Korean Job Discussion Forums

[philipjames]

I don't get it. I'm very (very) sensitive tro second-hand noise. But it doesn't seem to bother Koreans in the slightest. Adult Koreans can't open and close a door without slamming it. They don't seem to mind the guy screaming at them over the microphone at the supermarket, or the obnoxious election trucks. How can they endure it?

[eamo]

I've asked Koreans this. They don't recognize noise pollution in the same way we do.

A couple of Koreans have told me that a busy, noisy environment makes them feel at the centre of things and that their society is prospering.

[caniff]

Because it's Korean noise. That's the best kind.

[captain kirk]

Good question! Really! I think they take that noise in and, instead of resisting it, use it to charge up. It may have to do with the culture being communal. Noise lets them know they're in the thick of things and that's where a Korean wants to be, basking audially. It lets them know they're not alone and are touching base.

Koreans believe wild birds don't sing, they cry. The bird is lonely they think. That's why it's 'crying'.

I, a Westerner, get the jitters from continual racket and think birds 'sing'.

Another question is why can't Koreans stay awake on a bus? Because it's quiet and quiet=limbo to enter, nothing happening, check out time?

I know what you're talking about, NOISE. Like at the supermarket and, near the fish and meat, a guy with a microphone is roaring and blabbering like there's an emergency/'fire sale'^^.

[Adventurer]

They are used to it; we are not. Korea is probably one of the noisiest countries in Asia. I have never been to China, but Japan didn't seem so noisy neither did the USA, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, or any European country. The noise doesn't bother me so much. I just generally ignore it and go to sleep. Get some ear plugs. I do sometimes don't like it when the audio is very bad, and you hear these girls screaming into the microphone. It is really ineffective. Koreans are used to having sensory overload with computers, noise, music etc.... America is mild in comparison. As they say, different strokes for different folks. If we were born here, we might be used to it, too.

[Bingo]

An hour ago I walked into the teachers' office to photocopy a few pages. The only Korean teacher there was sitting at a desk listening to beautiful classical music. I go about my photocopying quietly, so as not to interupt her enjoyment. Then a Korean teacher comes in slamming the door (of course)and, two minutes later, leaves slamming the door (of course). Before I'm finished two other Koreans have done the same thing. There's no sense of 'maybe I should close the door quietly as I leave'.

And if they are looking for something in a cupboard in the classroom, they open and close each cupboard loudly. Bang, bang, bang, bang, until they've found what they're looking for. There are exactly 42 cupboard doors in my classroom. Sometimes I must endure twenty or more bangs until they've found what they're looking for.

[ED209]

I think if you were brought up in a quiet neighbour hood then you will always have trouble adjusting to a noisy one. Here most people are brought up surrounded by such chaos. I was born and raised in a busy city but not as busy as the one I live in now. When ever I go home I sleep like a baby(could also have something to do with soft beds and goose down).

[Adventurer]

In North America, we often look for constant stimulus. We are very hyper-active and agitated. Those are not good things for a human being's blood pressure, mental health, heart etc.... In Korea, it is far worse. From a health standpoint, all that noise pollution is not so good, but some societies are more into silence than others. Some wanted to be constantly distracted from the moment and not be in the moment and some societies are more into the moment. When I went to Japan, I found it a lot quieter than Korea. Perhaps, the Japanese are more Zen like and into the moment more than their Asian counterparts and are not seeking as much to escape into constant stimulus, but this is a world-wide problem. Slamming a door can be exciting and stimulating for some. Koreans are not accustomed to quietness unless they are from the country.

[nicholas_chiasson]

My Dad is almost completely deaf and HATES background noise. I grew up in a house so quiet you could hear a pin drop-FOR REAL. In my elementry school I almost cry at work from the noise level.

[mnhnhyouh]

[some waygug-in]

I think it's partly to do with their culture and education. When I was in Mexico, that was one thing I noticed about Mexicans as well.... they love their noise. Friggin' hell, do they ever!

But it also is partly due to the language thingy. I've heard Koreans complaining about foreigners speaking English too loud on the subway.

I also had adult students tell me that they couldn't stand being around Chinese people because they were too noisy.

[sunnyvale]

I think most Koreans are stressed all the time, they really don't know what it feels like to be relaxed, so I'm guessing they don't know the difference.

[Draz]

I'm from rural Saskatchewan. There are very few people around and as you can imagine it is very very quiet.

I don't find Korea terribly noisy. The school isn't unreasonably noisy. The students are noisy but not horrible. The teachers are not noisy at all. The noise that gets into my apartment is nothing.

[spliff]

I thrive on noise, the more the better. Silence at school can be so stressful, IMHO.

[mnhnhyouh]