|
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 |
offtheoche
Joined: 21 Mar 2007
|
 Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 1:56 am Post subject: |
 |
|
| fortysixyou wrote: |
| 5.) Learn to read Korean. It takes one day. |
One day? It took me 16 minutes and 28 seconds on a bus ride back to my apartment.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
|
| Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 7:25 am Post subject: |
|
|
| offtheoche wrote: |
| fortysixyou wrote: |
| 5.) Learn to read Korean. It takes one day. |
One day? It took me 16 minutes and 28 seconds on a bus ride back to my apartment. |
Well what you can do now is recognize the letters of the Korean alphabet and perhaps mangle how they are pronounced.
Thats not exactly "reading" but it is a start and it is useful! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
myenglishisno
Joined: 08 Mar 2011
Location: Geumchon
|
| Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 7:33 am Post subject: |
|
|
| offtheoche wrote: |
| fortysixyou wrote: |
| 5.) Learn to read Korean. It takes one day. |
One day? It took me 16 minutes and 28 seconds on a bus ride back to my apartment. |
Memorizing the sounds is one thing, being able to read them quickly does take some time. By some time, I mean it takes a few weeks to get used to them and a few months to be able to read Hanguel at a decent speed (a lot of that comes from just word recognition too).
What's really freaking sad is how about 40% of the foreigners I meet can't read Hanguel. I meet people who've been here for 5 years who can't read it. Just today I was in a situation with someone who has been here longer than me and I asked him about a Korean word I saw written down and he just said: "sorry, can't read it."
Sad, sad and sad. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Eedoryeong
Joined: 10 Dec 2007
Location: Jeju
|
| Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 1:20 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Make your peace with the fact that you are going to be entering a deeply racist place in which locals will have popular - and negative - ideas about you without bothering to find out who you are first. After learning a critical mass of Korean, this will start to become readily apparent everywhere you go. This will be especially true in the case of Busan.
If any part of that bothers you, or if you are the kind of person who has strong ideas about the way things should be, you may want to reconsider coming over. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
robinsoncrusoe
Joined: 22 Jan 2010
|
| Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 6:55 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Eedoryeong wrote: |
Make your peace with the fact that you are going to be entering a deeply racist place in which locals will have popular - and negative - ideas about you without bothering to find out who you are first. After learning a critical mass of Korean, this will start to become readily apparent everywhere you go. This will be especially true in the case of Busan.
If any part of that bothers you, or if you are the kind of person who has strong ideas about the way things should be, you may want to reconsider coming over. |
i'm already here.
but i know what you mean.
and i hope that they learn one day that more than anything else, it's their negative/racist attitudes that will truly hold them back from ever becoming a true global power. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
myenglishisno
Joined: 08 Mar 2011
Location: Geumchon
|
| Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 7:42 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| robinsoncrusoe wrote: |
i'm already here.
but i know what you mean.
and i hope that they learn one day that more than anything else, it's their negative/racist attitudes that will truly hold them back from ever becoming a true global power. |
It never held the Japanese back. They're equally as xenophobic as the Koreans are known to be (in my opinion a bit more so), they just hide it for the sake of business. Koreans also hide it.
Korea doesn't even have a reputation for being xenophobic. Why? Because business and trade is more important than culture or traditions. Most people who do business with Koreans don't come and live here, Koreans go and live there. What we're seeing is a side of Korea that not many other Westerners are even made aware of (or care about).
Koreans don't emit any xenophobia when they do business abroad. The only Westerners who really experience it from Koreans are those who have intimate relations with Koreans or those who have lived here for a long period of time. I should also add that I doubt Koreans would spit and swear at a foreign businessman in a suit. They spit and swear at foreigners who are obviously English teachers/unimportant.
Korea could very well overtake Japan as a global power. I see no reason why not. Japan was on a major decline even before the tsunami/earthquakes.
Last edited by myenglishisno on Tue May 03, 2011 9:17 pm; edited 2 times in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
alwaysbeclosing100
Joined: 07 Feb 2009
|
| Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 8:21 pm Post subject: re |
|
|
1. expect most banking with korean banks to be slow and painful.
