Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Adventurer]

I remember going to Uijeongbu and people said excuse me. I have had more and more people say excuse to me in Korea than in the past.
I like that. I hope to see more of that. I have had many strangers be very friendly to me in the subway and strike up conversations with me. Some people are quite friendly and hospitable.

[Saxiif]

I went to a clinic today and the procedure cost probably 10% of what it would cost in the states and I had to wait about 5 minutes to see a specialist without a referral or an appointment.

Medical care in Korea tends to be cheap, fast and competant.

[spliff]

I've had, and continue to have, satisfactory results in the bathroom each morning. This morning was especially commodious.

[TeeBee]

I live in an apartment block on top of quite a steep hill. There's a nice little supermarket at the bottom of the hill where I do a lot of my shopping. I took a stroll down there on Saturday in the rain to do some necessity shopping, and wasn't looking forward to the stroll back.

The lady behind the counter asked me if I drove to the store, and I said no. Totally out of the blue she arranges for someone to drive me back to my place.

That was awesome! I can't imagine that ever happening back home.

[jetrash]

not really.
i see the asian dust aint too high today,so i might venture outside,till my toxic warning patch alarm triggers.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Last year in Seoul a stranger in his 30s bumped into me on the subway and turned around and said sorry. That that unique experience should stick out so much in my mind probably says something.

[maingman]

I was walking and a women (maybe early 40s) moved to one side, she was with another women i said thanks

and a male kept the door open -both happend at the weekend near my home

[Adventurer]

I had a Korean lady tell me she was sorry as a Korean that I was dealing with a cheap public school in Suwon that misled me and which led me not to take the job. I appreciate it when people understand our situation.
I truly appreciate my Korean co-workers, because they are rather nice, and we know sometimes some people are not as friendly to us foreigners, and so I appreciate that. I also really appreciate my Korean friend who lived in the states for 11 years. He is very cool to hang out with. My manager is decent enough.

[ms.catbc]

i moved about three weeks ago...

My students did not know a word of english when i started to teach them...

I can't believe how much they have learned so far...we joke around together now. No more talking to the wall! No more hearing their little eyes blinking as the only response...

[Adventurer]

Well, my students are often quite a pleasure. They are teachers, you know, we aren't the only teachers. You are more likely to be embraced, let's face it, by Korean children than the adults. They present a new face to Korea that is emerging. I mean we are talking about so many kids taught by foreigners and used to foreigners. I enjoy my town.
I like the new improvements to the subways with more modern bathrooms. I enjoy my Korean co-workers kyopo and non-kyopo.
I enjoy the things I learn on my job. I enjoy my fellow foreign co-workers. I am glad a Costco opened in Ilsan. If I feel homesick, I can go to Costco.

[climber159]

I went to Hana bank yesterday for my first wire transfer. Things couldn't have gone more swimmingly. The staff were very nice; even apologetic for their broken English. This morning when I checked my home bank account I found my money there...less than 24 hours after I initiated the transfer.

[Carlyles Ghost]

I too had a good bank transfer yesterday. A young bank clerk, maybe 28 years old, saw me, and greeted me with a happy and welcoming "Hey man!"

Whilst we waited for the computer network to "become less busy" he told me he wanted to "have a Canadian woman." I encouraged him.

He said he liked drinking Soju; I indicated that, at times, I shared his passion.

The wire transfer went well ("Okay!!") and I left with a smile. Good end to a good day.

[steroidmaximus]

It's been a pretty good 2 weeks:

- Woori bank replaced my international debit card in a matter of 10 minutes. Then the security guard brought me over to the bank machine to help me activate it. I could have done that last part by myself, but it was nice of him anyway. Let's hope the card actually works internationally.

- Finally got all the kids in the apartment complex to stop shouting Hi and giggling at me whenever I came home. It's all annyonghaseyo now, except if the kids don't live here. One little guy of about 10 had a friend over and they were in the playground. His friend started the whole "Hi! Hi! How are you??!" routine when his friend told him it wasn't nice to yell and speak that way to an adult and he should just say annyonghaseyo. That was great.

- While driving, twice in one day people let me merge into traffic.

- While at the sauna, two old guys began openly discussing the dimensions of my package. "It's not THAT big" one old guy said. The other said "It's bigger than yours!" to which I laughed. Then all three of us starting laughing and had an interesting conversation about the best times to plant different vegetables. I kid you not.

Something in the dust?

[Toon Army]

thought I`d stumbled into the wrong forum ........I don`t think people can handle all this positivity on Dave`s ESL

Nice to see a change from the usual norm of anger and bitterness on here for once

[grnmle]

I had a good day yesterday...

I woke up early to buy a ticket to Shanghai. I looked at a few travel agencies as I walked in the travel district in downtown Daegu. I finally chose one but, they didn't speak a lick of English. One of the men gestured to me that I should go across the street to a particular place. I went and the place treated me excellent. And, I got a ticket for 60% of what I thought I would pay. That was excellent.

After school I went to a screen golf/ indoor range that one of the girl's mothers from my school owns. She always lets me hit balls for free into the range part with brand new Taylor-Made golf clubs. She even set up this camera contraption so I could see all the angles of my swing. I don't take advantage of this near as much as I should because no one else I know really cares for golf where I live. Anyhow last night a local golf pro was there and he said I look like a decent golfer and he wanted to play some screen golf with me. I have a tee-time for next Tuesday.

There are lots of good things that happen everyday here. I have never had a single problem with bank transfers, mothers at my school only come in to say hello and to drop off treats for the staff. The kids at my school teach me Korean when I ask for their help. And the Korean women I have met...All helpful and kind.