Korean Job Discussion Forums

[conbon78]

So I moved up to Seoul 3 months ago from a smaller town in Korea, but now I have almost no friends. I don't work with any foreigners, so I can't meet people that way and the Koreans I work with don't seem to want to be my friend because they hate speaking English. How did you meet your friends? Oh...and I should mention that I live way outside of the center of Seoul, so I'm not in Itaewon, Hong dae, or Gangnam on a regular basis. In fact, I've only seen 2 foreigners where I live. Ideas?

[DWAEJIMORIGUKBAP]

meetup.com Korean page. Excellent.

Adventure Korea trips.

Also google seoul circle, used to be yupkkiclub. Met my first gf in Korea and one of my best friends there.

And I know it might be hard to do, but go to Itaewon and just start up a conversation with a few people who look like they might be ok. Like scoring dates, it's just a number game, 10 might blow you off but the next might not...

[nomad-ish]

i think heading to itaewon and trying to strike up a conversation in a coffee shop might be helpful. also, it'd be a really good idea if you joined some clubs or took a korean class at one of the universities. i believe there's one a sookmyeong (i'm not certain on the price though).

[eIn07912]

Haha, I'd be careful about those meetup groups. Some seem kind of out there. A lot of "spiritual awakening" groups.

[DWAEJIMORIGUKBAP]

[dalem]

i'm in a bunch of them too. It's great if you want that social fix outside of work. however, while i'm fairly new at it, all of it seems to be short time social fixe, no longer term friendship outside meetups.... yet! Even if it is just while at the meetup and no longer hangouts yet, it really is the lifeline for me.

[littlelisa]

Take up a hobby. I swing dance.

Or, consider taking classes. There are free Korean classes offered around a bunch of places on Saturdays, I made a bunch of friends there.

Or, look into a bunch of different interest groups (do a search for something you're interested on the web or on facebook or something). I'm part of the Seoul veggie club, and I made some friends there too. I have other friends who've met people through hiking groups or book clubs.

Heck I even made a friend waiting for another friend at Anguk station. I don't even know how we ended up talking, but it was cool.

I also met a bunch of people through couchsurfing, and that's fun too. There's no limit, find something you like and you'll find others who like it too. Best way to start a friendship.

[dalem]

just curious littlelisa, what is seoulveggie? Is it a vegetarian group, or rather a group that gardens? (hoping for the gardening type)

[Freeghen]

The same situation happened to me. I moved to a satellite city outside of Seoul and got a job at a hagwon where I am the only foreigner. It is pretty lonely and it is hard to just walk up to people and talk to them without any good reason besides having 'weigukin' status in common.

I actually found a group on facebook for my area and have met up for dinner with some of the people on there. It is good because you can chat with them beforehand and you don't have to travel 8,000 miles by subway to hang out.

[DWAEJIMORIGUKBAP]

[thedrizzle]

Well, I had a lot of friends I met in WoW that I knew before I got here, but Ithere's a couple D&D clubs you can find on facebook that meet once a week or so that are full of cool guys and gals.

[Bloopity Bloop]

What is the best way to make friends whose primary idea of a good time does not equal getting wasted?

[madtownhustl]

[DWAEJIMORIGUKBAP]

[nosmallplans]

I think meeting people in your neighborhood is the best. Especially if there are only a few. You are far more likely to bond and see each other often. The people who live down where there are tons of foreigners don't really need to make more foreign friends.