Korean Job Discussion Forums

[travelingfool]

I thought I was special. I thought that because I am pretty clean cut and well dressed it would never happen to me. Well, it finally did. I was out with some coworkers and a middle aged guy confronted us, called them whores, and called me something and got all in my face. I told him to do something anatomically to himself and got right back in his face. I am not a violent person and luckily my coworkers intervened and stopped something that could have landed me in jail for a very long time.

Bottom line is this: F this place, it's just not worth it. I am tired of getting dirty looks every single day. I am tired of my Korean students telling me I don't understand anything because I am not Korean. I am tired of feeling like a total d**k walking around everywhere I go. I am tired of Koreans making excuses and blaming it on cultural differences. One of my ajosshi students told me that whites think they are better than Koreans. He said that Koreans experience racism in North America but there is no racism in Korea against westerners but rather people are afraid of speaking English. Good one there old man. I have been really trying to give this place the benefit of the doubt and was really hoping such hateful sentiments were the exception rather than the rule but I am finding out that I am sadly mistaken. If you teach adult students, you should really try to get them to say what they really think of you. We are total f-ups to them. No matter how kind, diligent, or respectful you are, you will always be fighting an uphill battle and trying to disprove your loserhood. Some of you may say that you don't care what people think of you. Well, when I am busting my rear end putting 110% into each and every lesson, I do care what people think.

It's like the more exposure I get to this place, the more disgusted I become. To those of you who can make a go of things here and not let things bother you, my hat is off to you. Unfortunately I am not that tenacious or thick skinned. When you consider that all of the paperwork, the poking and prodding of the medical exam, the falling won, and the aforementioned issues, this place is simply not worth it.

[CheeseSandwich]

Anytime an old fella gets all lippy I just wait to he is done and then give him one big sarcastich CHINCHA?

[Eedoryeong]

travelingfool,

Sorry to hear about your having met an asshole.

Then again, why not try a friendlier part of Korea? For example, I hate the big Korean cities (to live in, that is) and I find I have a much happier time in more laid-back, tons-happier areas of Korea than (for me) nasty old Seoul.

Then again, if you're here for traveling, take advantage of China. A few old-timers here got up and left for China, claiming greener pastures.

Korea's not all one ajosshi looking for a punch in the mouth.

[ytuque]

I have heard countless versions of this story where a foreigner thinks somehow that he/she is considered a cut above the rest of the foreigners in the eyes of the locals. It doesn't matter how long that you have been here, how much Korean that you speak, or how well you dress. Sadly, we are all at the lowest rung of Korean society.

[eamo]

Really dude, you meet one arsehole and get a downer. Try my home city, you'll meet guys like that every night.

Get over it and enjoy the overwhelming majority of Koreans who are friendly to foreigners.

[CabbageTownRoyals]

[Real Reality]

Banks Cite Non-existent Law on Expat Cards
By Kim Soe-jung and Park Yeon-soo, JoongAng Daily (January 28, 2008)
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2885625

Discrimination Persists as Foreign Population Grows
By Kim Soe-jung, JoongAng Daily (September 3, 2007)
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2880037

UN Panel Faults Korean Emphasis on Homogeneity: Discrimination against foreigners found widespread
By Lee Eun-ju, JoongAng Ilbo (August 20, 2007)
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2879475

UN Concern at 'Ethnocentric' Korea
Chosun Ilbo (August 20, 2007)
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200708/200708200011.html

Foreigners Have a Hard Time in Korea � Report
Chosun Ilbo (January 30, 2007)
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200701/200701300016.html

[travelingfool]

[Faunaki]

My advice to you is to completely ignore all the looks. I never notice anyone looking at me - I've lived in Asia for 6 years now - so I don't feel annoyed or belittled or whatever.

My husband, on the other hand, always gets pissed off when people stare at me like I am a monkey, but it does him no good. He's in a constant state of pissiness and I'm care free about it all.

The thing to do about Korea is this: set a goal financially, take the fucker's money, go back to your home country set up properly so you never have to live in a shit hole again.