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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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 Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 8:44 pm Post subject: |
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| Modernist wrote: |
Amazing that anyone would actually say this. Hard for me to believe [you would live in Korea over London? You LIKE kimchi jigae?! This boggles the mind]. But hey. Whatever makes you happy, I guess. There's no accounting for taste.
As for being with a Korean family on Chuseok, but WHY? That's a perfect opportunity to get OUT of this country. It's bad enough staying here alone or with foreigners, but staying here with Koreans? I'm continuously baffled that people like this OP don't need seem to need a break from Korea. Making gimjang with some CT's mother?! Really? And your wife ISN'T Korean? You either? Wow.
They should pay you to come to the orientations as the trophy waygookin. You could prance around and tell everyone how lucky they are to be living in such a WONDERFUL culture, with so much DELICIOUS food and so many OPPORTUNITIES for learning and 'immersion.' Maybe you could add some details about the great Admiral Yi who was one of the greatest admirals in history right there with Nelson and who invented, didn't you know, the ironclad 200 years before anyone else, and Dokdo which has always and eternally belonged to the Korean nation, and the East Sea which was unjustly renamed by the dastardly Japanese colonizers despite having ALWAYS been called 'East Sea' on all the maps for more than 460 years.
Kimch-huggers are always amusing to read. But are they real? I always wonder... |
You could have just simply written "Wow there are people who are different from me and don't think or feel the same way I do? I can't believe it."
It would have gotten the same message across and in less words.
EDIT: Didn't see Mr. Madoka's post for some reason..anyway agreed. |
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madoka
Joined: 27 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 9:03 pm Post subject: |
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| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
EDIT: Didn't see Mr. Madoka's post for some reason..anyway agreed. |
You've just blown Wylies99's mind as he always believed that we are the same person.  |
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fosterman
Joined: 16 Nov 2011
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| Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 10:48 pm Post subject: |
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come to Korea, where the college partying continues!
free air fair, free housing, easy trips to the full moon party in thailand, vietnam and cambodia all just a few hours a away,
Itaewon where you can spend your money all weekend getting smashed with other expats all here for a party, women, or boys, cheap food and cheap drinks. so why not have an adventure and get paid for it and
by the time you realise you are getting screwed and you are burnt out teaching Go Go loves English it will be to late to return home.
5 years of your life went by and you are as broke as you were when you first got here , you go home to realize you spent to long in korea, and what do you do? you sign up for another year at ding dong ding hakwon.
ohhhh but the memories !
what memories?, you were smashed every weekend you don't recall last weekend to this weekend.
welcome to Korea. where the noobs keep coming, and the bosses keep abusing you until the next guy shows up with his suitcase ready to check into the Hotel Koreafornia!
you want to see all the people I am talking about?
boryong Mud Festival next month. if that's not spring break Asian style, I don't know what is.
Expat's gone wild! |
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schwa
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Location: Yap
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| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2012 1:57 am Post subject: |
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fosterman looks in the mirror, the horror! The OP, on the other hand, seems to have had a mostly pleasant, memorable time in Korea.
Choose your own adventure. Its up to you.
| fosterman wrote: |
come to Korea, where the college partying continues!
free air fair, free housing, easy trips to the full moon party in thailand, vietnam and cambodia all just a few hours a away,
Itaewon where you can spend your money all weekend getting smashed with other expats all here for a party, women, or boys, cheap food and cheap drinks. so why not have an adventure and get paid for it and
by the time you realise you are getting screwed and you are burnt out teaching Go Go loves English it will be to late to return home.
5 years of your life went by and you are as broke as you were when you first got here , you go home to realize you spent to long in korea, and what do you do? you sign up for another year at ding dong ding hakwon.
ohhhh but the memories !
what memories?, you were smashed every weekend you don't recall last weekend to this weekend.
welcome to Korea. where the noobs keep coming, and the bosses keep abusing you until the next guy shows up with his suitcase ready to check into the Hotel Koreafornia!
you want to see all the people I am talking about?
boryong Mud Festival next month. if that's not spring break Asian style, I don't know what is.
