Korean Job Discussion Forums

jajdude · Joined: 18 Jan 2003

Was the only one before but found it too strange. Perhaps it was the location and the students too. It was outside Seoul in a small town. Middle and high school students who hadn't met a foreigner before. I felt out of the loop at that place. Only one guy could speak English and translate the boss and everyone else. They just ignored me except for awkward smiles due to the language thing. So it sucked. Just to feel like I'm not a total weirdo it is good to have another waegook around.

Eazy_E · Joined: 30 Oct 2003 Location: British Columbia, Canada

rapier · Joined: 16 Feb 2003

Sometimes I wish I was the only foreigner. Most other waeguks are OK, but there is always one that completely sucks.
i'm talking about the alchaholic bingo playing a**hole that all the Koreans think is so "chaaarming".

kangnamdragon · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Location: Kangnam, Seoul, Korea

I noticed often at shcools with many foreigners, there seems to be one who always complains.

just because · Joined: 01 Aug 2003 Location: Changwon - 4964

jazblanc77 · Joined: 22 Feb 2004

There are pros and cons to being the only foreigner but in general, I much prefer it like this than having foreign co-workers.

The pros are that you don't have to be around people who constantly comlain about Korea, Koreans, and any small thing that they feel infringes on their rights or isn't the same as in their home country. In my last job I also had a run-in with a "freaky" foreigner who was in the process of having ANOTHER nervous breakdown (she was hospitalised one time previous and sent home from Korea after a 3 month stay in Daegu 2 years ago), and she zoomed in on me as a target.

The cons are that the Korean coworkers don't keep me in the loop very well and are generally unhelpful. They talk about me all the time in Korean which sometimes really peeves me as I have explained to them several times that I understand Korean pretty well. They had two foreigners previously who never botehred to learn a lick of Korean, not even their students' names, so they don't see the problem with talkng about me or addressing me as waeguk sonsangnim instead of my name. Anyways, this is still pretty liveable as I don't have a problem with just asking them for what I need and telling them my preferences on how I am treated. They aren't really used to foreigners since it is a rather new school so they aren't really aware of how to treat address me, etc.

Anyways, it is nice because I can generally just come to school, do my work, and leave without any "worry-makers" (the people who create stress and problems in your life), interfering in my sanity along the way.

rapier · Joined: 16 Feb 2003

I work alongside another foreigner who is the most useless teacher and all-round pain in the rear...he drinks constantly and is always late for work, and complains constantly as well as hates / is racist to all the Koreans.
Stupidly, they all love him and think he is the most charming handsome boy ever.
How dumb are Koreans??Is there any limit?

Cogito · Joined: 17 Feb 2004 Location: Around

I'm "the one and only" waygook at school Cool

and I prefer it that way. Unfortunately I still have to share the apartment wih another Crying or Very sad

.

Does that make me an "anti-social jackass" (credit to another poster for creating this phrase)?

TheUrbanMyth · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Location: Retired

matthewwoodford · Joined: 01 Oct 2003 Location: Location, location, location.

Well a string of remarkably similar posts. I have to say that all the waygooks where I work are nice, normal, non-alcoholic, socially functional, non-complaining, easygoing people and pretty good teachers too. The Korean staff are great too. I can relate to all the people saying they like to be on their own though cos I'm anti-social too.

yodanole · Joined: 02 Mar 2003 Location: La Florida

Apparently. I work with either Draven or Rapier, but I'm too intoxicated to remember which one.

VanIslander · Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 4:53 pm Post subject:

I too am an only foreigner and like kangnamdragon I prefer it that way. I don't have to experience Draven's alcoholic loser, rapier's completely sucking bingo-playing chaaarming drunkard and katydid's college buddies.

I notice that alias fears sharing an office with a freaky waygook, badmojo fears working with an incompetent loser, and kangnamdragon fears working with a complainer.

I also appreciate the freedom from weird, whiny slackers.

jajdude · Joined: 18 Jan 2003

I thought " feeling out of the loop" was an expression meaning out of touch with things or with what's going on. Since all but one of the Koreans could not speak English worth a damn, and my Korean sucks, that's how I felt as the only waegook there.