lots of interesting people here. What's not to love? All of the minor annoyances I just ignore, I'm too busy enjoying myself to complain about things.

jdog2050 · Joined: 17 Dec 2006

jdog2050 · Joined: 17 Dec 2006

Unposter · Joined: 04 Jun 2006

Is it a crime to complain? Are you some totalitarian fascist that thinks it should be illegal to complain?

No place is perfect.

There is plenty to like about Korea. Everyday Seoul is becoming a greener and nicer place to live. Cheongyecheon is beautiful. The Buddha's Day festival and parage is fun. There is much to do and see here if you actually get time off from your place of work to see it. It would cover pages and pages to write about it all. If you are interested in the exotic, there is plenty of that here. I like that everyday is new, fresh and a new battle; it keeps me from being bored.

But can you imagine what a sickly-sweet place Dave's would be if everyone was full of platitudes? I don't think that would be human nature...at least nothing I would recognize as human.

In fact, complaining about complaining is one of the most common complaints on this board. Good luck!

Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat · Joined: 01 Apr 2007

Milwaukiedave · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Location: Goseong

I would say I'm middle of the road. There are somethings that drive me nuts about Korea. I've come to the point I need to go home because I miss family and sometimes the extreme swings in weather are too much.

swetepete · Joined: 01 Nov 2006 Location: a limp little burg

I never knew what love was until I saw Pillbox's latest avatar.
Fail Baby is Winner!

Newbie · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

chi-chi · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

dutchy pink · Joined: 06 Feb 2007 Location: Incheon

I'm not a middler.
I like it here. if i didn't i wouldn't be here.
Of course, i'v only been here 4 months so perhaps that will change.
I already went through my honeymoon phase, that lasted about a week, then i hated it, kept comparing it to Tokyo. Now, I like it.
I have so many complaints about America, any complaints i may have about Korea can never even compare.
People talk about Korea being ultra-nationalist, homogeneous, racist, etc.., look at my home country, almost half the voting public voted for GW, how much stupider can 50 million people be?
I've met dumb Koreans, I've met dumb Americans, I've met cool Koreans, I met a few cool Americans.

and by the way, the money isn't that good.
with a little effort, you can make 40 grand easy in the US.
It's amazing that people with a 4 year degree and make 2.5 million won think the money is great. Out of all my friends from uni and high school, I'm by far the poorest.
I like it cause I'm not doing it for the money, I can travel, move, make a 1 year committment, decide again what i want to do......

In short, if you are at best middle of the road, there are at least 150 other places to go.