Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Phantasy Rush]

I been looking at this discussion forum a lot in the last few weeks, I've read a lot of negative stuff but not much positive. I'm a Brit coming to Korea in the next couple of weeks and as it is, all I know is that some schools are bad and some are really bad and some are even worse. Ok, fair play, its good to air your grievances if you've had a bad experience. Maybe I'll have a similar experience, who knows. I would really appreciate it if someone could tell me something good about their times in Korea so far. I want to hear some mad stories..crazy nights out..wkends away..memorable moments with the kids..encounters with opposite sex (especially with Koreans)..and are we Brits the quiet minority?! And do the clubs play decent hardhouse or drum n bass?

TY

Phantasy Rush

[Thomas]

Eating raw fish on a small boat off the West coast with my wife

Eating cheap kilos of raw fish all over the place

The view from U-Dal Mountain overlooking Mokpo city

Hardcore Hapkido training with good people

Gorging on roasted meat and incredible side dishes at multitudes of restaurants around Korea

Steamed ray (Hong-Oh Jjim)

Walking on Tae-cheon beach... staying overnight in the rooms with the view of the water there.

Singing crazily in many, many No-rae bangs (singing rooms)

Hanging out with crazy Koreans and foreigners in Sosan City at the "501"... mixed drinks in tumblers for normal prices!!!! (

Teaching winters in Kong-ju... the harrowing bus rides in snow and the cool times partying at the hotel and seeing old Korean acquaintances from teaching.

Hitting Itaewon once in a while and getting stuffed on good food (the little German place is a good bet and so is 'Ho Lee Chow') and then settling in to some draught Guinness at that bar on the main drag....

Occassional forays into Pusan or Kwangju and partying

Downtown Tangjin barhopping... not too exciting but the drunken singing made up for it...

There were lots of crappy times and situations that came up, but the memories I have now are the good ones.Edit: I forgot that it censors "c0cktails")

[Phantasy Rush]

Thanx Andrew, some really good memories by the looks of it!! I hope I can say the same by next year..and there's draught guinness...I'll be fine now!!

[Juggertha]

alot of the good stuff is subtle. I can't count how many times i've walked out a class giggling my ass off cuz of something the kids just did. If your looking for humor.. its easy to find in the kids.

[osangrl]

To me the good times far outweigh the bad. Of course work sucks, or it wouldn't be work. After hours consists of, for me,

-hiking in bukhansan.
-going to electronics market and picking up the latest DVD's and x box games,
-going out, drinking cheap, partying hard, and sleeping in the subway until it opens again.
- wandering around insa dong or jongro eating yummy street food and buying silly gagets.
-trying food, that you don't know what it is, but are curious.
-studying new languages, that at home, you wouldn't be interested in, but here are.

the list can go on and on. Don't worry there are tons of good times. Everyone complains about there job, its no biggie.

good luck and have fun!

[riverboy]

Korea, like anywhere else, is what you make of it. I can say that if I didnot have a good time my first time around, then I would never have returned. The beer and food is cheap and good well at least the food is good the beer is rather shitty(I prefer Hite Stout).
There are lots of places to tour and visit and you can learn Martial arts and a nother language.
If you like Asian women, then your in luck, there is a shitload of them. The people are friendly. I think that the only thing you should be concerned with is the Hagwon you end up wrking with.
Good luck

[panthermodern]

Good times ...

When $1 CDN = 540 won ...

[The Bobster]

Yes, it's important to understand when you come to forums like these that people are more likely to post their sad and angry stories than their happy ones - human nature, isn't it? Same reason most newspapers are full of bad news ...

Happy times - part of a long weekend spent on an Island north of Incheon with two good buddies I met from this very site ...

- watching class after class of students suddenly start competing with each other (and helping each other) after I instituted and incentive-reward to encourage homework compliance and heigher quiz scores ... and having parents walk up to me on the street and marvel about how little Suzie suddenly seems to care about her English studies.

- late nights out with friends, dancing, drinking, singing ...

- a certain Korean lady, long ago but dearly held in memory ...

- work stress related to cultural conflict, and the discovery that I could survive it and learn strategies to not only cope but come out ahead - Yes, we can be grateful for the bad times because of what we learn from them ...

- Pulguk-sa, and some other cultural treasures, and an adult Korean who honored me by teaching me the correct way to bow toward an image of the Buddha ...

- galbi ...

[peppermint]

My first few weeks here were so bad, that I was actually asked to write a letter to my recruiter's mother, and explain that I had chosen to come to Korea, and that I had decided to stay. ( I was one of the lucky few who found a really, really helpful recruiter)

Despite that, I just signed contract #3, and really like living in Korea. Aside from the financial aspect of the job, I've met incredible, fascinating and very kind students. One invited me to her beach house on the East Coast. Some of them have become good friends also.

Travelling both in country and out is very easy and fairly inexpensive. There's a lot to see and do outside of Seoul. A bus ride to Busan costs around 20,000W where as taking a bus a similar distance at home would cost around 4x that. Even in country flights are cheap, really.

There are a lot of good things, but everyone has "I hate Korea"days, and that's when they tend to post, unfortunately.

[Butterfly]

Korean girls in just their knickers.

Skiing.

Haeundae beach.

Fab fashions.

Easy to find well paid work.

Easy to make new friends.

[lush72]

[rhian]

we brits in korea, a minority? definitely. A quiet minority? From experience, me thinks not. Afterall, coming from a place where life ends at 11pm, we've gotta make the most this open all hours mentality, what a welcome change I say.... Just remember your tetleys and you'll be reet.

[Phantasy Rush]

Yeah, know what you mean with the 11pm watershed Rhian, on that subject what sort of noises do the clubs pump out in Korea? Trance, techno, handbag house...

[pet lover]

I want the power to delete my posts. What do I have to do to get that power? To whom do I "contribute"?

[Ilsanman]

Meeting some of the kindest people I have ever met in my life.

Meeting some of the most beautiful women I have ever seen in my life.

Getting naked with a ko....oops. That one is not for kid's ears ^^