Expat's gone wild! |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2012 4:36 am Post subject: Re: cdl jobs |
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| Who's Your Daddy? wrote: |
| Davidbcnu wrote: |
All I know is If I can get close to making 2.5-3k a month in Korea and live an interesting/ fun life for a while I am all in! |
for a while being the operative words. Few years here, its pretty routine, and you're longing for the next vacation out of the country. |
That may be YOUR reality but do not confuse it as some sort of universal truth about Korea. Not everyone who goes there ends up stuck in some routine....just sayin. |
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soviet_man
Joined: 23 Apr 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 3:14 am Post subject: |
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Nice article nightrider and co.
I have to agree, reflecting on the past 5 years, my OVERALL opinion is that things were better 5 years ago, compared to now:
* The won is worth 15% less today, than it was 5 years ago
* The visa process in general has become more complex, arbitrary and onerous
* There were no degree checks 5 years ago. Nor apostilles, and transcripts did not have to be sealed
* There were no compulsory medical or drug checks
* People with HIV were not discriminated
* Criminal record checks were not required
* Whilst most foreign teacher wages have gone up about 20% on average over the past 5 years, this has been MORE THAN gobbled up by the rising cost of living (so all probability most people are going backwards in real terms)
* Hagwon owners continue to exist virtually unregulated with no mechanism to enforce: unpaid pensions, excessive hours, non-payment of bonuses, substandard housing, contract breaches etc
I could go on.
But the one thing that can be said, is that after 5 years you do learn Patience.
But at the end of day, despite the chaos and rubble of ESL in Korea .... I would have to leave home, in order to go home, at this point. So I shall stay.  |
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nightrider_1981
Joined: 14 Jun 2006
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| Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 11:36 am Post subject: |
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Hi all as the op I appreciate all your comments, it sounds like life in Korea is getting tougher for everyone, but again I'm sure that's not the case for everyone.
As for the quite irrational and pointless response from 'modernist' why don't you just leave if you hate it so much? As someone else said too, what is so difficult to understand that people are different and the life in Korea will be different for everyone. Personally I don't understand how you can live in a country and not eat the food and learn about the culture etc. We also spent loads of time hanging out with other expats and having a good time but if that were all we did we may as well have stayed in our own country? Perhaps it's time to leave mate! |
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Who's Your Daddy?
Joined: 30 May 2010
Location: Victoria, Canada.
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| Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 2:44 pm Post subject: Re: cdl jobs |
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| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
| Who's Your Daddy? wrote: |
| Davidbcnu wrote: |
All I know is If I can get close to making 2.5-3k a month in Korea and live an interesting/ fun life for a while I am all in! |
for a while being the operative words. Few years here, its pretty routine, and you're longing for the next vacation out of the country. |
That may be YOUR reality but do not confuse it as some sort of universal truth about Korea. Not everyone who goes there ends up stuck in some routine....just sayin. |
I don't mean this as universal about Korea. I mean it is universal about most jobs anywhere. I was bored with my work in Canada too. I think most people are. |
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cheezsteakwit
Joined: 12 Oct 2011
Location: There & back again.
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| Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 6:38 pm Post subject: Reminiscing 5 years on |
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< Choose your own adventure. Its up to you. > quote.
I've been here 4 months & I absolutely love it here.
In 4 months , I've been to the DMZ, kayaked at Namhae island, & went to Seoul for the Lotus lantern parade. I've hiked 2 mountains (once w/ my co-teacher & his wife). I've been to Seoul & Daejeon several times & danced w/ friends 'til the sun came up' 2 times. I've been to baseball games in both those cities.
