Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jdog2050]

[Carmy]

What did you think of Korea?
First impressions was that it was not aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
The smells were awful.
Too crowded.
People were VERY friendly. And some could speak English (bonus)


What was most embarrassing?
Not being able to speak Hangul and having to sign language my way through conversations.
Not being able to stomach the food in the first few days at school.

What was most disappointing?
The apartment! Oh how I cried when I saw the bathroom set up. But I got used to it and that's all that matters.
The lack of sexy Korean men...sorry but I just didn't find anyone attractive.
Not making it in time to be there for the 2002 World Cup. Got there a month later

What was most satisfying?
Being able to read the Hangul script (helps a lot when trying to decipher tickets/places etc)
Being able to make small talk (ok very very small talk)
Walking around at 4a.m and feeling absolutely SAFE!!
Finishing my year in Korea and knowing that I could take on the rest of the world with a smile:)

[Letiz7]

Moscow with mountains. Nice temperature (after Bangkok). Why can't there be piping hot noodles for a buck a bowl?
There are no Jap cars here...

Lunch-ee. English-ee. H-ee. WTF?!

Grey. Tall apartments. 364 days to go.

[Miles Rationis]

FUCKINGGGGGGGGGGGGG POLLUTEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD.......

[simpleminds]

[Tiger Beer]

I just thought it was weird that back alleys had so much food and people in them.

[umpittse]

[sarbonn]

As this is my second time here, my first impression was somewhat unique, especially because it has been 20 years since I have been here. My first thought was that things have definitely changed for the better for a great deal of the population. I had a blog post about it here: http://www.littlesarbonn.com/2008/10/observation-on-state-of-women-in-south.html.

It's kind of a unique adventure, discovering Korea for the second time. My first time here was pretty limited, as I was in the Army back then, but this time around, I kind of have the freedom to just roam around and explore.

Relearning the language has been a bit diffifult, I might add, but I'm struggling through it.

[jkelly80]

1st thought: Man I love these triangle kimbaps.

[Dharma_Blue]

Looks more Stalinist and a lot less "Asian" than I thought, are you sure this is the South??

After a few days: this might be what Japan looks like if Japan had an abortion

[sojourner1]

My first impression was extremely dirty and polluted. I was shocked beyond belief by how dirty it looked and smelled and how it exaggerated in my mind as being much worse than it really is. The unusually overly powering smells of sewers, food, and people's breath just grossed me out to the point I wanted to run. I then was eying the smog in the sky and strange smoky odors and just freaking the heck out. I still gross out on these 1st impressions of Korea, but I'm used to it and just learned to tolerate and ignore it.

When it came to Korean people, my 1st impression was cold, rude, and unscrupulous as my hogwon director and recruiter were the 1st ones I met. They were not warmly welcoming, but just all about business like robots. On my 1st day, I walked into my directors office and introduced myself and told a little about myself, but she wouldn't talk or say anything, but is almost a fluent speaker of English. She then got on the phone and was speaking Korean really fast for 5 minutes. This freaked me the heck out and I thought at first I was not what they expected so they may have been disappointed. Fact is, it had nothing to do with me, I'm just overly sensitive and analyzing to far into things. Hagwon business is just that way and it does give 1st timers and others a very bad impression.

[esetters21]

[M-su]

I'm better than you!

[exit86]

Friends, we might want to watch what we say regarding the local women,
especially taking into account the fact that the OP's post has certain structural elements and phrasings commonly found in the local ESL speaker's prose and lexicon. It would be a shame if such a cool thread would be reduced to nothing more than fuel for the "Male Whitey is bad" rhetoric so common in this country, to be broadcast on the next MBC special "news" report or scribbled all over the Naver site.
Think before you post.


As for me, upon my arrival at Kimpo,
I recall feeling like I was in a 1970's Hong Kong film
(actually, I think of the existing scenes from "Game of Death,"
which was shot in Korea way back when).

I recall the mountains (I am from the flat, boring US Midwest)

I recall the smells of the various fermented foods, thinking "Man, I gotta eat this stuff for the next few years?"

I recall that everyone dressed so formally--young and old. Men my age wore trousers with shirts tucked in and pefectly-combed and gelled hair;
ladies all wore business-style slacks and blouses (no skirts, and no dresses as everyday attire) with the hair pulled back tightly (often into the balled-up pony-tail).

I recall the black, white, and grey cars--all four-door style and most with tinted windows.

I recall the smiles (when they happened to be present), which seemed
so much more bright than what I was accustomed to.

I recall loving what I thought was Korean food (김밥, 삼각김밥, 우동, 팥빙수, 돈까스, 붕어빵, 라면) only to learn that such food was in fact of Japanese origin and not "Korean" at all.

[cheeseface]

My first thoughts were........


"Christ this place is polluted as hell"