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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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Stalin84
Joined: 30 Dec 2009
Location: Haebangchon, Seoul
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 Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 4:59 am Post subject: |
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| DanseurVertical wrote: |
| I've no bloody clue of where 'Uiwang Art Street' is. |
It's where Uiwang Lotte Mart is. |
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Kimchifart
Joined: 15 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 5:46 am Post subject: Re: Foreigner Friends |
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| hello123 wrote: |
| Kimchifart wrote: |
| hello123 wrote: |
| How do I meet people and make friends? Thanks |
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It's cool to be a dick, right? Put yourself in my position. I have MAYBE seen two foreigners where I live. You have to meet people to become friends with them... and it's not like I haven't been trying. I've basically been hitting up every bar during the week days the past two weeks trying to find foreigners to drink with. |
Sorry pal, it was just funny! Not trying to be nasty, just thought it was funny! |
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IlIlNine
Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Location: Gunpo, Gyonggi, SoKo
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| Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 7:13 am Post subject: |
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I'll be moving to the area near Lotte mart in Uiwang in a couple weeks - It'll be my first time living exactly there.
Maybe I'll run into some of you guys.
Thanks for the bar suggestions!
Edit: there ought to be some friendly art-school students to go out drinking with, no? The school's like, right there! |
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computermichael
Joined: 01 Jul 2010
Location: Anyang
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| Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 7:47 am Post subject: |
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| IlIlNine wrote: |
I'll be moving to the area near Lotte mart in Uiwang in a couple weeks - It'll be my first time living exactly there.
Maybe I'll run into some of you guys.
Thanks for the bar suggestions!
Edit: there ought to be some friendly art-school students to go out drinking with, no? The school's like, right there! |
So foreigners in Anyang actually talk to people on the street out in public? I think the law about having to look all pissed on and angry applies to Uiwang, too.
That was a joke sort of. Regardless, I lived there for a year, and the K-Sad kids always cracked me up because they all look like what I imagine sad looking emo kids to be, and the name of their school is acronyminated to K-SAD.
I really miss living there sometimes though because the mandu and kimbap wenches were so beautiful for old wenches. I think all of the mandu steam made here old face beautiful, so I'd always write these ballads about her to court her with, but I never worked up the courage to confess. I'm only 24, but mandu wench was a mighty beautiful wench. |
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premiummince
Joined: 23 Jan 2010
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| Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 1:33 am Post subject: |
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| I live nearby. Just PM me. |
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happiness
Joined: 04 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 1:58 am Post subject: |
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after 10 years, most of my friends have moved on, and the young guys i have interest in. It gets old having to help out and "teach" about Korea real quick, esp when mostly they dont care.
meh |
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DanseurVertical
Joined: 24 Nov 2010
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| Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 5:13 pm Post subject: |
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@ Cedar:
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| I don't get what's the big deal over having foreigner friends. You only need one, to talk to about the things that just don't culturally translate. Otherwise hang out with Koreans. They're plentiful around these parts and as long as you don't project western thought all over their every action you can become good friends with at least a couple awesome people. |
I've only been here for about ten days, but my impression is that hardly anyone speaks much English. You know, beyond a beginner level.
Possible explanations for this observation:
1) I don't know any Korean students (e.g., the art college students)
2) They actually do but are just very hesitant, for fear of making mistakes.
3) I first try to speak in my basic Korean to them, so they don't make a point to use any English.
My ultimate point is, I'd like to befriend Korean people, too. But they've got to speak at least conversational English and find some enjoyment in it, since I speak hardly any Korean.
So, how have you befriended Korean people? |
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computermichael
Joined: 01 Jul 2010
Location: Anyang
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| Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:06 pm Post subject: |
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| DanseurVertical wrote: |
@ Cedar:
| Quote: |
| I don't get what's the big deal over having foreigner friends. You only need one, to talk to about the things that just don't culturally translate. Otherwise hang out with Koreans. They're plentiful around these parts and as long as you don't project western thought all over their every action you can become good friends with at least a couple awesome people. |
I've only been here for about ten days, but my impression is that hardly anyone speaks much English. You know, beyond a beginner level.
Possible explanations for this observation:
1) I don't know any Korean students (e.g., the art college students)
2) They actually do but are just very hesitant, for fear of making mistakes.
3) I first try to speak in my basic Korean to them, so they don't make a point to use any English.
My ultimate point is, I'd like to befriend Korean people, too. But they've got to speak at least conversational English and find some enjoyment in it, since I speak hardly any Korean.
So, how have you befriended Korean people? |
There are lots of Koreans, especially in somewhere that's fairly affluent like Anyang, who can speak English well enough to kick it Big Willy style with. The only ones who will just come up and talk to you on the street are Jehovah's Witnesses, but even a lot of the people with businesses on hagwon-ga and around Beomgye can speak English surprisingly well.
