Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dimitri31]

To those not married to a Korean:

With the won as low as it is, what is there to keep you in Korea?

I mean, the culture sucks and generally, the people are racist, xenophobic, and the type to smile to your face and then talk behind your back...
(not being racist, but having lived here several years now, I speak what I've seen, and have the right to my opinion.)


I'm trying to keep a positive outlook, but I can't lie to myself.
Maybe I'm missing something...

So, honestly, why stay???

[Zantetsuken]

Dimitri...better don your armor.. Because you're about to face an onslaught from the F-2 crew.....don't say I didn't warn you bro.

[Gaber]

I find the people to be perfectly tolerable - little better or worse than what I was used to back home. Plus, fewer fatties.

The won is likely to pick up a good bit before I ship out. I'd be more worried if I was leaving soon.

But the main reason I'm still here is my GF is American and I'm a Kiwi, so we're kinda stuck here till we either split or get married. Which is fine by me. Seoul rocks (air quality not withstanding).

[afsjesse]

Culture sucks??? I greatly beg to differ. It is true that Koreans are up in your face about alot of things, but better than beating around the bush I'd say. I like to food and some of the music. I also like the respect they show one another. I find most of the people I meet are kind and regardless of if they talk behind my back or not I still respect them.

Going back to the US where people will lie, cheat, and steal just as much as any other people is not a big change in my opinion. The only difference is that you will understand what they are saying. I also find Korea to be a beautiful country in the rural areas and the mountains are spectacular in my part of the country.

So what happened to you that made you so bitter? Korea is not perfect by any means and LOTS of things do bother me but not enough to say the "culture sucks"?

[maingman]

hey, bro or Dude?


"Day by day, in every way, I am getting better and better." Emil Coue

[Otherside]

Why do I stay in Korea?

Pick one:

1. Korean girls are smoking hot.
2. I can get hot Korean tail, but back home girls won't even talk to me.
3. I'm one of the 90%+ of Dave's posters who earn in excess of 4mill a month, teach 3 classes a week and have 8 months paid vacation. Oh, and the 45pyung apartment in Gangnam isn't bad either.
4. I was a hugely succesful investment banker back home, but since the Financial crisis, the standing offer I had to be a director at Lehman Brothers has fallen away.


Personally, I'm all of the above. (except the back half of #2, I was dating supermodels back home.)

[TheUrbanMyth]

[red_devil]

[bobbybigfoot]

[Underwaterbob]

I've been here four years now and am not married to a Korean. I stay because it's a good, easy life. I encounter little to none of the racist, xenophobic crap people are perpetually whining about. I enjoy hoeshik, and have no problem with drinking soju now and then with co-workers. I work at two different schools both of which are very happy to have me. The vacations and amount of free-time are sufficient to let me pursue my hobbies and to travel. Apartment is paid for, the motorcycle is a breeze and cheap to keep running and the snowboarding is decent.

My most significant reason for staying is that I actually enjoy teaching in Korea a great deal. It's not my ideal job, but it's one I get a kick out of and feel good about doing.

Obviously not everything is good about Korea, and I certainly have my days where I think the whole country is against me. I succumb to road rage now and again when driving to work in the morning (8AM traffic is the absolute worst) The racist and xenophobic tendencies are there though it's hardly in the proportion you'd expect from the amount of bitching going on on Dave's.

[wayfarer]

Why I'M not staying: because my school won't let me go home after my last class, so I'm reduced to reading stupid shite on Dave's until 4:30.

[sobriquet]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

I have a full-time job I love that pays all the bills. While I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that that's a first for me, it is. And I don't think that most Koreans are that bad, even if they can drive me a bit crazy sometimes.

[fromtheuk]

Why stay in Korea? Here I go....

1) I like the humid weather from July-September. Back in England, we are pleased if we even get one month of warm weather in summer. The weather here is far better in summer. I actually get to wear a t-shirt here. Many Brits work hard to be able to go on holiday abroad for a couple of weeks, looking for hot weather. I experience hot weather for at least 3 months a year and I get paid for it.

2) Thank God, I have no debts to pay, so there is no need for me to leave, I am still saving money here. And I won't exchange currency until the exchange rate improves. I can wait for as long as it takes.

3) I cannot find a job with the same benefits I get here, back in England.

4) I love the absence of violent crime in Korea. I feel very safe in public and I have never experienced any hint of a serious physical attack.

Sadly, England has become an unsafe, violent country. I don't miss the crime there at all. It's a fact even to this day, in the roughest parts of Britain, ethnic minorities may suffer physical violence. In Korea, I've never experienced that, I am the only foreigner where I live.

No Paki-bashing in Bucheon.

Not bad for a country which is supposedly behind the times, when it comes to fair treatment of foreigners.

5) I now love my cosy, free apartment. Is anybody offering me that in England? No.

6) I love the cheap, efficient subway system in this country.

7) In England, I need a car to get around. I don't need one in Korea at all.

I can save at least half of my money from every pay cheque. In England, I'd have to live with my parents, claim government benefits, and find a dead end miserable job. My last one was at a call centre in England. I used to work different shifts, including some weekends, both Saturday & Sunday 12-8pm.

In Korea, I work 9-5, mon-frid and that never changes. I also have some superficial respect, in that I am employed by the government.

9) Xenophobia exists everywhere, the point is, if I am receiving all of these benefits and I am entitled to them as a 'qualified' teaching assistant, why not stay here for as long as I can milk it?!!

If that upsets the locals, I'm glad. Their government wants English teachers, if Koreans resent us for that, they should raise the issue with their government.

It's true many Koreans are two faced scum. But some of them are quite respectful and civil. I have some respect for these people.

While I am officially welcome here as a teacher, I will stay here for as long as I can.

Lastly, we all know the exchange rate isn't ideal right now, but to whine like little girls about it, doesn't achieve anything.

If somebody wants to really leave, they will, instead of asking the same question repeatedly on this forum.

[wayfarer]