|
Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
willteachforfood
Joined: 24 Jan 2011
|
 Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 4:28 pm Post subject: |
 |
|
| DanseurVertical wrote: |
| Quote: |
Ice Tea:
Having a few Korean American friends back home doesn't mean you know about Koreans. That's like observing a lion on a zoo and saying you understand natural lion behavior. |
So, just as I'm quite familiar with Korean culture you're quite familiar with me, eh? Seriously man, I acknowledge your point, but you know practically nothing about my attitudes or my experiences. |
If you have never lived in (or at least spent considerable time in) Korea then you are going to be completely unfamiliar with Korean culture. It doesn't matter how many Korean friends you have at home, or how many books about Korea you've read, or how interested you are in Korean 'culture.' Korean culture has nothing to do with the music or the history or any of that stuff....people here think completely differently than us, for better or for worse, and nothing can prepare you for living here. Not that it is THAT hard to get by, just that you will have no idea what it's like to live here, for better or for worse, until you do it.
The fact that you are looking only for English speaking Koreans means that you are quite unfamiliar with Korea....end of story.
To answer your question.....no, you won't meet many English speaking Koreans in Uijeongbu....certainly not even close to the level where you could have a proper conversation with them or be friends with them. If you literally went to university campuses and trolled for friends, then perhaps you would meet some English speakers, but just milling out and about in town...no way.
You also have to remember that Koreans don't socialize like we do....bars are set up to discourage people from speaking to strangers, and not the other way around. For all intents and purposes, you will almost never meet and speak to Koreans by accident, unless it is a weirdo shouting HELLO! at you or a church missionary.....then again, you already know this as you are very familiar with Korean culture.
You will even find that university students rarely socialize with other students who are outside of their department or small network of friends. University bars here are not places for students to go meet new people....they are places that allow groups of university students who already know each other to meet that don't force them to buy a lot of anju. University bars are nearly identical to regular bars except that the food tends to be a little cheaper (like 1-2 bucks), they tend to give more "service" to the students, and the students aren't forced to follow the standard Korean protocol when it comes to anju. For example, 10 students ordering 1 pot of soup for the night. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
le-paul
Joined: 07 Apr 2009
Location: dans la chambre
|
| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 4:58 pm Post subject: |
|
|
pretty much what will teachforfood said.
however, I dont understand why you would expect to come come to korea and only have korean - english speaking friends?
Ok to start with I suppose but your going to have to make an effort to learn the language at some point - if not only for common courtesy.
If you want to make korean friends, try to find a language exchange partner. That way you may be introduced around to their friends - and it shows that you are interested in the culture.
If someone came to my country and only spoke to me in their language and expected me to do so and then told me they knew about my culture etc., I may think they are a bit ignorant... |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
willteachforfood
Joined: 24 Jan 2011
|
| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 5:07 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| le-paul wrote: |
| If someone came to my country and only spoke to me in their language and expected me to do so and then told me they knew about my culture etc., I may think they are a bit ignorant... |
I have to disagree with this point a little bit....we're not talking about just any language. We're talking about English. Which IS the global language, whether people like it or not. While one can't go to another country and expect everyone to be able to speak it, I don't think that it is unreasonable to want to know how many people there do speak it....which in Korea, outside of Seoul, is very few. (although they are improving)
If one were to move to Germany, or France, or certainly to a Scandinavian country, they would be able to more or less assume that they could get by only in English if they so chose....not in every scenario, but certainly in social settings most educated Europeans under 40 will speak a passable level of English. This is the direction that at least on the surface South Korea says that they want to go....where the majority of the populace can speak passable English.
Native English speakers sometimes feel guilty for going somewhere and only speaking English....but non-native speakers do not feel this way. An English speaking Spaniard would travel to China and attempt to speak English with the locals, and not Chinese....just as an English speaking Chinese would go to Spain and attempt to speak English before Spanish.
At any rate...I think that the OP's question about the level of English in Uijeongbu is valid....for one thing, this whole "learn the language" garbage is mostly hogwash....you can hardly learn conversational Korean in 1-2 years, especially when your focus is work and not study. You can learn enough Korean to survive and get by in the real world, but you cannot learn enough to have a proper conversation with someone in such a short period of time....you won't find a single soul in this country who can have a proper discussion in Korean within their first year here (assuming they didn't know a word of the language before arrival and that they have a full-time job.) If you think that you CAN have a real conversation in such a short period of time, then you've forgotten what a real conversation is.
While the OP's question about English was valid, I also believe that they are sorely mistaken if they think that they have any idea about what it's like here. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
DanseurVertical
Joined: 24 Nov 2010
|
| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 5:59 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
willteachforfood:
The fact that you are looking only for English speaking Koreans means that you are quite unfamiliar with Korea....end of story. |
I said that? Where?
| Quote: |
| Korean culture has nothing to do with the music or the history or any of that stuff....people here think completely differently than us... |
And I think like you do?
| Quote: |
| You will even find that university students rarely socialize with other students who are outside of their department or small network of friends. University bars here are not places for students to go meet new people....they are places that allow groups of university students who already know each other to meet that don't force them to buy a lot of anju. |
Sounds exactly like what I'm already used to... Oh, but I don't visit bars...
| Quote: |
le-paul:
however, I dont understand why you would expect to come come to korea and only have korean - english speaking friends? |
Again, where did I say that?
