Korean Job Discussion Forums

darkcity · Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Location: SF, CA

I can't believe I'm doing this. After 1.5 years in Seoul, and times that were sometimes rough and lonely, I'm considering going back.

Part of it is the job market in the US, the other part is how difficult it is to get back into the social scene when all my friends have up and left or changed. Doesn't help that living cost is so high in the Bay Area, and what with my mother breathing down my neck every 10 minutes, it's been a hard month and a half adjusting back to American life. Living abroad has changed me. I can't stand to see fat people waddling through the supermarkets, sorting through the ice cream cartons and bags of potato chips. I love driving but I hate filling up the gas tank. And the friends here just don't have the same respect that my international friends had for me.

I have a part time job here teaching SAT writing/reading that pays a cushy $30/hr, but hours are few and far between.

So my options are:
1. Go back to Korea. After pressuring some recruiters, I've managed to get some decent offers that have surprised me. I would need to re-prepare all of my documents again. My university was in Australia, so getting transcripts is always a slow process. There were times that I HATED being in Korea, and there were times that I truly felt that it was great to be alive. There was never anything in between. It should be an easier lifestyle now that I know what to do and what to expect.

2. Do a one year working holiday in Australia. I've lived there for 8 years of my life (five as a child, three for university), and I am desperate to somehow get permanent residency. If I go there, I will probably get some shitty cleaning job and tutor English to int'l students on the side. I would basically be treading water but enjoying my life immensely.

3. Stay here in the Bay Area, move out and rent a room, get whatever job I can find to make ends meet. My dog isn't getting any younger, nor is my mom.

4. Try and try and try and try and try and try to get a job in Indonesia (where my best friend lives) or Japan (where I have other great friends). In the former, I can't save much money. The latter is good, but I don't speak Japanese and the job market is flooded.

Please no trolls. I know how difficult Korean life can be for foreigners. Perhaps someone else who's had the same difficulty adjusting back to life at home can chime in.

afsjesse · Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Location: Kickin' it in 'Kato town.

Well, if I were you, which I'm not, I would probably go to Australia. That's assuming you can get a job fairly easy. After that I would say go back to Korea. You've already admitted that you hated it at times and from your post you don't sound to excited about that thought.

Best wishes.

salgichawa · Joined: 18 Mar 2010

DrugstoreCowgirl · Posted: Sun Apr 04, 2010 9:15 pm Post subject:

Go to Australia.

That's my post-Korea plan as well. I thought about staying here another year for the money, but I'm much happier in Australia and I can make money down there as well. Not as much of course, but the trade-off is worth it to me.

darkcity · Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Location: SF, CA

it's funny that all three recommend Australia. My mom and I had a huge fight about this last night. She doesn't want me to go because she thinks I haven't given the Bay enough of a chance. I really, really want to go, but I know that it's not necessarily the smartest move future-wise.

Thanks for the comments guys. To be clear, I don't/didn't hate living in Korea. I worked for a really shitty company, for what that's worth.

DrugstoreCowgirl · Posted: Sun Apr 04, 2010 9:28 pm Post subject:

You only live once. You can always go back to SF after living in Australia.

salgichawa · Joined: 18 Mar 2010

Kurtz · Joined: 05 Jan 2007 Location: ples bilong me

Can't comment on the EFL/ESL scene in Australia, but I know there are thousands of overseas students there, many studying ESL.

I'm not being ironic when I say Australia is getting full. I'll be returning myself at the end of the year and I'm kind of worried about finding accommodation. Most immigrants are moving into Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, and the infrastructure can't keep up. There's a huge debate right now happening about populaton growth, try finding a rental place in Melbourne Mad

darkcity · Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Location: SF, CA

caribmon · Joined: 26 Oct 2009

It's amazing, I know, we're 26 years old and we still get in fights with our mothers because they want us to stay here, yet we want to explore the cosmos. My mom is returning to the house and I just had the realization that I gotta find a job in Korea, or anywhere really.