|
Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
I'm no Picasso
Joined: 28 Oct 2008
|
 Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 11:30 pm Post subject: Re: "My major/job is trade." |
 |
|
| redaxe wrote: |
| I'm no Picasso wrote: |
Is this the male version of "fashion design" in Korea or what?
What does that even mean?
Girls? How often do you get the "trade" thing out of Korean men, and sweet all else, information wise? Not that I bother asking any questions after "trade". Boring. |
I think you are correct about it being the male version of "fashion design," and once you get that answer from a guy, that's really all you need to know (avoid!). Big red flag.
I have met several girls who actually did work at trading companies though, including my current girlfriend, who is a native Chinese speaker but also fluent in Korean. I agree that it seems like most of the people who work at those companies are women, because in Korea, women are more likely to have foreign language skills than men.
Actually my girlfriend was laid off from that trading company a few months ago, but her boss still constantly bugs her and 부탁s her to help him correspond with factories in China, since he doesn't speak Chinese himself. Great idea buddy, lay off your only employee who can actually communicate with your suppliers. 
If it's a guy saying he works at a "trade company" though, and he won't tell you a little more detail about what he does, he's full of it. And besides, any guy with a "good" job here will tell you the name of his company (to impress you), not the industry. |
It just seems like there are way too many of them. I would say at least 75% of the guys I meet randomly who have finished university work in "trade". Now, maybe it's a strange result of the odds of a man past university age speaking English or something. I have no idea. But in any case, I've just started to take it to mean, "I don't do anything interesting or important or that you need to know about," and moving on.
Probably they just assume it sounds a little better than a flat-out, "office worker". |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
redaxe
Joined: 01 Dec 2008
|
| Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 1:03 am Post subject: Re: "My major/job is trade." |
|
|
| I'm no Picasso wrote: |
It just seems like there are way too many of them. I would say at least 75% of the guys I meet randomly who have finished university work in "trade". Now, maybe it's a strange result of the odds of a man past university age speaking English or something. I have no idea. But in any case, I've just started to take it to mean, "I don't do anything interesting or important or that you need to know about," and moving on.
Probably they just assume it sounds a little better than a flat-out, "office worker". |
I suppose that it could be due to a few other things:
A. As another poster mentioned, the fact that a huge % of Korean companies are involved in buying things from or selling things to overseas markets, so almost any company here can be construed as being in "trade"
B. Korean men who actually speak good English could be, as you suggested, more likely to be employed at companies that are involved in overseas trade, since they probably had to live overseas for a while to obtain those English skills
C. It could also be a side effect of the tendency of Korean companies to hire new employees in batches for no position or function in particular, and then assign, allocate, and rotate them to open positions later based on the company's needs. Hence you get a lot of "office workers" because they aren't really made to specialize
D. They're not getting specific because they don't think you (being female, foreign, and not in the industry) would understand or care about the details of where they work and what they actually do, or they don't feel like explaining it
E. They're lying or fudging because their real jobs are unimpressive or non-existent, so they say the most vague, generic answer ("trade") and change the subject. (Male version of "fashion design" theory).
I guess it's probably a mix of all the above factors. Not sure in what percentage though, maybe you can gauge that a little better based on the particular dude in question and the context of your conversation. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
crossmr
Joined: 22 Nov 2008
Location: Hwayangdong, Seoul
|
| Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 3:45 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Ukon wrote: |
Fashion design is the cover for a lame job the majority of the time, no job, or being a sex worker...
I'd say 30-50% of the women I meet in posh gangnam clubs are
.
And no, it's not an easy major....the few design students and workers I know work their ass off. Maybe some schools have an easy design major program, but I haven't heard of it. |
I think you guys may not appreciate how many fashion companies are out there in Korea or how large some of them are. I have a large group of friends who all work for various fashion companies. I also have a couple of friends who work freelance in fashion, not as designers, they do contract work for companies, organizing shows, things like that. Most of the younger ones like to hang out at Gangnam clubs as their offices (and often homes) are around that area.
A single company could have 4 or more different lines with each line having upwards of 40 or 50 employees depending on the various demographics that line covers. Most of these companies could easily add 50% to their workforce as well as most of the employees spend abut half the year working until 10pm and on weekends in order to design the sheer amount of clothes they need.
As for trade companies, I've got a friend who owns one, but he's the only guy who has ever told me he works in trade. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Forward Observer
Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Location: FOB Gloria
|
| Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 5:09 am Post subject: Re: "My major/job is trade." |
|
|
| redaxe wrote: |
| I'm no Picasso wrote: |
It just seems like there are way too many of them. I would say at least 75% of the guys I meet randomly who have finished university work in "trade". Now, maybe it's a strange result of the odds of a man past university age speaking English or something. I have no idea. But in any case, I've just started to take it to mean, "I don't do anything interesting or important or that you need to know about," and moving on.
