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Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
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Panda
Joined: 25 Oct 2008
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 Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 11:07 pm Post subject: |
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| bekinseki wrote: |
Have you ever been to eastern China, like Beijing? It takes five minutes of bartering just to get a coffee. |
I believe what you said is true. but if you stay nit-picking, you can find more unpleasant such things here in Korea.
I have got used to waiting more than 10 min here for my food served and my plates being removed before I finish my meal in most restaurants, which unlikely happen in China. |
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shifty
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
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| Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 12:24 am Post subject: |
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| BananaBan wrote: |
| shifty wrote: |
| BananaBan wrote: |
| im not into looking for girlfriends at clubs or bars either (nice girls dont go there) |
Nice girls in Korea also stay virgin until marriage, unless just holding hands does it for you. |
i hate you
but i actually dont mind holding hands if she turns out to be a sweetheart |
How about carrying her empty purse? |
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joelove
Joined: 12 May 2011
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| Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 1:27 am Post subject: |
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| erasmus wrote: |
| Notice the OP's vitriolic response to criticism. This is not a person who is likely to respond well to the vagaries of life abroad. Take him home and set him up in his comfort zone and he's fine; remove him and place him in an environment to which he is unaccustomed and not in total sympathy with and he loses his grip. Some people are able to ride the rocky road of life abroad, others, not so much. There is truth here, though; if you feel the need to belong to a particular culture, this life is not for you; if you are bothered by being stared at or treated rudely (this is pretty rare in my experience) because of your outsider status, this life is not for you. There are slings and arrows to be suffered here, perhaps even more than in some other countries, but to end on a question: OP, have you ever lived in Vietnam, or Cambodia, or Indonesia, or India, or even China for that matter (for if so, your forum posts from that time would surely make for some thrilling reading)? |
I liked this post, for it used the word vagaries. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 5:52 am Post subject: |
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| The Floating World wrote: |
| T-J wrote: |
| The Floating World wrote: |
Korea is okay as a temporary thing due to the reason below.
Even married to a Korean and speaking great Korean etc, you're still pretty much limited as to what you can do for a living. That's the worst part of it imo.
Once the joy of doing esl wears off, you're done. |
Nope. Only limited by your imagination. I know people that are accountants, engineers, business owners (not hagwons), even someone that makes a riddiculous amount of money via Internet porn sites.
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Okay. And they are white, non-kyopos? Just curious. |
Indeed they are.
Many of them on this very board too.
In Korea you can do a lot of things provided you meet the visa requirements to do it. If you havea residency visa (F-visa) you can do pretty much any job you want as long as you are qualified to do it and meet the hiring criterias.
It does take effort and will not land on your lap but it certainly can be done....AFEK is full of such people by the way and TJ is far from alone.
I also agree with what TJ said earlier: getting to understand Korea takes a heck of a lot longer than 2,3 or 4 years! Crap I was there 11 years and go there every year since (sometimes more than once) and I am still learning.
As for belonging which was discussed by someone else in this thread, that is such a relative and subjective term. If someone needs to feel EVERYONE accepts him or her in order to feel like they belong, they will look long and hard and most likely not find it anywhere.
Add to this the FACT most of us as temporary foreign workers (short term of 1-3 years for the most part) and do not put much effort into learning about Korea and yep, that would make us in many instances outsiders. Since most are short termers, whats this thing about belonging?
For long-termers, you can indeed fit in, belong and be part of the community much like you would in many other places. For example, we lived in the same area of Busan for the better part of 8 years. We knew our neighbors, our son knew their kids, we know the store keepers and other people living there. As a Canadian, I was not treated like an outsider for the most part in our neighborhood. Same deal in my in-laws area, at work....now down the street in Someyeon what did I care what Mr Kim thought of me? He has no bearing on my life and happiness in Korea just like that stranger I see Downtown Toronto has no bearing on my happiness or sense of belonging in Canada. You think my wife seeks approval and acceptance from every Canadian she sees? That would drive someone mad! 
You want to belong? Make an effort! Learn the language, try to understand local customs and culture and work within it (to a degree). That will usually get you better result than the Sinatra-like wayguk living by the "I'm doing it myyyyyy wayyyyyy". 
Final point on another issue raised in this thread: us caucasians knowing what minoritiesn go through in the US because we lived as visible minorities in Korea. Well that holds true in a very narrow sense: we are both visibly different (even then at varying degrees). Then you look at it more closely and see..wait...as caucasians we often get treated favorably because of our being caucasians. Sure there is discrimination but we are flown over, housed and employed and in our daily lives get as much preferential treatment as we do negatives. Now, that black man living in the south...does get preferential treatment in his everyday life in the US? We may get an inkling of what a visible minority is but lets not go nuts and start saying we are part of the fraternity of the discriminated... |
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everything-is-everything
Joined: 06 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 10:28 am Post subject: |
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| BananaBan wrote: |
| cj1976 wrote: |
| everything-is-everything wrote: |
If you'r getting laid you will enjoy your life here.
If not, then it will suck.
It's really that simple folkes |
So true. Now I'm not getting any action regularly life is kind of boring. But that's what happens when you get married.  |
is it possible for a westerner to find a nice, cute korean girl? im worried i am going to be girlfriendless and sexless in korea because i am so noticeably different (just for the rec, i am very tall and i do believe i am good looking ).
im not into looking for girlfriends at clubs or bars either (nice girls dont go there)
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Sorry dude, you're not getting laid.