This weekend , I'm heading down to Gwangju for the baseball game, in my quest to watch a game in every Korean baseball town before I leave. Then, I'll check out the bars in Gwangju Saturday night & the tea fields & monuments on Sunday.
Each weekend is a chance to explore a new part of Korea , or relax in my home town w/ friends. (Koreans, Brits, Canadians, South Africans, Aussies & my fellow Americans). I DO consider my Korean co-teacher to be a good friend & I can see him being a lifelong friend IF / WHEN I leave Korea.
I like Korea because it gives me TIME , which I didn't have back in the states. I substitute taught by day, & worked a call center nights & weekends, & the whole time, I thought "There has GOT to be MORE to life than this." It turns out there is ...
I got a nice PS high school gig where I teach what I want & none of my 5 co-teachers hassle me. I like that my teaching day is done by 5 & I have TIME to do what I want. I take Korean classes at a local Univ. 2 nights a week & ride my bike alongside rice paddies several times a week.
An American friend w/ a 2nd degree black belt has convinced me to take Tae Kwon Do classes at his school, so I'll do that 2 nights a week, starting next month. I've got a green belt in MMA from back home, so it'll be good to get back into martial arts & I can't think of a better place to learn Tae Kwan Do than Korea.
I also LOVE photography & Korea certainly doesn't lack beautiful scenery to photograph. A few of my Korean photos can be found on page 4 & 5 at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheezsteakwit
Korea is also a great place to travel from. I'm going to Beijing in early August. I will hopefully go to Japan over Chuseok, IF the timing works out. & I will most likely be going to SE Asia over my winter break, preferable somewhere w/ Scuba diving possibilities.
So, yeah, Korea has been awesome so far. I'm not crazy about the food, but I haven't tried everything yet. I haven't done BBQ yet. I like Dak Gallbi, & I LOVE than thin 'roast beef' type meat that is pink until you place it in a broth & then you wrap it in lettuce & dip it in a sauce. (I forget the name)
Anyways, it just seems like there's a LOT of negative, cynical posters on Daves & it's pretty sad really. No one is forcing you to stay here, so just quit your b*tching.
Just wanted to share my views, despite them being "honeymoon period " views . "It's 'all good' in my Korean neighborhood". Dunno how long I'll be here, but most likely I'll be here a few years & then we'll see 'what's what' , when the time comes. |
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Modernist
Joined: 23 Mar 2011
Location: The 90s
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| Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 7:44 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| I've been here 4 months & I absolutely love it here.... |
Every time I read one of these posts I roll my eyes.
You flat-out ADMIT: In America, you were working not one but TWO crappy, time-sucking jobs. On top of that I'll just bet you weren't exactly raking it in, were you? Probably just barely treading water, deciding which bills to pay, rationing yourself at the grocery store, eating cheap take-out too much, hoping your car wouldn't break down...? Any of that sound familiar? Working poverty, in other words. I know. I've been there. I remember EXACTLY how it felt. It sucked. It's horrible. It wears you down. You're tired most of the time, always vaguely worried or stressed, never actually content. Even when something good happens you are always eyes open for the next crisis.
But NOW, here in Korea, you've got an easy gig. You've got more or less plenty of cash to do things, see places, travel when you want. When you see something you want you can just buy it. You can eat out wherever you want without checking the prices first. You don't have to be embarrassed in a group about doing something you can't really afford. Etc, etc. Right?
That feels good, doesn't it? Feels like breathing air again after being held underwater, doesn't it?
But what if you had gotten a proper American pro-teaching job, huh? Regular hours, free nights and weekends, a good paycheck, benefits. Everything you complain about in America was because you were poor. Everything you praise here, is essentially because now you're solid middle-class. THAT'S what's changed. THAT'S what's so good. It's not Korea, it's having money.
