Korean Job Discussion Forums

joyfulgirl · Joined: 05 Jan 2006

bloody hell, have only been back home for a little over 2 weeks, and i'm acting strange, and not myself. just walked around the other day, crying. i never had 'culture shock' like this when i went to korea. i'm home now, i should be happy. but i'm not. i just think about getting back on a plane to korea. am i insane?

endofthewor1d · Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Location: the end of the wor1d.

not at all. i felt the same way when i spent any amount of time in the states after being here. despite what people say, there's a lot to miss.
i think a lot of it has to do with drab conversation. for me, not being able to understand most of the conversation i hear around me is a blessing. going 'home' and hearing people rattle on all day about soap operas and some movie star changing his or her hair color is torturous.
and of course, after they ask you how your time was in korea, you've got about two minutes to say what you want to say about it, because they don't give a damn after that.

and while it's nice to have a big home-cooked meal of something you can't easily get in korea (for me, it's boiled crawfish, or even just a big fat baked turkey), there are a lot of things i can do in korea that are unacceptable back home. (drink the night away with some friends in front of a 7-11 very very cheaply, or actually walk to a bar).

i remember not being able to wait to hop on a plane back to korea in between my first and second contracts here. good luck!

ajgeddes · Joined: 28 Apr 2004 Location: Yongsan

Ya-ta Boy · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994

I was home for 8 months the last time and I never got over being a little irked that the clerks handed me my change with one hand.

It makes perfect sense to me that you are feeling homesick for Korea. I think the only thing to do about it is to try to keep busy and not let yourself think too much.

(endofthewor1d seems to have very patient friends. 2 minutes is maybe 45 seconds longer than I got to tell about my 10 years here.)

4 months left · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

mole · Joined: 06 Feb 2003 Location: Act III

JFG: I've been back in TX a couple of months after almost 10 years in K-land.
It's been less stressful than I imagined, but I was counting on the worst.
Go max out a credit card or something. Not being sarcastic. Spending money is therapeutic for me.
Buy a few plants. Cacti look cool and are hard to kill.
You'll be surprised how many old friends are still about. My insurance agent is a guy I played Little League with!

Take care and don't run back to Korea. You left for a reason.

Tiger Beer · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

mole · Joined: 06 Feb 2003 Location: Act III

Totally unrelated, but check out my, Tiger Beer's, and 4 months left's signup dates. *heh*

TECO · Joined: 20 Jan 2003

Yup, these are good points.

Anytime I go back to Canada or Australia I feel a loss of freedom. No standing outside the Family Mart drinking beers or jumping walking from bar to bar with a beer in your hand. No more smoking anywhere you want to.

Also, you need a car because everything's so far apart.

I feel I have less freedom there than I do here in Asia.

And the longer you stay away, the less likely you are to go back permantly.

Zoidberg · Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 11:54 pm Post subject:

I've been told I'm nuts, but I miss the crazy randomness of working in Korea. The hagwon I worked in was chaos, and while I never really got along with the director, the unpredictability of every day made up for all her nonsense. Living in Australia has a sameness to everyday which is stifling.

I would like to go back, but my wife's not much into Korea.

Cohiba · Joined: 01 Feb 2005

I think being white in Korea gives us an acutely keen
advantage over the rest of the population that is very
addictive. The most important advantage being that we
never have to worry about finding work. We are the
sought after white fish in sea of yellow. I know that
many newbs here have a rough time. That is because
they are still playing by western rules. They [newbs]
never learn the methods of making Korea work for them.

There are also other things, such as:

-no tipping
-no checks (damn I hate checks)
-no TV commercials (downloads)
-having all of Asia as a playground
-disposabe income that would make most westerners envious
-no rent!
-super low taxes
-Korea is safe
-no thugs with lumberjack jackets

The list goes on.

Asia is the place to be!

Milwaukiedave · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Location: Goseong

I am wondering if when I go home, if this might happen to me as well. I guess you get so used to where you've been and it might seem weird going back to where you belong.

Satori · Joined: 09 Dec 2005 Location: Above it all

I could never live permanantly in New Zealand again. I'll go back there when I retire. I've got the expat bug real bad. NZ is nice, but seems boring and stiflingly parochial to me, very narrow minded and small thinking...and too much macho agro shit too...

djsmnc · Joined: 20 Jan 2003 Location: Dave's ESL Cafe

SPINOZA · Joined: 10 Jun 2005 Location: $eoul

Given property prices have risen by 11% in my country since I left (they were already ridiculous) I won't be returning any time soon.

When I went home for 2 weeks in August, it was weird and exciting. When I came back to Korea, that was weird and exciting too. I've always thought of Korea as a potential long-term home from pretty much the start. It's important to view home as a cool vacation time in between contracts, where one can do all the things one cannot get up to in Korea - nefarious mischief in my case. Enjoy Korea, enjoy home! Besides, Korea has fun, addicting things, like the language. I've started, and I intend to finish my course, as it were.