Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Newsa]

Hello everyone,

I'm Justin, an intern for the Joong Ang Daily newspaper, which is distributed with the International Herald Tribune. We're one of the top English-speaking newspapers, and I was hoping to write an article for the paper about expat living and working conditions in Korea.

Some lead-in questions:
-Has the economic recession affected your living conditions in Korea?
-How have Lee Myung-bak's government policies affected your living or working conditions in Korea?
-What is your current occupation?
-How long have you been living in Korea?
-Would you be willing to grant an interview, in person or by email?
-As an expatriate, what encouraged you to come to Korea to live and work?

Any lead-ins for new developments in business, culture, etc would be helpful as well. Thanks so much! You can reply in this thread or PM me. Of course, for an interview I would need your name and other vital information, etc.

[polonius]

[Newsa]

Thank you for your reply.

I don't have any other accounts here, in fact I created this account as soon as I was told to find leads on any intern reports I could create--these must be newsworthy articles in this sort of fashion: http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2901569

Let me know what you think!

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[lifeinkorea]

First of all, expatriate ("expat") is not a correct term to use. This is a misconstrued term that assumes we have freedom from a controlling government that actually doesn't allow us to work on the planet free from a perceived nationality.

Call us a teacher, ESL instructor, whatever. But until we can roam this planet without a passport or visa, work and live where we want, and experience equality among a diverse group of people, then we have not truly been "expatriatized".

I have taught in Japan as well as in Korea. I have also studied in China. If you would like to talk to me about my experiences, you can email me at [email protected]

[cruisemonkey]

[schwa]

[lifeinkorea]

[Newsa]

Expatriate, as I find on dictionary.com, is defined as follows:
verb (used with object)
1.to banish (a person) from his or her native country.
2.to withdraw (oneself) from residence in one's native country.
3.to withdraw (oneself) from allegiance to one's country.
4.to become an expatriate: He expatriated from his homeland.

�adjective
5.expatriated; exiled.

�noun
6.an expatriated person: Many American writers were living as expatriates in Paris.

The meaning I use is no. 2, along with no. 6. I think it politically correct and accurate enough, and many English newspapers in Korea use them accordingly. The term was not meant to imply freedom from any government per se.

I will be responding to your PMs with questions and asking for further details. Please respond soon, for the assignment is due Monday (the assignment thus far is to sketch out what our article/interview will be about).

[lifeinkorea]

[frankly speaking]

I personally have always taken offense to the expat word.

First of all the majority of teachers that come and work for a year or two could never be considered expats. They are just foreign workers. Would you call a Canadian that works in the US an expat?

Why aren't Korean workers that work in the US called expats? They are called immigrants even if they haven't changed their citizenship.

I don't know of anyone working in Korea as an EFL teacher that has turned his/her back on their homeland. They are just enjoying working abroad. They still vote and are involved in many things that effect their country.

The second definition: withdraw from one's country is a little vague, but working and living for a few years in other countries isn't really withdrawing.

The term was first utilized for the many British citizens that moved to Africa during the 19th and early 20th century and never returned.

I guess a few of the married men and women with F2 visas may be considered expats, but only if they chose to be.

Putting a blanket label on people like that is offensive and not true to the word.

We are foreign nationals working in Korea, nothing more and nothing less.

[Newsa]

[lifeinkorea]

[bassexpander]

[Newsa]

To lifeinkorea: