Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Zulethe]

I don't know the name of the president of Korea. I don't know the names of any Korean celebrities or actors. I can't tell you the name of one Korean television show.

I don't know the names of any athletes or dignitaries. I've never watched a Korea show for more than five minutes.

The only Korean I know is Han Sori because of Dave's.

Sometimes I'm ashamed of this fact. But then I come to realize that I truly don't care about any of the aforementioned.

I love living in Korea but it's contemporary culture, which is a sad imitation of the west, totally disinterests me.

A couple of times I have tried to watch Korean tv to help me learn the language, but if I do, I get depressed.

One of my co-teachers knows more about American pop culture than I do. She always asks me "don't you know?" questions. which are really irritating.

Today, I'm going to secretly find out who the president of Korea is.

[bluelake]

Don't feel too bad. I've lived here for two straight decades and I know very little about Korean pop culture. I can tell you things that happened in Korea centuries ago, as Korean history is my major subject, but what some Korean pop star or athlete did yesterday--or even who they are--is usually a mystery to me.

[bassexpander]

Don't feel bad. After over 7 years here, I could care less about American pop culture. It's all manufactured anyway, and all of the moviestars, singers and celebrities have chins that look like doorstops.

That dude from CSNY was right. The music industry is mostly devoid of any creativity and talent these days, because ugly people aren't given a listen.

[Bloopity Bloop]

[nomad-ish]

i can't escape korean pop culture: from wondergirls, brown-eyed girls, shinee, i know most of the bands teen girls like. it's mostly because of my students or korean friends, who, well, still like teen girl music

[crescent]

[Zulethe]

[janafromfrance]

My thoughts exactly!!!
I am bombarded with questions every day, about some ice skater named yuni, had to do a report on the wonder girls, every girl telling me that rain is a famous man in the states,

I want to just escape sometimes!!!!!!

[BoholDiver]

I followed the media a few years back. I enjoyed it for a bit but quickly got tired.

Even taking a glimpse of what they're doing now, it looks the same, and I am still not interested. There's no depth to it.

[andrewchon]

You are lucky. Your students talk to you.
My students know two words: hello and candy.

Korean students, understandably enough, suck up Korean media.
Tell some white lies about them and feed your students' ego.

Kim Yu Na: she wishes she learnt to speak English better, now that she's world Figure Skating champion.
Wonder Girls: They're working hard on their pronunciation because voice dubbing is costing them a fortune.
Rain: He says he learnt from Michael Jackson that African-Americans are much better ESL teachers than N. American blonde Young Females.

Your students have to believe, otherwise they'd be caught un-patriotic!

[Kryten]

[benji1422]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MgAxMO1KD0

[VFRinterceptor]

OP: No worries man, lots of people are in the same boat as you. Personally, I could care less about the things you mentioned as well, but I try to keep an ear to Korean news to keep up with the important stuff...like North Korean pressures, Korean financial market, and don't forget those cooky bastards, the AES.

K-Pop is in everyones face, on every corner. Literally. Every cell phone store is blasting the same 7 songs, while a truck is driving by, blaring the same 7 songs, while yelling at me, trying to get me to go...somewhere.

Point is, we all have days, myself included, where you just stand in the middle of the sidewalk, look around and think, "WTF is going on...". And maybe this doesn't apply to you, but I know it happens to me sometimes.

I once heard a guy who taught in China call Korea, "...comfortably numb". "You have the experience of being in a new culture, but you're insulated.". It made sense.

Get out there and find a new interest. Update your resume and start looking abroad for new jobs. Plan a ferry trip to Japan, or pick up some Korean language classes at your local university. Whatever floats your boat.

[Bloopity Bloop]

[Bloopity Bloop]