Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Captain Corea]

[Old Painless]

[Coltronator]

Wow, this got out of hand all of a sudden. It was a really good thread with some good discussion. Then a small thing blew it all out of proportion. Everyone Apologize and move on maybe? It seems it all started with an unintended insult and an understandable defensive biting counter claim.

Though WT, I do take offense that you used only 1 of 3 major World University Ranking Systems for 2013. The other 2 have Stanford 1st with Oxbridge higher and..... Mcgill or the University of Toronto in the top 25. (Please don't throw a shoe at me )

[World Traveler]

That was a quote from an old thread. That was the first of the three rankings to come out. (No shoe will be thrown. )

[World Traveler]

[Coltronator]

The easy part is only reading the alphabet phonetically. I memorized the entire thing in between taking customer service calls during 1 8 hour shift.

The language is not the scientific part, it is only the writing system. Some people don't get that. Yes the first 5% is super easy, after that not so much coming from a language that has no cognates and purposes the direct translations of verbs and adjectives together to mean completely different idioms.

[World Traveler]

Like Russian and Arabic, the alphabet is phonetic but the grammar is really freaking hard. So is pronunciation and listening (hearing the sounds).

[Stain]

Ok, finally we're back on topic.

[Coltronator]

yes big time(however talking like a 5 year old, sticking to only one respect level isn't too hard), yes, and yes. In my experience these went hand in hand with each other and both got better as soon as I could make the correct sound I was also able to hear it and vice versa when called upon to be able to.

[Coltronator]

Well not back on the original topic, but at least it is a topic.

[World Traveler]

At least a better topic than before.

[Stain]

It's alright. Anyway, I agree with you that Korean is difficult to learn.

[Stain]

And speaking of that, what's the weirdest thing you guys have ever seen in Korea?

[Old Painless]

I would never disparage someone from going after something they really want to do. After all, isn't one of the sweetest things in life perfecting yourself, making your environment better, more comfortable, and enjoyable?

When I met expats that had been in Korea 10+ years back in the 90's, my initial reaction was to congratulate them for being able to put up with all the static that comes from living in a truly foreign country. After the internet, things changed so much that to me - Korea is not so disconnected from reality anymore. Things were so different back then. If you wanted to learn something, you had to ask someone or experience for yourself. Word of mouth was key to learning/survival in Korea.

Funny thing is that rarely has a topic come along in the past 15 years on these forums that I had not already discussed with other expats over beer and food. The internet makes it all come to you, there's no face to face anymore, and that can be both a blessing and a curse.


If you have a good setup and make enough money to live comfortably, why would I make fun of that? I'd congratulate you for perfecting yourself to the point where you can work 6-7 months a year and enjoy a paid vacation that would allow you time to write, travel and visit with your family. My hats off to anyone that can stand living in Korea for more than five years consecutively. The people you can laugh at are the heroin addicts like the guy in the freakiest waygook thread that swung a dead cat around at the club, freaked everyone out, had a burial service with some crazy christians at the club, and ran around naked.

What happened to the Freakiest Waygook thread? Was it pulled?

[Stain]

That was a good thread. I'm not sure where it is now, but we could use this thread to continue it, seeing as this thread is up for grabs.