Korean Job Discussion Forums

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

Back at home, did you have a doctor friend who was 47 years old? How about a television producer friend who was 66 years old? 18 year-old actor friend? News anchor friend? Politician friend? Singer friend? CEO of a corporation friend?

I would guess for most of you, the answer would be no.

Well, guess what?

Here in the city I live in, there is a group of Koreans that regulary hang out with the foreigner community. These aren't your "average" Koreans. They are pretty well-to-do.

So I kind of put two and two together and figured out that these clowns are not interested in having friends! What they are interested in is free conversational English practice!

Most of the foreigner community here have only been in Korea 0-2 years, so I kind of suppose most are blind to it.

But when I hang out with this motley crue of individuals (20 or so Uni. grads ages 21-25 [all white], and a half-dozen middle-aged professionals[all Korean men]) I feel something is very very wrong with this picture.

I know as a FACT that in Korea, middle-aged and senior aged men do not as a general rule socialize with 20ish year olds (unless they're foreigners I suppose!) .

And, although I can hold a conversation in Korean, they NEVER speak to me in Korean. When I do start speaking Korean, they VERY quickly lose interest in talking to me and start talking to the "newbies" who have only been here 0-6 months.

And the WORST part is, half of these kids are BLIND to it! All they see are endless jugs of free draft beer.

Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon(oneomon??)?

[Cthulhu]

[On the other hand]

When I was in my early twenties, I had friends who were early 40s, but admittedly most of them weren't high-powered professionals. Actually, most of them were mature students at the college I was attending.

But I dunno, the old guys like speaking English, you like drinking the free beer, whats the harm? I've had a few friendships over here that probably fall more-or-less into that category, but that's fine. I talk with them, they pick up the tab(dinner, not booze), some of them have interesting jobs, so I can learn a bit about that stuff. But, yeah, I don't like doing that sort of thing every day, once a week tops. Everything in moderation.

Actually, most of them don't even ask me to correct their English. One in particular seems more interested in learning about my homeland than my language. I wonder if its also possible that they just like being able to hang out on a casual basis with younger people, seeing how that opportunity is likely denied them by the strictures of a Confucian society. No big deal, either way.

[sid]

I think being a newbie gives you license to hang out with anyone and everyone, and accept every offer of food and drink going. Then you can start to be more discerning once you know what's what.

[crazylemongirl]

Hmm back home I hung out with some weird people. A 40 year old drug dealer (despite not doing drugs myself) a 50 year old homeless man, a 40 year old leather man. All the people I hang out with in korea are 20 something and educated. I miss hanging out with freaks sometimes.

CLG

[kimcheeking]

[Tiger Beer]

Thats a weird town you live in.

When I was a newbie in Korea, I was so sick and tired of speaking in broken English to Koreans in the classroom all day long, that I almost refused to do it at all particularly in any kind of social session. That stuff just exhausted me RIGHT from DAY 1 in this country.

[Ya-ta Boy]

Many Koreans like to escape the rigid strictures of their society by spending time with foreigners. It's possible to find friends among that segment.

I would venture to say that all relationships here start out on the basis of free language lessons (except for the relatively few Koreans who are already fluent), but it is possible for some of those relationships to mature into real friendships.

I'm quite suspicious of foreigners who say they never pay for dinner and drinks. I wonder who is being used.

[Zyzyfer]

?!? I got more than a few old people friends back home in the states. Old people aren't old; they're wise. They've got a million stories to share, all that good stuff. And my whole 2 Korean pals definitely don't hang out with me for English practice, though 1 of them met me at first for that.

What's wrong with free beer for teaching throughout the night, though? If people wanna go that route, I have 0% problem with it.

[On the other hand]

[Butterfly]