Korean Job Discussion Forums

[DWAEJIMORIGUKBAP]

I must admit, as a long(ish) termer in Seoul I already had a solid friend base and social life so was never super enthusiastic towards newbies, mostly because I had other things on my mind (love life, work life, familly, money etc) and wanted to just walk to work or go get lunch or whatever I was doing at the time.. . So people can;t really be called snobs or 'full of self importance' imo for not wanting to be your best friend etc, people do have lives... Aslo, perhaps some of the people we meet just don;t seem our type of people, there's no 'click' there, so why would we make an effort. also, newbs can be tiring as you end up being their kind of teacher and it gets tiresome at times...

Hey Op - don't let that make you think I'm contradicting myself about what I said before about it being easy to meet friends here, even by approaching random strangers - because that all still stands.

I'm just saying if you try to strike up a conversation with a stranger and they're not super enthusiastic, they just might want some time alone for whatever reason, they may have things on their minds... doesn't mean they're anti social...

[shostahoosier]

hmmmm....good advice....sounds just like Fraternity rush all over again...I'll guess I'll just put myself out there...whats the worst that can happen right?

[Old Gil]

You can't even make eye contact and say hi? That's just flat out strange. I mean if you're in Hongdae or Itaewon then that's one thing, you'd be saying hi all the damn time, but if you're off the waegugin path it's just polite. No one is saying you have to be BFF. I think seeing another whitey infringes on the rock-star psyche too much.

[DWAEJIMORIGUKBAP]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[freeridden]

Go to facebook and type in 'Hiking in Seoul'.
Go to facebook and type in 'Volunteer in Seou'

You can find tons of groups in Seoul. At least you can meet people much easier this way.

I've found some foreigners to be friendly, but sometimes people just like to stick to their own little circles. That's ok.

When you are in a smaller place with barely any foreigners, then it is only polite to say hello. When people live in a very small town back home, they usually greet people with at least a 'hello'.

[mheartley]

[dalem]

OP

It is far too common here in Korea to find people who are just into drinking. I am a more tame type of person, and therefor am just not interested. On the other hand, if you're into that kind of thing, Itaewon could be the place for you. The Wolfhound is an Irish pub that's pretty good.

I would definately reccomend trying meetup.com if you're looking to meet interesting, fun people. Not only is it (for most groups) not centered around drinking, it's good because you can go by interest and find peeps with the same type of interests as you. Not only do you get to meet people, but you get to do fun things you are interested in around Seoul. Being from the boonies, it does make things harder, but many meetups are on weekends, and often are near the edge of the city... mostly the north (it seems to me... or maybe those are just the groups i've joined?).

Meetup.com. It's an awesome way to meet other expants, and even some english speaking koreans, when here.

[sweet_caroline]

I was actually going to ask the same question, but then I saw that it had already been posed here. I keep hearing again and again "trust me, if you don't live in Seoul you will regret it." I love the idea of living in Seoul, but not so crazy about the size. I want to be somewhere where I can develop a good group of foreign friends pretty easily. I'm a 23-year old female, coming alone, and making new friends is not hard for me. Of course I'd like to be somewhere with trees and parks, and not live in a concrete jungle..but not at the expense of being bored out of my mind. I've been looking into other large-but not so large cities like Daegu..any advice?

[xingyiman]

[Harpeau]

I live in Seoul. My experience is that I am on my way to something and may be constricted by time. If people say hello to me, I usually try to respond in a positive manner. Expecting someone to stop and chat may not be very realistic. One always has to ask "where is the energy?" Is there interest, need, desire, etc.

I usually have my MP3 player on and don't always hear people. I've met many wonderful people and enjoy meeting new people. Yet, I know that sometimes I can be feeling exhausted, stressed out, preoccuppied and even suspicious of what the other person wants from me.

We all have fears and anxieties about strangers. That's not unusual. Trust takes time and nurturing. It's been my experience that sometimes the first impressions are not the best to go by. If someone is worth getting to know, it may mean seeing many dimensions and being willing to go deeper.

Finally, I like meeting tourists and pointing the way. Kindness can go a long way.

[Julius]

Its a revolving door here, and that does not tend to make for deep friendships. I've put in plenty effort before with people who left 1 or 2 months later never to be seen again.

The defensiveness and coldness is a feature. Perhaps because foreigners tend to try and monopolise other foreigners lives here too much. I'm talking about trying to steal girlfriends or korean friends of the other person, ie taking over the others territory be it roles at work or places to hang out. Too many foreigners here also lack imagination or interests to carve out their own meaningful niches...- so they just drink.

[The Gipkik]

As an expatriate, or an alien, call yourself whatever you want, you'll make friends, but most of those friendships will be fair weather ones. It's part of living overseas. If you've got the least bit of originality and individuality, you'll find the choices are pretty limited. Limited because the majority of foreigners over here aren't really travelers or explorers (internally or externally). They're pretty ordinary people spending a bit of time overseas to travel a bit or save money. It's college frat parties all over again. If you're pretty ordinary, you'll meet up with plenty.