Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Lilo's Mum]

So I've been here almost 2 years and here's what I think about Korea in general.

1) I like shoes off indoors...especially in my apartment.
I am a clean freak and never understood why anyone would wear shoes in the house tracking in the dirt from outside.
However once the shoes are off they should always be replaced with slippers of some sort, as I have smelled some pretty stinky feet from my students. Never should there be bare feet at school...which I have seen all too often.


2) I don't like the boys and men peeing outside.
Not long ago I was on the bus to school with my baby, husband and a bus load of kids. We were right in front of the school going up the hill to the parking lot when all of the children started commenting and looking out at something. Standing there was one of the school workers peeing outside with his genitals in plain view of all the children.

We have also caught students peeing outside during school recess AND just recently outside our building we saw a mother holding her little boy's "wee wee" as he peed outside.
Now when we caught the kids at school, the teachers (who were all women) blamed the Korean males. As you can see this is clearly not the case when we see a mother encouraging her son to pee outside holding his little "wee wee" and making a "shushing" noise to calm him.

In most Western countries, this type of thing in considered a crime but the people here seem to regard it a natural thing. I'd hate to see what happens when a Korean pees outside in front of a bus load of kids in North America!

3) I like how clean the streets are.

4) I don't like taxi drivers in Jangyu (near Gimhae) or any drivers that blatantly pass foreigners.

I'm sorry, but when you are working for your "bread and butter" you better pick up anyone who comes to the cab.
They are not like this back home EVEN when they have crazy drunkards on New Year's Eve puking in their cabs. The taxi drivers in Jangyu are the worst we have ever seen in the world!

Don't they realize that foreigners are used to tipping good drivers? Also, I don't know about anyone else, but I know NO rich cabbies! They all need to work long hours and pick up any fare possible!

5) I really like the Ondol heating system.
It makes sense doesn't it?! The floor is always warm....as opposed to cold floors back home. Heat rises, so to come up from the floor is perfect.
Also it lasts longer than electric heat and since water stays heated longer it's cheaper as well in the long run.

6) I don't like how Koreans are all cheap about using the air conditioning in the blistering heat.

Why is Korea full of masochists? I know it's expensive but it also crazy expensive back home!
That being said, even the WELLIES find air conditioners and use them.
Stop torturing yourselves and your children, people!

7) Question: We live in this large apartment complex. Every morning as we leave our building for school we see this lady on the elevator with a little cart.

For months now we have tried to decipher what the contents of the cart are and what she could be doing this early in the building.
The contents look like Styrofoam with copper wiring in them. When she leaves the building she goes to meet her other copper/Styrofoam buddies at the van where they fill up their carts

DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT THIS IS?

I don't like how ridiculously expensive sheets are in Korea.
We lived in Jeonju last year and Jangyu this year.....I don't know if the prices are different as you get closer to Seoul but the sheets we found were 50,000 won each.
Not a set - EACH!
We had some sent from home.

9) I really like the bowing/nodding and respect to elders.
Whether it's forced or not, Koreans have got it right in their tradition of respect to elders and people who are older or higher in authority.

That is how it should be and I think that has been lost back home due to too many bad influences in children's lives.

10) I DON'T like Koreans' irrational fear of cats YET they can keep dogs as pets and eat them as well.
Last year during Chuseok we heard our neighbor killing dogs in his apartment and just outside in the hallway.

He had them in cages just outside his door and was beating them and breaking their bones while they were still alive.
I'll never forget the howling sounds of the dogs as they were being beaten! We called the police and in a sad attempt at English after many people tried to interpret, we were told it's not illegal. My husband went over to his apartment (as he is a lover of animals) and I chased after him, not wanting him to get hurt. The guy came at him with a stick and instead of fighting we just went back to our place. We weren't about to get into a fight, not knowing what could happen and not to mention I was pregnant at the time and scared. So, we left it alone. Later we heard other neighbors yelling at him and it stopped that night.

However it did continue the rest of the week.

Their fear of cats is annoying! Recently we had to find a home for our 2 cats from Canada because our daughter is allergic. For some reason potential adopters asked their landlords who all said that cats aren't allowed.
However, dogs were.
Funny how they can eat something and have it as a pet. I wonder if I should take in a homeless pig!

10) How can those little stores stay open?
You know, the store that sells ONLY 3 kinds of fruit. Or the store that sells like 5 shirts and that's it.
How about the store that's hidden way under a building?

11) Why are things that are supposed to be served and eaten hot, served cold?
Cold fried fish, cold pork, cold little franks, cold cooked veggies, cold potatoes...etc etc.
We work at a large Kindy and when we eat lunch in the cafeteria we have to warm the cold food with our STEAMING HOT rice just to eat it.

12) I REALLY like how everyone fawns over our daughter wherever we go.
Whether it's shopping or school or walking outside, EVERYONE turns to looks at the beautiful white baby with her blond hair and comments on how beautiful she is! We rather enjoy the attention and so does Lilo!
It'll be sad when we return to Canada and she is just another kid! Ha Ha!

13) I don't like that we can't drink from the tap.
Granted, in Canada, I still used the Brita water filtration pitcher but at least the tap water is drinkable.
Why in a country that is to so advanced technologically, haven't they mastered the art of Water Filtration?

