Korean Job Discussion Forums

[CanadaCommando]

K, so a buddy of mine has been talking to me over the last while about my times in Korea...my trials, my tribulations....my triumphs...

Turns out his life at home has been a lil blah...single now, and looking for an escape from the 9-5. So he turns to me and says...

"K, no BS. No gray area. Would you, or would you not, recommend Korea?"

I didn't know how to respond to this question. Had he asked me in my bad hakwon days, I would of said no way. Now, I got a good gig and am fairly happy, I kinda lean towards yes. But then, who knows what position he'll end up in, even if I do steer him clear of the obvious pitfalls....

This answers depends on many things...what you're looking for, what you're are like...but lets say you get a call from your friend, mid 20's, average person, finished their degree a few years ago and looking for something new...
So, my question to you is this-no BS, no gray area. Would you recommend Korea?

[the_beaver]

Damn straight I would!

Oh, and not a bad avatar. . .

[lush72]

No, I would tell him not to come here. When it goes bad, and it will eventually, then what?

[schwa]

Its a bogus question. You cant ignore the gray area. If you recommend Korea unconditionally to your friend youre setting him up with false expectations. Everyone experiences some element of hardship here & its nonsense to tell someone it aint so. If he cant roll with it he'll blame you: But you said ..

Likewise you cant decide definitively that someone shouldnt give Korea a try. It might be the perfect thing for him & he'd miss out. I wouldnt want either scenario on my shoulders.

Tell it like it is & tell him to make up his own mind.

[kiwiboy_nz_99]

I like it here and it's been great for me, but no, I'd NEVER recommend it to anyone. When it goes bad it can go really bad, and that 's too much wieght on your shoulders.

[Bunnymonster]

Agreed, I fear my current situation might be on its way towards badness, but then again who knows. Worst case scenario I get screwed, go home having wasted a few months working for not a massive amount of money and with a bunch of stories to tell. Life is for the living just, to Quote Mike McDermott in rounders, remember 'the cardinal fu%^ing rule "always leave yourself outs"'.......

[sadsac]

Tell your friend the truth. It can be a great place and on any given day it can be hell on earth. Each person will make their choices on the information you give them. I would never tell a friend not to come here, but I would advise them that it can be a difficult place to adapt to.

[Crois]

Yes i'd want my friends to come here and suffer with me.

[crazylemongirl]

Korea is like the little girl with the little curl right in the middle of her forehead.

When she is good she is very, very, good.
And when she is bad she is bloody aweful

[NearlyKorean]

No, I don't think I would. Most of my friends would have a tough time of it in Korea.

[ryleeys]

I actually only have one friend left back in the States... everyone else is here in Korea (I went my own way from the "click" my senior year)... and that friend has already got his mind set on going to teach in Japan.

[Hagwon Muppet]

I would and have done.

Some people love it here and some people hate it here. But either way its a useful life experience and you never know till you try.

Some people never leave their hometowns - I couldn't be doing with that.

Of course, I'd try to give my friends a 'heads-up' about the place and try to get a feel for whether they'd enjoy it or not.

I've lived in some places I truly hated (LONDON for example is a hell-hole) but I'd still recommend that people visit them because I know people who LOVED it there. Everybody is different.

I'm not one of these people who never tried something new because I'm scared I wouldn't like it. By the end of this year I'll have lived in Seoul, Los Angeles, Tokyo and about 8 major cities in the UK. All had good points and bad points but I still think Seoul has been my favourite so far.

[Derrek]

Just tell them the good and the very bad, and leave it up to them.

[jajdude]

I wouldn't recommend Korea unless someone with a degree was quite hard up for work. Actually there are enough people like that, but I still wouldn't recommend Korea. Then again one year is starting to seem like a short time. And one can always bail at any point if it feels too rough. Having a buddy in the first place can certainly make it more likely to be at least tolerable.

[just because]