Korean Job Discussion Forums

[llothyan]

Hi I am an overweight woman, probably considered obese, an I am actively losing weight but I am thinking of teaching overseas in Korea and I still will have a good deal of weight to lose when I go over. Am I asking for a life of misery in this beauty obsessed culture? I have thick skin but I have heard people are pretty forward over there. Any advice? Thanks!

[thegadfly]

I am a 5'10" male, and I weigh 185 pounds at the moment. When I played soccer last week with some Koreans, I was called "Pig-baby -- because you're so fat!" about a dozen times, not to mention having my belly patted, asked if I was pregnant, asked if I was Buddha, and told that I need to lose weight about another dozen times...granted, it was all done with smiles, and guys will take the piss when competing, but...expect to be told frequently in social situations. Some of it will be "concern," some of it will be less "kind," but I would expect it to be a weekly, if not daily occurence.

If you are thick-skinned enough to deal with it, then fine. I don't know if folks are kinder to women than men, but I know my students mention my weight occasionally, and when I was 195, I had folks I didn't know in bars coming up to me to tell me to lose weight....

If it is the kind of thing that will ruin your day...then you will probably have a fair number of days ruined. If you can shrug it off, then you may be fine...but honestly, I think it would be quite tough to deal with.

[kardisa]

I know it's terrible, but expect people to call you fat on a somewhat regular basis. This especially goes for kids. To give you an example, every time the "big stomach' flashcard comes up in one of my units, the kids all shout the name of the previous NET. They also mention how "fat" she is anytime her name is mentioned.

She was 5'8 and about 160lbs.

As for your "asking for a life of misery" by coming into such an environment...I really don't think it will be that bad, especially if you're aware of it beforehand. Just come here with a thick skin (something you should do anyway) and enjoy the rest of your experience.

[oldtactics]

You'll get attacked 100% more by drunk expats & guys on Dave's ESL than you will by Koreans. Koreans will stare (more than usual), your coworkers might make comments that are helpful/rude, and life will go on. No misery, I promise.

You'll also have the best weight loss support system of your life - I lost 50 pounds last year, and every time I'd come to school down about 5 pounds, or in a new pair of pants, everyone would tell me that I was getting "better" and "more beautiful".

For the most part, Koreans don't really care about you, and if they bother to make comments in passing, you won't understand them anyway.

One word of advice - bring clothes that DON'T show cleavage. I realize that you might have small breasts, but generally big girls have big chests and even a tiny bit of cleavage is definitely not a 'thing' here, especially in the workplace.

[Kaypea]

There are a fair number of larger women teaching here, who seem pretty happy. I've heard kids describe such teachers as "fat and pretty", and I think they mean it as a genuine compliment. The students like to make fun of my nose, but then say "tall nose, good!" So... whatev

[notinKS]

I'm pretty sure I'm the exception to the rule but I haven't had any major problems. I'm incredibly lucky that the people in my school are amazing so they haven't said anything to me. Do expect to be taunted by little kids with limited use of English and the occasional man, but it's easy to let it roll off your shoulders. A MP3 player will go a long way towards helping tune it out.

[oldfatfarang]

I'm not sure how K's treat big western girls. But I get the weight thing all the time.

I'm far from obese, I just have a big gut (not beer). I don't beat around the bush with my weight, and I've always told everyone at all my schools that I'm on a diet. That seems to mollify them - a bit.

Student/K Teacher: Why don't you eat the school lunch?
OFF: Diet.
Student /Teacher: OK.

Student /Teacher: Have a snack.
OFF: Sorry, diet.
Student Teacher: Yesk, OK.

A kid offered me some tubukki last week and I politely refused ("Diet") and she patted my stomach and said: "Mountain!".

Be warned, you are going to be told you're overweight - constantly.
However, you may not be employed if you answer the weight question on a PS application.

You should also expect a Hagwon employer to be really annoyed when you turn up at the airport - and they see you are obsese (sorry, your words). However, don't worry if you have a very thick skin as I've seen plenty of overweight westerners in Korea (but not obese).

