Korean Job Discussion Forums

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

Sometimes I feel 6 (watching cartoons with my little bro or playing tag with my students,) sometimes I feel 28 (dolling up and going out for a night on the town with my beloved,) and sometimes I feel 87 (spending a quiet evening in with a good book, some knitting, a pot of soup on the stove, and some warm jammies).

Enjoy life at whatever age you are. You'll think back to how silly you were, feeling old at 20-something, in a few decades.

[swashbuckler]

I turned 30 this year and still get pu$$y like its going out of style..

[Radius]

Yea im 29 and I just cant get into the club scene anymore. Ever since i turned about 27, my outlook on what is fun and what is not changed dramatically. I welcomed it because i partied enough for two lifetimes when i was in the teens and early 20's, and could use a little bit of relaxation..

[BaldTeacher]

OP, I'm the same age as you.

What's better, being a chump working a boring middle-management job who's married to some dumpy warpig who doesn't even put out anymore, or doing what you want on your own terms?

Forget those people who are pressuring you into marriage. Marriage is an outdated institution designd to castrate you. Teaching ESL in Korea is not a loser job if you can find a good job in a good location that hooks you up with a sweet apartment. Get a good circle of friends going and you have it made, much more than your average sucker back home.

The good thing about being a man is that as long as you hold yourself together and don't become a fat beta, you become more and more attractive to women.

I know people who are in their mid thirties who are in their first year of teaching in Korea. I also know people who were honor students who became burnouts. There are some people now who are just scraping by but in 20 years, they will be movers and shakers. This isn't a race.

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

[BaldTeacher]

[swashbuckler]

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

@Baldteacher:
Indeed. I don't believe anyone should be pressured into marriage unless their family is going to get a few dozen camels, at least!

@Swashbuckler:
Kudos. Enjoy yourself, and just remember to keep it safe.

[Koreadays]

[BaldTeacher]

I'm 26 and I get 19 and 20 year olds. I told one of them I was 30 just to gauge where I'd be at that point. It wasn't an issue.

Young girls love older guys who they think are cool.

[machoman]

some young girls are really picky about age though. my kyopo friend, 27, who literally looks like he's 21 is a very attractive, fashionable guy. he went to a club in LA and was talking to a girl who was 21. she asked him how old he was and he said 27, she then said "ewww, you're too old."

could be a cultural thing though. i don't think k girls care about age as much as an american girl would.

[Gnawbert]

There was a thread like this not too recently, but I'll reiterate my limited, experience.

I turned 29, 30, and 31 in Korea. My 30's have, so far, been the best years of my life. I'm much more confident, more fiscally responsible, healthier, and frankly I find I have more energy to do the things that are important to me, such as travel, learn new things, tackle odd business ventures, or really focus on some creative writing. I have less energy to waste time going to bars and clubs and staying up until 6am unless it's a special occasion, like New Years. Hangovers hurt more, food sometimes affects my digestive system more, and I have a few crows feet around my eyes when I smile.

I also play a ton of video games, have an Xbox, a PS3, a pathetic herb garden, and only wear a suit or a tie for formal occasions. Other than that I'm a jeans and a zip up hoody kind of guy. I feel younger than I ever have, I smile so much my cheeks sometimes hurt, and I try to surround myself with interesting and funny friends regardless of their age.

It also helps that my girlfriend of 3 years is almost exactly the same. Our apartment is a mix of everything from travel photos to Hello Kitty and Doreman to Clive Barker Horror figurines and random World of Warcraft schwag we've bought off PC bangs. If I could ship 10,000 plastic balls out to Korea and turn a spare room into a ball pit, I just might.

Do I look like some pathetic man-child to some 31 year olds? Sure! But I'm not trying to impress them, I'm trying to live my life in a way that is fun for my girlfriend and I, and so far that has worked out pretty well. I wouldn't trade the last year and a half of my 30's for my entire 20's.

I've had expat friends in their mid to late 20's in Korea who acted like bitter curmudgeons and wore Mr. Rogers sweaters and complained about things constantly. They may not have been "old" but they sure seemed that way, despite being years younger than I. And I've met expats who were well over 40, rocked t-shirts and took motorcycle trips around the Peninsula on the weekends.

I enjoyed some of my 20's, but in hindsight I neither had the financial freedom nor the confidence to just be myself and pursue what made me happy. I felt like I was always in a race with my friends to procure a larger paycheck or a better job or some other way to brag. I no longer think like that and I'm infinitely happier and feel far younger than I "should" for my age.

Do I think 26 is old? Depends on how they look, how they act, and most of all how they feel. However, I sure don't feel old at 31.

[Sergio Stefanuto]

[Stalin84]

[Kaypea]

Giving up alcohol makes me feel younger. I order pop, like a kid.

I remember when I was a kid, I would always order a Shirley Temple because my parents thought it was really cute and grown up. I guess, if drinking alcohol makes you grown up, not drinking it makes you younger.