Korean Job Discussion Forums

joe_doufu · Joined: 09 May 2005 Location: Elsewhere

Wow, what am I even doing in this lousy country? It's just grey and depressing compared to Japan. (I just returned from my first 1-week trip to Japan.) Oh, and the weather is nicer there, too. My next job will be in China so I don't know if I'll ever get a chance to live in Japan, but now it's on my list.

mindmetoo · Joined: 02 Feb 2004

Were people spittin' lung butter on subway stairs in Japan? My walk to the subway amounts to a frozen vomit and lung butter slalom in the winter.

Tiger Beer · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

why china if u like japan?

mindmetoo · Joined: 02 Feb 2004

joe_doufu · Joined: 09 May 2005 Location: Elsewhere

I think Korea is worse than China. China is nice because I speak Chinese fairly well so I make a lot of friends, have satisfying relationships (if you know what I mean) and I think I can get a great non-teaching job there... though it hasn't happened yet. Japan is to me like Europe, an interesting rich country, but not so much of a challenge/opportunity as China.

laogaiguk · Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Location: somewhere in Korea

SarcasmKills · Joined: 07 Apr 2003 Location: Seoul

The thing is Joe, you were only in Japan for a week.. I'm sure you had warm, cozy feelings about Korea too when you first got here..

bucheon bum · Joined: 16 Jan 2003

I sure as hell didn't have warm, cozy feelings about Korea when I arrived.
No, I was pretty negative towards Korea for the first 3 months or so I was there.

mindmetoo · Joined: 02 Feb 2004

rapier · Joined: 16 Feb 2003

joe_doufu · Joined: 09 May 2005 Location: Elsewhere

Homer · Guest

But..good question Joe..do you speak Korean as well as you do Chinese?

If not..bad comparison my man.

As for Japan being inherently better...that is a personal preference indeed and no one can dispute that...unless you consider that

a) You were in Japan for about a week.

b) You were on vacation

c) You were not living or working there..just passing through.

All of this means that you got a very different view of Japan than you have a Korea.

Not saying you are wrong to pass a judgement as Japan being "better", just that you should perhaps consider the situations you are comparing.

joe_doufu · Joined: 09 May 2005 Location: Elsewhere

Yes. I considered them. Japan is better!

bosintang · Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 10:29 pm Post subject:

Your first impressions count for a lot.

You may need to spend a lot of time in a country, learn to speak at least some of the language, learn the customs and interact with a variety of people to get a deeper understanding of a country, but you don't have to go through all of that to know whether you want to or not.

fatpat · Joined: 05 Oct 2005 Location: The bright lights of Namchang

I agree Japan is much better than Korea for a number of reasons and some I can't quite put my finger on. My observations and feelings are that Japanese people seem way cooler than Korean's, they have more style and are more individual. The streets are not full of mess and rubbish (this isn't just a problem in Korea though and I think Japan is quite unique for this). People don't stare/point at you/giggle at you/say hi, nice to meet you etc. for being a foriegner, they just ignore you. The food is better. The temples and palaces are better. The nightlife is better. They can admit things, like the fact that they are perverts and not just try and pretend it doesn't exist or lie about it like many Korean's do. The culture seems more interesting to me. They don't spit (although China has to be the biggest offender when it comes to this subject!). I wish I had gone to Japan rather than Korea to teach but the money was calling. Since being in Korea I have had 2 holidays in Japan so I guess, like other's have pointed out it could just be I was happy to be on holiday but actually I doubt it. Korea aint all that bad though before somebody accuses me of bashing it and tells me to go home. I do like being here, it certainly keeps me entertained and has helped my bank balance.