Korean Job Discussion Forums

[pushpin fantasies]

Korea seems to cause me to age rapidly. I lose weight (I was already too thin when I came to Korea and then I lost another 15 lbs. even though I was eating a pretty good amount), my face starts to look haggard, I get bags under my eyes, and I look generally unhealthy... As vain as this sounds, I��m considering not coming back to Korea solely because of my concerns about health and aging. I think I could try to eat more and eat more red meat while I��m there to help. I��m also thinking about taking a multi-vitamin such as Centrum. Anyone else tried anything else that worked? What else should I try?

[Big Mac]

For me, it was quite the opposite. I lost weight, but that was a good thing. When I got back home I would say I looked at least five years younger.

Maybe try joining a gym. Take whey protein because that will give you some of the things you would get from meat. It's healthier than eating all that fatty meat anyway.

[bellum99]

The only way to stop aging is to die, and you are already doing it at this minute slowly. I have an idea....cook at home and eat more often. It is impossible to lose weight like that if you are eating propely...go to a doctor and get a complete ckeck-up because it isn't Korea.

[BigBlackEquus]

I look young for my age. Everyone tells me this.

Hints:

1. Exercise at least 30 to 40 minutes per day three times per week. This yields amazing results. Make sure you work hard enough to sweat.

2. Drink grape juice or at least 1 glass of wine per day. The anti-oxidants help with aging and mop up cancer-causing substances. I am very serious on this. Nearly every 100+ old person interviewed says they drink a glass of wine, or a dark juice such as prune juice or grape juice on a daily basis. My grandmother is 97, and always insists on her juice.

3. Get your sleep and take a multivitamin (calcium too)

4. Don't drink a lot.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[Mashimaro]

[fusionbarnone]

There is definitely a health issue for westerners on the ROK as I had the same thing happen to me. There is also a past thread about this.

Attend bath houses for free filtered water(I'd drink my entrance fee and, load up a bottle, for later), and less draining physically;use steam rooms for a total detox. By sitting in a steam room/sauna you are artificially raising your temperature(creating a fever as your body does as a defence to repair itself) and by doing so, you are also raising your metabolism(without pumping iron).

Exercise is great for both your health and your sanity because work contracts don't state how lacking in personal space you will have with everyone striving to "know" you, therefore your volume of unrecognized stress goes up. Some foreigners use booze to cope. Not good for the face or, financial future.

Eat all the veges in side dishes(if you know really good restaurants in the 4/5,000 won range). I would go by myself, score a private room, usually get 1 but sometimes 2 main dishes along with appropriate peckban(sometimes 12 or more sides) because the staff knew me. All for 4,000. Now this is a lot of food because if you had attended as a group of 4, you'd recieve the same with a bill multiplied by 4.

The orange juice unless freshly squeezed is predominantly flavoured extract( I ended up with 7 cavities believing that stuff was "healthy". Stick to real oranges.

Sam gyup sal is a great invention too because you can eat through a good chunk of the food chain in one mouthful. Especially if you love garlic, onions, leeks(the original medieval health broth) that's a lot of vitamin C.(Russian peasant soldiers refused to go to war without garlic as an antiseptic). Actually, I think Koreans have really nice pork and, it's cheap. This would be a cheaper protein alternative to local cheese.

Centrum is a great choice. In China, the stuff was so cheap and I used so much of it, my family thought I was "pumped" on steroids. Anyway, it works. Expensive on the ROK though if you don't know someone on "base".

Personally, I think Korea is just plain stressful as it is a country that is "so in your face" until, strategies are devised to counter this if one's intention is to stay longer than a single/first year. I too thought Korea was stressful until I learnt how to survive in it. Knew people who during their first year who began to lose hair, develop gingavitus, eye bags were very common, and experienced weight loss/gain. All this happening to teachers in their 20s?????

Make time for yourself with; a good book, a list of goals to do whilst in ROK. Practice on pampering yourself and improve your personal selfishness. Learn to be laid back again and strive to cultivate some pleasant memories not centred on work related expectations from co-workers/boss'.

[RachaelRoo]

Definitely some good suggestions here, but an easy shortcut (in conjuction with the exercise, sleep, etc) is to supplement.
Try coenzyme Q10, milk thistle, grape seed extract (the good stuff in red wine minus the alcohol), and a strong multivitamin.

[paperbag princess]

drink enough water. eat veggies and whole grains, like brown rice. keep alcohol to a minimum and work out regularly.

a humidifier in the winter will help with dehydrated skin. get facials to keep your skin healthy and exfoliate yourself weekly.

[stumptown]

Stick to drinking soju on a daily basis, it will pickle your body and slow the aging process.

[nautilus]

1) Don't work in a hagwon
2) Drink plenty water daily
3) Exercise 3 or 4 times a week.
4) Don't smoke.
5) Keep a positive/happy attitude.
6) Enjoy your liesure time - have a hobby apart from boozing.
7) Early to bed, early to rise..

[pushpin fantasies]

Thanks for the tips. The food and supplement advice was especially helpful as I think it��s a big part of the problem. I��d like to try the bathhouses and a humidifier as well. I��ve noticed that things have been improving since I left Korea, and I��d like it to stay that way. It may not be Korea itself that��s the problem (other than the pollution), but I do think a large part of it is the diet that I tend to have while living in Korea - not eating enough and not eating enough of the right things. I did a pretty intense workout every weekday and never felt extremely stressed out by my life in Seoul. However, when I returned home after my contract, I took a physical exam and compared it with the one I had taken right before leaving for Korea. Everything except my blood pressure was higher or worse. I even had an abnormal amount of a substance in my blood that I didn��t have before. My doctor��s advice is going to be key in helping with this (obviously), but I��m glad to have some anti-aging steps to take as well. Great help! Thanks again.

[jajdude]

[pet lover]

It actually doesn't matter if you work in a hagwon. As long as you enjoy your job, you're doing great. Lots of people work in public schools and universities and even non-teaching jobs. THey are not all magically happier and younger looking just because they are not in a hagwon.