Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jonpurdy]

[littlelisa]

[Steelrails]

No Dong-Chimming- After the first two kids were thrown back in the classroom bawling its since stopped to me, but continues sometimes amongst themselves
No diving and floundering after getting tackled in football- Led to a few hard tackles and kids ACTUALLY being hurt...back to the theatrics then....
More spitting and scratching during baseball. Bust out the dip once in a blue moon- Yes to the spitting and scratching, dip not appreciated
Rap music must be blasting during basketball practice- A "must" now
Edward Fortyhands- Only a few of the "bad boys" on staff liked it
Vegetarian Pizzas served cold- A few like it, but they prefer "normal" pizza
Purple Drank on a hot day for my after-school kids- Got em hooked.
Cigars- Not much luck
Small plates at the buffet, not 2-3 huge ones- Female teachers caught onto it
1920s Dixieland Jazz- SoSo reaction
Bluegrass- They hate it (heathens)
Drumline- They kinda like it (Sounds like traditional Korean drums kinda)
Motown, Soul, and Funk- Generally gets a 'meh', Disco appreciated somewhat more
Green Booze for St. Paddy's- Consumed with joy.
Cinco de Drinko- Ole'


Things that have rubbed off on me

Fruit Trays at the bar- More refreshing
Thin smokes- Less Nasty
Smaller sized clothes- Fit better
That awful canned coffee- Unfortunately addicted
Soju is a must with roast meet or spicy food
That weird Korean underlining, asterisking and circling system- Habit from my co-teacher
Covering my mouth while I talk- Korean food seems conducive to spitting
Cold Barley Tea- Quenches your thirst with only a little consumed
Cold Noodles- Kong Guk Su is amazing, Naeng Myeon is nice too
Drinking and eating at 530-6 and ending by 9PM- 9-10 hours to sleep it off
Drinking at Soju Rooms instead of the bar- Nicer, quieter
Screen Golf- Fun, buzzed or sober
Small Towels- Cleaner feeling

[Weigookin74]

I like to introduce western and international foods in my semi rural place.

[Jeollanamdowaegukin]

I have instilled among all my friends and students that men and women are equal. As a result I have many younger women friends. For them hanging out with older western men and women can be very relaxing

In addition, as others have mentioned, holding doors open for those behind you. In my eight years here I have seen some improvement in this area. I actually find Seoul better than Jeollanamdo though. Every time I visit Seoul I always have several Seoulites display excellent manners towards me in public.

[Joe Boxer]

I'd like to introduce things re: driving

1. Stop signs
2. Laws necessitating baby seats
3. No BS "both parties must always share blame" re: road accidents
4. The elimination of the "my 4-way flashers are on so anything I do is ok" rule
5. Back seat passenger seatbelt law
6. I never thought I'd say it, but this country needs some meter maids. Well, first they need some parking meters. The parking... on corners? Literally, right on a corner! On sidewalks, etc etc.
7. No vehicles with loudspeakers blaring.
8. No flashing police lights all day.

[suzhou2010]

For me . .

1. Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze.
2. Hold the door open and say thank you if someone else does.
3. Wait to the side when getting on the subway, not directly in front of hte people getting off.
4. Say excuse me (Of course in Korean - cham-ganmanyo) when getting close enough to someone that we are going to touch.
5. Getting them to realize when a man hangs out with a women it doesn't always imply dating . . since its still means that for a lot of Koreans.
6. Don't smoke indoors anwhere anyplace . . . I don't care if its a bar or a church don't do it. Unless its your own place.
7. Equality for men and women. . . Ok thats a bit general but it would take a book to list details. One thing . . I hate when koreans think its OK for men to smoke but bad for women.

Having said all that I find younger Koreans, in Seoul, to be doing much better in most of the categories since I fist came in 2003. I certainly can't expect older people to catch on I'm sure I'll have some engrained habits I can't get rid of . .

But like others said . . the sneezing thing has