Korean Job Discussion Forums

[tomato]

Someone told me that the Korean language doesn't even have a word for plan.
But the dictionary lists ��ȹ�ϴ� as the Korean equivalent.
Does anybody see any shade of difference between the two words?

[Barking Mad Lord Snapcase]

[Mosley]

The ironic thing is that after nearly a half-century of Japanese occupation, the Koreans learned jack about planning ,while the Japanese are obsessive planners....

[jazblanc77]

[the_beaver]

I think in general you're not wrong.

But, my girlfriend starts planning every vacation we have way ahead of time and knows what to see, where to stay, and what to eat long before we get anywhere. By contrast, I generally crack the Lonely Planet after we're on the plane.

[syclick]

I think this is rather a byproduct of the hogwon mentality. I can't count the number of times wonjangnim has thrown huge projects on me at the last second.

Example: He (WJN) has a group of prospective students ask him to start a brand new class on a subject we've never taught before. WJN realizes he can make some fat cash off of this. So - I get told on Friday that on MONDAY I'll be starting a new course I've never taught before, 3 hours per class, 3 times a week, for 6 weeks.

[captain kirk]

Planning is unmanly? Better to swoop down on the fly and save the day like McGyver? Man, that's funny.
It rings true to me the notion mentioned that nobody plans because there's a good chance it'll offend someone higher up or won't be acknowledged up the chain of command so why bother? Why not just let the almighty ones up top figure it out. If it goes wrong it's their idea to start with, not an underlings.

[gomurr]

When the japanese were here they didn't let any Koreans in on the actual planning/management stage. Koreans get to the management post and they freeze up, they don't know what to do. It takes them twice as long to come up with something and whent he plan has been approved it takes even longer to build it and then things get sidetracked there as well.
Building all those soccer stadiums was a good example of lack of planning. Yeah it was good for the World Cup but what about now? Who fills them on a regular basis. Local soccer teams only draw a few thousand fans and you can have only so many international friendlies in a year. Those stadiums are rotting because no one in KOrea thought to plan for the immediate future after the world cup. Same thing for those Hockey rinks out in Kangnung.

[rok_the-boat]

In my experience, Koreans are not too bad a planning. They problem is in the doing - putting the plan into action. The people who make the plans are not those who carry them out, they start too late, and when things go wrong there is little no feedback back up the ladder to make sense of next time.

For example, the holes for the air conditioners mentioned above. The guy who builds it probably notices; the person who installs it definitely notices; the owners fail to complain. Messages don't get back to the designers / planners. So simple, so stupid.

[Barking Mad Lord Snapcase]

If these theories are generally true, then that truly blows the pontificating, finger-wagging "You-should-plan-your-lessons-and-not-play-hangman" crowd completely out of the water.

Or perhaps hakwons are emplying Westerners because we're supposed to be better planners.

The truth isn't always as clear cut. One or two of my Korean co-workers were excellent planners. By contrast, I found planning mostly impractical after so many schedule changes.

[jazblanc77]

[coolsage]

To quote an even older hand than myself: "Koreans are incapable of planning an orgy in a brothel". Communication skills are non-existent. At the uni where I teach, the foreign teachers are not deemed worthy of receiving information regarding schedules, holidays, or anything else that might indicate foresight. Last week, we attended a meeting to sort out the summer school schedule. This week, we were informed (not directly, but as usual, by rumor and innuendo), that the schedule was all wrong. Back to the drawing board. Again. As to the construction fiascos previously mentioned, I've been observing the building going up across the street from me (and how could I miss it? The hammering begins at 6AM every day), and while the concrete was being poured there was obvious crumbling from inferior materials or excess water. No matter; slap the fake brick facing on it, no one is the wiser, the place will either fall down or be pulled down within twenty years. A metaphor for this land: quality doesn't matter; appearance is everything.

[Kalhoun]

[Whistleblower]

I believe that Koreans have some loose planning skills but not worthy in the international arena but they lack common sense at the same time. No common sense seems the norm in this country.

[maeil]