Korean Job Discussion Forums

[captain kirk]

Hola, my Korean English co-teacher didn't show up for work. I asked the remaining co-teacher and she said she was in the hospital. I said what? You mean she's sleeping there? Yes. And the remaining co-teacher said that, in the Spring, usually three teachers in the county end up in the hospital as a result of overwork. She herself went to the hospital for this reason but didn't stay overnight. One treatment is an IV of glucose.

The co-teacher who went into the hospital and who is now AWOL for that reason has been a public elementary teacher for 10 years already. At the same time another Korean English co-teacher, at another elem school took a day off sick.

I find this ODD. I suspect it has to do with what I don't know a lot about! That is what it's really like being a Korean teacher in elementary school. All the paperwork, meetings, duty, and dilligence. At the same time how can someone who has taught ten years already not pace themselves so that they end up so exhausted they must be carted to the hospital?

Is it a kind of subconscious protest on the part of the collapser? Consciously they do their duty to the utmost, conscienctious as can be, but inside they don't give a shit and realize that all this dilligence is driving them...to the hospital. Is it like a protest AND indication of dilligence; 'this teacher has gusto BUT we're driving them too hard'.

Korean teachers work every other Saturday. Bollocks!

She has grade five and six classes which she teaches solo and that may have been alot of bother; she complained about rude students.

But my point is has anyone ever heard about this phenomena? I haven't missed a day of work or a class in 13 years teaching English.

Is it to do with claiming sick leave, wedging in a 'mini-vacation?. Nahh. Who'd want the 'stigma' of seeming weak? Or is it a protest and indication of dilligence? As in 'Koreans are masters of passive aggression'. 'Look at me, you bastards, I've collapsed for you? Happy now?'.

[captain kirk]

I forgot to mention that it's apparently in Korean lore that 'Spring makes you tired'. I agree totally. Spring is energizing. People throw it away being as busy as they can putting that Spring energy to hyper-use.

[little mixed girl]

there's a word in japanese called "karoshi", death from overwork.

apparently in the 80s workers were dying mysterious deaths and the only thing connecting them was rigourous work.

i would guess that they have some stress related fatigue.
maybe she's doing more work than you think?

[idonojacs]

Aside from the idiocy of having to work Saturdays, I can hardly see how teaching English would be all that strenuous. Most of the time is spent pressing the mouse button to have the computer read the sentence aloud. Even the Korean teachers are not spending eight hours a day in the classroom. And I have never, ever seen a place with more holidays. Like tomorrow. A whole day off to spend 15 minutes voting. Right.

So what's going on?

Probably chronic fatigue syndrome.

Two factors in Korea would contribute to this: Koreans do not believe in staying home in bed when they are sick. Working sick would tend to burn out your system in a number of ways; illness is often a trigger to CFS.

The other factor is the abysmally bad diet in Korea. The Korean diet violates just about every modern health-food type rule. One of those rules is don't eat the same food, day after day after day. There is no variety in the Korean diet. So many of them are probably developing food allergies. Soybeans contain toxins, and they eat them every day. Red peppers are very, very bad for some people, yet they are worshiped like a god here. Eating raw cabbage every day will shut down your thyroid production. Eat lots of animal fat, and you eat all the fat soluble chemicals and hormones the animal has been exposed to,, which get stored in your fat. Plus the fat is often rancid here. And for some reason, most of them seem to think vitamin pills are bad for you; bad, bad, bad. But anything in a little glass bottle with loads of sugar, is good, good , good. Plus, many Koreans, children and adults, are becoming sugarholics.

Want me to go on?

Koreans, to the extent they are shifting from their "traditional" diet, are adopting the worst of the Western diet.

That, and the insanity of working sick in the school cauldron of germs and viruses, could easily bring on CFS.

Another factor to consider is the casual way Koreans allow themselves to be exposed to a combination of insecticides. Very bad idea.

Also, mold. A BIG cause of CFS. If the school is moldy, or the apartment is moldy, people can get run down fast.

The reason one's energy crashes when CFS hits is the hormonal system gets out of whack from all the stress on the body. Specifically, the HPA axis: the hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal axis. These control the interface of the mind and the glands that regulate the body's production of energy. One symptom can be low blood pressure.

Usually CFS, when it causes a collapse, is due to a combination of factors. The only way out of CFS is to remove as many of those causal factors as possible. But to most Koreans, questioning Korean customs is unthinkable. Just try telling a Korean that soy or kimchi is bad for them. Tell them to type "soy dangers" into google. See how far you get.