2. most people will need or want some item that will have to come from outside of korea. do you homework on where and how to get these things so the items, shipping and duties/taxes dont cost you a fortune. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Vox_Populi
Joined: 04 May 2009
Location: Seoul, South Korea
|
| Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 5:15 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Sticks wrote: |
| sadguy wrote: |
| don't get into the mindset of "korean ____ sucks, Australian ___ is better." some things are just different, culturally. accept that. |
This one applies to me, more often than not,  the alcohol especially. |
Yeah, delete "Australian" and insert "American" and this is a trap I've come close to falling into a time or three. I just try to remind myself of the crime rate, level of unemployment and high taxes back home and I usually snap back to reality fast enough. Besides, the odds of me ever being able to find a descent budaechigae back home are slim to none! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
|
| Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 6:12 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Eedoryeong wrote: |
Make your peace with the fact that you are going to be entering a deeply racist place in which locals will have popular - and negative - ideas about you without bothering to find out who you are first. After learning a critical mass of Korean, this will start to become readily apparent everywhere you go. This will be especially true in the case of Busan.
If any part of that bothers you, or if you are the kind of person who has strong ideas about the way things should be, you may want to reconsider coming over. |
Complete and utter BS.
I became fluent in Korean and lived in Busan 11 years, I visit it once per year since leaving (2008 on). You know what you "hear" about yourself whn you understand Korean?
Almost nothing beyond the mundane "look a foreigner" on occasion.
This crap comes up regularly in here and these claims of "when you know Korean you will constantly hear Koreans bad mounthing you and other foreigners" float up from the bottom of the pond.
Amusingly, most of the time, these claims are made by people who either speak no Korean or can babble a few phrases...they hear a couple of words they think they know, they may hear wayguk and voila: Koreans are badmouthing me! Its true I heard it with my 10 word Korean vocabulary....
The reality is far less spectacular and far less interesting as your average Korean has better things to do than DISCUSS YOU, YOUR LOOK, YOUR RACE or other such details...they have silly things to discuss like their lives, their jobs, their studies, their families, the news....how completely odd! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Eedoryeong
Joined: 10 Dec 2007
Location: Jeju
|
| Posted: Fri May 06, 2011 6:16 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
| Eedoryeong wrote: |
Make your peace with the fact that you are going to be entering a deeply racist place in which locals will have popular - and negative - ideas about you without bothering to find out who you are first. After learning a critical mass of Korean, this will start to become readily apparent everywhere you go. This will be especially true in the case of Busan.
If any part of that bothers you, or if you are the kind of person who has strong ideas about the way things should be, you may want to reconsider coming over. |
Complete and utter BS.
I became fluent in Korean and lived in Busan 11 years, I visit it once per year since leaving (2008 on). You know what you "hear" about yourself whn you understand Korean?
Almost nothing beyond the mundane "look a foreigner" on occasion.
This crap comes up regularly in here and these claims of "when you know Korean you will constantly hear Koreans bad mounthing you and other foreigners" float up from the bottom of the pond.
Amusingly, most of the time, these claims are made by people who either speak no Korean or can babble a few phrases...they hear a couple of words they think they know, they may hear wayguk and voila: Koreans are badmouthing me! Its true I heard it with my 10 word Korean vocabulary....
The reality is far less spectacular and far less interesting as your average Korean has better things to do than DISCUSS YOU, YOUR LOOK, YOUR RACE or other such details...they have silly things to discuss like their lives, their jobs, their studies, their families, the news....how completely odd! |
Eleven years? It appears you've had your head up your a*s for so long you've become a connoisseur of the taste of sh*t.
