Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Eunoia]

(This is very likely to be my last post on this forum, so I'll try to make it worthwhile )

As an aside to "Why is Korea so Dirty?" (http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=21798)

A young Korean woman I know is studying in the USA, and she works on the side at a Chinese restaurant. As one might suspect, they get a lot of Asian tour groups going to that restaurant. Oddly enough (smirk), most of the customers assume that she is of Chinese ancestry.

I met her recently when she was visiting Korea for a wedding (this was her first visit back since Sept. 2001) and asked her about her experiences in the States, and how she feels about being back. She was quite a changed woman from the time that she left.

She was quite shocked with how crowded, polluted, and dirty Korea is. She was equally appalled at the rudeness of people on the streets. (I have long maintained that your Korean friends will be there for you day or night, but strangers on the street will run you over to get to the red light first, but I digress..) One of the more interesting observations she had made was while working at the Chinese restaurant. She told me, flat out, that she "hates" serving Korean customers, and more often than not, she doesn't even let them know that she is Korean. These customers were (her words) far more rude, cheap, and demanding than any others, and if they found out that she was Korean, they were likely to demand all the more from her.

Now, I really don't want this to be yet another Korea-bashing thread. We're all well aware that Korea just ain't like back home, wherever that may be, so let's just put alll that aside for now, OK?

What's interesting here is that prior to living in the States, she was a typical "Oh, you must love Korea, it is so much natural and beauty! Koreans are so kind! I insist Korea is the #1!" type of person. Two-and-a-half years overseas and she is a very different person (as I am myself, having spent nearly 4 years in Korea, but again I digress...). The point here is that one young woman has had a very significant change in perspective in a relatively short time.

I used to teach a lot of kids (elementary & middle-school) who had previously lived in other countries, mostly the US, Canada, the UK, NZ, & Aus... For varying reasons, many of which should be fairly obvious, almost every single one of them wanted to go back to where they had lived previously. Even at a young age, they were able to pick up on a lot of the things that we foreigners tend to gripe about.

I can't help but think that this is a good sign of things to come in Korea. These days more and more young people are going overseas to study, to work (and taking their children with them), or to just live/holiday with relatives... How many thousands of these young Koreans will have similar "eye-openings" upon their return to Korea? Remember, these are the people who will be running the entire show before too long...

As I mentioned in the thread linked above, I think that Korea will be a very different place in 20 years. I was only there for a few years, and yet I saw a lot of changes taking place in just that short time. When I look at it from that point of view, I guess I feel pretty optimistic about Korea's future.

[Zyzyfer]

Ditto. I really couldn't add anything to that.

[Zed]

Why would you make this your last post. Stick around.

[The Lemon]

[Sydney Rooster]

Eunoia, my girlfriend is thinking in similar lines to your friend. I travelled to Korea with her in March for 3 weeks. It was her first time back in 5 1/2 years since going to Oz to study.. She painted the picture that everything we had in Australia was twice as good in Korea (ok.. except the beaches).

I had a mixed experience in Korea but on our return she insisted she wanted to go back to Korea to live. She was missing family, Korean lifestyle etc.. Before leaving (about 6 weeks ago) though she promised that after maybe 5 years she would return to Oz.. As a result I decided to go too. I quit my job, took a Tesol course and booked my ticket (I will arrive in under 2 weeks).

Now, she is telling me how much she misses Sydney (and me ) and wants to come back here asap.. Perhaps the fact I am here still is influencing that, though we have agreed as I have got myself prepared to come too, that we will commit to a year, barring us both mutually hating Korea and see how things go..

She is complaining about the weather, the pollution, the noise, the rudeness of the people, the low wages, the tiny apartment she is in.. Basically everything. She actually had a job in Sydney working for a Korean boss (In fact almost all the employees - around 100 were Korean including the owner) and told me afterwards she never wanted to work for a Korean or at a Korean company ever again.. (that is another story and a pretty funny one at that) Perhaps she should have factored this into her decision making.

