Korean Job Discussion Forums

nicam · Joined: 14 Jun 2008

I'm really starting to get the sense that ESL "teachers" on internet forums everywhere derive great pleasure from putting each other down and attacking one another. It's like they go out of their way to find a reason to get all indignant and roast fellow posters. Most of the time these attacks are completely unwarranted and based on nothing but distorted perception and misguided rage or apparent insecurity.

There are many people here who don't need to boost their own egos by making snide and insulting comments to other forum users, but it's not just this forum in question. The Taiwan forum and forumosa are both filled with the angriest, most condescending people I've ever witnessed, and let's face it, this forum leans that way some of the time too.

Is it that self-loathing people need to stomp on others to build themselves up. Are most ESL teachers really horrible human beings like the Korean media would have us believe? Internet balls? WTF?

laoshihao · Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 9:16 am Post subject: Here with it

I feel you, nicam. When I lived in China I was attacked for everything I said for six months by a guy I knew and thought was a friend. It was just our city's forum so it just had local activity for the most part, but, damn, if his nastiness towards me and other posters didn't just about kill the site. You might ask, "What was your crime, laoshihao?". I dared to stand up for my school when he and his friend were talking smack about it in the forums. Neither of them had worked there, yet my four years of teaching at the school was not as legitimate as their so-called "sources" within our school. They went so far as to call me a sl#t and say I was sleeping with the other male posters who dared to defend me. Even now if I go on there and say anything they still come after me, just as they continue to spew their negativity on new posters. It's a shame that some people cannot just disagree with what is said, but have to attack the person saying it. Most of us never understood why those two stayed in China since they rarely had anything good to say about it.

okayden223 · Joined: 05 Jun 2009 Location: Incheon

Nicam your post is one of the stupidest, foul-smelling, degenerate questions ever asked on this forum. What dank hole did you crawl out of before you became a miserable excuse for an English teacher? Your personal hygiene is likely suspect and I am willing to wager that you have been known to ignore the 20 minute restrictions on the treadmills at your local health club. What's more is that I have sources who have informed me that you were once caught daydreaming in class and it resulted in you being unaware of what was being discussed. You, my good sir, sicken me!

Sorry I couldn't resist! Wink

madoka · Joined: 27 Mar 2008

okayden223 · Joined: 05 Jun 2009 Location: Incheon

Third world country? Guys let's address this. I know of no third world country with a reliable metro and train system. I have never visited a third world country the size of New York with an trillion dollar economy. I don't know of any third world countries that are among the world leaders in automotive, electronic, steel, and shipping manufacturing. Show me one third world country with an astronaut. How about affordable advanced healthcare? It's hilarious when I tell people I've lived in Korea and they ask me what it's like living in "those conditions." Korea is an economic powerhouse whether you think so or not.

bobpeterson1973 · Joined: 05 Aug 2009

The evil penguin · Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 4:06 pm Post subject:

bobpeterson1973 · Joined: 05 Aug 2009

Kimchi Cha Cha · Joined: 15 May 2003 Location: was Suncheon, now Brisbane

Dodgy Al · Joined: 15 May 2004 Location: Seoul

Have you ever read the youtube comments? posters here are veritable saints compared to some of those guys.

Forward Observer · Joined: 13 Jan 2009 Location: FOB Gloria

Otus · Joined: 09 Feb 2006

It's just the way things are with the nature of this kind of forum. Kind of a strange brew of people trying to employ critical writing skills without much inspiration ... Very occasionally something overtly witty does slip through the cracks, but it is generally frowned upon.

When visiting Japan I've picked up some entertaining expat publications that are also quite penetrating on the foreigner's perspective - but that is still difficult to find in Korea ... on or off the Net.

Hasn't always been the case - In late 96 I remember a small magazine being in circulation with expats in Korea that had some quite hilarious but harmless articles on the expat experience. It didn't print anything too silly or offensive as we witnessed a few years later - just some good, light-hearted fun along with a bit of insight ....

Well - the reaction got so severe (by god knows who) that some thought it was instrumental in triggering the mass deportations in mid '97. In some ways the downright offensive material or the cynically nasty Internet discussions were more acceptable than this ....

Moldy Rutabaga · Joined: 01 Jul 2003 Location: Ansan, Korea

I've often wondered what the solution is to raising the level of politeness on these forums. It may just be my impression as I'm getting older, but I don't remember such rudeness and cruelty when I first started surfing here six years ago -- although there used to be more bikini girl picture links on Dave's!

It is particularly dangerous to be so unprofessional when more and more locals are reading these forums -- including our employers and students. As the previous post suggested, it does not take much of a spark to get the Korean media involved, and it will 100.00% for sure be a negative report.

I do not know what the answer is. It would kill some of the fun, but I wonder if the forums need to require posters to be better identified, or if simply stricter modding would help. It's fun to post here, and I always worry that someone will begin an inflammatory thread on Korean women or drugs that will show up on KBS news the next evening.

Ken:>

nicam · Joined: 14 Jun 2008

I've had lots of laughs courtesy of this forum. There's some funny stuff here, but you know how sometimes you'll be reading a perfectly funny or interesting thread, and then it just turns into an all out pissing contest (and not in a funny, harmless, rank-out sort of way, but in a nasty, very not-funny, mega-douche sort of way), and whatever topic was being discussed just gets thrown to the wind?

Then I swear there are people who go through threads just looking for something to pick on, looking to cut someone down, finding the smallest (often totally made up in their minds) thing (whether it be a typo, careless statement that really isn't offensive or out of the ordinary, but they twist it in order to make it seem offensive or preposterous in order to unleash their latent rage) to get all indignant about. So completely unnecessary.

Anyway, this forum is full of absolute saints compared to the Dave's Taiwan forum and forumosa. It's actually creepy how the folks over there twist things to serve their rage and spend so much time unleashing it on each other. And when you try and identify, and see what they're so pissed about, it's almost always that they've taken something completely out of context, or missed a point altogether in an attempt to blow off some steam.

OnTheOtherSide · Joined: 29 Feb 2008

I've been posting on lots and lots of internet forums since like 1996, since the beginning. And for some reason, they almost always regress into immaturity and insults. Just look at the youtube comments under the videos, or check out some other major internet forums, they are al full of the most petty arguements and insults imaginable. I think it's just some aspect of human nature that people will act like that.

The only forums I see where people dont fight are ones where people are there for a mutual interest, like a sport, art, exercise or whatever, and the conversation stays really focused on that subject.