Korean Job Discussion Forums

[kshellru]

Hello all.
Really I love this forum. (most) people are so helpful.
So that aside, I am a relatively new teacher in Korea. I cam for a vacation and ended up deciding to stay. The problem is that my hagwan isn't all that friendly. IE most teachers are sort of here independantly and have their own lives, and I haven't really been welcomed all that much. My schedual sucks, and I see that I did a bad job of choosing work, but I'm on contract now so that's besides the point. the main problem, as I said is the state of my coworkers (non)welcoming stance, and the fact that generally I feel quite lonely. I used to work in Mexico, so it's not that I'm homesick and wanna go home or anything. I just don't have any friends, and don't know what to do with myself on weekends, or other times (schedual bad=generally staying home weekdays). But I don't have anyone to talk to. So, I'm wondering if anyone has good ideas for making friends. I'm 29, a cool girl, generally slightly funny and more than a little crazy, I read and am literate, I watch movies and drink soju etc. to give you an idea of interests. But most people seem to have made their own friends/girlfriends/boyfriends, and I am wondering what I'm doing wrong. My students are great and welcoming, but other Koreans (strangers) according, I guess to culture, don't seem that nice to me.

So yeah, um, how do you make friends in Korea?

And, I work in Youido, does anyone have any ideas about Korean classes that are close or relatively close to here? I am sick and tired of miming everything and my regimine of self study isn't taking. In other words, laziness takes over and I end up watching TV, playing playstation, and reading novels instad. I find Korean soooo difficult. I speak English (clearly), Spanish and French, but learnign Korean seems beyond my grasp.

What the hell am i doing wrong????

ideas and suggestions????

[laogaiguk]

I study well in Starbucks, but I also grew up in a house with lots of children in it. I can't study if it is quiet, so Starbucks is better than a library for me. But if you stay home, too many distractions. Go somewhere else.
Korean is quite different from any of the romance languages, so it will take time to wrap your mind around it, but it will come (usually one day you will just suddenly get it.) It's hard to give real advice though cause everyone learns differently. Have you ever seen what kind of learner you are (ie auditory, visual, kinestetic (?), etc)?

[nautilus]

[C.M.]

I don't think you're doing anything wrong. I have the same kind of situation in my small town. I am the only foreign teacher at my Hagwon; there are three others in town but none of us have ever gotten together. One is a religious lunatic (I tried many words before deciding on lunatic) another is an older woman who apparently avoids contact with other foreigners and one is a young lad whom I have not met.
Travel is cheap and easy in Korea and along the way you can meet lots of new people. It is a very beautiful country, and very easy to get around. These towns can get lonely/quiet sometimes but not permanently so. I am fairly new to Korea, for example, and was looking at spending Christmas alone and so went to Seoul for a Christmas service, and ended up meeting a couple of guys, one from Spain, one from Holland. All three of us were going to spend Christmas night alone but instead we met at the Hostel and spent Christmas together in a bar. Not exactly "Silent Night" but you get the point. Give it some time.

[bucheon bum]

Don't stress about the Korean, it'll be easier to learn the longer you're there. I learned very little my first 3 months, then it quickly jumped up. I think I made more strides my 2nd year than my first. As others have said, it is quite different from English or any western language. Take a cheap korean class saturday afternoons (1,000 won/session). It's near Sookmyung Woman's university. Do a search on this site and you'll probably find the details.

[jlb]

How long have you been in Korea?

I found it took me 3 or 4 months to really make any good friends, to start picking up a bit of Korean and to get over the culture-shock.

Are you into travelling and the outdoors. Maybe check out www.adventurekorea.com to meet some new people and have something to do on the weekend.

[ambvalent]

I also would recommend travel, when you have the chance. Sitting at home on the weekend sucks. So, get out, especially on 3 day weekends. Understandably it can be a little weird for a woman, but I like couchsurfing in Korea. There's the website, which I can't advertise enough:

www.couchsurfing.com

It's a good way to meet people with new stories.

What doesn't work for me in Korea: meeting people at bars, foreign or western. With Koreans, meet a few people and then wait for your friendships to cascade. Also, you can try www.penpalsnow.com even though you're in korea. You might just find someone you really love to hang out with. I wrote a lot of people before I came to Korea for a few months, and so I had friends when I came. Out of some miracle, the amazing creature that is my girlfriend was a person I randomly emailed the first time 6 months before I ever came to Korea.

Get out on the weekends!

[sonshine20]

Try looking for clubs or classes you are interested in... Join a club or class on Korean dance or music or hiking... It's hard to meet people in Korea until you have something in common (like a club or attendance at the same university or an introduction from a friend).

You could be quite open with a colleague. Tell her that you want to meet Korean friends... I've had acquaintances introduce me to Koreans that eventually became close friends.

Also, some Koreans may not talk with you because they are embarassed about their English. Every attempt you make to speak Korean will help. And once you meet some Koreans, the language will become easier.

I agree about bars. Koreans don't go there to meet new people. They go to interact with old friends.

Keep your chin up!!!

[kangnam mafioso]

My social life was pretty lackluster my first six months in Seoul. Like yourself, I was in a pretty small hagwon and there were only a few foreigners: a gay lifer dude (not that there is anything wrong with that) and a married canadian couple. I would get off at 6 p.m., have dinner at the COEX food court, hit the PC bang for an hour and then go home most nights. Other nights I would grab a couple of pints at Geckos and try to meet people that way. I would try to get there early so I could find a seat at the bar and not look like an idiot standing in the corner by myself. After a few months, you start to meet people. I met some people on Daves and we would go to Hongdae. A co-worker introduced me to a friend and he introduced me to his friends and I met some people on the internet and I met a girl in Hongdae and she introduced me to her friends and a new guy started working at the hogwan and he introduced me to his friends and before I knew it I was turning my phone off because I needed more time alone. In other words, don't get discouraged your first six months, don't feel like you have to join every club in Seoul to meet people. If you're pleasant enough, your social life will develop just by being in the city. I never joined a club; I never took any classes and I had a great social life and a good time and sometimes I started to miss those first few months when it was just me and i was learning a lot about myself and the world and being alone in a foreign country and living a simple life.

[Son Deureo!]

Having trouble making friends, and with learning Korean? Korean classes and language exchanges are great ways to kill two birds with one stone.

Hangeul Kongbubang also offers almost free Korean classes (W1000 per lesson) on Saturday afternoons, 4:30-6 p.m. The classes are near Sookmyoung Women's University station, go here for their website: http://myhome.naver.com/tartan/menu12.html

If you live in Yeouido, you're probably on Line 5 (the purple line), right? If so, then you're within spitting distance of YBM on Jongro, a big hogwon which offers Korean classes at many different times.

There are a lot of personals websites that you can find partners for language exchange (and other kinds of exchange as well). I'm sure there are more, but the only one I can think of off the top of my head is www.ublove.com.

[SPINOZA]

Me and a friend were out drinking one night in Itaewon, a Friday if memory serves. We came across two young women out drinking (respectively) by themselves in different places. If the worst comes to the worst, do that. I'd do that. I did do that. People say it's different for guys but I don't agree. Do what you want and sod the rest. The first thing you want to do when you arrive is meet some foreigners and get chatting, perhaps have a drink or three - that's understandable.

Re Korean: Buy a book and self-study. Take classes too if you want, but the former is very useful indeed, Stephen Revere's 'Survival Korean' being a good if slightly difficult intro. Learn to read the alphabet first.