Korean Job Discussion Forums

[carleverson]

I can't believe I've changed as much as I have since moving to Korea. I have a much shorter fuse, I'm less patient, I curse people under my breath, and I find myself generally angrier than when I first came here.

Did Korea make you angrier?

[Princess Soraya]

For sure, but it has also made me more patient in many respects. I think it may have to do with the fact that everything seems so unnecessarily complicated. I constantly have to keep my temper in check as I have wanted to beat the living daylights out of quite a few people here in Korea.

[balzor]

While some things can be maddening to the point of wanting to strangle, I have found myself more at peace and much less stressed in Korea than I was in the US for the the last decade.

[recessiontime]

I found myself more stressed out than mad because I overworked myself by teaching extra classes on Saturdays and such. My co-teacher would get on my nerves from time to time. If I did change in Korea I changed by becoming more duplicit or two-faced.


My American friends were all fuming though and were always angry about the way they were being treated especially the American women...lol

Just be grateful you have a job. I hear it's hell back home.

[captain kirk]

Not Korea per se but working in a Korean public school YES. There it was that the master-servant polemic got my goat (and I was one bucking goat). Until then it had been hagwons where the boss wasn't around much, no problem. So after two years of public school I was mucho loco. I just couldn't take that 'you're an assistant teacher, not a real teacher' stuff that, and I wasn't prepared for it, was right in the contract. It has been two years since those days and I still get steamed whenever I think of it. K pub school is one big no-brain farm IMO. If I could be bambi in that situation it would have been a walk in the park but it wasn't, I HATED it ('it' meaning, K coteacher(s)).

Koreans don't blink much and, particularly middle aged K-men (ajoshis), are blunt in expressing their opinions and needs. A man shouting 'ajumma' in a restaurant for instance, totally charming habit I love it. But in Canada try shouting 'waiter!'. So if I acted, back in Canada here, like a Korean ajoshi, major hell would break loose and I'd be looking at the pissed off waiter or whomever like they were out of their tree. You're a waiter, get used to it! Hahaha.

[caniff]

It has made me much less tolerant of other people's BS.

Actually, it's either Korea or getting older or a combination of the two that's responsible for this attitude.

Oh, and the makkeoli. Yeah, it's maybe a combo of Korea, getting older, the makkeoli,.....oh, and........

[catman]

Hagwon yes. Korea no.

[Louis VI]

Hagwons, no... the students are a joy!

Korea, yes, sometimes the staring, pointing, shouting and general grouchy demeanour of the locals have gotten to me. I learn to tune them out, focus on people I know and those who are genuinely nice, quick to smile.

[Fox]

Nope. Living up here in the mountains has been wonderful overall.

[Epik_Teacher]

I've got to admit I'm tired of the constant BS you have to put up with here. Between the terrible drivers, Korean's being the social midgets they are, and the general grinding rat race that Korea is. I can't wait for the end of my contract to blow out of this hell hole! Now I understand why the Japanese and Chinese look down on Koreans. Koreans are a unaccomplished, backward people who are surrounded by important countries. And an economy built up only because of the USA, who they s*** on every chance they get!

With the US economy in the crapper and future looming budgets cuts due to the US$ going down, the USA will eventually have to pull out of Korea. Even now, Korea is now becoming integrated into the Chinese economy. I hope they enjoy being economic vassals of China in the future!

[mm]

I think Korea is a very easy place to live and I am rarely angry here. What is to be angry about? I think living in China for two years made my tolerance level very high.

The one place I do get annoyed is at the gym. I hate having to wait for a treadmill because some girl is shuffling along at the slowest speed possible, misting her face with perfume every five minutes.

I went to the gym once when I lived in China, during the visit I saw a girl letting her menstrual blood flow into the drains in the communal shower and a line of ladies waiting for the blow dryer so they could blow dry their pubes. I would take schlepping treadmill perfume girls any day over that.

[matthews_world]

It's quite easy to become frustrated here due to langauge barriers and such.

