Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mack the knife]

Whenever folks from home ask me about Korea and Koreans, I find myself having a hard time describing this, that, or the other thing because frankly, the culture is hard to pin down. And it's easy for one's opinions to wax and wane with the flow of "popular sentiment" which seems to govern everything that takes place here on the peninsula.

However, I've managed to come to one conclusion about Koreans in all my wanderings here: Koreans are indeed the World Master Champions of Window Dressing. Gold medal, all the goddam way.

Case in point:

I recently moved into a brand--spanking new apartment. Everything looks great. The kitchen, the bathrooms, the floors, the fixtures, etc. All of it new, all of it brand-name stuff. However, I've already realized that that it's stuff that will last (perhaps it's meant to last) at most 3 to 5 years.

That's cack! But that's how things work here. You think you're paying for quality, and everything looks quality, but reality plants a left hook on your chin and you go down bleeding when you notice the bottom of the kitchen cabinet already starting to buckle, or the flooring bubbling up, or the door hinges breaking, or the windows that don't shut properly, or the etc., etc., etc.

You get what you pay for, but when you're paying close to $300,000 you might just expect something of value. Might. Maybe Korea's throw-away culture should be blamed. Out with the old and in with the new! On a goddam monthly basis it seems like. When you open the horse's mouth in Korea, when you look behind the curtain, when you peer through the looking glass, you see the ugly truth of it all.

[teachmeenglish]

Nah, China has Korea beat on that one hands down. Case in Point, beautiful crystal diningroom light -- with continually exploding light bulbs!!

Korea has its bad things but china has soooo many of the worst ones beat

[RACETRAITOR]

I know what you mean. It looks to me that most of the English education system works the same way too.

[numazawa]

Yeah, my current favourite is the non-sticking frying pan made in China that lost its coating on the first use. That beat out the previous favourite, the can-opener whose handle broke on the second attempt.

For the time being, I'm limiting my purchases of Chinese products to items with no moving parts, eg., chopsticks. However, I'm open to the possibility that next year it might be safe to buy tweezers, too.

[Return Jones]

[numazawa]