Korean Job Discussion Forums

[viciousdinosaur]

Thank you Tideout for at least humouring me with an answer. Allow me to clarify what I mean by loser by telling you about the people I've worked with during my time here.

California Drifter: A man in his late fifties who came to Korea with no luggage, wore the same ugly shirt for a month, and had hair down to the small of his back.

Kiwi witch: The most heinous-looking, loud-mouth, b*tch on the planet. Drank every night of the week. Depised children. Terrible at her job.

The checkout: Worked six years at the same hagwon and never even asked for a raise. Pretty much gave up on ever attaining anything higher.

The aimless one: late 30s, tried every get rich job there is, crab fisherman, stint in the army, plumber, has three degrees + a master's, hopes to do a Phd

The weirdo: Man in his late 40s, won't tell anyone anything about himself, including his nationality. Asks suspicious constantly.

Religious majors

Fashion disasters: like how many times do I have to see someone wearing hiking boots with dress pants? Just because it's leather doesn't make it a dress shoe. And just a general lack of fashion altogether. You're a teacher. Wear a buttoned-shirt for Christ's sake

Just alcoholics in general in this country.

This the bottom end of the spectrum, but most foreigners here aren't too far under that bar.

[tideout]

I think I see what you mean.

Personally, I've mostly seen people via the public school hiring system and I think there's better standards though the probable rate of alcoholism made me wonder sometimes....

There's also some in the university sector who are a little off. Let's face it, it's been a big market and the bar hasn't always been high.

I agree on one level - in hanging out in Itaewon and HBC I've never had more disjointed, broken conversations with a community of expats. Chronic lying (for no apparent reason), poor health and more. Something of a social freeway pile-up at times.

One friend of mine today was commenting how they estimated 75% of the expats here were "running" from something back home. Some of the stories I've heard (if ya' can believe them) makes me believe she's probably more right than not.

When I leave Korea soon, I'll be as happy to leave the "social scene" here as much as the overall culture. I wish everyone well but it is what it is .......

[Captain Corea]

The guys I worked with at my first school


Drunk Kiwi that would take the KFC off your plate and clean the bones.

Young Canadian that loved learning Korean.

Young American that was a bit stoic, but great in the school.

Another young Canadian that loved working out and playing with the kids.



So, out of the 4 foreigners I worked with at my first job, most of them were very normal, and very employable back home.


That's not to say I haven't met freaks here, but I've also met loads of normal folks.

[edwardcatflap]

You haven't told us why you think you're a loser as you mentioned in your first post. Or is it just guilt by association? Ie you do a job lots of people you think are losers do so you've figured you must be one too?

[tideout]

[viciousdinosaur]

@Captain Corea - So, how many of the normal ones stayed a second year? I'd be interested to know.

@Edward - I'm not interested in playing your game. I want this to be a discussion about English teachers as a group, not individuals. Although I know Americans just can't help themselves but see the world as a collection of isolated atoms that never interact, influence, or touch each other.

[edwardcatflap]

I wasn't trying to play a game. I was trying to work out whether you thought TEFL in Korea just happens to attract a lot of people who are losers or whether the job itself determines one's loser status. Most people on here who complain about the number of losers they meet, distance themselves from those people implying that they are different from the majority of teachers here. You, however, included yourself in the group of losers, which either suggests you think the job alone conveys loser status or you must fit into one of the categories you mentioned before: drifter, weirdo, aimless, poor fashion sense etc...I was just trying to find out which it was. Personally I can't see how you can talk about TEFL teachers in Korea as a group being losers, unless you're linking it to the job they do.

[lemak]

[tideout]

[Dodge7]

It seems Dinosaur hurt some fragile egos in here. I think his OP was spot on and I agree with it. I'm tied down here with a wife and kid so I can't do much about my situation at this time bc my wife has a great job that she couldn't get back in the States. But for the most part, yes, Korea seems to attract some disfigured, ugly, anti-social looking people--both men and women and they are certainly what I would consider rejects back home.
Sad but true.

[bojangles]

...overstating the obvious.....

[hiamnotcool]

[northway]

[mike in brasil]

If you go to the Brazil chat room board for Dave's, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone pointing the finger accusing others of being losers. When I lived in Brazil, and I lived there for 8 years, meeting other foreigners teaching English was a rarity and brought ESLers together. Nobody went to Brasil because they aspired to be an English teacher, but teaching English rather was the way to make $$ to support our "brasil habit". The danger, sex and fun of living in Brasil had a binding affect on the people you met who were in the "same boat".

Korea is the opposite. Very few of us came here because we actually aspired to. It seems there is a certain embarassment connected to being here because most of us deep down inside know we'd rather be somewhere else. When we pass each other in the street or meet up in random situations like in a bar or on the subway (or on Dave's), the impulse to puff up and spew "I'm better than you" or I'm better than this" manifests itself. What confuses many people here is that they aren't facing the fact they are migrant workers in the middle of the process that Thomas Friedman has called as the "flattening of the world" while also fleeing the secular changes in unemployment that has plagued the West.

Losers? Hell no. We are riding high! Just remember where we are in the world pecking order. Look at these sites. Most of us get more than enough $$, benefits and paid vacation. Why do we belittle that?

http://www.givingwhatwecan.org/resources/how-rich-you-are.php

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_average_world_income

[jonpurdy]

The only time I ever hear of EFL teachers being losers is on this board.

For the most part, most of the people I met in Korea seemed relatively well-rounded. Everyone was on a different path in life and some certainly might not end up as successful as others. But for the most part the people I met were pretty normal and came to Korea by choice. In fact, I found that there were quite a few extroverts, though I guess the true introverts might not be as social as them.

Of course, during my three years there I met a few people who were a bit off or weird. And of those people, most were pessimistic about their situation. I assume those people are the ones who start threads here, haha.