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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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Illysook
Joined: 30 Jun 2008
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 Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 3:59 am Post subject: |
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Join us here:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/clothingswapseoul/
It takes place at a church but it's not a particularly religious group. The original event was at a bar and that was uncomfortable so I asked my pastor if we could have it there. Now it has evolved into a bimonthly, sometimes monthly event. Our next one will be September 10th. We usually have snacks and a lot of visiting so that people can get comfortable and make friends. The free clothes were the point of it but are also a kind of bonus. |
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TellyRules986
Joined: 09 Nov 2009
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 4:00 am Post subject: |
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| elculbr wrote: |
Remember this is a thread about ideas for western women in general. I'm using my experience as a platform for conversation about a little discussed topic.
Although I'm happy to leave Korea, I still feel regret. I wanted to make it work. Sometimes I think maybe I didn't try hard enough, maybe if I did this or that or something else. I have grown to dislike Korea. I don't want to leave on a sour note. I tried, I really did. I wanted to live abroad and have wonderful experiences. Now I don't know if I'm capable of living abroad. I'm going to try another country. Maybe it was just an isolated event...? I'm polite, I dress well, I'm pretty. I was open-minded. I can't believe this Korea thing was such an utter failure. Living here was like scratching at stone with my bare hands, trying to carve out a meager existence. It's no way to live.
Up thread it was said that women are catty about their groups. If it is true perhaps its a symptom of the isolation?. Being protective of the group that one worked so hard to find and be accepted in? It makes sense.
So let's discuss ideas:
One woman I know joined a church in Itaewan to make friends. It was a mix of people, but once again mostly Koreans. |
I'm sorry you had to go through that. It doesn't necessarily mean that you can't live abroad, just that Korea might not be for you. Don't think that all countries are like Korea in that aspect. In many other societies people are much more chill and outgoing than in Korea, so don't let that put you off. In different countries, you meet other foreigners (and locals) with different personality types. Before here, I lived in a Latin American country -- and there's a huge difference.
I'm not a big fan of Korea either, but I make it work. For meeting friends, I'll second what Sally said about joining meetup.com. Find groups you're interested in and you can meet friends. It's definitely a good start. I met a couple of good friends here that way. And believe it or not, the few of the best people I've met here have been through craigslist.
Consider meeting Korean girlfriends too. There are some out there that aren't like the others, and aren't just using you for English either. |
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geckosterrace
Joined: 02 Feb 2010
Location: Seoul,Jamsil
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| Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 4:02 am Post subject: |
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if you go to the gym there are some foreign women like you
and if you go to the music concert at the olympic ppark
there are many many foreigners coming to see the concert,
i saw westlife , christian wunderich, concerts before
there were many foreigners, |
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zdrav
Joined: 08 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 4:22 am Post subject: |
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| glassandshells wrote: |
| why do you think there is such an imbalance?? based on what i've heard from others, it seems like many female foreigners are there with their partners. maybe it's naive of me, but i expect i'll have more fun and meet more people as a single woman. i know a young couple there now, and they can hardly tell me a thing about the nightlife. they're content to just stay at home for the most part. i'd think that being single, male or female, would be more reason to go out and experience new things, maybe meet some people along the way... |
I think there are quite a number of reasons.
1) Men are more likely to go off to foreign countries by themselves, mainly due to the fact that it's safer for a guy to travel/live alone abroad than for a woman.
2) Men come to Korea believing exaggerated myths of white-worship in Asian countries. A lot of beta male types in eager search of the Promised Land where they'll be the studs they know themselves to be.
3) Women have the idea (not entirely inaccurate) that Korean culture is restrictive and conservative, and caters more to men than to women. |
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mollayo
Joined: 11 Oct 2010
Location: At the my house
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| Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 11:57 am Post subject: |
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My first month here was lonely, but then I saw a posting on this forum by a girl in my same city. I met up with her, and we've been friends ever since (over a year now). We would smile and say hi to other foreigner girls we'd see, and mostly got mean looks. Whatever. Then we started going to Korean classes at a community center, and our circle of friends grew.
Just always keep in mind that friendship can't be forced. It must happen organically. You might have an online friend, and when you meet them in person, you don't click. I met one of my closest friends at a Daiso store, so sometimes it's completely random. |
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FaceFaceFace
Joined: 12 Jun 2011
Location: Australia
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| Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 7:06 am Post subject: |
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| elculbr wrote: |
Thanks for the response, FaceFaceFace. I live in a suburb in western Seoul. And I never see foreigners here. I had some friends I could hang with on the weekends (met up in Sinchon, Hongdae, Itaewan), but most of them left Korea by now. I figured with even them gone, it was time for me to go to.
While my experience here has been overwhelmingly negative, I would not say it was a waste of time. I came here at 22, a wide-eyed college graduate. I'm 23 now and more mature, and a little more jaded. In my isolation and loneliness, I grew more spiritual and more grounded in my faith.
I know what you mean about foreigners being rude here. Everyone is rude here. Koreans are even worse. I need to live in a more civilized country. I'm happy you met someone on the bus.
I see you're in Australia! I just got a visa for Australia. I'm moving there in 2 weeks. I'm really excited. My goal is to work in a bakery and sell my art work on the side, or do art full time. We shall see... |
Gee, sorry to hear about your experience being so negative. 23 is too young to be jaded 
Ohhh you're off to my home land!!! Congratulations!!!! I reallly hope you have a good experience there!!