Good luck.

[Kaypea]

[kardisa]

[exit_everything]

I was expecting to have to deal with my weight every day here in a negative way. I'm 81kg/178lbs and 5'9"/175cm, but I haven't really had any issues with anybody in my 4 months here except a couple of students at work who are disrespectful anyway. Granted, I don't go into shops that I know won't have clothes that fit me, so I avoid the 'no sizeus'. I get a lot more 'pretty!/beautiful!'s' than I get 'teacher pregnant?' or people looking down at me. I think if you make an effort with your appearance (flattering clothes, a smile) you will get by with less attention.

[seoul777]

im 5'9 170lbs. back home people joke around about me being small or in such good shape when the shirt comes off. here i have acquired the nickname of "pig gorilla" from some of the students. even my coteachers tell me i am fat. of course once again getting the shirt off elicits a different reaction from the females. but i cant even imagine what people who have actual issues with their weight go through here. during the first year i began to wonder if i was maybe getting fat. who knows because i dont step on scales. upon arrival back in a usa airport any apprehension was vanquished immediately. good luck, but korean people obsess over weight. the skinniest korean girls will complain about how they have to lose weight.

[Carla]

First of all, if you want to lose weight here, it's not that hard if you want to. It just takes a little motivation. Without personal cars here, just walking and riding a bike is great exercise and the lack of so much familiar junk food (depending on where you live helps).

Now, that being said, it's not so bad when you arrive with a little extra weight. You just have to realize that you're different and don't be offended if you are teaching the word fat and a students says "Teacher is fat." It's the same think that if you are teaching the word blonde and the students say, "Teacher is blonde." You are fat, they want to show they know the word. Just say, "Yes, good job. Now, thin, who is thin?" I teach elementary students, so they aren't a problem. Don't know about the older kids. If the kids poke you or tease you, they aren't doing it to be mean. They are just doing it for interaction usually. I'm not thin myself, but the same kids who poke my stomach and say big are the same kids who bring me flowers and candy and cookies (Wait, candy and cookies? They want me fatter? LOL)

As for dating, still not a problem. The only girl I know who doesn't date anybody is just too busy. She is working on her MA, working full time, is the head teacher at her school, and only goes out with couples or family people. She did have a boyfriend, but they broke up when he moved for his job, and she just doesn't want to get involved with another guy right now because she doesn't have time until her MA is finished next year.

The only people I have come across who have real issues with fat people are some people on these boards. Please do not judge the rest of us by them.

Oh, clothing will be an issue. My mom came to visit. She lives off of coffee and 1 or 2 bowls of cereal a day. (Whatever floats her boat, right?) She is by no means fat, she is just a little underweight to be technical. I wish she could gain a little weight. Anyway, just her bone structure makes her a size medium in America. When she came here, she wanted to buy a pair of pajamas. I took her to the store, and I finally found a pair of XXXL pajama short bottoms that were tight on her, but they fit. She was not happy to find that she was a size XXXL here, LOL.

There are lots of threads here with online shopping sites. There is at least one shop in Itaewon that has big and/or tall girl clothes. By the way, if you are tall, you might want to bring more shoes, especially walking shoes. They don't have big sizes here. Every once in a while I see a Korean woman as tall as me and I just want to know where she gets her shoes, lol.

Anyway, feel free to pm me if you want more details.

[Morticae]

I'm fat. I get told that by Koreans.

Sometimes it bothers me, sometimes it doesn't. Depends on who said it and how I perceived the relationship to be.

What is a good (cheap/easy) dieting method for Korea?

I was thinking of a gimbap diet maybe. School lunch plus gimbap for dinner at home. I can't be bothered to do much cooking myself, too busy.

[Kaypea]

Zara has shoes up to size 9

[seoul777]

only a few will be saying it to be mean. and they are usually bad people anyway so who cares.

i have to admit that i kind of like the ring to kuh-ray-jee dway-jee