Korean Job Discussion Forums

BigBlackEquus

I met a teacher. Anyway, the guy was a hopeless case. I just wanted to tell the guy, "Go home. Be with your family. It's not worth your time to try to make it work here. Get out now, before you go further in debt."

I didn't want to be rude. It was just obvious. This dude had a long way to go. The guy could barely string together a clean sentence without slurring his words. He had just been fired from yet another teaching job and given a lame excuse. He had had difficulty finding jobs. Even more trouble keeping them, it seems.

In truth, I really feel sorry for him. He wasn't a mean guy. He just seemed.... um... not too bright? He may have been more intelligent than he came across, but it was difficult to see, given his communication ability. And to teach English, at the very least, you should be able to speak it clearly. It seemed like he was the way he was based on motor-skill ability, rather than a product of whatever environment he grew up in. He was not drunk. He was not on drugs. He was just slow and slurred/stumbled a lot. I can see a desperate hagwon meeting him, hiring him on the spot because they need a white face, then kicking him to the curb as soon as they figured it out or got complaints. In fact, it sounds like this is exactly what has happened/been happening.

Whatever his talent is, I hope he discovers it and follows that path. Or I hope he can find some job at some hagwon somewhere where he will fit in. It's painful when I meet people like this, but I just try to have a friendly conversation with them, and move on.

I've known people like this who end up in some blue-collar job, working hard, and making more money than me. I like to think there is a spot for everyone. I wish him luck.

jazblanc77 · Joined: 22 Feb 2004

Is this a rhetorical question?

In the case of the guy in your story, that is really unfortunate. Most people who I've met who shouldn't be here, and I've met MANY, were in a different boat altogether... people who were/are running on fumes and crazy propellant.

Grotto · Joined: 21 Mar 2004

several and in no particular order

the gay guy who wanted to meet Korean guys....and told everyone he met that he was gay. Rolling Eyes

the doormat...let the school jerk him around left right and center because he was afraid they would kick him out of his apartment if he didnt. Mad

the crazy guy...we all know who Wink

the drinker..she slept with a puke bucket beside her bed because she couldnt stumble to the bathroom in time. Razz

the righteous christian guy who decide he was here to bring christ into all the pagan Koreans lives...got fired month two Laughing

the Brit who had an accent you could cut hardwood with....he lasted out his contract but I dont know if his students learnt any English...well English anyone could understand Laughing

the loser....hadnt been paid in months..but kept hoping that one day they would pay him..at the end of the contract they owed him for 7 months pay..and he never said a word Shocked

the mooch...bragged about making 4-5 mil a month but never had any money or a job...worked illegaly until being deported.

There are probably a ton of people who should be sent home.

bellum99 · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: don't need to know

Some people have nothing to go home to. Life has taken them down many roads and they ended up in Korea with neither the energy or the talent to do anything else. These people end up in Canada working at parking lots, Subway resturants and car washes. I don't pity them because I have discovered that the decisions they routionely made in life brought them to whatever hell they live in.
When they go home...there is nothing waiting for them. Better to stay in the hell you know then to pick something that may be worse. Here they make enough money to live...that is not always true in Canada.

----I knew a few people like this in Canada and in Korea. After you talk to them for a while you can see that most of them ruined their own lives...no one else did it for them.

Paddycakes · Joined: 05 May 2003 Location: Seoul

Hater Depot · Joined: 29 Mar 2005

The real question is, who hasn't met at least one.

lastat06513 · Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2005 7:47 pm Post subject:

I think most of the people I've met that fit this catagory are the ones that come here for something other than teaching (money, change in lifestyle, relationship, etc.) and get disappointed when it doesn't work according to their plans.
I think to take a teaching job here or anywhere else for that matter involves some sense of dedication to what you are doing and have some knowledge of teaching.
I am saying this because I was one of those teachers were told to leave when I first came to Korea. I came here to be with someone that truly didn't think the same way.
After everything fell apart, the only thing I had left was my job and that was what held me together for a long time.
I strongly believe it paid off because my job became my motivation and that helped me to work here.
The sad part is that some people probably won't feel this way and will be sent packing, hoping to find greener pastures.
Korea is like any other country in the world, and the people here are the same as what you would find in Sydney, Aukland, New York, Toronto or London.
Coming to Korea with any other motivation other than teaching will get a person into trouble or make them fail sooner or later.

bosintang · Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2005 7:48 pm Post subject:

Everyone has their own intrinsic motivations. Everyone gets stuck or frustrated sometime in their career. Everyone gets in a situation they really don't belong in.

Perhaps you should stop worrying about others, take a good look in the mirror, and worry about yourselves.

Happy New Year's guys.

lastat06513 · Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2005 7:57 pm Post subject:

Very true, boshintang, a person's inner-most sense of dedication can help them. That's how the most successful people started on their road to fame and fortune- through that turning point.
But it is also a place that can bring people down because after being in such a high place for such a long time, they don't know how to handle the pitfalls when they come.
To me, Korea has been a milestone in my life (refer to my thread in the General Forum) and I learned alot from my experience being here.
Most of all, I didn't quit.
Tell someone they should quit or telling them they should give up is not the way to go.
If the person is someone you know, help them out and give them some tips that might help their classes more. You would be surprised by how much a little advice would go.
But for those we just pass by, well....all we can do is talk to them and hope for the best.

SPINOZA · Joined: 10 Jun 2005 Location: $eoul

Paddycakes · Joined: 05 May 2003 Location: Seoul

[quote="SPINOZA"]

some waygug-in · Joined: 25 Jan 2003

Actually I've been screwed over by more Canadian bosses than Koreans, but that may have had something to do with the type of work I was doing.
(construction)

I've had very few bosses that I really thought were "good bosses".

But I have never seen the kind of rampant stupidity back home that I face daily in Korea. Of course there were days......

Sure I'm a bit of a F_ck up, and I can recall my brother actually suggesting that I work in a car wash back home. If things were a bit better back home I would go back, but I sure don't miss all those taxes and having to own a car, pay for gas, repairs, and everthing just to be able to find a job.

bellum99 · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: don't need to know

If I was totally normal, I would still be back home:

1: A few years into a 20 year mortgage.

2: A few years into a lifetime job (I hope).

3: Looking forward to buying a new car in the future.

4: Planning my big vacation in the future (when I have the money)

Basically...with the money saved in Korea I am years ahead of my friends and much happier...but I am not normal.

Homer · Guest

We all know people who should go home...thats just par for the course here.