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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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pyeongtaekcody2
Joined: 26 Jan 2011
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 Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 4:10 pm Post subject: |
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| flakfizer wrote: |
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"Yea, Good luck with that dude,"
"You're not going to last a month."
"So, are they like, putting you with a host family?" |
How is any of that moronic? Some people don't last very long in Korea. Some people do stay with host families (at least Fulbright "scholars" used to).
But if the OP did in fact major in geography, then teaching English in Korea is probably the way to go. |
Oh..I had no idea people really did stay with host families...my bad. The other things they say, given the context they said it in, its not hard to get the 'I really have no idea what I'm talking about' vibe.
and yep, I majored in Geography. Oddly enough, during my time in college, East Asia was the first place I wanted to cross off my list of places to visit, but never thought I'd be moving there. Africa was second, we'll how that pans out. |
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Lastrova
Joined: 30 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 4:15 pm Post subject: |
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| pyeongtaekcody2 wrote: |
| Id say the first few week are going to be way tough..maybe months? |
Usually not how it works. You'll enjoy the first few weeks, months. The differences will seem fresh, the way of life, similar, but different enough to keep you curious and stimulated. The effects of living in a very different country are more insidious, more subtle. Generally, the little annoyances, irritants will build up gradually. Most foreigners surround themselves with a group of fair-weather friends, find Korean girlfriends (with whom they have little in common), as a way of keeping the dogs of midnight at bay. Culture shock usually manifests itself on Dave's in several ways. Check it out. |
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happiness
Joined: 04 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 5:31 pm Post subject: |
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dude, youll be ok, theres enough western amenities there, the us base is building up, so there will be restaurants and what not cropping up there, my best pal lives in pyeontaek and he always says its cool, and u can get to seoul.
people r just winding you up.
korea still isnt known by alot of the western world, they tend to overshadowed by their neighbors, but its a good place to be. culture things, withstanding.
guys lay off of him  |
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wylies99
Joined: 13 May 2006
Location: I'm one cool cat!
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| Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 5:56 pm Post subject: |
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The school matters more than the living area. A situation with a good school, that is supportive, but is located in a remote area is something you can learn to handle. A bad school in a good area means a whole lotta trouble. Slaving for a bad school means you can't enjoy anything, let alone the area where you live.
Besides, Pyeongtaek isn't that bad. It just depends on what you want to do in your free time. |
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wylies99
Joined: 13 May 2006
Location: I'm one cool cat!
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| Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 6:01 pm Post subject: |
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| Just one more thing, OP. No matter how much you read about Korea before you come here expect some things here to surprise you in a positive way and other things will surprise you in a negative way. |
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NilesQ
Joined: 27 Nov 2006
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| Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 6:23 pm Post subject: |
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A guy I know in Canada said to me, totally serious, "I don't know how you live in Korea, I hate Chinese food!"
I thought it was a joke. It wasn't. That sums up many people's understanding of Korea. |
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happiness
Joined: 04 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 7:22 pm Post subject: |
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| wylies99 wrote: |
| The school matters more than the living area. A situation with a good school, that is supportive, but is located in a remote area is something you can learn to handle. |
yep, i lived in masan, a real industrial port that was ugly..but i had a GREAT job, and that made it so much more bareable, ididnt mind anything else.
actually, i like Masan, they have Shinsegae and a great Mexican place run by a Mexican. But its zero town for eye candy. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 6:08 am Post subject: |
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| Lastrova wrote: |
| pyeongtaekcody2 wrote: |
| Id say the first few week are going to be way tough..maybe months? |
Usually not how it works. You'll enjoy the first few weeks, months. The differences will seem fresh, the way of life, similar, but different enough to keep you curious and stimulated. The effects of living in a very different country are more insidious, more subtle. Generally, the little annoyances, irritants will build up gradually. Most foreigners surround themselves with a group of fair-weather friends, find Korean girlfriends (with whom they have little in common), as a way of keeping the dogs of midnight at bay. Culture shock usually manifests itself on Dave's in several ways. Check it out. |
Cutlure shock is a big factor, especially for people who have not travelled much before.
The comment about "most foreigners" is the type of thing that crops up on here on a fairly regular basis. Change the word "most" with "in my limited experience some" and you get a comment that has a lot more actual value. |
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chungbukdo
Joined: 22 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 6:20 am Post subject: Re: Stupid People, Everywhere. |
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| pyeongtaekcody2 wrote: |
Even my current boss said something along the lines of "You're going to miss a developed country." I'm generally a nice guy, so its hard for me to tell these people just how I feel. Even if I try to explain to them the situation, they don't follow. (I'm from the American South, so this doesn't help the situation). Are people this big of idiots in other countries? I'm not sure if it can get any worse. I believe this is American Ethnocentrism at its finest, or maybe just stupidity. Either way, I can't wait to get to Korea. |
Don't explain. Just print out these pictures or throw them on your smartphone and display them when they say something like that:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4113/5078212355_2eec7fec7f_z.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3031/2947180895_e0697b1bab.jpg
By the way, save your leftist professor-inspired America-hate drivel for the college campuses. Nobody knows anything about Korea because they're not required to know, because Korea is fairly irrelevant to their lives. Not just in America, but all over the world, people could give two shits about South Korea.
