Korean Job Discussion Forums

I'm no Picasso · Joined: 28 Oct 2008

Edit: PMed.

happy one · Joined: 05 Apr 2008

Big Mac, i love your post, it made me laugh so much! That's exactly how i was feeling after 4 years in Korea, and exactly why i left!

catchshime · Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 4:36 am Post subject:

Any expats here learn an Asian language aside from Korean? I have heard that Korean is the easiest to learn for a Westerner in comparison to Mandarin/Japanese.

bixlerscott · Joined: 27 Sep 2006 Location: Near Wonju, South Korea

OP, leaving everything to the last minute pokes a nerve in me.

Me: You mean you want me to move out in the morning during my vacation? Shocked

But I'm on the other side of Korea.
Them: Because your apartment lease has been up for 2 weeks and new tenets are moving in tomorrow. If you don't answer door, we'll drill lock, enter, and move you out as new tenets move in.
Me: What? Can't we wait until next Monday when I'll be back? You could had given me more notice as I'm not ready and I need just 2 more weeks until it's time for me to leave. Can't you keep the apartment until the end of the month until I leave?
Them: (laughing) No, we must move you out now as to let new tenets move in.
Me: Since this terminates my vacation 4 days early, can I just take next week off in lieu of this trouble?
Them: I'll ask our boss.
Me: Shouldn't be no problem as it won't cost you a thing and there's no classes anyhow.
Them: Yea yea, OK, call you 1st thing in the morning.
Me: "I'm thinking I'm feeling angry and tired of this last minute business as this could had and should had been taken care of 2 weeks ago."

How many of you have had this fast one pulled on you? Will you ever get used to last minute changes? No one does in my opinion. I only hope they don't decide not to pay me at the last minute!!!

This last minute crud has to be the #1 thing no one will ever get used to, but yet never stops. You just never know if you're moving in less than 12 hours. Shocked

Heck, my K friends vacation was all, but canceled on the very 1st day via cell phone with nothing in lieu of the cancellation and his being inconvenienced by his plans being canceled not to mention how his friends traveled 8 hours to see him only to see him in a troubled state.

Hyeon Een · Joined: 24 Jun 2005

There was a comment made above, which has oft been repeated here in some form or another, that Korean people refuse to sit next to you on a bus/train/subway etc.

I find this absolutely baffling. I've lived here for over 5 years in both the countryside and in Seoul and I've never had this experience. Quite often I find myself hoping that a Korean person WON'T sit next to me simply because I like the space, but my hopes are rarely fulfilled. Just today, and this is not by any means rare, I was on a bus where perhaps half the seats were empty. A young lady got on the bus, looked around, and decided to sit next to me rather than next to the middle aged Korean men and women who also happened to be sitting on their own in a two seat block. This was not a strange day, this was a normal day.

I can't understand why this isn't a normal day for many other posters here. I suspect it might simply be that some people are fairly large and perhaps overlap onto other seats, and thus are not nice to sit next to due to the consequental lack of space. I am regular height and reasonably slim so I'm not scary in the manner of size. I've also met a lot of ESL teachers who are unshaven and clad in somewhat 'casual' (read: unattractive or homeless-like) clothing and so are also somewhat scary to sit next to; I'd understand not wanting to sit next to them since they probably look like they would smell bad too. Perhaps some people have a death-stare on them to scare off English-vampires and thus also put people off.

This phenomenon of Koreans not sitting next to Westerners is one I've only seen on this board, and very occasionaly heard from BIG people. It's so bizarre I really want to experience it. I've had all kinds of other negative experiences, but this isn't one of them. Koreans show no disinclination to sit next to me and I don't get why they (supposedly?) do to other whities. If I had to guess I'd say it's a matter of appearances, and I don't mean skin colour.

allovertheplace · Joined: 02 Aug 2009

Big Mac, well said.

I think the most obnoxious thing is going to Homeplus on a sunday. Me and my white friend like our Big macs but we will literally have a line up of people watching us eat. I think the next time this happens all foreigners should proceed to smash their sandwich on the table and snort it in their nostril. Let the animals take over the zoo. Twisted Evil

CA-NA-DA-ABC · Joined: 20 Jun 2006

okayden223 · Joined: 05 Jun 2009 Location: Incheon

I'm gonna risk deletion and say....consistently being quite proud of myself while walking around the jim-jil-bang naked! Cool

E_athlete · Joined: 09 Jun 2009 Location: Korea sparkling

Arirang news is bothering me. It's nothing but praise for Korea, I want to see a balanced news about Korea in English for once.

Additionally, the half-korean half-white Arirang poster girl is pretty annoying. When I listen to her talk or try acting I feel like wanting to choke her.

okayden223 · Joined: 05 Jun 2009 Location: Incheon

Allovertheplace I know exactly how you feel. There's this amazing mandu place near the Olympic Stadium and my buddy and I were sitting in a doorway eating next to the place and literally a dozen or more people walked by and pointed and said something to whoever they were with. People are amazed that I can both use chopsticks and ingest Korean food willingly. It's really amusing sometimes.