Bored with this thread! Done. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
interestedinhanguk
Joined: 23 Aug 2010
|
| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 6:21 pm Post subject: |
|
|
He never answered the question about what his experiences are in regard to Korea.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
definitely maybe
Joined: 16 Feb 2008
|
| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 6:24 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| cyui wrote: |
It the next to fifth stop on the North Line 1 (right before Junga line 7 transfer point).I think it would be hard to make it back from the main Seoul hotspots' before subway closing time. I also heard that there is a Lotte Mart, amongst many other Westernized-type of restaurants and some bars; so the chances of many English Speakers' would probably be next to none ( all secondhand hearsay ,so don't take it all to heart as thw whole factual truth).
http://www.nsubway.co.kr/korea/seoul/seoulsubwaymapen.htm
Hey, are you in Atlanta? Why don't you give me a call? |
I can't figure out what you're talking about. I've lived in Korea for a long time and Uijeongbu for three years, but I'm confused by most of what you've written. What is Junga? Which Lotte Mart are you talking about? I'm not sure I'd want to seek you out about advice on Uijeongbu. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Ice Tea
Joined: 23 Nov 2008
|
| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 7:15 pm Post subject: |
|
|
If you live in Uijeongbu, why did you even bother making this post? Why are you even asking these questions? In three years time you haven't figured out how many people speak English yet?
I did live in Uijeongbu. There's no good universities. There's one shit one in the mountains. He's talking about the Lottemart in the new part of town built on the otherside of the mountain with the parks and trails. I lived near Homeplus and the state capitol building. The downtown is a dump and now they're building this elevated train system which just looks weird.
But most importantly Uijeongbu is a short 40 min train ride away from downtown Seoul. There's no reason to limit yourself to that town. You can easily socialize in the city every weekend. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
definitely maybe
Joined: 16 Feb 2008
|
| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 7:38 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Ice Tea wrote: |
If you live in Uijeongbu, why did you even bother making this post? Why are you even asking these questions? In three years time you haven't figured out how many people speak English yet?
I did live in Uijeongbu. There's no good universities. There's one shit one in the mountains. He's talking about the Lottemart in the new part of town built on the otherside of the mountain with the parks and trails. I lived near Homeplus and the state capitol building. The downtown is a dump and now they're building this elevated train system which just looks weird.
But most importantly Uijeongbu is a short 40 min train ride away from downtown Seoul. There's no reason to limit yourself to that town. You can easily socialize in the city every weekend. |
If you're responding to me, my last post was addressed to misinformation from a poster who admittedly had never been to Uijeongbu. There are two Lotte Marts, one of which is marginally close to Jangam Station on the 7 Line, but hardly reasonable. The Lotte Mart that you're talking about is in Minrak-dong. I'm trying to help the OP. Part of my helping the OP is calling questionable information into question. I never asked about speaking English in Uijeongbu. You're pretty quick to call me out, but you can't take the time to read the entire thread or the post just prior to mine? Read a bit more closely next time. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Ice Tea
Joined: 23 Nov 2008
|
| Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 5:44 am Post subject: |
|
|
| NVM |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
cyui
Joined: 10 Jan 2011
|
| Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 6:25 am Post subject: |
|
|
Yeah,Jangam( there is a Junggye, but it is further down) and I said my advice was from a second- hand source.
DM- Have we meet before? Do I know your friends'? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
DanseurVertical
Joined: 24 Nov 2010
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 5:08 am Post subject: |
|
|
| willteachforfood wrote: |
| If you have never lived in (or at least spent considerable time in) Korea then you are going to be completely unfamiliar with Korean culture. It doesn't matter how many Korean friends you have at home, or how many books about Korea you've read, or how interested you are in Korean 'culture.' Korean culture has nothing to do with the music or the history or any of that stuff....people here think completely differently than us, for better or for worse, and nothing can prepare you for living here. |
On the basis of what I knew before and what I had anticipated, exactly one aspect of Korea has surprised me, the near complete lack of color among automobiles. But otherwise? Nothing.
| Quote: |
| You also have to remember that Koreans don't socialize like we do....bars are set up to discourage people from speaking to strangers, and not the other way around. For all intents and purposes, you will almost never meet and speak to Koreans by accident, unless it is a weirdo shouting HELLO! at you or a church missionary.....then again, you already know this as you are very familiar with Korean culture. |
I ultimately did not move to Uijeongbu, but my experiences have been nothing like this. I have had many Korean strangers speak to me. High school students, younger women, and older men who could speak pretty good English. In North America I practically never had a stranger initiate conversation with me. Here it is common, because I'm a foreigner and apparently appear interesting to native Koreans.
| Quote: |
| You will even find that university students rarely socialize with other students who are outside of their department or small network of friends. |
How about the two cute uni students who approached me at a Buddhist temple in my third week here? Or the other in a similar context in my third month? Or the two in a little cocktail lounge in my fourth month?
| Quote: |
| University bars here are not places for students to go meet new people....they are places that allow groups of university students who already know each other to meet that don't force them to buy a lot of anju. University bars are nearly identical to regular bars except that the food tends to be a little cheaper (like 1-2 bucks), they tend to give more "service" to the students, and the students aren't forced to follow the standard Korean protocol when it comes to anju. For example, 10 students ordering 1 pot of soup for the night. |
Among the pubs I've visited, I've observed no pressure to buy food. I'm a little confused and curious, where in Korea have you lived, anyway? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
T-J
Joined: 10 Oct 2008
Location: Seoul EunpyungGu Yeonsinnae
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 6:24 am Post subject: |
|
|
So, where did you end up?
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
DanseurVertical
Joined: 24 Nov 2010
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 6:39 am Post subject: |
|
|
| T-J wrote: |
So, where did you end up?
|
Opposite of Uijeongbu, so just south of Seoul. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Steelrails
Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Location: Earth, Solar System
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 7:08 am Post subject: |
|
|
| I'm sure there are plenty of sheisters in Uijeongbu who can speak enough English to get you to blow a bankroll at their mediocre hof. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