Last edited by chungbukdo on Sun Jan 30, 2011 6:30 am; edited 1 time in total |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 6:25 am Post subject: |
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| pyeongtaekcody2 wrote: |
| I've seen pictures of Pyeongtaek. I've lived in a small mountain town in East Tennessee for the past 5 years, and it looks as though it makes it look small. I don't really need skyscrapers and bars at every corner to be happy, I'm looking forward for the overall experience. I think its awesome I get to work abroad in the first place. |
In Korea there are always bars on every corner. |
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NilesQ
Joined: 27 Nov 2006
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 6:50 am Post subject: Re: Stupid People, Everywhere. |
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| chungbukdo wrote: |
By the way, save your leftist professor-inspired America-hate drivel for the college campuses. Nobody knows anything about Korea because they're not required to know, because Korea is fairly irrelevant to their lives. Not just in America, but all over the world, people could give two shits about South Korea. |
Way to dispel the "myth" of American arrogance and ignorance! True, Americans don't have to know anything about Korea or the rest of the world, but you'd think, being a multicultural nation that welcomes new citizens from around the world, they would learn a bit by default.
I'm Canadian. I hear the argument that America doesn't need to know anything about us or the rest of the world. Fine. Remember that the next time you start trying to find out why a bunch of guys from somewhere you don't need to know anything about fly a couple of airplanes into an office building. |
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wotsit2004
Joined: 17 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 6:56 am Post subject: |
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| im from the uk, and i havent met many people who think that korea is a 'developing' country, although there have been a couple. ive met some people who have said things like: "i hope you dont get nuked"... |
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Steelrails
Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Location: Earth, Solar System
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 7:00 am Post subject: |
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| northway wrote: |
| pyeongtaekcody2 wrote: |
| I've seen pictures of Pyeongtaek. I've lived in a small mountain town in East Tennessee for the past 5 years, and it looks as though it makes it look small. I don't really need skyscrapers and bars at every corner to be happy, I'm looking forward for the overall experience. I think its awesome I get to work abroad in the first place. |
In Korea there are always bars on every corner. |
And in case walking that whole block is a bit too much, there is probably 1 or 2 in between.
That should also give you a glimpse into what kind of a place you're getting into.
EDIT- Good summer fun is posting in front of the local GS25 and sipping from the brown bag and watch some businessmen try to make it home...the car is just down the block, but they come out of one bar, go into the next one, and then staggering, try to go home, only to get dragged into the 3rd...
Last edited by Steelrails on Sun Jan 30, 2011 7:21 am; edited 1 time in total |
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NYC_Gal 2.0
Joined: 10 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 7:11 am Post subject: Re: Stupid People, Everywhere. |
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| NilesQ wrote: |
| chungbukdo wrote: |
By the way, save your leftist professor-inspired America-hate drivel for the college campuses. Nobody knows anything about Korea because they're not required to know, because Korea is fairly irrelevant to their lives. Not just in America, but all over the world, people could give two shits about South Korea. |
Way to dispel the "myth" of American arrogance and ignorance! True, Americans don't have to know anything about Korea or the rest of the world, but you'd think, being a multicultural nation that welcomes new citizens from around the world, they would learn a bit by default.
I'm Canadian. I hear the argument that America doesn't need to know anything about us or the rest of the world. Fine. Remember that the next time you start trying to find out why a bunch of guys from somewhere you don't need to know anything about fly a couple of airplanes into an office building. |
Way to dispel the "myth" of Canadian arrogance and ignorance. New York is probably the most worldly city in the union. Plenty of foreigners were in the twin towers. You, sir, are a *self edit* |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 7:15 am Post subject: Re: Stupid People, Everywhere. |
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| NYC_Gal 2.0 wrote: |
| NilesQ wrote: |
| chungbukdo wrote: |
By the way, save your leftist professor-inspired America-hate drivel for the college campuses. Nobody knows anything about Korea because they're not required to know, because Korea is fairly irrelevant to their lives. Not just in America, but all over the world, people could give two shits about South Korea. |
Way to dispel the "myth" of American arrogance and ignorance! True, Americans don't have to know anything about Korea or the rest of the world, but you'd think, being a multicultural nation that welcomes new citizens from around the world, they would learn a bit by default.
I'm Canadian. I hear the argument that America doesn't need to know anything about us or the rest of the world. Fine. Remember that the next time you start trying to find out why a bunch of guys from somewhere you don't need to know anything about fly a couple of airplanes into an office building. |
Way to dispel the "myth" of Canadian arrogance and ignorance. New York is probably the most worldly city in the union. Plenty of foreigners were in the twin towers. You, sir, are a *self edit* |
While his post was out of line, a good point was made about how Korea was portayed....still it was out of line. |
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