The best way to meet Koreans who are good at English is probably through foreigners or at places where people are likely to speak English: e.g. foreigner bars or some kind of an event that is meant (whether overtly or not) for foreigners and Koreans to meet each other. If someone's good at English, I think being around other Koreans makes him or her less likely to use it, so I doubt someone's just going to pop out of the woodwork and be like, "Sup, roundeye."
Anyway, I never noticed the art students around K-SAD to be especially outgoing, and I used to live right next to it. Some of them asked me what I thought about the color green one day as part of a school project, but it's not really that easy to just meet Korean people out on the street unless you have some kind of magnetically charming personality or are in some area where they don't see foreigners often, and when you do, it'll probably be a drunk old guy. |
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Triban
Joined: 14 Jul 2009
Location: Suwon Station
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| Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:38 pm Post subject: |
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| I live at Suwon Station. Seems my foreigner friends and Korean friends alike have had a mass exodus from Korea/Suwon. Glad I built this gaming PC... |
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wishfullthinkng
Joined: 05 Mar 2010
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| Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 12:11 am Post subject: |
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| When I first moved to Korea and lived in Suwon I didn't have friends either and my neighborhood had no foreigners in it. I would just go to random Korean bars by myself and get a drink. More often than not by the end of the nite I'd be swarmed by Koreans wanting to talk to me and drink with me. It was a rollicking good time, although I am very happy not to live in Suwon anymore. |
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sojusucks
Joined: 31 May 2008
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| Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 4:10 am Post subject: |
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| Foreign friends in Korea come and go. It happens. It's part of being an expat. And, yes, many newbies refuse to listen to others with experience. That happens, too. Let them bang their heads against the wall, if they choose. |
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sublunari
Joined: 11 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 2:06 pm Post subject: |
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Just an anecdote---
Walking near Gwangali Beach, heard a trio of young Korean women repeating this phrase: "Find foreigner friends! Find foreigner friends! Find foreigner friends!"
The ultimate linguistic conquest for me would be to make a REAL foreigner friend, i.e. a Korean who can't speak English enough to have a conversation, thus forcing both of us to speak his or her native tongue. It's probably going to be awhile before I can pull that one off... |
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Louis VI
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
Location: In my Kingdom
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| Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 2:36 pm Post subject: |
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Friends come and go MUCH MORE SO in the expat experience. My first year overseas I made several friends and the issue was in not having enough time to interact with al of them! And then year two came around and half of them left, then year three and more than half of the remaining was gone. By year four just two remained and by year five none. Now in year nine I have made and lost two good friends since then, and have just marginal friendships now, fully aware that they will last waaay less than back home. The likelihood of staying in touch is also less than back home. Really, living overseas such for developing anything but superficial friendships. I thought it would be the opposite actually. But not only has it not happened for me, but of the many foreigners I've met who are longtimers in Korea, the lack of friends has been a common theme.
The good news is that it's easier than back home to find someone short term to do stuff with. Here today, gone tomorrow. All's good if you accept the flux and transformation of life overseas. |
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myenglishisno
Joined: 08 Mar 2011
Location: Geumchon
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| Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 3:45 pm Post subject: Re: Foreigner Friends |
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| hello123 wrote: |
| Kimchifart wrote: |
| hello123 wrote: |
| How do I meet people and make friends? Thanks |
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It's cool to be a dick, right? Put yourself in my position. I have MAYBE seen two foreigners where I live. You have to meet people to become friends with them... and it's not like I haven't been trying. I've basically been hitting up every bar during the week days the past two weeks trying to find foreigners to drink with. |
On Uiwang Art Street? I know five or six foreigners who live there and I know for a fact that more than fifty live on that street. It's a popular housing area for people who work in Hagwon-ga, Pyeongchon not to mention the English hagwons on that very street (Avalon being a big one).
I wouldn't be surprised if there are more than a hundred foreigners there.
Why you haven't met them? They're cliquey, most likely hung over or they've been in Korea for awhile and don't have any desire to make new friends or "mingle" outside (which is a shame because Uiwang Art Street is awesome).
What you should do? Join a club. Adventure Korea for example. Go on the internets and find clubs in your area. I know foreigners that play poker behind Hagwon-ga, I know there are billards clubs, hockey clubs and god knows what else in the area as there are so many foreigners.
If you want to meet drunk foreigners, go to Club Psycho in Anyang and loiter. They won't be classy foreigners but at least they speak English. |
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Cedar
Joined: 11 Mar 2003
Location: In front of my computer, again.
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| Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 4:16 pm Post subject: |
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| Friends come and go-- right, but Korean friends don't. They will still be here when you decide to leave Korea. |
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