Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Katz]

How many of you are actually raising children here? If your not raising children here and, if you don't have children then you dont have a clue. I have a three year old here and it has it's ups and its downs. Also you have to take into consideration who the other parent is. If it is a korean you can't alway just raise you child with your own western ideals. And sometimes when you do the kid has trouble because family, friends, and schools dont keep the same rule that you do. When it comes to those basic rules consistency is important. I think it is a hard experience for a child, it gets caught between two worlds and is really too young to understand what is going on. Also think about how many kids stare at you because you are a foriener, no think about being a little kid and dealing with that. My child gets stopped and photographed, stared at, crowded around, given way too much candy, and gauked at. At the playground parents force their children to try to play with him and over all do you really think this will not affect the child. We will be bringing him home before he reaches Elementry school for sure,

[ryleeys]

I don't think having no children makes a person clueless. I think there are clueless people that do have children and ones that don't. But I also think that there are people that know how to be a good parent before they have kids... keep in mind, we're all surrounded by children every day. Some of us have friends with children, some of the people here may have had to help raise younger siblings. Some of us may have just had really good parents that instilled in us good values...

That being said, I have no children and am 22.

Yet I don't think I would raise a child here. I don't want to raise my children in an apartment. I think kids should have a place to go and run. I think they should have a dog. I think they should have chores to do around the house other than dusting. I think there are too many things here that I don't want my children exposed to all the time: bad driving, non-stop smoking, etc. I don't think children should have to think that anything less than 100% is disgraceful to the family. I don't think children should be taught that differences are not acceptable (not always the case here, but is often enough).

That being said, I think there are good things about here too. I do agree that children should be raised multi-lingual. My children will be raised by myself to speak English and Spanish and if my wife speaks a different language, they'll speak that too. I agree that children need both structured and unstructured after-school activities. I would like for my children to be able to play sports and/or be involved in art and music.

I agree that there are good and bad things about raising children in America too. But from what I've seen so far, I think that raising my children in the house that I grew up in will give them a good life. Yes, it is certainly possible for children to get a good life here in Korea. But it just isn't in my deck of cards for my kids to be raised in Korea.

[jaebea]

Great post from rylees.

There's no reason why people who do not have children should have their views completely discarded. Granted, those who are raising children in this country would have views and anecdotes who will have a greater sway in this thread, but to exclude point of views for this sort of reason is a bit odd.. :)

Personally speaking, I'd raise my kids in Australia. I'm coming from the perspective of the first 5 years of my life spent in Korea (yes, I am a gyopo for the newish posters here), and the remainder of my life in Sydney.

I'll make no lies and come straight out with the fact that I hold little allegiance to the country of my birth. I have family there, some friends, but it's far more foreign to me than England, Canda or the USA.

I have great faith in the education system that I was brought through, and I often find myself at odds with the points of views held by my peers in Korea. Not to say I am right and they are wrong. But I'd much rather my children subscribe to the moral and world views that I possess, than those of my Korean buddies.

There's a great role placed on the school, and educational system, than people seem to give credit for, in the development of such things during the schooling years. It's not just what they're taught in the classroom, it's also what they're exposed to in the playground, from their friends, and their role models within the school.

jae.