Korean Job Discussion Forums

[joltaxt]

Where does it come from?

Where do you guys live?

How long have you been in Korea?

Are you sure you are not just a negative person?

I've been in Seoul for one week. I was living in Japan previously and let me say although it's only been one week, the Koreans have been JUST as friendly to me as the Japanese. Obviously not as polite, because I don't think any country will ever top Japan in that category, but definitely just as helpful.

Before I came here I was ready to be treated like dirt, less than a local, and discriminated against. Again, I realize I've only been here a week but I've yet to run into a rude person and it has been a very welcoming experience. Hell, my second night here I got fried chicken near my apartment, next thing I know two Seoul locals are drinking and we're sharing food together chatting in broken English--I only paid for my chicken and they bought me food and drank me up for free! Good luck getting that kind of hospitality in the United States.

I also like my job. A lot. My co-worker who has been here months and I were agreeing that the internet is so negative towards Korea, and he thinks it may be that we just got lucky with our job. I'm not ashamed to admit my hagwon is awesome, the co-workers haven't had anything bad to say about the place, and I'm not ashamed to admit I enjoy working there.

So to the negative people, where do you get your material from? I live in Seoul, do you live outside of it? Perhaps Koreans are less friendly in the rural areas?

How long have you been here? Maybe you've been here forever and are just old and bitter. Well, sorry but that sucks to be you.

I really want to know.

For once, I actually REGRET doing my research on Korea before coming here. Because clearly in my case, as well as the case of my co-workers the people here are either trolls, bitter, or just don't know what they're talking about.

[morrisonhotel]

Queue the "you've been here one week, just you wait" posts....

[Murakano]

I also lived in Japan previously and have been in Korea and on and off for 3 years or so. I always tell people to not use Daves ESL as a barometer of life/teaching ESL in Korea . Everybody says there is a honeymoon phase, which in a sense is true but that can be said of many new countries you start work in.

Life is certainly not as bad as what you read on Daves Many of those that do come on here are those that signed horrible contracts without doing much research and in some cases only have themselves to blame for signing bad contracts/not looking up blacklists etc.

Also those that do usually end up having a bad time/complain are those that make no effort whatsoever to learn the language, integrate into the culture, make some Korean friends.

I know plenty of people who are happy here and have no need to come on here and vent. I`m here as it`s kind of amusing to read the posts at times

Daves ESL is like the Korean version of Japan`s Gaijinpot . I remember doing my research on there before I went to Japan and everybody was so miserable and negative about Japan , as much as Daves ESL

[oskinny1]

Dave's is a place where people come to vent, much like you are doing now. That being said, not everyone's experiences are going to be the same, and how people view certain situations can color their experiences differently.

You saw 2 Koreans sitting down with you and sharing food. Someone else might see it as a couple Koreans trying to get a free English lesson or maybe they were taking the piss without you knowing it.

I hope everything is all roses for you, but give it more than a week before you come on here with your soapbox.

[eamo]

[OBwannabe]

I'm not overly negative about Korea. But when I read the title to your post, the first thing found my myself doing was to take a look at your join date. 2009,...says it all.

[wylies99]

[Old Gil]

There's very little day to day that irks me about Korea, it's more of a sum of stupidies and prejudices that have coalesced into a "I'm done with this place" attitude.

[conrad2]

You havent even been here long enough to have been paid late, or not at all. Its too soon to get the complaints about your teaching from "mystery moms".

[T-J]

[themagicbean]

People are negative on forum boards. Here moreso than other places. There have been threads on that. But do watch your back, there is a definite honeymoon phase that fades.

[JMO]

I generally hate korea, just as much as I hated Ireland/Northern Ireland...alot. Why? Because the vast amount of people everywhere are idiots and sometimes it is too much for me to suffer them.

At this point in time though I like korea because I have a great job and im moving soon so have an excuse to agonize over fitting it out.

[kinerry]

I like how the title of the thread is about other people's cynicism, while at the same time being cynical and assuming 99% of everyone else on the boards are cynics.

Isn't it ironic...don't you think?

[The Goalie]

I've been in Korea off and on for about a decade now. I love it here but I've been lucky. Not everyone is. I can honestly say that I've never once been badly treated in any serious way because I'm a foreigner. I can, however, say that I've been given the royal treatment on countless occasions as a result of not being Korean. Dave's is, to me, a kind of alternate reality, a looking-glass I can walk through and see a world that is very much like my own but run by a different set of rules. I don't doubt that people have bad experiences here. Some people may even get on a run of bad luck that justifies some of the vitriol that can be found on this site. Enjoy it while you do. When you don't, then leave. I hope you enjoy it for a long time.

[adventurrre]

Every month I've been in Korea has been better than the last. I can say that learning Korean is largely responsible for this, but not exclusively.

When I see ugly, tired looking foreigners on the street or subway I think to myself, "I bet that guy/chick posts a ton of dave's"