Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sojourner1]

I'm concerned about consuming loads of salt in foods almost completely empty nutrionally speaking as I already have high blood pressure which I'm trying to control by not smoking, not drinking 5 nights a week, getting exercise, and salt restriction. This is sort of a rant about awful quality food, but also a real legit concern which requires tact as to not insult their food as traditonal style food is what defines Korean people and culture.

I'm required to eat the dingy dishwater smelling extremely salty stuff called, "school lunch." As it cooks around 11AM, it just smells like dingy dish water boiling in an aluminum kettle which makes my belly churn as it growls of hunger. I then eat it at 12 with the staff, because it's expected of me to eat it and we are to stay in the school during our lunch break, but the salt is my main issue besides my feelings of getting sick due to such sick quality. There is a ton of salt in all of it, except the small 1 inch cube piece of fruit you get. The kimchee is always the most cured rancid old tasting radish variety. There's no excuse to be eating garbage like we're in a poor 3rd world country, but I'm not saying anything about the foul quality as I'm just looking to find other food to eat.

I mentioned to my accountant that this is too much salt for me to be eating as it sends my blood pressure up, gives me a head ache, and that I needed to find another option such as walking 10 minutes to my apartment for a fresh salad and other low salt food. She assured me I would be fine due to eating the kimchee as Korean people have no such problems due to eating kimchee. I said, but that doesn't apply to me due to my body not functioning like a Koreans and I'm paying here for something that is bad for me as this food does not do my body good due to not being Korean. Can I go pay for and eat my lunch elsewhere? She said, it's comes out of my pay whether if I eat or not, but I must stay at the main school at all times on the days I'm to be there. I'm the 1st foreign teacher this particular school has had so they really don't know or understand anything about my situation and condition as they expected me to work last Saturday until I showed them the contract that I don't work weekends, but thats totally unrelated to the awful food situation.

Anyone in PS not eating their food? Do you find this the worse food you ever smelled, tasted, and ate? If not eating, do they still charge you the 60 to 80 thousand won a month lunch fee? Are you paying 20 days a month when you're eating at the school only 4 days a month while eating your own food at your other schools who let you do what you want?

[Draz]

Bring a sandwich. Not sure what to do about the fact that they told you you're going to pay for it no matter what, though. My school lunch is usually pretty good, so it's never been an issue.

[Stormy]

Same as Draz.....I enjoy the school lunches served up at my schools. It sucks that they say you have to pay regardless of whether or not you eat them though.
Can you tell them you're vegetarian, or have allergies or something? Just anything that will get you out of having to eat them?

[bejarano-korea]

I like the school dinners here though we are on break so we are ordering from outside - 60-80,000 won a month? Better bloody well not be! I don't want to Carol Voderman the school accountants arse!

[Mr. BlackCat]

Next time your accountant or any Korean tries to explain to you that Korean food solves all problems, kindly remind them that Korea leads the world in stomach cancers and many other gastro issues. Many times in public bathrooms here I think I'm in an ER with all the yelping and sighing in pain.

Sorry, I've just starting working with new KTs and I'm going through the whole BS about Korean food again with them despite the fact I've lived here for 3 years. Who knew I was eating rice the 'wrong' way all this time?

[xtchr]

I actually never minded the school lunches food-wise, but I couldn't stand the crush and din of an entire school all pushing and shoving and yelling and clanging those tin plates etc, and having every teacher stare to see what/how much of a particular thing I ate, and then commenting. So this year when I changed to a new school on the first day I announced that I had a 'fish/seafood allergy' and couldn't possibly eat the meals, or else I'd be violently ill.

Now I take my own lunch and eat in peace and quiet. I still get the occasional annoying comments of course because they just can't leave it alone, like 'oh you don't like Korean food?' and 'but Korean food is good for you', 'you should just eat more Korean food, you will get used to it' etc, but I just ignore it all.

I don't get charged for any meals, your handler/co-teacher is lying, probably to save themselves some paperwork or something.

Anyway, it's brilliant, one of the best things I've done school-wise, wish I'd thought of it earlier, I no longer have a headache every afternoon.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[jdog2050]

[Stormy]

[sojourner1]

Yes, this food is awful. On Monday, they burned fish in the morning and served a real chewy tough over cooked fish drenched in salty red pepper paste for lunch. Terrible quality. Every day is either over done salty bony fish or fried tofu chigae. Some days it's salty small egg pancake things. Always a bit of radish kimchee and a large helping of plain glutonous white rice. Our lunch is so light, the Korean staff are having corn on the cob and other snacks every afternoon by 2 or 3. It says a lot when they are hungry enough to have a large platter of corn on the cob brought in. That's good natural subsistence, but it's hard field corn.

When I went to a pharmacy last year for stomach flu medicine a doctor prescribed to me, the pharmacist asked, "Is Korean food making you sick?" I said "no, I'm not adapting well to the germs as my immune system is not equipped to Korean variety of germs due to not having grown up in Korea so I'm getting sick a lot like young kids do." This year, I'm not feeling ill, yet.

