Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Adventurer]

[pest2]

Whoever said Gwangju is politically liberal and socially conservative is correct. For Korea, being politically liberal often does mean being socially conservative because the normal trend is to develop economically and socially... they are liberal in the sense that they want to depart from the progressive policies of the government, nothing more or less than that. For foreigners, that political liberalness has little or no meaning other than that you get to hear people in Jeollanamdo complain about the Korean government a lot.

You are wrong. Korean families most certainly do have power to allow or disallow their children's marriages. Not legal power or physical power, but a lot of social and economic power. People usually live at home til they're married in South Korea; especially women. Do you think room and board alone is an incentive to do what daddy tells you? Money for university and other academics? Plus, Koreans have that 'obey your parents no matter what' thing going on for sure... Have you really been to Korea and met any Koreans, or are you just some lonely guy sitting in your basement in upcountry Canada pretending to be an apologist expert on expat life in Korea for 20 years or however long?

Yes, I have lived outside of Seoul.

No one said anything was bad or good about Gwangju being socially conservative. I think people who have a chip on their shoulder, get defensive, and are overly sensitive have a problem? hmmm Time to leave that basement and go out and get some sunlight, dude.

[pest2]

This is a good call Gwangju isn't bad, but there are better places.

[rainism]

Gwangju is one of the most socially conservative places in Korea.

Korean women in the Seoul area I've spoken to married to husbands from that area, always refer to how "traditional" it is, and they mostly DREAD having to go there for their required visits to the husband's parents.

as a foreigner, that's where you may be more likely to get ugly stares, or comments, especially accompanying a Korean female.

Politically speaking it's the heart of the Korean "left".
they will be for rapprochement or appeasement with N. Korea for e.g.
they are big supporters of unions, teacher unions, etc etc
think of it as American "liberals".

it's a very strange mix, political liberals and social conservatives.

and yes, undoubtedly, the massacre there under the military junta has had a profound influence politically speaking on the region/city.

I like to think of it as Korean redneckville, socially speaking. It is the traditional capital of Jolla province, after all.

[pest2]

This is right on, except when I was there I didn't get any more or fewer cold stares than I did anywhere else in Korea. The people are pretty friendly, actually.. But yeah, because they're socially conservative, they might be a little harder to get to know, sometimes. Still, they're mostly nice. I think another good analogy is to say that the place is like a city in the Southern USA 30 years ago. Maybe...hmmm.. Atlanta or Mobile. Same attitude toward the Federal govt, same politically liberal leanings and conservative social mores, similar history with riots, rebellion, racism, etc, same kind of local economy with agriculture being promient, people even have the same goofy smiles and silly overbites....and they do have something akin to "Southern hospitality", too.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[edwardcatflap]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[edwardcatflap]

Ok all that stuff about sitting in your basement was a bit strange but you can't really argue with this

[TheUrbanMyth]

[morningsoju]

from what ive heard, the girl's parents care more about MONEY and social status rather than race. if youre well educated and have some money, then its pretty normal to find parents trying to push their daughter to hurry and get married, even to foreigners.

[rainism]

[No_hite_pls]

[Squire]

[rainism]