Sorry. |
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litebear
Joined: 12 Sep 2009
Location: Holland
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| Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 1:01 pm Post subject: Re: My experience living in Korea for 2 years, then going ho |
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| Dodge7 wrote: |
| I'll follow soon enough |
No you wont. You'll be in Korea for years yet |
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 2:30 pm Post subject: |
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| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
| Final point on another issue raised in this thread: us caucasians knowing what minoritiesn go through in the US because we lived as visible minorities in Korea. Well that holds true in a very narrow sense: we are both visibly different (even then at varying degrees). Then you look at it more closely and see..wait...as caucasians we often get treated favorably because of our being caucasians. Sure there is discrimination but we are flown over, housed and employed and in our daily lives get as much preferential treatment as we do negatives. Now, that black man living in the south...does get preferential treatment in his everyday life in the US? We may get an inkling of what a visible minority is but lets not go nuts and start saying we are part of the fraternity of the discriminated... |
I understand most of your post... but this part has me cringing a bit. Did I really get flown over here because I'm White? Was the the requirement for the E2 visa?
The preferential treatment you speak of here is not based on being white, but rather based on being on a specific E2 - which last time I checked, did not have a skin colour requirement.
Like I said, I get most of your post... but I think this part veered in the wrong direction. |
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Zyzyfer
Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Location: who, what, where, when, why, how?
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| Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 10:14 pm Post subject: |
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| everything-is-everything wrote: |
| BananaBan wrote: |
| cj1976 wrote: |
| everything-is-everything wrote: |
If you'r getting laid you will enjoy your life here.
If not, then it will suck.
It's really that simple folkes |
So true. Now I'm not getting any action regularly life is kind of boring. But that's what happens when you get married. |
is it possible for a westerner to find a nice, cute korean girl? im worried i am going to be girlfriendless and sexless in korea because i am so noticeably different (just for the rec, i am very tall and i do believe i am good looking ).
im not into looking for girlfriends at clubs or bars either (nice girls dont go there)
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Sorry dude, you're not getting laid.
Sorry. |
lol |
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gradesofshey
Joined: 16 Nov 2011
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| Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 10:39 pm Post subject: |
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^
so true lol |
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pkang0202
Joined: 09 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 10:50 pm Post subject: |
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I know people JUST like the OP.
They say they are leaving and they are never coming back.
Then sure enough, they come BACK!
I know all of you know at least 1 person who has said they are leaving Korea for good, only to see them again 6 months later. |
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rollo
Joined: 10 May 2006
Location: China
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| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 12:20 am Post subject: |
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| Not only will the OP be back but he will become an apologist for Korea and haunt DAVEs just to pick on newbies. He will begin to wear Hanbuk and make a yearly pilgrimage to DOkdo. |
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TellyRules986
Joined: 09 Nov 2009
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 1:30 am Post subject: |
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| BananaBan wrote: |
| cj1976 wrote: |
| everything-is-everything wrote: |
If you'r getting laid you will enjoy your life here.
If not, then it will suck.
It's really that simple folkes |
So true. Now I'm not getting any action regularly life is kind of boring. But that's what happens when you get married. |
is it possible for a westerner to find a nice, cute korean girl? im worried i am going to be girlfriendless and sexless in korea because i am so noticeably different (just for the rec, i am very tall and i do believe i am good looking ).
im not into looking for girlfriends at clubs or bars either (nice girls dont go there)
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The Korean girls will see your white skin and fall all over you! That's only a slight exaggeration. The point is, yes they will like you and they don't care what you look like. As far as sex goes, I'll put it this way -- your dating pool is much wider than mine and my life has been far from "sexless" here. Nothing to worry about in this avenue.
| Captain Corea wrote: |
| I understand most of your post... but this part has me cringing a bit. Did I really get flown over here because I'm White? Was the the requirement for the E2 visa? |
I'll venture to say that it definitely could have been part of the reason and can even be the majority of the reason. We all know about Korea's preference for white people, and this is not just in English teaching jobs. It doesn't have to be specifically stated in the requirements for discrimination to occur in your favor... or against someone else. |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 2:14 am Post subject: |
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| Captain Corea wrote: |
| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
| Final point on another issue raised in this thread: us caucasians knowing what minoritiesn go through in the US because we lived as visible minorities in Korea. Well that holds true in a very narrow sense: we are both visibly different (even then at varying degrees). Then you look at it more closely and see..wait...as caucasians we often get treated favorably because of our being caucasians. Sure there is discrimination but we are flown over, housed and employed and in our daily lives get as much preferential treatment as we do negatives. Now, that black man living in the south...does get preferential treatment in his everyday life in the US? We may get an inkling of what a visible minority is but lets not go nuts and start saying we are part of the fraternity of the discriminated... |
I understand most of your post... but this part has me cringing a bit. Did I really get flown over here because I'm White? Was the the requirement for the E2 visa?
The preferential treatment you speak of here is not based on being white, but rather based on being on a specific E2 - which last time I checked, did not have a skin colour requirement.
. |
While that is correct about the skin colour requirement...it is also true that the E-2 visa (at least in terms of teaching English) IS all but limited to majority-white countries...with the sole exception being South Africa. There are plenty of other English-speaking countries (the Philippines being one) that they could pick from without much if any drop in the standards. |
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 2:29 am Post subject: |
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| Yet it's not a requirement. If it was, I would have NEVER met non-white E2s. |
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The Floating World
Joined: 01 Oct 2011
Location: Here
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| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 3:17 am Post subject: |
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| Captain Corea wrote: |
| Yet it's not a requirement. If it was, I would have NEVER met non-white E2s. |
Indeed. How did anyone get that idea in their head to begin with? |
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