Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ironclad80]

I've been wanting to teach in Korea for a while now, but since the winter has come I feel less enthusiastic about the idea. It's cold outside, it gets dark early and I know the sunny, warm South Korea I visited in May will not be there if I go now. Instead, I would be adapting to a new strange place with weather that makes it less inviting to spend time outside and explore. I can imagine myself being more isolated and feeling constrained in a small apartment.

I'm not depressed or anything, I probably just have a classic case of seasonal affective disorder. For example, I love going to New York City on weekends here, but I just don't feel like spending a day freezing outside all day. I love to travel but right now I probably wouldn't even take an all expense paid vacation anywhere unless it was somewhere warm.

I know what some are going to say, "you're going to have to deal with winter in Korea eventually." Yes, I understand that. But has anyone found transitioning to Korea in winter to make culture shock even more likely and stronger? I think of it similar to sitting in a nice warm jacuzzi with the temperature gradually turned down. It's going to get cold eventually, but the shock isn't as strong if it comes gradually.

Anyone with me on this? Or should I take the plunge regardless of the weather??

[classydame]

New York is FREEZING in the winter. Maybe try moving to a part of Korea with more mild temperatures? It would still be a few precious degrees warmer than NY. Also, just think of how much more you will appreciate the warm weather and cherry blossoms as you transition into spring!

[litebear]

Anyone this concerned by the weather should be contained in a mental asylum and lose the right to vote.

I don't think I've ever read anything so pitiful in my life.

[ironclad80]

[Son Deureo!]

Winter gets me down, too. I originally moved to Korea in November, and I'm from upstate New York. The winters are somewhat milder than New York, and you don't see much snow. When it does snow, it rarely sticks. The latitude is further south than NY as well (Seoul is about the same latitude as San Francisco), so the days are a bit longer in winter. Add in ondol floor heating in your apartment (and possibly even in your school), and you'll probably find that winters in Korea are quite a bit more tolerable and definitely shorter than you're used to.

You may find that you don't want to do a lot of outdoor sightseeing, and hiking is pretty much out, but the complete change of scenery can still only be good for your state of mind. And there ain't nothing like sitting around a kalbi grill on a chilly winter evening.

But if you really hate winter that much, maybe you should be looking into teaching in a tropical location like Taiwan, Thailand, or Vietnam instead.

[cruisemonkey]

I ike K weather in the winter - it's mostly sunny... albeit cool. (this is a relative term). Much better than summer - it's pissing down rain and 'stinkin' hot.

One can always put clothes on... when one is naked, it's impossible to take clothes off.

[ironclad80]

[cruisemonkey]

[spc525]

you should go to taiwan

[Draz]

Korean winters are quite mild. Back home (north Saskatchewan) winter is my least liked season, but here in Korea it's summer. Summer here is an unlivable nightmare.

I understand the concern with the weather, it's a big part of why I won't even consider Taiwan myself. I am not cut out to live in the tropics. I like cool or warm, and Korea is cool or warm most of the time. (Except in summer. Which sucks.)

[Son Deureo!]

[ironclad80]

[chumpchange]

I'm a week from coming over and I'm looking forward to the weather. Like Draz I'm Canadian (Southern Manitoba, just north of North Dakota) and the climate in Korea sounds a lot better than the -40C with face-ripping winds and 3 feet of snow I'm used to in winter.

[jinks]

I came to Korea from New Zealand in early February. It was a b1tch! Wellington is mocked in NZ for being a bad weather town, but a Wellington February is all about soft grass warm days and nights, barbecues and trips to the beach. February in the Gyeongnam mountains is another world - a very cold one, at that.
Like others have said, Korean winters are made bearable by efficient underfloor heating, naebok (long underwear) and lots of hot food. My first winter here was bleak and depressing, but after living through a few years of seasonal change (something else we don't really get in Wellington), I find that as autumn starts to fade, I'm beginning to look forward to the cozy Korean winters.
Chin up, OP, it's only weather! It's not like you are coming to Korea to be a farmer, so don't let the seasons rule your life.

[VanIslander]

I first came to Korea a week before Christmas 2002 and have to this date only seen snow once where I live, in the southernmost parts of Gyeongsangnam province. A typical winter day has highs of 8-10 C and lows of 3-5 C. The pipes don't freeze and snowflakes sprinkle the air one or two days but never stick on the ground (except that ONE time, the freak March 5th storm that blanketed even nearby Busan back in '03 or '04). It's like Vancouver temperatures without the rain; blue, blue skies for weeks on end in the winter, really deep beautiful blue skies.

Other parts of Korea can get a bit dreary and cold. My weekend travels around the country in wintertime aren't so pleasant, weatherwise.

Pray for cold days because air pollution can get nasty in the middle and northern parts of South Korea during winter warm spells, as high pressure systems in winter create inversions which blanket in the pollution. With so many cars and industry in the Incheon-Gyeonggido-Seoul area - not to mention being exactly downwind of China's most polluted provinces - many warmer winter days are a haze of coughing pollutants. Last winter I kept track of air quality on a daily basis and posted about it here:
http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=136252&start=0

Better weather and less pollution are two of the reasons I keep living near the southeast coast.