Korean Job Discussion Forums

[JongnoGuru]

Disenchanted. Disillusioned. ?

I was at KFC just two days ago ordering for a big crew, and I didn't simply bow to KFC's wishes and get a bucket, oh no. I got two of these, three of those, one each of that, and so on. Confusing order for everyone, but hey -- I'm paying for it, so deal. As inevitably happens, they got the order slightly wrong and (as always) to my detriment. I walked away totally disenfrenchfried by the experience.

[numazawa]

Technically, that would be to diss-one-franchise.

[shawner88]

I can understand how some people wouldn't like it here. I didn't really like it until I met my girlfriend, to be honest. I probably wouldn't have liked Korea so much without the girlfriends I dated there, either, though at times not having one was also a lot of fun.

In China, well, Beijing anyway, there are just too many people everywhere, though it's not so bad in Wangjing where I live. The staring is relentless. They don't look away when you look back, they just go on staring. Bartering is fun for most people but it annoys me. I'll go to the same shop I just went to a few days ago, where I spent 10 minutes haggling the price down 80% and have to go through the same BS all over again. They'll offer you a shirt for $25 US and you wind up paying $3.

The food is good. There's a lot of variety..however it's all inconsistent. One day you can get the best food you've ever had. The next day at the same restaurant, order the same thing and it's foul. And yes, a lot of the food, most of it is oily. The upshot is there are at least 100 items on any menu to choose from - those this can make deciding what to order a paid in the rump.

There are only 3 lines on the subway system and you never seem to be near a station. The city busses are overcrowded and dirty. Taxis are cheap, though. You can pretty much go anywhere in the city for under $5. I usually pay $3 for 25 minutes to my girlfriend's house.

The chaotic streets get to you. Red lights are treated as a suggestion to stop. Jay walking is the only way to cross the street and seriously you're risking your life every time you cross. I've already seen serveral accidents. A Chinese told me someody is killed every 6 seconds in a traffic accident.

Well, anyway, there are also a lot of good things. You can join a 5 star health club for $30 a month, buy any DVD for under $1, fake clothes are dirt cheap (after the negotiation) and so far they have been pretty durable for me, except for my cheap "Polo" wallet which is crap. The night life is also much bigger and diverse than in Seoul. It's easy to find cheap beer and live music. There are people here from all over the world for all sorts of reasons, unlike in Korea where it's mostly English teachers and soldiers...

Well, the girlfriend has lunch on the table...

[Roch]

Beats Korea hands down. Hell, in Jinan City in Shandong Province, one of my own high school students at the South Ocean School got on the bus and pickpocketed me. When I asked him, "WTF do you think you are doing?!" he laughed in my face and his buddies said the big F word to me.

I walked away from South Ocean to Guangzhou Cityfor other reasons ten days later. Got pickpocketed on the train going down to Guangzhou and it was all down hill from there: Incredibly rude and hostile college students with whom I had several fist fights at Lingnan Polytechnic College in Don Pu, Tienhe District, replete with mafia/Communist Party school owners refusing to pay me. Went on strike there after four months and then walked back to Dae Han Min Gook.

Anyway, the locals in Jinan and Guangzhou were usually a rude, motley crew who, though they were the epitome of human flotsam, treated the lao wei like dung. Rylees is spot on in his assessment of Guangzhou City and China as a whole because, as he implies, China is, for the most part, a lawless nightmare of a hole.

[gmat]

[Lao Wai]

gmat,

You can hardly call Shenzhen a "hell hole". It may be a bit sterile in terms of culture and doesn't really have much of a "soul", but it can make for pretty comfortable living.

Compared to Busan (where I used to live), Shenzhen is paradise! The availability of foreign groceries, the cleanliness, the open space, the well-tended plants and trees, Shekou (district designed for foreigners...lots of nice cafes and restaurants that serve real coffee and great food), and finally, the proximity to Hong Kong. Anytime you want a great city, Hong Kong is only 45 minutes away. Plus, anytime I took the bus in Shenzhen I got a seat, unlike being sardined on the buses in Busan. Furthermore, they also just put in a subway system in Shenzhen. AND!!! My favourite thing....the absence of HELLO HELLO HELLO...MY NAME IS KIM MIN SU....WELCOME TO KOREA!!!! being shouted at me in the streets on a daily basis....less staring too!

I'd even say that in some ways (ie. cleanliness and green space), Shenzhen could give Seoul a run for it's money. Still, as I've never lived in Seoul, just visited, I couldn't say for sure.