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sadguy
Joined: 13 Feb 2011
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 Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 7:47 pm Post subject: how has living in korea changed you? |
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i think korea has made me feel a bit more self conscious physically. i used to not give a crap about what i wore and would wear goofy things on purpose just to make myself laugh about how ridiculous i looked. but doing that in korea, no one would really appreciate it.
i also prefer to lay low and be anonymous in korea. i wasn't an attention seeker by any means before, but it's more of a conscious thing on my part to not want to stand out and be the obnoxious foreigner.
creatively, i feel a bit stifled. i haven't felt creatively inspired since being in asia. don't know if that's being in korea or just me being lazy, but i think it's korea. hows bout u? |
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PardonTheInterruption
Joined: 02 Mar 2011
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 4:10 am Post subject: Re: how has living in korea changed you? |
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| sadguy wrote: |
creatively, i feel a bit stifled. i haven't felt creatively inspired since being in asia. don't know if that's being in korea or just me being lazy, but i think it's korea. |
Have you tried "getting away to seek inspiration"? Perhaps climbing a mountain or spending time in a park will help you see a more 'free' Korea and you could write creatively about that.
Do you keep a journal? |
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BroodingSea
Joined: 21 Oct 2008
Location: North Shields
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| Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 4:58 am Post subject: |
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| The feeling where the ordinary becomes extra-ordinary: a simple walk along the street an adventure; browsing a supermarket an experience in it's own right; the beauty of utterly alone a million miles from what you're used to, and also the acute pain of being alone, too. How closely those two things are related. Certainly more confident and happy to be on my own and the understanding of transience in life and how to deal with this and enjoy it - writ large in Korea. |
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ssuprnova
Joined: 17 Dec 2010
Location: Saigon
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| Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 5:02 am Post subject: |
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It's been great so far. The first few months taught me how to appreciate solitude and made me a lot friendlier toward strangers. Also, my notion of personal space has been redefined.
Even though I'm a lot busier than back home I feel like I'm a lot more active here.
Paradoxically, I stopped smoking and cut down on drinking a lot since I came here. |
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nukeday
Joined: 13 May 2010
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| Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 5:44 am Post subject: Re: how has living in korea changed you? |
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| sadguy wrote: |
i think korea has made me feel a bit more self conscious physically. i used to not give a crap about what i wore and would wear goofy things on purpose just to make myself laugh about how ridiculous i looked. but doing that in korea, no one would really appreciate it.
i also prefer to lay low and be anonymous in korea. i wasn't an attention seeker by any means before, but it's more of a conscious thing on my part to not want to stand out and be the obnoxious foreigner.
creatively, i feel a bit stifled. i haven't felt creatively inspired since being in asia. don't know if that's being in korea or just me being lazy, but i think it's korea. hows bout u? |
Really? I'm the opposite. I'm much less self conscious physically and fashion-wise. I mean, look at the old folks with ridiculous visors and the young people with sexually explicit English tees. You can get away with that too.
And considering a lot of the obnoxious public behavior we all see in Korea, I feel a lot less shame if I occasionally behave similarly. We all have our bad days. |
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 5:48 am Post subject: |
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| I don't know if I've changed because of Korea, or because I'm 10 years older, married, and a parent. |
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Cedar
Joined: 11 Mar 2003
Location: In front of my computer, again.
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| Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 8:06 am Post subject: |
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In my case, better question, "what has stayed the same despite your Korean experience?"
Like Captain Korea, I've had extensive time here and many changes in my life and what I'm doing with it... but I honestly think it's changed me in a million ways-- including setting me on my current path in a major way |
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Draz
Joined: 27 Jun 2007
Location: Land of Morning Clam
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| Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 5:52 pm Post subject: |
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I'm a lot more paranoid, aggressive, and manipulative. Also bitter.  |
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rumdiary
Joined: 05 Jun 2006
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| Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 5:55 pm Post subject: |
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| BroodingSea wrote: |
| The feeling where the ordinary becomes extra-ordinary: a simple walk along the street an adventure; browsing a supermarket an experience in it's own right; the beauty of utterly alone a million miles from what you're used to, and also the acute pain of being alone, too. How closely those two things are related. Certainly more confident and happy to be on my own and the understanding of transience in life and how to deal with this and enjoy it - writ large in Korea. |
This is what I miss most about Korea. |
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Illysook
Joined: 30 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 4:07 am Post subject: |
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One important thing that we should all take home with us if we want to change the world is our new set of expectations concerning transportation.
