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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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Globutron
Joined: 13 Feb 2010
Location: England/Anyang
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 Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 2:13 am Post subject: |
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| nukeday wrote: |
i think, partly, you're making a lot of the same mistakes that koreans who have spent time in the west (specifically i've heard this from people staying in canada and america): comparing a large urban center (which anyang is part of) with a rural/suburban area (small town england, in your case it seems)
Seoullite: Oh, in America...there's so little traffic! And everyone lives in a house and has a yard! But, there aren't many 24 hour restaurants or stores.
Nukeday: Ever been to New York City? Chicago? LA?
Maybe you just prefer urban areas. |
No... I don't feel that's it at all. Urban and rural both have their little things I like. Seoul never came across as a shock to me, other than the ugly apartment buildings (although England has far uglier ones, they are comparatively few and far between).
I come from a city, and I basically hang around cities and have done most my life. I think the only thing this has to relate to is the type of people in the rural area I'm currenetly staying at, compared to the faster paced, less stupid and ugly people of the city.
Everything else I'm taking as a holistic view, I think.
But there are plus points here:
Adverts don't last 15 minutes, grass - green grass. Fields, trees, big dogs, cats, singing birds, rain (regular nice rain, not the monsoon rain of the korean summers - which Admittedly is cool - or the one day a month of rain in the winter).
A bed I literally can't get out of due to it's spine destroying padded comfort, feathery pillows galore, chips, pie, paracetamol, colourful cars, traffic lights that don't take 4-6 weeks to change, careful drivers, fast walking people (of which I am a part and get constantly infuriated in subways of korea, having to slow to a halt almost. In London Underground that's never the case).
People apologising when I elbow them in the face, not saying thank you when leaving a shop (which I accidentally did in Korean last night... 'Kamsamni-oops'), A shower that heats up instantly without me having to wait half an hour for the water to heat up first...
Oh, and ground floors. |
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PeteJB
Joined: 06 Jul 2007
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| Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 2:17 am Post subject: |
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| I dunno, some UK supermarkets have good stocks of food and it's relatively cheap compared to Korea (like huge loafs of bread for a pound). That said, when the sun shines in the British countryside it's quite nice. But it's like a pretty picture - eventually you get bored with it. And urban life is just - Ugh, I have no words to describe the lack of 'Jeong' in Britain's suburbs. |
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oldtrafford
Joined: 12 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 5:15 am Post subject: |
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| what's with these 'Brits' using Yank words like SUCKS!! |
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oldtrafford
Joined: 12 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 5:17 am Post subject: |
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| Petetbj: jeong ia a korean myth, it's merely for show!! |
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NYC_Gal 2.0
Joined: 10 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 5:49 am Post subject: |
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| Hm. I really like England. Most of the parts in which I stayed, at least. Some places were nasty, but isn't that true nearly everywhere? I suppose it depends where you are. Keep your chin up, and let us know when/if you return to the land of the morning sojuramyeon vomit puddle. |
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Junior
Joined: 18 Nov 2005
Location: the eye
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| Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 6:18 am Post subject: |
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| ESL Milk "Everyday wrote: |
| Going out with your friends from back home can be fun for some people, but it's not so fun when they're going on and on about things you haven't been a part of for a while and if they also can't relate to/don't really care about where you've been and what you've been doing.. |
I have some awesome friends in the UK.
But some of the ones I went to school with seem to be getting off on the snobby elusive "we've moved on" thing. When actually they've just "moved on" to different music ..a different job...or a different street in the same town. How quaint  .
I suppose I feel quite proud of Koreans when I see that English people have vastly inferior cellphones and public transport. |
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cyui
Joined: 10 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 6:55 am Post subject: |
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You can marry an American, come to the USA as a legal resident and then
run for a State Political Office....lol
But in all seriouness man,I do know alot of Brits/Foreingers' that did that,
It is really really sad for the American Society though..see there are places in worse shape then the UK.
Last edited by cyui on Sun Feb 27, 2011 7:36 am; edited 2 times in total |
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NohopeSeriously
Joined: 17 Jan 2011
Location: The Christian Right-Wing Educational Republic of Korea
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| Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 7:26 am Post subject: |
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UK has the largest number of South Korean expats than Germany. This is despite I've noticed that the South Korean public generally regards highly of Germany over UK.
Beats me. I have a second aunt in Scotland.  I still prefer Edinburgh, Scotland and I deny the existence of London, England other than the one in Ontario.  |
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silkhighway
Joined: 24 Oct 2010
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 9:10 am Post subject: |
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| ESL Milk "Everyday wrote: |
| [snipped] |
Great post Milk. Even though it's human nature to do so, it's not good to over-compare places. You're right in at some point you got to look at the bigger questions in life than whether it's kimchi or fried eggs for breakfast, ignore what other people are doing, ask what's right for you , choose a path and stick to it.