Unlike in your case, in my case there is no conjecture needed of what's being said. Yes local people are mostly talking about their own affairs as you've rightly pointed out. And some of it is cute, and some of it is boring. However, in the cases when the attention turns to the immediately present foreigner, for you to pretend to a newb that the reality is somewhat more benign than it actually is is a disservice to the board. I also wonder if you actually socialize with anyone in Busan when you come back to 'visit' or stick to a particular area, as it appears you're living in your own little world - for example, your magnanimous idealizing appears to also ignore the reality lived not only by whities but also by wives of several international families in Busan, all who've had to learn Korean fluently and all who have to shepherd their kids through Busan society daily, acclimatizing to the special brand of racially-charged immaturity and rudeness reserved for them. I understand why someone might be inclined to idealize things but delusion-maintenance notwithstanding, when you take things as they come in Busan, the picture becomes darker.
Busan is more than the foreigner Starbucks set in Haeundae and plenty of foreigners live outside of that particular area. Why don't you try spending some major time downtown around 부산진구, 범일, 문현, 서면, or 가야 sometime? In the daytime, that is, when the bars are closed.
After visiting the proctologist, try taking off the rose-colored earplugs and get a second listen, straight up without any sugar-coating. If you can.
Actually I'm happy for you that you had such a grand time in that city. However, it probably wouldn't hurt to learn to accept that
1) it's 2011, not 1990-something, and things change
2) other, reasonable people (dare I say even many?) are having a very different experience from you that's not about them
Any chance your experience comes from you looking like a Korean? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
PastorYoon
Joined: 25 Jun 2010
Location: Sea of Japan
|
| Posted: Fri May 06, 2011 9:16 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Eedoryeong wrote: |
| Any chance your experience comes from you looking like a Korean? |
I haven't figured that out, either. I'm sure his kids do, though! Which is mostly why he's intentionally giving so much grace to their culture. He doesn't have any choice but to accept it.
Last edited by PastorYoon on Fri May 06, 2011 10:03 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
|
| Posted: Fri May 06, 2011 9:58 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
What's really freaking sad is how about 40% of the foreigners I meet can't read Hanguel. I meet people who've been here for 5 years who can't read it. Just today I was in a situation with someone who has been here longer than me and I asked him about a Korean word I saw written down and he just said: "sorry, can't read it."
Sad, sad and sad |
Depends what he was doing in his free time instead of learning Hangeul. maybe it was something more useful to him. Personally I think it's sad that some people have been here for 5 years and aren't making more than 5 million a month, while wasting their time on Korean lessons. For me the financial opportunities here are much more appealing than the culture. I've learned Hangul several times over and forgotten it again through under use. I just don't seem to need it much in daily life. What am I more likely to regret when I leave here in the near future after a long stay? That I didn't have more opportunities to chat with the ajumma in the corner shop or understand K pop better? Or that I didn't put a little bit more aside for my retirement home on the beach? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
PastorYoon
Joined: 25 Jun 2010
Location: Sea of Japan
|
| Posted: Fri May 06, 2011 10:08 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| edwardcatflap wrote: |
| Quote: |
What's really freaking sad is how about 40% of the foreigners I meet can't read Hanguel. I meet people who've been here for 5 years who can't read it. Just today I was in a situation with someone who has been here longer than me and I asked him about a Korean word I saw written down and he just said: "sorry, can't read it."
Sad, sad and sad |
Depends what he was doing in his free time instead of learning Hangeul. maybe it was something more useful to him. Personally I think it's sad that some people have been here for 5 years and aren't making more than 5 million a month, while wasting their time on Korean lessons. For me the financial opportunities here are much more appealing than the culture. I've learned Hangul several times over and forgotten it again through under use. I just don't seem to need it much in daily life. What am I more likely to regret when I leave here in the near future after a long stay? That I didn't have more opportunities to chat with the ajumma in the corner shop or understand K pop better? Or that I didn't put a little bit more aside for my retirement home on the beach? |
Exactly. Like anyone needs the Korean language. I'll only say one word "ANYONG!", when I see Korean people back home. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
markhan
Joined: 02 Aug 2006
|
| Posted: Sat May 07, 2011 1:23 am Post subject: |
|
|
| edwardcatflap wrote: |
Depends what he was doing in his free time instead of learning Hangeul. maybe it was something more useful to him. Personally I think it's sad that some people have been here for 5 years and aren't making more than 5 million a month, while wasting their time on Korean lessons. For me the financial opportunities here are much more appealing than the culture. I've learned Hangul several times over and forgotten it again through under use. I just don't seem to need it much in daily life. What am I more likely to regret when I leave here in the near future after a long stay? That I didn't have more opportunities to chat with the ajumma in the corner shop or understand K pop better? Or that I didn't put a little bit more aside for my retirement home on the beach? |
Spoken like a true �close-minded� person. I met a few Koreans like you in LA/NY area as well. Despite having everyday opportunities to mingle with whites, blacks, Hispanics, or whoever, for whatever reasons, they are too damm lazy to venture outside of their cozy habitat and broaden their horizon.