14) I should have put this first or 2nd.....I don't like the absence of clothes dryers!
Again, the Korean stinginess when it comes to the electricity bills!

Only the Wellies back home don't have a clothes dryer.....but at least they can visit a relative and use theirs or go to the laundromat.

15) I like how much foreigners get paid to teach English.
It's a relatively easy gig and we don't have to pay for housing and in our case, utilities. So we can save a lot!
We don't have car expenses or insurance costs. It's great!

16) Why do they use scissors to cut meat? (Although, it sure is convenient)


17) What's the deal with expensive electronics? Especially Samsung, which is made here!

18 + 19) I really like the patient care in hospitals.
However the sanitation standards leave a LOT to be desired!

I was in the hospital for the birth of my daughter. She was born by C-section and I had additional surgery after they got her out. My overall experience was great when it came to patient care from the OBGYN to the RN's on staff to even the hospital administrator coming by to say hi to the "whiteys" on 7th floor.
They were the nicest bunch of people in a hospital myself and my husband had ever seen!

However, there was dust everywhere, gum on the floor, a once/day cleaning staff, stained blankets and sheets and completely dirty floors!
Also the RN's med cart was constantly left unattended and I don't think I saw anyone wash their hands. It's no wonder that TB is so rampant in Korea and the fatalities are high due to post operative infections!

If that were a hospital in north America, it'd be shut down in a second.

20) How about the fact that no one covers their mouth when they sneeze or cough! How about the fact that when they go to the bathroom, they don't wash their hands!
Especially the men and children! AGAIN, with a country that has the highest TB rate of industrialized nations, why wouldn't you teach your citizens to wash their hands and cover their mouths!?

21) I don't like that Korea has the highest fatality rate in the world for drivers. We have witnessed many accidents and near misses.
Once while I was pregnant and in a cab, the driver hit a parked car.
He drove away right after but I did get a free fare. Car seats for children are not "necessary" here. Ever see the little kids riding on the scooters?!?!
Back home, we can't leave the hospital without a car seat.... no matter which mode of transportation you choose.


22) Along with 21 are these other OVERLOOKED social problems in Korea that are downplayed in the media:
Insane high rate of alcoholics. Think about it. We read last year that Korea was slated to open 90 new treatment centers for substance abuse. 90!!!!
What about the prostitute work parties? Last New Year's Eve Korea offered a prize of money to the lucky work party who DIDN'T hire a prostitute. YAY!
Also due to the fact that these cheating husbands refuse to wear condoms, they're spreading STD's.
Women's rights are extremely overlooked here in a country that still regard women as property. ie- girl gets raped in hotel room by 500 men; nothing happens to the men.
HIGH SUICIDE RATE especially among young teens who are pressured by their parents about grades.



23) Crazy knee-jerk reactions to everything.
One example (of many) is the crazy new regulations for obtaining an E2 visa.



Anyway this turned out to be longer than I thought it would.
If you have anything to add feel free.


Also, despite all the differences we like teaching here.

It's too bad the new regs are going to make it much too inconvenient for us in October when I'm sure we'll want to renew with our school.

[marlow]

Wow! Quite the list.

I somewhat agree with not peeing wherever, but I think the age cut off should be 4 or 5. It is quite stressful when a four-year-old has to go and there's no washroom.

Also, I like clothes-dryered clothes, but less appliances is a good thing. Happy to give it up.

[RACETRAITOR]

1) It's strange the things that please Americans.

2) Never, ever go to China.

3) Wait, are you sure you're not in Japan?

4) I've never, ever had that problem.

9) It's overrated.

10) I agree, but more Koreans are starting to like cats. I've never had a landlord object to my two cats. They're certainly cleaner than dogs.

16) Scissors are so much easier to use than a knife.

[Lilo's Mum]

[Lilo's Mum]

[RACETRAITOR]

[yingwenlaoshi]

[yingwenlaoshi]

What's with the poll?

Do you like a steaming plate of crap or a million dollars? Which one?

[Lilo's Mum]

I said "I like shoes OFF indoors ESPECIALLY my apartment"

There are exceptions to wearing shoes inside.....like school etc.....but in my apt there is no way anyone is walking in with shoes on.

What am I not being clear about?


Thanks~

[Lilo's Mum]

[Lilo's Mum]

[Vancouver]

[yingwenlaoshi]

I actually wear my shoes more in my apartment in Korea than did in wherever I lived back home. I live alone, and I could be arsed about taking them off in a place with no carpets where I hardly have anyone over being in the boonies and all. It's so small and easy to clean (except for the fact that it's hard to find a decent mop anywhwere and I don't have a vacuum cleaner). I'm wearing my shoes right now.

I've noticed that Koreans make it easy to slide their shoes on and off. Like having them tied a certain way or they wear shoe-sandals in the winter, etc. They're so used to it that it's just second nature to be ready. Whenver I go out to eat or am going in and out of my or my friends' homes, they are always waiting for me (mainly going out, I guess) to take off or put on my shoes.

I guess I should adjust and have some sort of system for putting on/taking off my shoes.

Back home, I pretty much always took off my shoes. Except for running in and out of the house. Even then.

[RACETRAITOR]

[Lilo's Mum]

[quote="Vancouver"][quote="Lilo's Mum"]