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I seriously don't get it
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cubanlord



Joined: 08 Jul 2005
Location: In Japan!

PostPosted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 12:56 am    Post subject: I seriously don't get it Reply with quote

A lot of people will complain about people gawking at them, staring at them, and maybe even laughing at them. Students will say stupid things and comments will be made about English teachers. People get pissed.

What I don't get is when people look at their total work package, why don't they just sit back and remember that they are doing better than the average person here in Korea.

http://www.worldsalaries.org/korea.shtml

Seriously, I don't get it. Look at the hours worked per week and the compensation they get.

Wow! That's all I have to say about that!

~
www.ralphsesljunction.com
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Skippy



Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Location: Daejeon

PostPosted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 1:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's what people are not used to. Eventually most people learn to ignore it, develop thicker skin and my favorite - apathy.

True the money should soften the edges and blows. But most people in the end want to be treat nicely.

So CubanLord how much will it cost me to stare at you and to insult you.
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cubanlord



Joined: 08 Jul 2005
Location: In Japan!

PostPosted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 2:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Skippy wrote:
So CubanLord how much will it cost me to stare .....


Shocked

(slowly backs away from the post...)
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Daegudavid



Joined: 08 Jun 2009

PostPosted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 2:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Skippy wrote:

True the money should soften the edges and blows. But most people in the end want to be treat nicely.


Exactly.
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Yesterday



Joined: 15 Aug 2003
Location: Land of the Morning DongChim (Kancho)

PostPosted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 3:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't get it either...

Foreigners also stare at Koreans (in a perverted, strange way)...

yesterday, I was seated on a bus (on the way home from work)

I was at the second-last seats at the back of the bus (my favorite seats)

with a group of giggling loud Korean middle-school girls seated behind me on the last seat..

and a foreigner (obviously Canadian or American) gets on the bus walks down to the back of the bus - without seeing me - probably because I was wearing a black-suit like most Korean men..

then when he gets to the back seat - although the seat opposite me is empty, he just stands there and stares and perves at the middle-school girls...

his face - whilst staring was kind of very creepy...

then he sits down on the seat opposite me and noticing me - stares at me for a whole 2 minutes

I could see him doing this in the reflection on my window - whilst I was looking out the window on my side..

I never looked at him once...

I really wanted to turn around and apologise to the Korean middle-school students behind me - for the creepy foreigner staring at them (because I could here them chatting about him staring at them in Korean)...

whilst I got off the bus - I noticed him once again staring with that creepy look the whole time I was getting off (I could clearly see this in the window reflection)...

so... Koreans aren't the only people who stare..
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Pwillig



Joined: 26 Jan 2009

PostPosted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 3:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

They stare because-uh...so handsome.

So handsome.
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Ilsanman



Joined: 15 Aug 2003
Location: Bucheon, Korea

PostPosted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 6:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The average Korean is struggling financially, so doing better than them is hardly a measure of success or satisfaction.
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ChopChaeJoe



Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 7:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

What's so great about being an average person in Korea?
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cubanlord



Joined: 08 Jul 2005
Location: In Japan!

PostPosted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 7:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ChopChaeJoe wrote:
What's so great about being an average person in Korea?


The glass is half empty?
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Forward Observer



Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Location: FOB Gloria

PostPosted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 3:50 pm    Post subject: Re: I seriously don't get it Reply with quote

cubanlord wrote:


Seriously, I don't get it. Look at the hours worked per week and the compensation they get.




We call it riding the gravy train...
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whome33



Joined: 08 Jun 2009

PostPosted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 5:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

it must be a smaller city/country-side thing, because i rarely get stared at in Seoul. Sure people glance, but that's normal. And to be honest, im a people-watcher, so I probably look at the koreans more than they look at me.
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zstar5000



Joined: 23 Feb 2009

PostPosted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 7:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I live in Pohang, a not particularly large city with more than a few rough edges. I'm sure many on these boards would expect that my wife and I would get gawked at and maybe even verbally abused on a regular basis, but we don't. (This perception is drawn from some of the more incredible stories I've read on these boards). Sometimes we feel like minor celebs, but more often than not no one gives us a second glance.

I'm convinced that we all receive exactly what we expects from our time in Korea, whether that be a rewarding and unique cultural experience or a feeling of isolation and of living in a "backwards" society.

I too am compensated well for my job considering the number of hours I work, and I also find my work to be very rewarding. I would certainly feel more comfortable back home, but this is all part of the cost-benefit analysis that each of us considers before accepting a position here.
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Moldy Rutabaga



Joined: 01 Jul 2003
Location: Ansan, Korea

PostPosted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 7:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

But the statistics on the website are from 2005, and even then the average Korean wage is fairly close to the average ESL wage, and likely offers more job security. Counting planning time and office time, a prepared teacher's hours are not much less than a wage worker's.

Because I am older and have to dress well in my job I find that I'm stared at less and less the longer I live here. But perhaps I'm just not noticing it anymore.

Ken:>
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JongnoGuru



Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep

PostPosted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 7:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Moldy Rutabaga wrote:
But the statistics on the website are from 2005

They also don't include bonuses which, in the case of many people, effectively doubles their nominal salary. You plug that data into the calculation, and you're looking at a very different picture.
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Forward Observer



Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Location: FOB Gloria

PostPosted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 1:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

JongnoGuru wrote:
Moldy Rutabaga wrote:
But the statistics on the website are from 2005

They also don't include bonuses which, in the case of many people, effectively doubles their nominal salary. You plug that data into the calculation, and you're looking at a very different picture.




Not to mention all the company dinners, and second and third rounds of bar hopping that follows...
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