Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Aless]

I have been back in Canada-land for about 7 months and am seriously considering coming back to Korea. I rather enjoyed being there the first time.
Has anyone decided to come back after a return to find the novelty and wonder has worn off? Has anyone returned to be disappointed?

[Mashimaro]

What are your expectations? What do you think it will be like and why?
if you decide that you can better decide the chances of your expecations being met.

[katydid]

I think everywhere you go, the more you get used to it, the more day to day it becomes and less of an adventure. It's up to you to decide what it is that you want though.

[Cthulhu]

It's never the same as the first time, especially if you let loose the first time. But it can be great in other ways.

[Yangkho]

In my case, I'm glad it hasn't been the same as the first time: it's been much better this time.

[crazylemongirl]

actually no I find that one of the things about living in asia is that there are always plenty of weird things to see and interesting people to meet.

Yesterday when I was coming home from korean class I struck up a conversation with a man with perfect english . Turns out he spent a lot of his life in the states and in and out of the defence department in korea. What was really interseting about him was that he was from a village close to pyeongyang which he fled just before the chinese took it back as a teenager. I found him such an interesting person to talk to him that I'm taking him and his wife out to dinner in a few weeks.

However like most things in life it's all about attuide. If you're boring in canada you'll be boring in Korea. Interesting people are interesting cause they made their lives that way.

[Kimchi Cha Cha]

I guess it depends on your expectations, and whether you're going to the same town/school you were at first time.

I arrived back about 7 weeks ago after 5 months back home. A lot of my time back home, I was reminiscing (sp?) about the happier times in Korea and not dwelling on the not so good aspects of being here.

In the end, I decided to come back as I enjoyed my time in Korea for the most part, though I opted for a different city and school. Thinking that wouldn't be too big a deal as I already know a bit about Korea and have moved to new places before.

From the moment I was leaving the airport back home until the one month point, I felt really daunted by everything and had a big dose of culture shock, which I didn't experience as much my first time here. It seemed really weird as I'd been here before, have some language skills and know a bit about the culture and customs, but it happened. I guess moving somewhere new can often be a stressful experience. I've heard about some others go through similar experiences when they arrive back after being back home. I think part of it was that the first time I arrived in Korea, everything was so new and interesting that I didn't focus on the daunting aspects (being somewhere where you don't know anyone and feeling isolated), but when I arrived back the daunting aspects hit me.

So, I'd suggest if you're coming back go in with an open mind as (even if you are going to the same school/city), things will have changed and won't be exactly the same. You may have an ackward time adjusting back into here (like I did) but that should pass as you have the advantage of having already been in Korea and being able to get about around knowing some of the language and culture (unlike a complete newbie).

All in all, despite the difficult first few weeks here, I'm glad I came back. I'm at a great school with nice staff, and the pluses of living here outweigh the minuses for me at this point in time.

[Bulsajo]

Everyone else's rice cake always looks bigger.

[i.e. the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence]

[Ilsanman]

[adventureman]

[tommynomad]

Attitude is everything--agreed with Senor Gandhi up there.

I'd also recommend you choose a different city this time. Moving to the same location increases the risk of "can-never-go-home-again" syndrome.