Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bijjy]

JongnoGuru... what you wrote sounds so heavenly. I absolutely cannot wait to go back to Canada and get a good night's sleep. Even today, Saturday, I had the best sleep all week, and yet that dang hollering man got incorporated into my dreams at 9 am...

[bijjy]

Thank goodness for this thread to type out my angst. It's Sunday and the university about a kilometre away, on a hill, started a gameshow around 10:00 am. I KNEW I wouldn't be able to sleep in. They have stupid techno blaring and the guy won't shut up. I am pretty confident that since it is about a kilometre away and I can make out every word he's saying, it's violating some kind of noise bylaw. Can't Koreans ever appreciate silence?

[Lemonade]

It's Sunday and I finally got a good night's sleep. There wasn't any construction and I only heard the veggie trucks twice this morning. If there were any parties last night, I didn't hear them. I had such a good night's rest except the nightmare in my sleep of watching Koreans drive nails and spiked sticks into the heads of caucasians who looked like they were in pain but managed to keep a straight face. So if I'm not hearing the nails pounding etc., I'm having a nightmares.

[Real Reality]

Turn down the volume, Korea
It's a lovely time of year and, inevitably, noise pollution destroys it again -- truck vendors everywhere, schools broadcasting their daily doings and shops and department stores blasting away at ridiculous volume, among others. I've been married to a Korean national for several years. One of the reasons we'll be relocating to the United States is that regardless of where we live, work, or vacation in Korea, we cannot escape this idiotic and immature use of loudspeakers. The only reasonable explanation for the noise levels is that large segments of the population can't hear well or read signs. As that's not the case ... It's the 21st century, Korea -- join it.
by Karen Smith, JoongAng Ilbo (May 29, 2006)
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200605/29/200605292204497739900090109013.html

[periwinkle]

How's your situation going, Lemonade? My friend had an unbearable situation somewhat like what you described (he was in an all-out war with his neighbors- they were soooooooo inconsiderate, among other things). He tried everything- calling the police, complaining to the landlord, complaining to his noisy neighbors, etc. I've never seen him that stressed out before. I advised to him to move every time he brought it up (which was every time I talked to him). Finally he did. He was so stressed he even took a vacation to a resort in Singapore- he was absolutely miserable, poor guy.

You could do some stuff to get out of the apt. more often (personally, I prefer to stay at home and read, etc., but if my neighbors/ outside environment were driving me nutty, I would be at the gym more often, take a yoga class, go hiking, or pick-up some privates ). I have neighbors that have shih tzus, and there were a few times where I put a note on their door- "Dogs TOO LOUD!!!!" They've taken care of it, but as a result, the neighbors are rather frosty to me. Oh, well- you have to pick your battles, right? I've also cut the wires in the speaker in my apt. I could care less if I pay for damages somewhere down the line (OTOH, I know a guy that took a baseball bat to his. I doubt he cared about damages, either. har, har)

As for jackhammers and construction, I know it sucks, but a possible solution is to change your sleeping patterns so they coincide with theirs. If they start at 7am, you could just get up then, and go to bed earlier maybe. As for earplugs, you can get them at the pharmacy- I have some from 3M that I picked-up at home, and they are ESPECIALLY great on the plane. I don't fly w/out them (they are also supposed to help equalize the pressure). That way if you are seated near a colicky baby, you can relax a bit more easily.

Also, if you really like your job and don't want to quit, yet you can't get your school to move you or give you a housing allowance, you could maybe try a goshiwon... I've never been in one, but it's another idea...

[Lemonade]

The construction projects are winding down. However, I feel tramatized by the months of LOUD construction noises that will never escape my memory. The loudspeakers continue but they are less. Now, on a good day I might only hear them 10 times. A few weeks ago, they were non-stop all day long while the construction was at it's worst. I literally could not hold a conversation in my apartment with friends nor use my cellphone as the yelling and straining to hear was unbearable. Yes, it was THAT bad. My colleagues and I are having time to reflect. We are starting to feel both relieved and highly resentful at the same time. Our thoughts, concerns, feelings and words will fall on deaf ears at the university so we keep it all to ourselves with feelings of bitterness and future plans of serious revenge. There are multitudes of other problems that combined that all stack up to one great big horror show besides the noise at our apartments.

[jinju]

I live across the street from a huge construction project too. Its annoying but I wouldnt say Ive been traumatized by it.