Anyway, if things work out ok, we might stay a second year or as her English is very good she will take a Tesol course and we might head elsewhere to South America, China or Eastern Europe for a year.

I am going to treat everything with an open mind and don't want to approach things with a negative attitude but after seeing your post Eunoia, I thought I might add to it my girlfriends experience so far since she has returned.

[Demophobe]

Great post, man. Good reading. Very interesting points raised. I am so darn tired, I can';t post anymore.
It is deserving more though.

Why your last post? Kinda sucks....

[sadsac]

Take a trip to Guam and you will experience the same thing. many koreans who live and work there, have very little time for the Korean tourist, they are the most disliked people on the island, yet they generate an enormous amount of income for the people. Koreans are very parochial and the smart ones leave and discover that there is a better place tahn home. Nice place to visit, but wouldn't want to live there.

[chinook]

part of it may well be reverse culture shock. when i was living in Scotland, whenever something really pissed me off I would say "that wouldn't have happened in Canada". Then about 3 months after returning to Canada I started hearing myself saying "That wouldn't have happened in Scotland!" Now I acknowledge that both places have their negatives/positives.

I mentioned this in a different thread, but i recently read "Why I Hate Canadians" by Will Ferguson and that's when I clued in to the whole reverse culture shock thing-he wrote this after returning from 5 years in Japan and a lot of that book resonated for me.

[helly]

Interesting, but not surprising. Funny, though, that my wife (Korean, now living in the US) is miserable here, thinks people are cold and insensitive, misses the crowds and urban density of Seoul, and thinks our little town (Seattle, a fairly good sized urban environment with the benefit of nature's beauty mixed in) here is the countryside. (oh, and its early in her days here so much is homesickness and culture shock). Wondering how she'll respond to Seoul when we go back to visit.

[Demophobe]

Better....got some sleep!

My wife and I lived in Canada for a year with mixed reviews from her. She loved the cleanliness, open space, solitude and overall "healthy" feel to the country.

She too felt that Canadians were insincere and a bit cold, there were far too many rules about everything and that the people were too uptight...she didn't care much for the winter, but never really complained.

After we came back to Korea, I could tell that she missed Canada. She wouldn't talk about it so much, but there were, and still are, signs; she gets kind of a whistful look remebering our Sunday bike rides, our wonderful church, the food, the parks...

I wouldn't say that she wanted to abandon Korea altogether though. I am the same. I complain and whine, but I did that in Canada too. Here, I have a scapegoat called Korea. In Canada, it was my home and it seemed any complaint against it was a strike against myself in some way. I believed that it was what you make it.

Then I came to Korea and found it so easy to blame the country, I became apathetic and whiney. I really made an effort to stop that, and today, I still do it occasionally here, but I try to stay on the sunny side.

Anyways, all of my students who lived abroad wear that experience like a tattoo. They have it in their blood and are forever changed. They all want to leave. Various reasosns, some founded, others childish (they ARE kids), but they miss the freedom attatched with youth in the West.

Thanks again for the post Eunoia.

[kiwiboy_nz_99]

[crazylemongirl]

I think that travel is good for people of any nationality. The people who have visited here have had a long tradition of travel, hell they moved from London to the likes of Australia and New Zealand to set up shop. Koreans have only recently been able to embrace internation travel and I think a lot of good will come of it. There are some things that koreans do better than back home... somethings back home are better than here in Korea...

[lush72]

wow- you know homer is on vacation - he would have never let this go! Good for him, I hope he has a great time!

As for the OP- why is this your last post? Stay till at least 300 posts- then decide if you want to stay or go!

[jaganath69]

[rapier]

Its sickening that 99% of koreans are so unable to see the other side. And I find it utterly irritating as well, their general insensitivity, and never ending personal comments..on your appearance or whatever.
But even the ones that have spent some time abroad revert back to their old ways.... I think its genetic.