I think there are a lot of expats who stay in limbo forever, never ever making more than a token effort to assimilate in their host culture but avoiding returning to "their" own. I've known some expats who've been saying they're going home "after this contract" for several years, when reality is no magic inspriration is going to strike them one day and they're suddenly going to figure it all out.
Also regarding losing your friends. It's natural friends drift apart, separated by cultural difference or not, but living away certainly speeds up that process. Having children also changes everything. Your children become your life, wherever you live. In truth, it's probably easier to make new friends when you return than connect to old ones you were never that close with in the first place. |
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Globutron
Joined: 13 Feb 2010
Location: England/Anyang
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| Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 10:14 am Post subject: |
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| NohopeSeriously wrote: |
UK has the largest number of South Korean expats than Germany. This is despite I've noticed that the South Korean public generally regards highly of Germany over UK.
Beats me. I have a second aunt in Scotland. I still prefer Edinburgh, Scotland and I deny the existence of London, England other than the one in Ontario. |
Well, Germany, Ireland and... France? I think are the only places in the EU that Koreans can get a job. As in, Just like that. Go in and grab a job. No fiddling around etc. So I hear.
My Korean friend was asking which one would be best to go to, not sure which I'd say. Probably Germany. |
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cyui
Joined: 10 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 10:48 am Post subject: |
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| or..just green card? :shock: Think I should take my own advice now.. :lol: |
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fromtheuk
Joined: 31 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 11:22 am Post subject: |
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Globutron - From my own experience........
Living in the USA - Liked some of it/disliked some of it
Living in Korea - Liked some of it/disliked some of it, but could get a job
Living in the UK - Liked some of it/disliked some of it
Living in Saudi Arabia - Like some of it/dislike some of it, but have a job
Conclusion: Everywhere has its good and bad points, but the bottom line is without money, abject misery may be the only option.
Enjoy the fig rolls while you're back in England. I miss them.  |
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Globutron
Joined: 13 Feb 2010
Location: England/Anyang
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| Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 11:43 am Post subject: |
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Heh, good point.
It was pretty awesome today going food shopping and just looking at everything, realising I could eat all of it and enjoy all of it, and not stare at it in wonder as to what the hell and how the hell.
Well the other thing as to why I don't want to be here is more personal. Korea really changed me. I'm still me, but I'm more outgoing, confident, free, independent, happy, fresh and so forth.
I'm more friendly and welcoming and I find myself calling my students 'my kids'.
I got a thousand letters which just me wanna grab them all and take them back with me, even though before I came to Korea I was convinced I hated kids and so forth.
I'm not even going back to the same job (98% sure) but still... I feel like there's nothing here for me other than close friends and family - neither of which are going anywhere. But I feel I have everything to go back to in Korea.
Getting to Korea was my thing, I did it, ME, by myself, no help. On my own (except the whole rent being paid but hey). My first step into adulthood really, considering my beard has yet to grow, I had to skip a few steps.
Puberty seems a tougher orange to peel than I thought it would. |
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tealeeds1
Joined: 08 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 4:53 pm Post subject: |
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| Globutron wrote: |
..... considering my beard has yet to grow, I had to skip a few steps.
Puberty seems a tougher orange to peel than I thought it would. |
im 25 and still cant grow more than chin and tash fluff!
sounds to me like a case of the grass always being greener...
i know im always placing certain expectations on pareticular events turning my life around in some way... invariably, it doesnt happen as i wanted, and i find the next big event that will help me figure out my life (uni, job, internship, etc etc), i have expectations of what i want from korea and when i go home... but now i realise the main ingredient in a particular outcome being reached is me, not my location/situation.. |
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southernman
Joined: 15 Jan 2010
Location: On the mainland again
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| Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 9:20 pm Post subject: |
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Reverse culture shock is far worse in my opinion than culture shock. When I got to Korea I was pleasantly surprised, I had done my research first. So nothing surprised me apart frrom how much money I had in the bank when I received my second pay check and how much English Korean's knew.
Years ago when I got back home after 3 years away, the reverse culture was huge. Friends doing the same old same old, dull, mundane and boring existence. This is my opinion, not theirs. They are happy with their life and power to them, for me that would be a slow death
This August I'll be going back for 2 weeks after four years away. With a ticket out of there and things that need to be done during that time. As someone else said I am an eternal ex-pat now, I think. Living and working on a beach in South East Asia or the South Pacific appeals much more to me.
Korea is just a stepping stone towards that aim |
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