Why people can't see this is baffling to me. Stop giving this country credit for doing or being something it isn't. Being poor in ANY country is bad. Being poor or poor-ish in America is PARTICULARLY bad. I'll be the first to admit that. Being comfortable in Korea is better than struggling in America. But I've yet to find people here who were comfortably professional in the West but gave it up to come here because of Korea's incredible quality of life, beautiful landscapes, delicious food, etc. Where are those people? |
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soomin
Joined: 18 Jun 2009
Location: Daegu
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| Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 9:41 pm Post subject: Re: Reminiscing 5 years on |
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| cheezsteakwit wrote: |
Korea is also a great place to travel from. I'm going to Beijing in early August. I will hopefully go to Japan over Chuseok, IF the timing works out. & I will most likely be going to SE Asia over my winter break, preferable somewhere w/ Scuba diving possibilities.
I LOVE than thin 'roast beef' type meat that is pink until you place it in a broth & then you wrap it in lettuce & dip it in a sauce. (I forget the name)
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Ooh~ I went to Tokyo to see the cherryblossom festival~ I know a really good hotel (http://www.sakura-hotel.co.jp/) for foreigners~ cheap and has a cheap restaurant inside ^.^
That food is actually Japanese and is called "shabu shabu" (or "hot pot") ^.^ You can also get seafood shabu shabu, or mix the two ^.^
As for Modernist~ I hope one day you can find happiness~~ you seem to not really have a place in the world (poor in America, unhappy here) and hopefully you'll be able to move somewhere else and get that chip off your shoulder ^.^ |
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slothrop
Joined: 03 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 2:18 am Post subject: |
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edit
Last edited by slothrop on Tue Jun 26, 2012 6:51 am; edited 1 time in total |
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cheezsteakwit
Joined: 12 Oct 2011
Location: There & back again.
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| Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 3:35 am Post subject: Reminiscing .. 5 years after |
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| Modernist wrote: |
| Quote: |
| I've been here 4 months & I absolutely love it here.... |
Every time I read one of these posts I roll my eyes.
You flat-out ADMIT: In America, you were working not one but TWO crappy, time-sucking jobs. On top of that I'll just bet you weren't exactly raking it in, were you? Probably just barely treading water, deciding which bills to pay, rationing yourself at the grocery store, eating cheap take-out too much, hoping your car wouldn't break down...? Any of that sound familiar? Working poverty, in other words. I know. I've been there. I remember EXACTLY how it felt. It sucked. It's horrible. It wears you down. You're tired most of the time, always vaguely worried or stressed, never actually content. Even when something good happens you are always eyes open for the next crisis.
But NOW, here in Korea, you've got an easy gig. You've got more or less plenty of cash to do things, see places, travel when you want. When you see something you want you can just buy it. You can eat out wherever you want without checking the prices first. You don't have to be embarrassed in a group about doing something you can't really afford. Etc, etc. Right?
That feels good, doesn't it? Feels like breathing air again after being held underwater, doesn't it?
But what if you had gotten a proper American pro-teaching job, huh? Regular hours, free nights and weekends, a good paycheck, benefits. Everything you complain about in America was because you were poor. Everything you praise here, is essentially because now you're solid middle-class. THAT'S what's changed. THAT'S what's so good. It's not Korea, it's having money.
Why people can't see this is baffling to me. Stop giving this country credit for doing or being something it isn't. Being poor in ANY country is bad. Being poor or poor-ish in America is PARTICULARLY bad. I'll be the first to admit that. Being comfortable in Korea is better than struggling in America. But I've yet to find people here who were comfortably professional in the West but gave it up to come here because of Korea's incredible quality of life, beautiful landscapes, delicious food, etc. Where are those people? |
Modernist, your first 3 paragraphs were brilliant & described my life in America ... 'to a T'. In fact, it was uncomfortable reading it because it reminded me of a recent past I'd rather forget.
It WAS suffocating living paycheck to paycheck .... & I feel like I can finally breathe easy for a bit, or 'catch my breath' living here in Korea.
