Korean Job Discussion Forums

[stephensessions]

Hey all,

I'll be in Korea in a few weeks and was wondering if you guys had any ideas for some welcoming gifts for my director and coworkers. I was thinking of bringing some Oregon whiskey and maybe some coffee beans from my state. Any more ideas that won't offend my boss at our first meeting?

Thanks

[NightSky]

I advise you wait and see what they're like before bringing presents. Seriously.

[yingwenlaoshi]

Nothing.

[just because]

Bring your boss something..it can't hurt to make a good impression.

Just bring a smile for your co-workers. they don't expect anything.

[Flash Ipanema]

I bought my co-workers key chains with various Texas stuff on them, and I bought my boss a lucky horse shoe. I figure they're small/cheap gifts, but it's the thought that counts, and it will make a great first impression.

[whatever]

*beep* your coworkers...bring me some goat cheese or limes or something.

[rumdiary]

I got whisky at the airport duty free. When my coworker picked me up at the airport she informed me none of the other teachers had brought gifts so I drank it with the coworkers that night.

[idonojacs]

Ignore the bad advice above.

Do bring gifts. Koreans have a tradition of giving little gifts to co-workers, or bringing food to share. When you give something they really appreciate it. I gave something for Christmas to the maintainance guy at the school, couldn't speak a word of English, but now he smiles every time he sees me in the hall.

I brought coffee mugs with touristy decorations from my home state; quite attractive. Most Koreans don't drink out of such large mugs, though, but they seemed to like them.

I also brought candy bars, enough for all the teachers in the school. But since they have plenty of chocolate, and several American candy bars here, fortunately I brought something they don't have: white chocolate - Hersheys and Nestles - bars.

If you bring gifts, you certainly want something for your main co-teacher and principal or director (the gift for the principal doesn't have to be expensive). A public school will also have an assistant principal; he's the one who you see most often. But I was surprised to find I had several co-teachers.

You are going to be very dependent on your main co-teacher, so your going to owe him or her -- provided they can actually speak English.

For a fancier gift, consider a Swiss Army knife, the good brand, Victorinox. You can get a fairly small one at a reasonable price. I have yet to find a Korean who has seen a Swiss Army knife before. They have cheap ones at the 1,000 won store that aren't bad. But they do not have Victorinox here, that I've seen. The only drawback to the Victorinox is that the teacher probably would have no idea how expensive they are. But the do hold up for years.

Small pocket headphone radios here are astonishingly over-priced. I saw a Sony for 50 Kwon. Back home I could get it for $20. Koreans like electronics, but adults generally don't go beyond handphones for gadgets.

But the radio, while not so expensive, may be viewed as too much for an arrival gift; might be better for Christmas.

Ah, here's an idea: something like Encyclopedia Britannica on CD/DVD, or Merriam-Webster's Dictionary (Collegiate version is included with Britannica). You can order slightly older editions online pretty cheap. Koreans seemed pretty oblivious that the version was a year or two out of date. (You need the 2007 to work with Vista, though.)

There's lots of other stuff like that online, such as stuff by Oxford, quotations, reference, etc., in English.

And then there's the bottle of Tabasco sauce. That might get them to stop making you eat their mild chili peppers raw for their amusement while they cackle "hot, hot!" Better yet, get something hotter, much, much hotter. Tell them you heard about how Koreans like hot food. That'll shut em up about whimpy Western food.

As to whiskey, I don't think so. One thing they do have here is plenty of Scotch, even if overpriced. They don't have Yukon Jack, though. Or Southern Comfort. They like sickeningly sweet stuff. Or peach schnapps.

[icnelly]

Spam. I bet you think I'm kidding! Just make sure to put it in a nice big box, and wrap it with a bow.

[idonojacs]

Spam.

Yeah, right.

Every supermarket here has shelves and shelves of Spam, Spam, Spam.

No, bring sea salt for your co-teacher. They don't have sea salt here.

Or perhaps onne of those tins of corned beef. For some reason, they don't have them here, despite their obsession with spam. Sure would like some corned beef hash. I wonder if I can make a facsimile with spam?

Actually, a tin of quality sardines might work. they like tiny fish, dried, but oddly enough, I haven't found any sardines here. Same with smoked oysters.

Hey, how about Pepperidge Farms cookies?

A nice pen/pencil set might work. A $2 Parker pen is something like 10 Kwon here.

An electronic English dictionary would be a hit. They're cheap enough back home, but here the electronic Korean-English dictionaries can cost 200 Kwon and up.

For a female co-teacher, how about a real bristle hair brush? One of my co-teachers didn't even know they existed. They are all plastic thingies here.

How about duct tape? Believe it or not, I haven't seen it here. There will be times in the classroom when you will wish you had a roll.

Or how about a pack of hot dog buns? They've got hot dogs here, but no buns. No sauerkraut, either.

[KYC]

Korean men LIKE scotch though! My coteacher is a guy and as a thank you gift I got him CHIVAS REGAL. I got it as a set at Homeplus. It was nicely wrapped and had 2 shot glasses inside. He LOVED it and told me CHIVAS was a popular brand.

I recommended to my friend who was looking to buy something for her coteacher as well. He also loved it!

However, if you're back home I suggest getting XO/REMY. It's even more popular than Chivas and very, very expensive here.

[MarionG]

I brought my (female) director an umbrella with a map of the US on it...she seemed to like it about as much as she liked what I brought her from China, and what I gave her for Christmas, which is to say she never said thanks or even boo or even mentioned them...

However, other people to whom I've given gifts in Korea have been truly appreciative, so I think she's the exception.

[Integra]

Yeah, who doesn't like gifts? As a bonus you'll score points with the boss. Maybe they'll cut you some slack down the line. I'm assuming you're from Oregon, so you could try some goods from Made in Oregon. If they are drinkers (they are Korean so the answer is probably 'yes') then the whiskey idea is good. Otherwise maybe some dried salmon or chocolate, or something else that might somehow represent your home area to them. I got some stuff like that for my former bosses and they really liked it.

[esetters21]

You should bring everyone American flag stickers or patches. It seems to be popular for Canadians to do that.

[stephensessions]

Thanks everyone, I've got plenty of ideas now.

I think I'll bring a bunch of different gifts and decide what to give to whom when I arrive. I'd hate to bring whiskey to the one korean that doesn't drink or chocolate to someone who's allergic.

Cheers.