Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Unposter]

Welcome to culture shock. Culture shock is the sudden realization that other people believe in things different than I do, behave in a manner different than I do and have customs and habits different than I do.

There is generally three reactions to culture shock.

1) You think the other culture is great and better than yours.
2) You think the other culture is horrible and much worse than yours.
3) You think the other culture is what it is without any judgement.

Most people pass through all 3 stages in periodic shifts. At times, you are like this is great. Other times, you are like what the heck all the time. And, still at other times, you are like whatever.

If you can, stay in #3 as much as possible. Some people call it being open minded about things.

People who have strong opinions or have strong moral codes often struggle living in foreign countries where people may not share the same opinions or moral codes. If this is you, you should try to think more about your situation, your relations to others and try to be more tolerant.

But, my biggest problem is with the Korean government and the Korean education system. The government issues visas and the educational system integrates people from half-way around the world (both literally and figuratively) without any proper cultural training and understanding of culture shock. As the invite-ees, they need to be more responsible, especially when you are dealing with young adults.

The government and the ministry of education should also need to be more understanding of the stresses and needs of people living in a foreign culture.

Educating yourself about Korea is not enough. (And, for that matter, books rarely prepare you for the real experience.) You also need to educate yourself in cross-cultural experiences and inter-cultural communication.

People living in other cultures generally have higher levels of stress. You also need to do more to deal with this. It will make you a lot less angrier, not that this 'anger' is not normal. It can be 'normal' if you are not doing the things necessary to deal with the stress of living in a foreign culture.

Good luck! I hope you make the most out of your Korean experience.

[Wishmaster]

Any Koreans about to enter the subway on the green line...they are just a bunch of rude and moronic fools. Get your forearms ready and assume a football stance like it is 4th and goal from the 1.

[Louis VI]

[comm]

I wasn't an angrier person until matthews_world reminded me of how frustrating it was trying to beat D�j� Vu on NES when I was a kid...

I'm pretty sure culture shock is more of a case of:
1. Koreans prefer chopsticks over forks and that's great!
2. Koreans prefer chopsticks over forks and that's ridiculous.
3. Koreans prefer chopsticks over forks and that's just how it is.
all that on a larger scale of course...

Whereas I believe the OP is referring to things that are specifically detrimental to you that you wouldn't expect to happen where you're from (such as someone coughing in your face, as a previous poster mentioned).

I'm un-jaded, as of yet...

[Steelrails]

[stuff_4_sale]

[Hotwire]

[Wishmaster]

Well, Mr. Rails, it appears that you've never take the green line. If you did, you would know how disgusting the manners exhibited by the sheeple. The green line is like the 7th circle of hell. Oh, and I can assure you, that I have bulldozed many a Korean that has gotten in my way. No, bulldoze isn't the right word...steamrolled might be better. Many, many times. Hey, I had no choice. It is either them or me...

[Steelrails]

[Wishmaster]

Okay...cool.

[redaxe]

[The Happy Warrior]

[discostu333]

Short answer; no, Korea hasn't made me an angrier person.

In fact, Korea has made me a very patient, calm person. I can imagine without patience and calmness it would be very difficult indeed to survive here as a Westerner.

While I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here, enjoyed meeting new people (mostly Westerners, I'll come to this in a minute), tasting new food, experiencing a very unique culture, I can't really say Korea or Koreans are particularly endearing.

Before all the apologists berate me, let me remind you. This is an internet forum and a place for the exchange of opinions. This is my personal opinion of Korea.

I pride myself in being a very liberal, open minded individual. This is the way I was brought up and educated in England. It's very easy in my culture to find your own niche and be your own person. Korean society is the polar opposite of this. I've found it incredibly interesting living here. It has made me reassess a lot of my own views on life, culture and society.

You can't have a debate with most Koreans. This is not an issue of different language, this is not a debating society. Confucious say "Follow the code set down by your ancestors and don't question it". Many Koreans are in denial of the problems in their country, while they are eager to point out the problems in others. Koreans aren't well traveled, yet they make grand statements about issues in other countries. You can't compromise with a Korean, because their social hierarchy is either or, no middle ground. Korea is a nation of clones, there are very few individuals here.

[Unposter]

Happy Warrior,

That is a very interesting article. Thanks!

[PatrickGHBusan]