For most of us, it's nothing to travel awhile by bus or train to visit friends when back home we would travel that distance by car. Being willing to put up with this inconvenience could save you a lot of money in the future. |
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IlIlNine
Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Location: Gunpo, Gyonggi, SoKo
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| Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 6:42 am Post subject: |
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[quote="rumdiary"]
| BroodingSea wrote: |
| The feeling where the ordinary becomes extra-ordinary: a simple walk along the street an adventure; browsing a supermarket an experience in it's own right |
... until you get used to it and it becomes ordinary. Then, you decide to go back home and visit your folks -- at which point, upon stepping into the local supermarkey, and your jaw drops at the inodrdinary selection of fruites and veggies.
What goes around, eh?
Korea has taught me that life is just life. What seems different is just the same thing with a slightly different flavor. |
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English Matt
Joined: 12 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 7:27 am Post subject: |
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| rumdiary wrote: |
| BroodingSea wrote: |
| The feeling where the ordinary becomes extra-ordinary: a simple walk along the street an adventure; browsing a supermarket an experience in it's own right; the beauty of utterly alone a million miles from what you're used to, and also the acute pain of being alone, too. How closely those two things are related. Certainly more confident and happy to be on my own and the understanding of transience in life and how to deal with this and enjoy it - writ large in Korea. |
This is what I miss most about Korea. |
This is just the feeling of living abroad. I can say that I feel the same here in Germany....just ordering a coffee in another language makes it seem more extraordinary and special than if I were back in the UK.
Although there are things I like about Korea, I can say that I became less healthy living there (partly due to the air pollution, partly due to working with kids) and became ultra-concerned about how I looked and acted (and how that was perceived by others) due to being a foreigner and sticking out wherever I went.
However, I have to say I became a lot more confident due to my time in Korea, and the time there has also made me appreciate things about where I live now. It has also helped me to be able to totally ignore things that would have pissed me off had I come straight here from the UK without having first gone to Korea.....such as the low level staring by Germans which seems to make some other Americans, Brits, etc that I meet here as paranoid and ill-at-ease as staring in Korea makes some foreigners. |
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Rutherford
Joined: 31 Jul 2007
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| Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 8:05 pm Post subject: |
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| After three years here I know more than I ever wanted to about Canada. |
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Weigookin74
Joined: 26 Oct 2009
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| Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 10:22 pm Post subject: |
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| English Matt wrote: |
| rumdiary wrote: |
| BroodingSea wrote: |
| The feeling where the ordinary becomes extra-ordinary: a simple walk along the street an adventure; browsing a supermarket an experience in it's own right; the beauty of utterly alone a million miles from what you're used to, and also the acute pain of being alone, too. How closely those two things are related. Certainly more confident and happy to be on my own and the understanding of transience in life and how to deal with this and enjoy it - writ large in Korea. |
This is what I miss most about Korea. |
This is just the feeling of living abroad. I can say that I feel the same here in Germany....just ordering a coffee in another language makes it seem more extraordinary and special than if I were back in the UK.
Although there are things I like about Korea, I can say that I became less healthy living there (partly due to the air pollution, partly due to working with kids) and became ultra-concerned about how I looked and acted (and how that was perceived by others) due to being a foreigner and sticking out wherever I went.
However, I have to say I became a lot more confident due to my time in Korea, and the time there has also made me appreciate things about where I live now. It has also helped me to be able to totally ignore things that would have pissed me off had I come straight here from the UK without having first gone to Korea.....such as the low level staring by Germans which seems to make some other Americans, Brits, etc that I meet here as paranoid and ill-at-ease as staring in Korea makes some foreigners. |
Germans stare at you? Aren't they white too? I mean if you didn't speak, they'd just think you were German too. But I can imagine the place seems normal compared to here. |
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geldedgoat
Joined: 05 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 10:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Before coming to Korea, I always approached new faces with a fresh slate; if I didn't know you, you were given the benefit of the doubt. Now, however, after four years of dealing with the most annoying, nationalistic, anti-American-rhetoric-spewing foreigners, I've learned it's much easier to just assume the worst. Californians, Brits, Aussies, Kiwis, and Canadians I'm looking at you. Irish, South Africans, Koreans, non-Californian Americans, you're still cool. |
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