Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Radius]

Ok, im here....now what? I feel so isolated and that i cant even socialize if i wanted to (which i do!) other than saying hello and thank you, im lost. i know i know, learn the language, but its easier said than done. nobody is really helpful at work, and i come home to a place with nothing to do. im a guy, and i feel tension among the other k-males like they think im gonna take their women (so ive been told.) i want to make friends but going to the bar by myself looks lame. what to do? i wake up every morning and walk to homeplus or e-mart for entertainment and get some coffee. anyone been in my situation and what did you do?

[Css]

Where do you live?

find some clubs to join..social clubs and the like. hobby clubs.
join a gym, good way to meet folk

i cant do the bar thing solo either..feels weird to me..

but yeah, learning korean is the best way to open up this place...in my experience anyway.

[Radius]

i live in bucheon...great place! thank you for the tips!!!

[Css]

[Radius]

lol vetting friends...your right though
isnt it lively here?! im a really cool laid back dude, im not "running" away from anything from home, i just wanted to make some money. im not a scary or weird person, so anyone living in or near bucheon please give me a shout (but you must be normal!)

[Steelrails]

Go solo. That's a good way of meeting people that can be good people. Some of the first K-friends I made here were by sitting solo.

It DOES look weird to be at the bar alone, especially here, but you can pull it off if you dress like an office worker and are sitting at the bar looking over work materials and eating something. That whole "I just got out of work at 9PM and I'm coming here to take a load off. Don't look too intense, suggest that you're finishing up and you're about to let loose a little because you've done a good job.

Anyways...
After you're second or third beer- buy a round for the guys next to you. Usually they'll be polite enough to open up a bit of convo. Keep it simple- work, sports, who you are. Next thing you know you're 8 deep and off tot he Noraebang and you've made a few contacts.

If you can fly solo yet make it clear that you have social skills- definately attractive ( I mean this as in attracting friends, not relationship attractive, though it may apply there as well)

[Radius]

wow, great advice, too! you know, i guess i will give this a try. and yes i heard it is kind of weird to be out alone, with the K-pack mentality and all, but i do get off of work at 9ish and ill be in work clothes, so ill man up and give it a go!

i just look into these bars as im passing, and i can just read on their faces "no white people" that makes it hard to even want to try and enter, ya know? do you suggest a foreigner bar instead, or go with the real thing?

[Hyeon Een]

[Hyeon Een]

[Lunar Groove Gardener]

Buy a guitar.
Check Facebook for groups in Bucheon.
Begin your downloading odyssey.
Get to the top of a mountain, there are good people there.
"Pocketball" *not a euphemism.

Have fun! Good luck.

[redaxe]

Koreans don't usually go out drinking to meet people, and the people who will try to talk to you in a bar are usually the weird drunk ajosshis who want to show off their englishee skills. You will get tired of them very quickly. I suggest finding other foreigners in your area, there has got to be some sort of foreigner hangout unless you're really out in the sticks. Trying to learn Korean and make Korean friends is all well and good, but as a foreigner it's pretty hard to survive socializing with only Koreans for a year and not go crazy.

[Steelrails]

I'm out in the boonies, our town has only 1 bar with an actual bar (not just tables) Seems like everyone out here knows everyone else. Same with the Foreign Teachers here, we probably teach their niece or nephew so they'll want to be nice to us. I don't know Bucheon, but try to stick as close to your school as possible, that way you're more likely to run into a parent or uncle or sibling of a student.

In a big city...
Be sure to make sure whether its a bar bar or a hof. Hofs usually just have tables, but you are expected to order food when you are there. Also people go there to be more in their group.

Even bars may not have 'a bar' to sit at. Unless they do, it's pretty difficult to go to one alone.

A foreigner bar might be a good place to get the feet wet. Sure some foreigners here aren't going to talk to you just cause your're another foreigner. But most others are nice people who've been where you are now. Plus it seems people always love to give other people advice (makes em feel important and knowledgable, and look influential), so I'm sure someone will be willing to yak your ear off and buy you a round or three.

Honesty is always great. You're new to the country, you don't know anyone, and it's boring sitting at home. Just be straight up and like I said, most have been there before. Plus, most people are bored themselves, same bar, same crowd, same conversations. Hey, someone new! Something new. Anything new.

Or invite a coworker out for dinner. Go to some beef place. Spring for food. Don't look at it like you are 'buying friends'. See it as you want to plan a nice event and meet new people. Call it a "Housewarming Dinner"- no house to warm, but plenty of dinner. Once those coworkers get some Soju in them and see that you're a nice guy they'll open up. Especially if you come across as wanting to bond with your male coworkers. If you go straight for the female coworkers, that may be a turn-off. But if you want to go out, learn the funky billiards here, go bolwing, play some soccer or basketball, eat some food, get drunk and sing some songs, then you can make friends pretty easily. Once you're in with the guys, then things will open up to the girls. But you have to be willing to drink with the guys of all ages (not just for coworkers, but K-Strangers as well). If the boss/someone older shows up at the same bar, they have to feel comfortable that you'd be able to show the proper respect and courtesy to their boss, even though he's a stranger to you.

This may mean some uncomfortable things like them talking close, touching you, having you eat off a toothpick they hold out for you, pouring drinks, using respect gestures, bowing, not being the center of attention, being able to listen to the old man blabber for 10 minutes without looking bored, etc. Fortunately you can make some errors and as long as you have a good sense of things it'll be a source of amusement, rather than conflict.

It can be a blast.

I would recommend getting drunk once at home alone before you go out. Something about the first time you get drunk in a foreign country sometimes does weird things to people. Get buzzed at home, go out and wander a bit (but don't be too drunk or stupid, just be somewhat buzzed and walk and look around for like half an hour) then finish off at home, just to get your mind and body all adjusted.

That's my advice and whatnot for meeting people and drinking here in K-Land. Hope it helps.

Be Confident
Be Humble
Be Outgoing
Be Willing to Listen
Be Smiling
Be Real
Be Relaxed
Be Careful

[conbon78]

If you are in bucheon - have you been to Taco Ria? Its a mexican restaurant and when I went there, there were only foreigners in the place. That might be a good place to start. Sorry - I can't tell you how to get there, but search on Dave's for Taco Ria...that's how I found it.

[sketcha]

welcome to Korea,

I'm sure you're not the only one feeling that way

finding a club to join is great ... a bit harder now that it's winter and people are less incline to go out, but if you're the active type, there's a lot of things going on in the summer

check out this website and the listing, they'll have club, group you could join

http://groovekorea.com/
http://groovekorea.com/list.html

[stoopidfan14]