Korean Job Discussion Forums

[lastat06513]

I had this kind of thing happen to me many times over the years. I have just come up with this as an example as to what would transpire (keep in mind, this conversation would be in a mixture of English & Korean.)

A: Hi [English]
Me: Hi [Korean]
A: Excuse me, where are you [English]
Me: Sorry, I don't speak English and I can't speak much Korean.
[very poor, infant-level Korean]
A: Oh, where are you from? [Korean]
Me: I'm Russian [Korean]
A: Oh, sorry. But you speak Korean very well (Again, the biggest lie I
continue to hear)
[Korean]
Me: Thank you. [bow politely and in Korean]
A: Take care [Korean]
Me: Good bye [bow one more time and in Korean]

Trust me, use this and keep an uninterested look on your face and no one will do that again to you...

[Butterfly]

Do you have many friends?

[lastat06513]

As a matter of fact, yes, I have many friends, both Foreign and Korean.
Many foreigners such as myself, will know whether the person truly wants to be friends or just wants to practice English.
I'm not negative or something, but I want to relax after work and don't want to waste my time and energy doing something that I do all day, day in and day out.
If you haven't noticed, or too ignorant to see, that when a foreigner asks something to a Korean, the Korean will generally wave away the foreigner, even if he/she speaks Korean. The reason is that they have a low opinion of foreigners due to the negative publicity we get in the media and what their parents tell them while they are growing up.
Perhaps, butterfly, if you had stayed here as long as I have or even as long as some of us have, you might learn the true value of us being here.
HINT: It's not for a cultural exchange.

[Butterfly]

[lastat06513]

Butterfly, I'm not here to get into a insult match, especially with you. That would be a waste of my time, and my time is more important than to be spent in the likes of you,ok?
But I will add one more last thing before I end this senseless argument.
If you don't know and again, too ignorant to see with your own two crossed eyes, The reason Koreans accept foreign influence is for their own personal gain, nothing more. If they see something that will benefit them, they will adopt it. Be it Hanja (which is chinese) and hojuje (which is actually a japanese concept), Koreans have adopted many things into their culture because it is something that helps them economically or socially.
As for that snide remark about my character?
That's completely on you and I'm not going to stop you from thinking like a child. If you are here to make insulting remarks about people who have a different opinion then you, then please direct it to people who care.
You must accept the fact that there are people who are critical about being here. It doesn't necessarily mean they hate being here. If I truly hated being here, why do I stay for so long?
Someday, you'll wake and open your eyes and see that there are both good and BAD things about living in Korea.
BTW- One of my jobs is to teach flight attendants Enlgish and tourguides about how to explain Korea to foreigners. So, I know a smidge about Korea and how Koreans think.And, I have even taken the time to learn alittle Korean and Hangeul to get by here:)

Oh! Thank you and have a nice day [/b]

[Austin]

Butterfly,

I hear you loud and clear, and though it matters little, I completely agree with you. Attitude is key. Moreover, it sure helps if you enjoy what you are doing.

As it stands, I love teaching, and I love to help those that have an interest in improving their language ability. I would do it for free (and I have), as long as I could still attain my personal goals.

All people have to do is recognize/notice when they are doing something that they truly enjoy and try to figure out a way to make a living doing it!

The only time I feel "drained" is when I have spent the day doing something that I do not enjoy.

Austin

BTW, those that get irritated from being approached have much bigger issues.

[little mixed girl]

......

[Butterfly]

Lovely post LMG, and thanks Austin, do I need to do more than to post this again?

[adventureman]

[little mixed girl]

.....

[maxxx_power]

How often are y'all approached? It seems I am a freak magnet here. On the subway it seems that every other time I ride I get someone approaching me and trying to talk. It's usually someone with a mental disability or religious nutball but about 25% of the time it's a middle aged Korean man who obviously wants to practice English. It must just be Seoul but it's constant and getting very irritating.

I do enjoy the one out of 100 times it's a cheery older man who tells me his Korean war stories. The old timers know how not to annoy the whitey.

I feel like a total asshole but now when someone just starts talking to me I open my phone and pretend to text someone or just stand up and walk away. I'm tired of being targeted by complete strangers who feel the need to talk to me.

I'm going to speak Indonesian next time someone talks to me or start blabbering away in my crappy Spanish.

Mr. Pink's comment about talking to total strangers on the subway back home rings true to me. It's rude to pester complete strangers, especially so in a closed environment like a subway car.

[kangnamdragon]

Why do people complain when Koreans are not friendly, then complain when they try to speak to us?

[maxxx_power]

[kangnamdragon]

[dogbert]