Just try to be proactive in Korea, learn to ask more questions as Koreans usually keep out the details.

Try to be more patient and open-minded. Learn about the cultural differences and accept them. Always work with them, not against. After all, you are a guest here.

A lot of the problems foreigners encounter here stem from communication problems. Koreans may say one thing but it might be misconstrued because their English may not be up to par.

I always make sure I actively get the right context of what they are trying to say. If they make a mistake with their English, correct them politely or simply nod if you understood what they were trying to say.

Like one poster said, use exercise, meditation, yoga, find a hobby in order to relax. Learn self-control when it comes to alchohol, sex, money, etc.

In many aspects, I've reversed my style of thinking to become more holistic and positive, thinking of how my actions will affect others as where in America, I'd think mostly about myself. Kind of a yen and yang type thing. I still do think about myself but a lot less.

[Privateer]

Korea can make you mad. People often say Dave's is here for people to vent, but I find reading Dave's can raise rather than reduce the blood pressure too sometimes.

I think you have to learn patience, perspective, and also not to bottle things up. It's ingrained in us to think it's polite to conceal any feelings of distaste or annoyance when visiting another country in order to avoid giving offence. And it is polite. There are times, particularly when you're new to a country, when it's better just to smile and take on board without criticism or reserve, because you're still learning how things work. After a while, however, you have to wake up to the fact that this is a pushy, jostling, crowded society and you need to assert yourself or you'll get trampled on. Our instinct at that point is to tell the whole of Korea that they're doing things wrong, because we've been raised to become very indignant at people who break 'the rules' (a Germanic trait, perhaps): drive poorly and the whole street will end up yelling at you; talk too loudly in the wrong place and you'll attract disapproving glances. This instinct requires retuning in Korea, of course. You can't fight the crowd: it's no good, for instance, expecting everyone to stop being noisy in restaurants (if that bothers you) in a country where it's normal to be noisy in restaurants. Complaining about normal behaviour will only make you look insane, arrogant, or perhaps overly precious. If, however, you think some person or persons' individual behaviour directed towards you is outrageous or stupid or offensive, you can and you should let them know their behaviour is not welcome (they'll read your face and tone no matter what language you use).

Basically, if you're able to let off some steam against individuals who actually do something offensive from time to time, you'll save yourself from becoming an angry-all-the-time, endlessly complaining, paranoid, me-against-Korea foreigner; you'll be better able to keep some humour and perspective; and you won't fly off the handle at something or someone who really doesn't deserve it. You're also, by admitting you're not a super perfect enlightened Boddhisatva - a model of tolerance and politeness - also, in a way, adapting better by showing you're willing to muck in and jostle with all the rest.

[hellofaniceguy]

Come on, let's face it and be truthful, it's not korea that makes one angrier...it's koreans!
And all those hogwon kids are fantastic! I agree.
Problem is....kittens grow up to be cats, puppies/dogs and kids...grow up to be korean adults....
the cycle just perpatrates itself.
Somewhere along the road to growing up..most fall back into the sterotype mode that is so well known about koreans amoung many non koreans who have lived and worked in korea for a long time.
It's not a bad thing..but it sure as hell is not a good thing either.
Once one understands the culture, etc...then they become more tolerant and understanding.

[NYC_Gal]

I want an air horn for my bike. I can't stand people zig-zagging as they walk, looking down and talking on their phones. My bike bell doesn't cut it, and I don't like having to shout YA!

I ride in the road a lot of the time, but some areas are near impossible for cyclists, so we stay on the sidewalk.

Also, coughing without covering one's mouth. Disgusting. An ajumma and I were walking towards one another on a pathway and she looked me in the eyes and coughed in my face, spraying me with garlic spittle. I hissed that she was ignorant (in Korean).

I do like the yogiyo buttons in bars, as well as the textured yellow paving stones for the blind. Those are two really good ideas that I wish would become common back home.

I get over my annoyances and occasional rage by working out, riding my bike in less populated areas, and playing with my pets.