Korean Job Discussion Forums

[World Traveler]

[Swampfox10mm]

The questions are misleading. You are not going to get into a top school unless you are intelligent (or filthy rich and connected).

[World Traveler]

Right, but is success all about money and what school you were admitted into when you were 18? There are many decades of life following one's late teens and early twenties.

[carleverson]

Koreans are all about appearances. Substance be damned.

How do you think most of us got a job here?

[eamo]

My professional life in Korea became a whole lot easier a few years ago when I realized to what extent Koreans base everything on appearances.

In Korea, looking like a hotshot teacher = being a hotshot teacher.

I don't think there's anywhere else on Earth where being well-groomed and having a suit will get you so far.

[flakfizer]

[isisaredead]

[bamboosoup]

it's really unfortunate.
does plastic surgery work for these girls?

hehe maybe they can just catch a rich husband.

[Steelrails]

Well, not sure, but I think there may be more to the question...

I mean attractive people do have a lot going for them that let's them overcome other things.

Handsome people are more likely to be looked at as leaders and more likely to be hired.

I mean, if you have two crime victims, one an ugly man, and the second an attractive woman, guess who is more likely to have their issue dealt with?

As for diligence and hard work and intelligence being factors, perhaps they are pointing out the fact that you can work hard and still be screwed over. Maybe you just turn into an office rat. Same with intelligence- plenty of smart people out there, but there is a lot more to succeeding than being smart.

Looks are important. It sucks that that's the way it is. But its just a fact of life. Better to be honest and acknowledge it than to lie to yourself about reality.

I'd think that force of will and an ability to understand human behavior would be most important for success.

[happiness]

yep, i wouldnt say its just Korea, but I think of it like this:

in a place where society has been given a narrow set of rules to live by (confucianism) and where they are forced to live under the watchful eye of each other (at least mentally), theres no need for substance, because its assumed you will follow those rules (think about when alot of Koreans meet you, they ask you if they have Korean things in their country, or about family values or whatever), so....

appearance is all thats left...

...at least we have a expression "dont judge a book.." here, they dont read very much (reading is for school, eh?).

I always give advice to newbies: get a haircut, a clean shirt, and a shave, and you will have an advantage (also, dont talk about your private lives too much). Surprisingly though, I see so many greasyball hipster uni grads coming over, looking scummy. Oh well..

[wishfullthinkng]

[Stout]

As it manifests itself in Korean beach culture-

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-south-korea-beach-20110814,0,3631012.story

[flakfizer]

[Stout]

[flakfizer]