Korean Job Discussion Forums

[nolegirl]

[Draz]

[nautilus]

I'm 60% introvert, 40% extrovert

[mindmetoo]

I've become less introverted as I got older. But yeah I do enjoy my alone time. Korea is a great place to be alone and I might think introverts tend to do better, especially if you're the only whitey at your school.

[Kikomom]

You don't have to be at extreme ends of the scale. Here's a simple 10 question test even the brainiacs can handle:

My scores:

[nautilus]

If you're happy being inward-looking, as I am, then wheres the problem?

This is one of the things koreans just don't understand about me. I enjoy my alone time! Wether it be surfing the web, hiking, photography or reading..I love it. I view life as a journey of self-discovery. my alone time is not exactly unproductive.

Instead they are forever asking me at work- "Are you going hiking ALONE (???!!!) this weekend?
"yes, I often prefer it that way. I am a westerner after all".

[jajdude]

[tfunk]

[tomato]

I've found that being introverted is an effective check against culture shock.
What difference does it make whether I'm a stranger in another culture or whether I'm a stranger in my own culture?

[nautilus]

[tfunk]

Googling the definition of 'extrovert':

a person concerned more with practical realities than with inner thoughts and feelings


A useful understanding of introverted nature(I think Harpeau refers to this) puts the introversion/extroversion model in terms of energy patterns - some people are invigorated in social situations, others recharge in 'quiet time' by themselves. The idea of being obsessed with our own thoughts is too simple, and a little bit derogative.

The model of energy patterns helped me explain, understand and accept my nature, as introversion par se isn't something to be overcome.

Reading a definition of extroversion and it would seem that their character is more grounded in reality - in contrast the introverted personality is 'airy fairy' and 'out of touch' with reality.

It is possible for an introvert to be socially adroit, and an extrovert to be awkward...although the odds are generally stacked against us.

[Bryan]

I think that's a poor definition and doesn't describe the type of personality that we are thinking about.

Someone like Thomas Edison, who spends all of his time in his lonesome, perfecting his inventions and performing tests, just him and his tools, is an introvert in my book. But by the definition you had found, he is an extrovert since he is constantly focused on reality. He is so focused on reality that he doesn't care about the thoughts and opinions of people who say he could fail.

I would go ahead and say that neither introverts nor extroverts necessarily place feelings above reality, but that extroverts may have the danger of placing people's opinions above reality. That is a form of substituting feeling and faith for thought. In practice, introverts commonly have this problem too; the shy people who are constantly terrified of other people's judging them so they don't act in a matter consistent with their thoughts. So both groups can have the problem of placing people's opinions over reality. It's called being "Second-Handed" by Ayn Rand.

http://www.aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/secondhanders.html

Introspection and extrospection are different than introversion and extroversion. Introspection means concerning yourself with your thought processes and feelings. Extrospection means using your senses to empirically evaluate reality.

[nautilus]

[Lord Dimwit Flathead]

As an introvert with unorthodox interests and personal preferences, I have asked myself many times if I was Incorrect as the surrounding society would have me believe.

My last few years of experience have led to the opposite conclusion of the original poster. I have seen again and again how extroverts move through society easier than I do, but the price is high. What is proper in society only enjoys such status merely by being upheld by the sheer inertia of being accepted as a standard within a group. No matter how silly, how stupid, how random, a new social development might be, the most extroverted of the population are all but chained to it for good or for ill. They are slaves to fashion, struggling to change like chameleons according to every breeze that ripples the texture of the collective. In rapid paced modern societies, their very identities are inseperable from the chaos; it's enough to reduce them all to nervous wrecks. In my experience, extroverts are more successful in attaining status and finding mates, but they are constantly stressed out and in turmoil. Ironically, they have no means by which to appreciate their greater success because they figure their happiness relative to whatever group they happen to be a part of.

True extroverts cannot be masters of their own happiness, because they are happy only according to, and by permission of their group. Whether they are happy or wretched is a roll of the dice whether they are high or low in status.

To really be at peace with oneself requires having a well-defined discrete identity and the ability to identify one's personal needs and satisfy them. Some degree of introversion is required to accomplish this. Whether the introvert accomplishes more or less is a moot point: it requires some degree of introversion for inner peace and for any concept of good or accomplishment to be independent from the monolithic, impersonal forces that govern mass societies.

I have found even survival in this world difficult, yet I have found again and again whenever it comes to a moment of decision that I would not trade my life for that of the socialite under any circumstances.

I find both the greatest joys and the greatest meaning of my life in the peaceful and independent hours. What it costs me in terms of social capital is of peripheral concern, so long as I can figure a means to food and shelter. I require far less for happiness than does the extravert, and it is a more serene, more reliable happiness than can be found in the endless excitations and fluctuations of a highly social life.

[Ukon]