Korean Job Discussion Forums

[carnivalbeauty]

Just wondering if there are many other Brits working in Korea, at the momment? - how are you finding it?

[sulperman]

Nope, no Brits here yet. If you come you will be the first. I would try to explain what life in Korea has been like for me, but I'm not British, so you would probably have no idea what I was talking about.

[BananaBan]

[carnivalbeauty]

loool point taken

~I'm just aware that although very similar, british culture can be quite different to american culture, I guess I was really asking is there a reasonably sized british community out there....

[edwardcatflap]

There are a few Brits here but you will be greatly outnumbered by Americans and Canadians and consequently Koreans may claim they have problems understanding your accent. Koreans will constantly assume you are American and will refer to any English speaking, or even European cultural things, as American, including things like wine, pizza, all Western movies, pop singers and film actors. You will be able to watch premier league football live on various channels late on Saturday night but won't be able to buy marmite, hp sauce and the like. The majority of Koreans will not be aware of the difference between Scotland, Wales, Southern and Northern Ireland.

[cj1976]

[BananaBan]

[fezmond]

people have asked how the kids/parents find my accent but unless i mention it to a student, they automatically assume i'm american.

i know most parents here are obsessed with learning from a north american but the vast majority of them can't tell the difference. a lot of koreans are apparently starting to shift to british english (or so i'm told).


better get used to everyone supporting manchester united, celtic or bolton.

there's a decent expat population here (in seoul) but i've never worked with a brit and most of my friends don't know anyone either.

[cj1976]

The only person in Korea that had any real problem understanding my British accent was a white Californian girl. Sometimes I might as well have been speaking Greek to her..

[creeper1]

Are you guys native English speakers?

You can't understand English being spoken if it has an accent not the same as the local one you grew up with?

Wow how clever you guys are.

There certainly wasn't a "brain drain" from your countries when you left.

[valkerie]

I'm British and lots of Koreans rave about my accent, hehe. (It's become quite neutral having been away from the Uk for 11 years.) I work with several Brits at the moment, but generally I haven't.

Marmite is available in Itaewon! (Or via British Corner Shop online.)

[shifty]

[AlastairKirby]

One of the best things about living in Korea is being able to meet people from other countries and have arguments over the spelling of colour.

Also, AL-U-MIN-I-UM. AL-U-MIN-UM? Please

Seriously though. I met some brilliant friends from Canada, USA, NZ, Australia, Ireland etc etc. You really will learn more about yourself and others. You will learn how us Brits are viewed by outsiders. You will learn to abandon some of your prejudices about foreigners and other earnest rubbish.

North Americans outnumber everyone else, but their culture is refreshing in comparison to the stuffy South of England. They have a more positive attitude in general. More brash but a lot less snide (I live in the RH13 area).

As for who the best foreigners are? The answer is everyone is equally awesome.

Nah... The answer is Kiwis.

[Swampfox10mm]

Koreans need more of a mix of natonalities. New TOEIC testing requires they understand different accents. This portion of the test was very difficult for my wife, who is used to my American accent. It killed her score.

We have hired several South Africans. I get a kick out of their stories from back home.

[stevieg4ever]

There are more and more Brits out in korea these days (such is the state of the economy), but you will be strongly outnumbered by North Americans but I dont have a problem with that as that just adds to the experience for me. You need to be flexible when moving abroad I think.