Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cj1976]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22764986

I thought this might be relevant for some people here. I have personally never been homesick - even after 7 years away, but I have known a lot of people leave before their first contract ends due to homesickness.

[northway]

Cowards.

[12ax7]

Didn't someone here mention something about a gal leaving a month into her contract because she missed her dog?

In the '90s, almost nobody here was connected to the internet. In all of Korea there were a couple of internet cafes catering to expatriates, that's it. No PC-bangs. Long distance phone calls to Canada were 2$ a minute.

[jvalmer]

[Died By Bear]

[jvalmer]

[Who's Your Daddy?]

Sort of funny when I compare homesickness of a Spaniard in the UK to people living in Korea. Korea is like going to another planet in comparison to that move.

My sister just spent a year in Washington DC and couldn't wait to return to Canada. I laughed when she told me this, I said I could live the rest of my life in DC no problem. I doubt my sister would last 6 months in Korea.

I think some long-timers forget how bizarre Korea is. It's the only country I've been where locals pretend you don't exist - where they look through you. I don't mean a look away, or an acknowledgment, those I could understand, I mean the pretend you don't exist type.

[joelove]

It's strange the perspective you can get living abroad, and then sort of comparing it to how others see things doesn't really work. I'm from a small town. My brother lives in another small town now. He mentioned how he thought traffic has become pretty bad where lives, compared to years ago. Coming from big Asian cities the streets looked almost empty to me, or a little busy sometimes. Or he mentioned how when he visits Montreal he feels a bit stressed when he meets people who don't speak English very well. And almost everyone in Montreal can manage pretty well in English. Oh my. I wonder how he would feel in some Asian city when sometimes you are happy someone can comprehend or put a few English words together. You get used to these things and they become normal I guess but experience can really alter your perspective. I was surprised how small my hometown is after being away a long time in mostly large Asian cities. There is no rush hour, no big traffic, the pace is really slow. Years of getting used to this would no doubt make big city life in Asia strange all over again.

[12ax7]

[12ax7]