Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ChrisGuy]

Hi. I have been living in Seoul for only a month and a half so I cant say how long term living here will affect me, but I just want to mention how much I enjoy living here. With all the doom-and-gloom stories that I read on dave's before I came out, I was a little worried. The lack of positive posts about SK made me think twice, and I am so glad they didnt stop me coming out here.

So this is just a post to reassure people thinking about coming out here that it is a great idea if your the type of person that wants to see something new.

My Job: I heard a lot of bad things about being able to get a job out here if your not female and from america. I have no experience, am from the UK and male... i got my job directly from the school by posting my resume here on daves. The place I work is brilliant! Its teaching children ages 6 and 7 most of the day, then older students more in the evening. Im not sure how typical my job is, perhaps i just got lucky but the truth is, there are jobs out there so dont go listening to people saying that there are not! (a friend from back home just signed a contract out here so its not just me that managed it). The kids are good, and their level of english is quite high... especially for their age. Some you can have full conversations with. The kids are awesome.

Food: I love korean food, this probably helps a whole tone! I now prefer korean food over english food in general, its healthier for the most part, silly cheap to eat out to the point that i hardly ever eat in. I must point out tho that i will eat anything, and enjoying -all- the food out here is not usual ... im the only person i know that likes everything.

Drinking: Soju is wonderful stuff. I just cannot get enough of this cheap little beastie. If you are a fan of drinking, odds are you'l be a fan of Seoul... just dont drink on week nights... its important to be sober and alert for the mornings.

Making friends: I would argue that if you cant make friends in Seoul, you cant make friends anywhere. There are 5 other english teachers at my school so right away you have friends there. You can use sites like couchsurfers and meetup.com for going to events... just talk to people and you will quickly find you have more friends than time to see them all!
Meeting Koreans is silly easy too... i have been approached by tones while im out or at a bar and already have a bunch of numbers from koreans... arguably they may just have wanted to use their english but there is nothing wrong with this! A teacher that I replaced had over 200 numbers in his phone after the year here, and its really not tough to do this.

Racism: I heard Koreans are racist... as far as I have seen this is not true what-so-ever. Sure, you'l get the odd prat but you cant help that. As a whole, the Koreans have been helpful, polite and bent over backwards to help me out. This city is by a long way more friendly and welcoming than London and you would encounter 10 times more racism being an eastern European in the UK.

I dont know if anyone will care what I think, but there it is anyway. I regret nothing about coming out here (except that i perhaps didnt pack enough tea bags!) and would encourage others to do it. I would also like to add, that I dont think I am special or alone in these views. All the other foreign teachers that I have met out here feel the same or similar... perhaps just not enjoying the food as much :p

[chellovek]

Yeah I agree it's pretty nice. I live out in the most impoverished sticks, but also being British I appreciate the comment about teabags. In the staffroom they bought me some Earl Grey so that was quite nice. Also pretty glad to be away for the election, both Labour and the Tories were depressing the hell out of me.

Korea, slava!

[Sadebugo1]

[Goon-Yang]

Welcome fresh meat. LEt's see you post the same thing in 6 months. If you do, great for you. I think everyone here loved their first month, then the vampires started sucking our life/souls from us

[AsiaESLbound]

I love the green tea. The selection of import beers compared to home is actually quite nice. Leffe and several other varieties of fine European beers are available at big department stores and some bars. The soju and Hite seem to be aweful quality, but you have other choices unless in a typical Korean hof bar and then Hoegaarden is often available. Like anywhere else, how enjoyable food is depends on the quality of the ingredients and the skills of the chef. My school's lunch is actually good Korean food most days.

I think it's really cool to go see the world, but I would like to do it in a warmer climate in a more cultured people kind of place. Sure they got the materialism blingin', but not the openness to relax and talk to you as a real person. I went to Seoul a few times already as it's not very far and yes, English speaking friendly Koreans are the norm there. Often, college students approach you for an interview for a study and take a video using their cell phone. I don't mind giving 5 minutes of my time on a Saturday afternoon for a cool talk. I only wish the Koreans in my town would be a bit more friendly and actually talk instead of being so stone faced and uptight. I haven't met any Korean people in my town other than at school despite there being like 200,000 thousand of them walking around in my city center neighborhood. The anxiety factor is what perplexes me about Korea. Enjoy every day you can in Seoul while in Korea. It's a great city.

[ChrisGuy]

[T-J]

OP- Don't let the mid termers who think they are long timers get you down. You're on the right track, just keep your perspective.

I'll hit my twenty year mark since first landing here next year and I wouldn't prefer anywhere else.

[dirving]

Dude, are you less than 30 years of age?

Go to www.youtube.com. There, type the following words: AC/DC -Problem Child (Live 1978).

I'm not trying to flame you, but you'll eventually be accused of being a Problem Child within, I'd wager, the next 3 months unless you say the following when Gender-Appropriate: "Yes,Sir/Yes, Madam or Ma'am."

You'll see... Oh, you'll see!

Respectfully,

DI

[njp6]

Glad to see you've settled in. I was worried too when I first showed up, but my first year in Korea was great. So good I've spent 3 more year trying to replicate it. Live it up (although I heartly disagree with your opinion of soju).

[SeoulMan99]

I agree. I have been here only a short while also, but I do love Seoul and all of the people I have met as well. The only people I have come across with whom I have found to be annoying are not in fact Koreans, but other Westerners. I was expecting life to be utterly terrible here from reading Dave's prior to my arrival, but alas most of it is just people venting.

I share your love for soju. It's so cheap and it does the trick.

[Pa Jan Jo A Hamnida]

Heh. Still on the honeymoon. Well, boink away until you get boinked. Then post a 'I Hate It Here' thread.

[whome33]

Enjoy the good life! I've made alot of friends here, most do more than a year, and none dislike korea anywhere near some of the posters on this site. You have to consider the sample bias of people who frequent a message board consistently, and can annonomously b*tch about stuff.

[Cartman]

OP - after my first 2 months here I almost posted a thread similar to yours, but then I held back... and I'm glad I did... because now I see where all the negativity comes from... I had rose colored sunglasses on too... and that's all good... but things will likely balance out here for you... it's always good to have a positive outlook...

I remember my first week, some kids on the street yelling at me "WE LOVE YOU FOREIGNER" and laughing... and of course I interpreted this as 'great, I'm such a rockstar here!' - now looking back objectively, it's quite obvious they were making fun for no reason...

I am still having a positive experience overall, but let's face it, under 2 months, you're still in the "BUBBLE"

[ChrisGuy]

[sesyeux]

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