Probably they just assume it sounds a little better than a flat-out, "office worker". |
I suppose that it could be due to a few other things:
A. As another poster mentioned, the fact that a huge % of Korean companies are involved in buying things from or selling things to overseas markets, so almost any company here can be construed as being in "trade"
B. Korean men who actually speak good English could be, as you suggested, more likely to be employed at companies that are involved in overseas trade, since they probably had to live overseas for a while to obtain those English skills... |
My brother in law majored in English Lit. He was a Katusa with the US Army. He's been "trading" for a petrochemical division of SK Energy for the last 8 years. He was just recruited by an American company in Texas. They're going to sponsor his visa, and if he's as loyal as his old boss (who recruited him when they asked if he knew anyone), they'll hire an immigration lawyer to sponsor his green card after five years. (I think that's what he said, I was pretty drunk when he told me last week).
This American company started his old boss (five years ago) at 80K + bonuses, car and a house in a nice subdivision - all paid by the company. So yeah, seems like "Trade" is pretty interesting. In his case, "trade" is really a kind of "sales".
 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Xuanzang
Joined: 10 Apr 2007
Location: Sadang
|
| Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 5:14 am Post subject: Re: "My major/job is trade." |
|
|
| Forward Observer wrote: |
| redaxe wrote: |
| I'm no Picasso wrote: |
It just seems like there are way too many of them. I would say at least 75% of the guys I meet randomly who have finished university work in "trade". Now, maybe it's a strange result of the odds of a man past university age speaking English or something. I have no idea. But in any case, I've just started to take it to mean, "I don't do anything interesting or important or that you need to know about," and moving on.
Probably they just assume it sounds a little better than a flat-out, "office worker". |
I suppose that it could be due to a few other things:
A. As another poster mentioned, the fact that a huge % of Korean companies are involved in buying things from or selling things to overseas markets, so almost any company here can be construed as being in "trade"
B. Korean men who actually speak good English could be, as you suggested, more likely to be employed at companies that are involved in overseas trade, since they probably had to live overseas for a while to obtain those English skills... |
My brother in law majored in English Lit. He was a Katusa with the US Army. He's been "trading" for a petrochemical division of SK Energy for the last 8 years. He was just recruited by an American company in Texas. They're going to sponsor his visa, and if he's as loyal as his old boss (who recruited him when they asked if he knew anyone), they'll hire an immigration lawyer to sponsor his green card after five years. (I think that's what he said, I was pretty drunk when he told me last week).
This American company started his old boss (five years ago) at 80K + bonuses, car and a house in a nice subdivision - all paid by the company. So yeah, seems like "Trade" is pretty interesting. In his case, "trade" is really a kind of "sales".
|
That's the kind of trade every mom wants their kiddo to be in. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
I'm no Picasso
Joined: 28 Oct 2008
|
| Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 7:28 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Just had another confirmed case of this.
This time: "My job is trade." ----> "I work Kyobo bookstore."
Lol. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
redaxe
Joined: 01 Dec 2008
|
| Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 8:08 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| I'm no Picasso wrote: |
Just had another confirmed case of this.
This time: "My job is trade." ----> "I work Kyobo bookstore."
Lol. |
Bwahahaha. OK, so it IS the male equivalent of "fashion design." Case closed. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Xuanzang
Joined: 10 Apr 2007
Location: Sadang
|
| Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 8:44 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| I'm no Picasso wrote: |
Just had another confirmed case of this.
This time: "My job is trade." ----> "I work Kyobo bookstore."
Lol. |
Get hooked up with a discount haha. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
I'm no Picasso
Joined: 28 Oct 2008
|
| Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 9:21 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Xuanzang wrote: |
| I'm no Picasso wrote: |
Just had another confirmed case of this.
This time: "My job is trade." ----> "I work Kyobo bookstore."
Lol. |
Get hooked up with a discount haha. |
I kid you not, that was my very next question. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ashland
Joined: 05 Dec 2008
|
| Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 9:46 pm Post subject: Re: "My major/job is trade." |
|
|
| I'm no Picasso wrote: |
Is this the male version of "fashion design" in Korea or what?
What does that even mean?
Girls? How often do you get the "trade" thing out of Korean men, and sweet all else, information wise? Not that I bother asking any questions after "trade". Boring. |
it means, "i deliver jajangmyun on my bicycle."
just kidding!
seriously... it's a konglish term for import/export business. most big korean companies have their own import/export dept. for importing raw materials and selling finished products. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
