Korean Job Discussion Forums

captain kirk · Joined: 29 Jan 2003

I can't recall any 'creepy expats' that I've met. I think, 'yeah, well, MAYBE that guy was kind of creepy' but then I have to make some assumptions to make that person 'hell yeah definitely creepy'.

I've been wronged by fellow expats in creepy, backstabbing, underhanded ways a few times, and that's sort of creepy/unpleasant BUT everybody's under stress here to a degree. The Korean working culture has imposing, mindfark managment and, above and beyond the wonderful students (most of the time), expat FTs have 'issues'. With that and the homogenous culture.

Mostly I think fellow expats, the longer they've been here, become 'real characters'. The issues mentioned above giving them a kind of rugged individualist tunnel vision to cope with their sense of being surrounded and 'different', a vision which directly supports themselves.

As a thread opposite and parallel to the 'What amounts to the creepiest expat you've seen?' here's the question; 'What amounts to the coolest expat you've seen?'.

For me it's just about every foreigner. Why? Koreans have their homogenous culture and, walking amongst them, like an oddball, like a freak, like a 'Stranger in a Strange Land', like an astronaut is the guy or girl totally not of this earth, not of this Korean earth. It's cool. I always wanted to meet an alien, be an alien, have strange powers (such as being able to speak English), etc.

eamo · Joined: 08 Mar 2003 Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.

WoBW · Joined: 07 Dec 2007 Location: HBC

The coolest expat I've met is the guy who used his credit card to pay for my flight home when my dad had cancer. I'd only known him for about 4 months at the time. (Yes, I paid him back when I could).

We're still good friends and working on a book project together.

Another cool guy who I had great times with has gone back to America, he's now a cop in Montana. I miss him, he was a laugh.

Lekker · Joined: 09 Feb 2008 Location: Seoul

Pligganease · Joined: 14 Sep 2004 Location: The deep south...

Arlo.

poet13 · Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2008 5:56 pm Post subject:

I'd say my riding buddy shannon. 57 years old. Works at a university. Rides his bike all over the province. Plyas b-ball with the uni boys, and can post with any of them. Plays several instruments (banjo, dobro, and somethign else) with the Pickerson Grinners (bluegrass). The cut their first CD this psring and they play in Pohang now and then as well as other places in Korea.

MollyBloom · Joined: 21 Jul 2006 Location: James Joyce's pants

I'm pretty cool!

Pooty · Joined: 15 Jun 2008 Location: Ela stin agalia mou

A2Steve · Joined: 10 Nov 2007

the one who laughed at my stories of the psycho roomate and then said I reminded him of his anthropology professor.

I hope the Indiana Jones fedora was only partially for that response.

MollyBloom · Joined: 21 Jul 2006 Location: James Joyce's pants

shaggy · Joined: 11 Sep 2007

MollyBloom · Joined: 21 Jul 2006 Location: James Joyce's pants

i4NI · Joined: 17 May 2008 Location: Seoul

Go to the coex mall, it's full of creepy looking expats.

Scotticus · Joined: 18 Mar 2007

sojourner1 · Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2008 11:56 pm Post subject:

OK, the other thread is creepy expats and this is the coolest expat thread.

I thought the American trout fishing guide guy in Changwon is really a cool one, but I only hung out with him once for a beer though he's a great writer who knows more about Korea than any other expat I know of. Really good guy if you get a chance to meet him.