Korean Job Discussion Forums

Junior · Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Location: the eye

How well do you get along with your co-workers at your public school? I have about 35 staff at mine. I didn't realise I was doing so badly until by chance i walked into the staff room to do some photocopying this afternoon: the entire staff were having a dinner for the start of term, to which I'd been obviously left out of. Shock horror! They made a big fuss of dragging me in and forcing food down my gob, ashamed that I'd been overlooked.Left out of the loop!

I don't actually mind I suppose, as lengthy dinners exchanging pleasantries in Korean is not my thing. My Korean is enough to stick with basic conversation - but its an effort really because only two of that number speak English. Its probably an uncomfortable effort for them too I guess.

I always greet everyone and make some effort to speak a little Korean to them but it just seems that unless you go round to every one of the 6 staff tea rooms, bend over backwards and throw yourself at them on a daily basis, then the lone weyguk just falls into a routine of sticking with 2 or 3 coworkers and surfing the internet. maybe I should go on some exxagerrated charm offensive?

Great that all the kids love me, and that I have genuine friends outside of school.. but..hmm.

Hagwons have it over public schools as far as social life goes. In any given hogwon you not only have at least 2 wayguk co-workers, but a horde of K-women teachers who all speak English constantly and everyone works in one staff room, and mostly get along. Any thoughts?

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

Junior · Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Location: the eye

rawiri · Joined: 01 Jun 2003 Location: Lovely day for a fire drill.

I hear ya man, but when it comes down to it the pro's outweigh the cons right.

Junior · Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Location: the eye

W.T.Carl · Joined: 16 Jan 2003

The time I spent teaching in a Korean public school was great. I was treated like the professional that I am ( as opposed to what you would find in any hogwon). The only truely scary thing was the attention that the almost all of the young UNMARRIED female Korean Teachers showered on me.

Grotto · Joined: 21 Mar 2004

Ignored or forgotten?

I found that they either forgot or neglected to inform me on many dinners, sport events or other happenings within the school. They only told me that I didnt have to teach that day. I would retire to my classroom and apparently they would gather together to eat drink and be merry.

rawiri · Joined: 01 Jun 2003 Location: Lovely day for a fire drill.

[quote="Grotto"]Ignored or forgotten?

I found that they either forgot or neglected to inform me on many dinners, sport events or other happenings within the school. They only told me that I didnt have to teach that day. I would retire to my classroom and apparently they would gather together to eat drink and be merry.[/quote]

well maybe thats saying more about you than them.

Corporal · Joined: 25 Jan 2003

crazylemongirl · Joined: 23 Mar 2003 Location: almost there...

I haven't really had that problem, if anything I get too much attention. The adjumas at my school kind of mother me a bit and the Vice Principal is a lovely man who likes to practice his English and lets me practice my bad Korean.

To find stuff out I use multiple sources of information:

1. My minder
2. Other English teachers
3. The monthly planner on the board (bummer if you can't read Korean)
4. The schools instant message system (again bummer if you can't read Korean)
5. The Students.

You really need to be pro-active about finding out stuff, ask, badger etc. It also helps if you know a bit of Korean.

mindmetoo · Joined: 02 Feb 2004

This is kind of standard. Koreans seem to pass information among themselves by some chemical means and assume you have that ability to read their chemical senses.

I think these things go down... everyone in the staff room just sort of jabbers about it and since everyone in the staff room has ears, everyone knows. Since there's a hierarchy, someone higher up the hierarchy has the job of inviting you. If someone lower in the hierarchy invited you, that would bring great shame to the top dog.

Horangi Munshin · Joined: 06 Apr 2003 Location: Busan

Hmmm.

I guess I'll have to wait and see. My first day was yesterday, just being introduced to the school systems etc. All the teachers had lunch at a Japanese restaurant. I tried raw whale meat, couldn't taste anything but the sauce, much like the raw fish. Some of the Korean teachers were a bit apprehensive about trying it.

crazylemongirl, I badgered my co-teacher/minder. He was probably glad to see me go, but I found out a lot and even made lesson plans for my afternoon classes. Maybe they didn't expect that.

John Henry · Joined: 24 Sep 2004

I really wouldn't take it personally. I mean, let's face it, Koreans don't really plan things out in advance that well.

If you walked it to photocopy, and they DIDN'T invite you, then it would be troublesome. But most likely, they just didn't think about it.

Hell, I wish my coworkers would forget to "invite" me to stuff more often. Agony.

TheUrbanMyth · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Location: Retired

livinginkorea · Joined: 11 Jun 2004 Location: Korea, South of the border

Try playing volleyball twice a week! I was pushed into it all the time and finally I had to put my foot down. I get asked out a lot for thoese dinner and Soju functions but I went to about half to them. The other time I said that my wife was cooking and they respected that. Not like the volleyball! No excuse could get you out of that! Laughing