As for the question, I would definitely recommend that you try to learn Korean and befriend people from outside the �English teaching� industry. You are in a country where many young people have studied abroad� for instance, Korean students make up the third largest in the US (after China and India, which is phenomenon), the largest in China, 2nd largest in Japan, and at least top 5 in countries such as UK, Australia, and so on. As such, if you can speak decent Korean, you will be surprised at how cosmopolitan some Koreans are.
Many posters in Dave Forum, unfortunately, are stuck in an �English industry� and have developed mindset where they are a teacher and all Koreans, �student of English� 24 hours a day. Do teach with passion, but outside the class, �have an open-mind and try to become a student as well.�
Just imagine how much you could learn from Korean ajumma in the corner shop, who in the last 30 years went through poverty, democratic movement, economic takeoff, entry into OECD, and globalization. In just one generation! Can you imagine what kind of story she has? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
PastorYoon
Joined: 25 Jun 2010
Location: Sea of Japan
|
| Posted: Sat May 07, 2011 1:43 am Post subject: |
|
|
| markhan wrote: |
| edwardcatflap wrote: |
Depends what he was doing in his free time instead of learning Hangeul. maybe it was something more useful to him. Personally I think it's sad that some people have been here for 5 years and aren't making more than 5 million a month, while wasting their time on Korean lessons. For me the financial opportunities here are much more appealing than the culture. I've learned Hangul several times over and forgotten it again through under use. I just don't seem to need it much in daily life. What am I more likely to regret when I leave here in the near future after a long stay? That I didn't have more opportunities to chat with the ajumma in the corner shop or understand K pop better? Or that I didn't put a little bit more aside for my retirement home on the beach? |
Spoken like a true �close-minded� person. I met a few Koreans like you in LA/NY area as well. Despite having everyday opportunities to mingle with whites, blacks, Hispanics, or whoever, for whatever reasons, they are too damm lazy to venture outside of their cozy habitat and broaden their horizon.
As for the question, I would definitely recommend that you try to learn Korean and befriend people from outside the �English teaching� industry. You are in a country where many young people have studied abroad� for instance, Korean students make up the third largest in the US (after China and India, which is phenomenon), the largest in China, 2nd largest in Japan, and at least top 5 in countries such as UK, Australia, and so on. As such, if you can speak decent Korean, you will be surprised at how cosmopolitan some Koreans are.
Many posters in Dave Forum, unfortunately, are stuck in an �English industry� and have developed mindset where they are a teacher and all Koreans, �student of English� 24 hours a day. Do teach with passion, but outside the class, �have an open-mind and try to become a student as well.�
Just imagine how much you could learn from Korean ajumma in the corner shop, who in the last 30 years went through poverty, democratic movement, economic takeoff, entry into OECD, and globalization. In just one generation! Can you imagine what kind of story she has? |
Yeah, the Koreans in LA will most likely stay there. Yes, it is ridiculous that they don't learn English if they're going to be staying there for the rest of their lives. However, most foreigners who are coming to Korea are going to be gone in a few years. Why do you demand so much that they learn the language? Who cares about it? I have a big doubt that the ajosshi or ajumma would tell me anything more than that a) "all Americans are fat" or b) "Koreans / Korea is so much better than America / Americans". They are already going out of their way to make this point. Imagine if I spoke Korean!  |
|
| 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
