Korean Job Discussion Forums

[MaestroCantus]

I'm probably leaving for Korea in May, and I was shopping for business work clothes (as I am leaving the University world of Jeans & sweatshirts), and was shocked to see that I've gained a ton of weight in the past year -- probably from a variety of stressful situations.

Only a year ago, I was a women's US-size 10, but now I'm on the upper limit of normal-sized clothing. Yes, I feel disgusted with this, and am planning on cutting back on food and exercising.

[I'll be living with a nice Korean family -- my friend suggested this job...and she lived with them--, so I'll probably try to limit myself to eating the serving sizes of their teenage daughters -- Yay, free food! . . . or maybe fill my stomach up with Kimchi or something low in carbs . . . Do you know of any Korean food that's good to fill-up on?]

I was just wondering:

1) Should I pack mostly the clothes I know that I could fit into, and just pray that I find smaller clothes to wear once I actually begin to loose weight?
2) Should I leave a selection of smaller clothes with my parents in Canada, and ask them to mail them to me once I begin to loose weight?
3) Should I bring a selection of my smaller clothes with me (that I currently can't even fit into)?

Or can I expect to find clothing in Seoul? Or find a seamstress to make me some clothes/modify my clothes into a smaller size?

[teachergirltoo]

Definitely bring clothes that fit initially so you are not uncomfortable and you look good. I would also bring the professional clothes that you are aiming to wear in short order. Good suits are much easier to find and more economical if bought in America or Canada. On my last trip abroad, I brought five business suits back with me for work. They only took up a third of a suitcase which is not much - especially if you find something you like that you intend to wear often. It can be challenging for a women over 5'7'' to find good fitting well made clothes here. And if you have feet larger than an 8 make sure you bring yourself a good selection of footwear. Since you are bringing clothes for four seasons you may decide to bring a third duffel because they only charge you $100 extra at the airline and that is cheaper than buying a selection of clothes here or paying for shipping and having them sent here.

[teachergirltoo]

I did not notice your last question regarding finding a seamstress to alter your present clothes. Yes, that is possible here.

[tfunk]

It's quite easy to lose weight if you eat Korean food. The problem I found is 'comfort food' - Western convenience foods are all of the fatty variety over here. Hamburgers, big bags of potato chips are relatively easy to find and handy.

So, join a gym or Taekwondo class and you'll be matchstick thin by the end of the year!

[aalais]

You can find clothes here cheap, but it can be challenging. If your school dress code is business casual and you aren't too tall, I wouldn't worry about finding smaller clothes -- you can definitely buy things here. If it's more formal than that, I think the above poster's advice is good.

I've lost weight since I've been here, and the only thing I categorically have not been able to find is bras in sizes larger than an A or B cup. I went from a 34 to a 32 band, and when I go into a lingerie store the ajummas running the place either take one look at my rack, laugh and shoo me out, or try to sell me a bra that's ludicrously small. Jackets can also be tough to find if you're busty.

You can definitely lose weight here. Coming from a Western diet, Korean food will make you lose weight, especially if you skip the pork. I'm a vegetarian, and between jet lag and a few days eating nothing but kimchi and rice in school lunches, I lost about ten pounds my first month.

As far as how to fill up, just do it the way the Koreans do -- rice and soup are the main dishes, meat is a side. I'd caution you against leaping into a food restriction diet as soon as you get here, though, because the food is probably lower calorie than what you're used to, anyway, and you might make yourself sick. For restaurants, bibimbap (sans meat) is good comfort food that won't blow your diet, and shabu shabu is fun to eat and not too high calorie.

Good luck!

[Flash Ipanema]

I disagree with all the people saying it's easy to lose weight and that Korean food is healthy. Other than galbi and such, the meals don't have that much meat. Most meals are comprised of a LOT of rice or noodles - carbs with almost no nutritional value whatsoever. I thought I would lose weight with all the walking and "healthy Korean food" - I was wrong. I didn't gain weight, but I didn't lose it either.

(For the record, I ate Korean for lunch everyday and rarely ate fast food. I could only get "good" Western food if I went into Seoul on the weekends since my area basically only had pizza, hamburgers and fried chicken.)

Also - never keep clothes that are too small just because you think you'll eventually be able to fit into them. Especially since you'll have limited space to pack clothes. I recommend only bringing clothes that currently fit. If they get to be too big, you can get them tailored a little smaller until you can fit into Korean sizes. The largest size I usually find in stores is about a US 10.

Sorry to be a bitch, but one of my all-time pet peeves is confusing lose with loose. If you lose weight, your pants will be loose!

[MaestroCantus]

[aalais]

[ciccone_youth]

i think it depends for every individual, but i also lost weight since i got here. i used to only eat salads back home, but here i eat rice every day and lots of meat, and i got thinner. it is possible to lose weight in korea if you make the right food choices (it's also easy to make bad choices, so many unhealthy snacks are available).

as for the exercise, there is plenty to do: join a gym, go hiking on weekends, take tae kwon do, and you'll do lots of walking especially if you live in seoul!

take some of your clothes to feel comfortable at first. sizes are small here, it's a fact. i went shopping for jeans at uniqlo and noticed their biggest size is 29 (which is a US 6 or 8?). same deal for many clothes, usually they only have one size in little boutiques. bras are limited to A and B cups, and good luck on finding shoes over a size 8. you'll be able to find clothes i'm sure, if you look around. maybe i haven't looked very much, but that's the general feeling i got.

good luck, and if you have any other questions go ahead!

[smurfetta]

Definitely bring clothes with you! I'm a 5'2" and I find that pants fit really funny here. I usually make sure that I buy pants when I am in a western country during my vacation. I'm pregnant now and even maternity pants don't fit properly. I have no problems with tops and skirts mind you. Also, bring bras! They love their super padded reinforced armoured bras here.

I find that Korean teenage girls are not that slim until they hit high school and start dieting. They eat a lot of fried snack food after school before they go to their hagwons. Actually, I used to wonder how Korean women could eat so much food and not gain weight until I discovered their secret. At a restaurant, they will spend most of the time either talking or preparing the food and serving. Plus, I think there is a high rate of eating disorders here.

As for Korean food- I don't find it that healthy. It is usually fried, too salty, too sugary or/ and fatty. Some dishes are low fat like doenjang jjigae and myeok guk but beware of the high salt content. Bimbimbap is healthy in terms of the veggies they put into it but the white rice boosts up the calorie amount of that dish. I used to think that the vegetable side dishes were really healthy until I watched a Korean friend prepare them. She dumped a whole lot of sugar into a garlic shoot salad side dish. So, it really depends on who is preparing the dishes. Plus, many Koreans eating a shocking amount of meat. They love eating pork. I was a vegetarian before I came to Korea so I have a real hard time with the amount of meat that they eat here.

So, to the OP, if you want to lose weight, avoid any restaurants that serve a lot of meat dishes such as galbi and samgyeopsal. Stick to veggie and seafood dishes.

Personally, I only eat western, Indian, Mexican and Thai food at home. When eating out I prefer to go to either Japanese, Indian, Korean traditional (lots of banchan, less meat), or Korean spicy fish soup restaurants.

Also, I noticed that you said that you are planning on living with a Korean family. Are you sure you want to do that? I would rather have my own space where I can cook what I want and have time to myself. Koreans do everything as a group together. I don't think they get much alone time. My Korean friend says that the amount not the quality of time spent together is more important. When my husband and I spend time with our Korean friends we usually have to spend most of the day and evening with them. You can't simply go out for supper with them. You have to go back to their apartment and eat fruit or visit a museum or drink tea. Don't get me wrong it can be quite fun but sometimes really tiring.