BUT, you are wrong about 'proper America teaching jobs' having free nights and weekends. There's a LOT of work during the off hours for a beginning teacher who cares about their job & kids. It's NOT strictly an '8 am til 3 pm job' & I'm speaking from experience.
I have been a 'long term' substitute teacher for the past 2-3 years. I got a degree in History (worthless) so I went to night school to get an MA in Education. It turns out History teachers are a 'dime a dozen' in my state (PA) and competition for the 'good' schools is fierce. It doesn't help that PA has cut the education budget the past few years.
So I studied and passed the Biology exam, so now I'm certified in History AND Biology. My last few long term teaching gigs have been obtained thru temp agencies (which seem to be the MAIN American companies hiring on Monster.com or careerbuilder.com, unfortunately)
SO that means I work the SAME hours as a regular teacher (in & OUT of school) with LOW pay & NO benefits ... & my last school was an inner city school .. the kind with quite a few pregnant students, a 10th grader in jail for shooting an 11th grader in a drug deal gone bad, & a soon-to-be- added metal detector at each entrance.
So I worked a call center job nights & weekends selling Medicare & once again , THAT job was obtained thru a temp agency ... so NO benefits.
Ironic, right ? ... selling health care in a job that offers NO healthcare ?? ... Welcome to the current state of the USA.
So, yeah, Korea has been a nice change of pace. It's been a 'soft landing' while I figure out what's next in my life. I DO actually teach my kids to the best of my ability & I DO think I am making a difference. I have a pretty good PS high school job & I teach whatever I want, so I guess I'm lucky.
There's a LOT I won't miss about the USA. Crime in Philly was ridiculous . I WON'T miss the BS & usual nonsense of an election year. Choosing the "lesser of two corporate-controlled evils" has lost its appeal. Living a life of 'corporate serfdom' was NEVER appealing. The health care system is broken and our 'so called leaders' don't have a clue on how to fix it.
None of those problems have followed me to Korea. I actually LIKE living here and am grateful for this year in Korea. I stand by all the comments in my previous post. Maybe I'll stay another year at my current school or maybe I'll move on to a Uni gig or International school gig, here in Korea or elsewhere. I just know I'm loving life here in Korea. I'm 'working to live' & not 'living to work'.
Everyone's got different reasons for coming to Korea. In my opinion, the good things about Korea have outweighed the bad things so far. From reading you posts, it doesn't seem you agree, so I hope you find the peace you're looking for. |
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seala70
Joined: 13 Mar 2011
Location: Incheon
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| Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 6:45 am Post subject: |
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| rabidcake wrote: |
| Modernist wrote: |
Amazing that anyone would actually say this. Hard for me to believe [you would live in Korea over London? You LIKE kimchi jigae?! This boggles the mind]. But hey. Whatever makes you happy, I guess. There's no accounting for taste.
As for being with a Korean family on Chuseok, but WHY? That's a perfect opportunity to get OUT of this country. It's bad enough staying here alone or with foreigners, but staying here with Koreans? I'm continuously baffled that people like this OP don't need seem to need a break from Korea. Making gimjang with some CT's mother?! Really? And your wife ISN'T Korean? You either? Wow.
They should pay you to come to the orientations as the trophy waygookin. You could prance around and tell everyone how lucky they are to be living in such a WONDERFUL culture, with so much DELICIOUS food and so many OPPORTUNITIES for learning and 'immersion.' Maybe you could add some details about the great Admiral Yi who was one of the greatest admirals in history right there with Nelson and who invented, didn't you know, the ironclad 200 years before anyone else, and Dokdo which has always and eternally belonged to the Korean nation, and the East Sea which was unjustly renamed by the dastardly Japanese colonizers despite having ALWAYS been called 'East Sea' on all the maps for more than 460 years.
Kimch-huggers are always amusing to read. But are they real? I always wonder... |
I'm sure you are a very very happy person. |
Tell me about it. That was hilariously negative. |
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