Whereabouts are you heading to?? Do you know anyone there already?? |
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zdrav
Joined: 08 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 7:04 pm Post subject: |
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| FaceFaceFace wrote: |
| elculbr wrote: |
Thanks for the response, FaceFaceFace. I live in a suburb in western Seoul. And I never see foreigners here. I had some friends I could hang with on the weekends (met up in Sinchon, Hongdae, Itaewan), but most of them left Korea by now. I figured with even them gone, it was time for me to go to.
While my experience here has been overwhelmingly negative, I would not say it was a waste of time. I came here at 22, a wide-eyed college graduate. I'm 23 now and more mature, and a little more jaded. In my isolation and loneliness, I grew more spiritual and more grounded in my faith.
I know what you mean about foreigners being rude here. Everyone is rude here. Koreans are even worse. I need to live in a more civilized country. I'm happy you met someone on the bus.
I see you're in Australia! I just got a visa for Australia. I'm moving there in 2 weeks. I'm really excited. My goal is to work in a bakery and sell my art work on the side, or do art full time. We shall see... |
Gee, sorry to hear about your experience being so negative. 23 is too young to be jaded
Ohhh you're off to my home land!!! Congratulations!!!! I reallly hope you have a good experience there!!
Whereabouts are you heading to?? Do you know anyone there already?? |
Some white people come to Korea and find out what's like to be a minority and an immigrant. Not too pleasant, is it? |
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elculbr
Joined: 03 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 4:24 pm Post subject: |
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zdrav,
Are you saying that I'm white? LOL. I'm defiantly a "woman of color."
FaceFaceFace,
I'm heading to Melbourne! I'm really excited. I'll be there next Friday. |
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zdrav
Joined: 08 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 7:42 pm Post subject: |
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| elculbr wrote: |
zdrav,
Are you saying that I'm white? LOL. I'm defiantly a "woman of color." |
I didn't mean to single you out in particular. I'm just saying that in general, white people have never known what it's like to be a minority and a racial foreigner, and they may experience it for the first time when they come to a place like Korea. |
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cwflaneur
Joined: 04 Aug 2009
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| Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 7:48 pm Post subject: |
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| zdrav wrote: |
| elculbr wrote: |
zdrav,
Are you saying that I'm white? LOL. I'm defiantly a "woman of color." |
I didn't mean to single you out in particular. I'm just saying that in general, white people have never known what it's like to be a minority and a racial foreigner, and they may experience it for the first time when they come to a place like Korea. |
Most people of any race in most countries around the world have never known what it is like to be a minority or a racial foreigner. |
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kiwipenny
Joined: 22 Mar 2010
Location: South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 10:39 pm Post subject: Making friends in Korea... |
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Hi there OP! ^^
I've been in Korea for 7 years and have lived in a bunch of different areas... I understand totally how hard it is to meet people. At one point I also lived in an area where I was the only non-korean. It was tough.. I lasted 6 months.. then moved to Seoul. My first job was ok as I had two other foreign co-workers to hang out with..but I still wanted to make new friends... one day.. I just went to Hongdae on my own and found a few bars where some other teachers hung out and started making friends.
BUT the best thing that happened to me here was going into Itaewon and joining a rugby club called the Seoul Sisters. I was more of a supporter than a player but I've made so many friends through that network of women. If you can get your hands on NEH magazine or Groove etc ( free mags usually in bars/restaurants in Itaewon etc ) then you can find a heap of teams and groups advertising to gather new members! ^^
BTW look up Adventure Korea online.. they have a lot of weekend trips away for people looking to join a group for trips etc great way to meet people. ALSO search for Dealko / Dealicious on facebook... my mate started the Groupon company aimed at foreigners in Korea and they have heaps of good trips away... lots of people join who are new to korea or just looking to meet new people. Seen a lot of women joining the trips too ^^
Hope you stick it out a bit longer in Korea!  |
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zdrav
Joined: 08 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 8:49 am Post subject: |
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| cwflaneur wrote: |
| Most people of any race in most countries around the world have never known what it is like to be a minority or a racial foreigner. |
That is true, but white people in particular have been the most insulated from feeling the effects of "minoritization" since immigration has tended to flow from non-white countries to white-majority countries. |
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cwflaneur
Joined: 04 Aug 2009
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| Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 1:31 pm Post subject: |
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| zdrav wrote: |
| cwflaneur wrote: |
| Most people of any race in most countries around the world have never known what it is like to be a minority or a racial foreigner. |
That is true, but white people in particular have been the most insulated from feeling the effects of "minoritization" since immigration has tended to flow from non-white countries to white-majority countries. |
There's a huge amount of mass migration within the boundaries of Africa and Asia. Language, religion, and ethnicity take the place of complexion as minoritizing factors in those regions. Don't imagine for one second that they are any less potent. |
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zdrav
Joined: 08 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 8:16 pm Post subject: |
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| cwflaneur wrote: |
| zdrav wrote: |
| cwflaneur wrote: |
| Most people of any race in most countries around the world have never known what it is like to be a minority or a racial foreigner. |
That is true, but white people in particular have been the most insulated from feeling the effects of "minoritization" since immigration has tended to flow from non-white countries to white-majority countries. |
There's a huge amount of mass migration within the boundaries of Africa and Asia. Language, religion, and ethnicity take the place of complexion as minoritizing factors in those regions. Don't imagine for one second that they are any less potent. |
Very true, but that only reinforces my point that the non-white population of the world is much more accustomed to immigrant/minority life than whites. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 9:13 pm Post subject: |
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| zdrav wrote: |
| Very true, but that only reinforces my point that the non-white population of the world is much more accustomed to immigrant/minority life than whites. |
Except for all the white immigration within Europe and from Europe to North America. |
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