So the only way out for them is in the hospital. Not surprising. But sad.

[DrunkenMaster]

[maingman]

little mixed girl wrote :
would guess that they have some stress related fatigue

what ?

[Netz]

[kermo]

It's true. Overwork is a scourge here.

http://theyangpa.wordpress.com/2006/04/22/korea-tops-global-busyness-index/

[moosehead]

[weatherman]

As the other posters wrote, over work and diet are big factors, but she might also have very demanding kids, husband, parents, parents-in-laws, boyfriend....

There is mostly likely a lot going on after work which should be considered too.

[captain kirk]

[idonojacs]

If the blood pressure is very low from adrenal exhaustion, one thing that can happen is the person can fall over on their face when they try to get up, from dizziness due to the low blood pressure. You might watch for this. In such a person, extra sodium is actually beneficial in maintaining the blood pressure.

One possible treatment for adrenal exhaustion is large doses of pantothenic acid, a B vitamin. This is the stress vitamin, really the only stress vitamin, in that it is the only one that helps protect the adrenal gland from the effects of stress, and can significantly improve a normal person's ability to handle physical stress. Pantothenic acid and vitamin E are a good option for treating adrenal exhaustion.

She should resist the temptation to indulge in sweets for quick energy. This just leads to hypoglycemia, which forces the adrenal gland to work overtime to turn out adrenalin, aka epinephrine, to bring the blood sugar level back up through the release of glycogen from the liver. She should also avoid caffeine, because this also triggers glycogen release.

Did you know the author of "Seabiscuit," Laura Hillenbrand, had CFS when she wrote the best seller?

[Harpeau]

A very interesting thread, indeed. I would also like to chime in with the national sleep deficiency. Many people are sleep deprived and are oblivious to why we need sleep and what will happen if we don't get enough. People here seem to lack the balance in knowing how to take care of themselves. Some of my uni students get 4 hours of sleep per night during the weekdays and then sleep 14-16 hours a day on the weekend. What's with that?!

A couple of my students told me that they need 8-10 hours of sleep per night. Do they get it? Not usually. Most people would label them as lazy. There is also the reality of not getting enough consecutive sleep each night. People's REM/NON-REM patterns are constantly being interrupted because of interuptions in sleep at 2 AM, etc. (Phone calls, text-messages, loud drunk ajoshis outside, etc.) The cops really need to crack down on noise after 11 PM, IMHO.

[crsandus]

I recently ran into this "Spring fever" phenomenon. I tutor two kids a couple times a week. Usually after an hour with each, I have a 30 minute "chat" with the mother as part of my tutoring. She asks about idioms, certain American customs, and how to pronounce certain words. One day a couple weeks ago I didn't chat with her (actually didn't see her at all) because she was sick. The following week I talked to her and she said that she had spring fever. I asked what that was and she explained it that Koreans get it every spring. Symptoms are fatigue, sleepiness, and sometimes headaches. She asked if people in America get it and I said "Not that I know of." I would normally chalk it up to an old wives' tale but this mother used to be a nurse and husband is a cardiologist.

Not sure if it's a cultural/diet/work thing but the mother currently is a housewife and takes a couple of easy uni classes. She normally eats a Korean diet but her kids get exposed to plenty of western food. Perhaps allergies and changing weather?

[Netz]

Koreans need to quickly rethink their "work culture". It's clear to me from my experience working with them is that they seldom draw a distinct line between work/social/family life.

Korea has all the technology in the world to assist them in being more efficient, but they cling to the "old ways" which do not match the modern world they've created.

Until they stop thinking that they need to stay at the office for 14 hours a day, and pretend to be busy half the time (or sleeping off last night's drinking binge), they will continue to suffer from exhaustion.

The biggest reason they need to do this, is so that they might actually get something done, instead of wasting half of their lives saving face in a vain attempt to draw sympathy/pity/respect/admiration from other Koreans who are all awash in their own sanctimonious pretentions of "productivity".

No one believes it anymore, and the statistics on Korean worker productivity bear that sad truth out.

Do I feel sorry for them? Not one bit, because that's exactly what they want, and they've created their own woes.

If they could just actually "work" for at least half the day, and skip all the busywork, they might have something finished by closing time.

Wait, now it's time to go out and drink themselves silly......again.

Back to the grindstone I guess.