How many times have I been asked, "Can you eat Korean food?" Yes, I can. Too many to count. The Koreans know their food is quite bad, but the ajjuma cooks keep doing it up in the name of traditionalism.

How many times I've been told, "It's only for us, not you." I was told this yesterday when I offered to eat lunch with one of my schools staff so I went home for a late lunch after having to wait 2.5 hours for a bus.

I felt guilty for the first several months in Korea about not liking the garbage food, but it's nothing to be ashamed of, though my only concern is fouling up my work relationships and screwing my health up. My hagwon last year served up awful lunch like I'm seeing this year and I just couldn't hack it nor could any of the other foreigners so we all went separate private ways to cure our hunger. When I went to Mc Donalds one day down the road. Where had my co-teachers been eating? You guessed it. Not my 1st choice; only once a month.

Now I know it's really going to separate me and I won't be liked if I stop eating that school lunch as the principal and accountant expect me to eat with them. This is not a real lunch break, it's a sit down and observe the foreigner eat the worst Korean food, but it's only 5 minutes as the meal is small if not eating the whole bland plain rice portion. They were rushing to keep up with me since I eat very little, but now I'm just telling them to enjoy the rest of their lunch.

I feel I'm getting penalized for having to pay for food I can't eat and then double whammyed for being expected to eat it and stay with it. Guess things could be worse as I've heard of much worse than what I've experienced.

[captain kirk]

[brento1138]

Soujourner, I agree with you about the school lunches. Yes, the meals are a combo of rancid, smelly, monotonous, and pure terrible garbage. There is the odd occasion where I enjoy it, but that is rare. Even my coworkers complain about it. The woman who sits across from me always mutters "Shillaw" and "Mashi updta" in disgust. The other teachers handle it grudgingly. My new co-teacher (unlike the last one who vehemently praised the slop) complains about it, saying her old school was better.

The biggest surprise happened last week when my PRINCIPAL even commented on the soup, saying how he hates it. And then he told me "I understand your mind" in his best English, referring to how sometimes I complain about my meal silently: by not eating things. Usually the staff comments when they notice I am missing one of the foods (the gross stuff) and then I just tell them I don't like it. They seem to understand, actually... especially with the squid.

Most of the time I fill up my plate and only eat half the stuff on there, as usually, I'm quite hungry but then lose my appetite as I eat. The staff knows I hate squid. The smell of it makes me lose interest in even sitting in the room... as it makes my appetite go away. Really, I can't stand that stuff and can't believe anyone really likes it. The soup isn't usually that bad, but yes, it's full of salt and not great for people who can't handle salt. I do think the meals are nutritious actually, as we usually get a good portion of veggies... but I tested out not eating that white rice for a couple weeks (brought bread instead) and somehow my face ended up looking less puffy, and I lost a bit of body fat in the stomach area. I really agree with sojourner that our bodies are used to a different diet, and digest things differently. With white rice, that particular kind anyhow, I think it doesn't metabolize quite right in my body and adds to my fat... mainly in the face and tummy.

But I think Korean food can be rather good. Just when it is done right. And most public schools don't do it right. I think I could handle this crap for a few months... but recently, after 1.9 years, I barely eat any of it any more... My co workers see me play with my food, like a child who doesn't like his mother's cooking. For a long time I've been bringing my own little bits to work: bananas, fruits, bagels, etc... to fill the gap. Then it isn't so bad... and in the last three weeks have secretly been sneaking out to get better tasting Korean food every odd day... when the menu is squid or octopus... or lacks any meat or something I actually like. Yeah, some days I'd actually have a big metal plate with only kimchi and rice on it... my coworkers would look at me incredulously and I'd eat half of it, until the flavor pissed me off.

The last five months or so, I have been keeping a photocopy of the menu (its in Korean but my nice co teacher helps translate some things for me) and circle the days I think the food will be good. I underline the days, in red, when we get disgusting foods or whatever... and then either bring my own meal to school or sneak out.

Ahh, the school lunch. Pretty terrible! A huge reason why I am not re-signing.

[MrRogers]

Sojourner1 wrote:

[seoulsister]

From the Labor Standards Act:

Article 53 (Recess Hours)

(1) An employer shall allow a recess period of more than 30 minutes for every 4 working hours and more than 1 hour for every 8 working hours during the working hours.

(2) A recess period may be freely used by workers.

How can they prevent you from leaving the school during your lunch break?

[Wisconsinite]

I worked in a PS where moms came in and cooked, DELICIOUS! The other PS sucked so I brought my own lunch of sandwich, fruit, and other snacks. I told them I wanted to work at my desk on lunch to plan lessons and they didn't blink an eye. I also told them I didn't want to pay and then I never had to.

Korean food is not that heallthy. White rice has no nutritional value and the refined aspect of it makes it one of the worst things to eat. They eat a lot of fried food as side dishes. They also cook everything in sesame oil and use heaps of corn syrup. None of which is healthy in large amounts. The only thing they have going is that their meals are balanced, portion controlled, and use lots of veggies.