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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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Modernist
Joined: 23 Mar 2011
Location: The 90s
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 Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 8:04 pm Post subject: |
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I think you are all missing the key point in his complaint:
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| Yet she told me when we met three years ago that she wanted to be self-employed or own a business, work an alternative job compared to the Korean corporate route, travel around the world with me, etc. |
I'd say it's not about the pay, the prestige or even the hours. He had it in his mind he was with a girl who was all about taking the road less traveled, going down interesting paths, taking chances and risks, living differently. Now he's staring the reality in the face, which is that his girl fully intends to be a typical Korean drone, doing nothing out of the ordinary and nothing that would offend typical sensibilities or her family's image of her as a good, dutiful, responsible daughter.
His beliefs about her from 3 years ago were likely nothing more than the daydreams of a student, probably exaggerated by the romanticism of dating a Western guy. She was never going to be that girl in the 'real world.' Very few Koreans will contravene societal expectations in that way.
One of many reasons to stick to Western girls and skip the pretty but limited K-girls. |
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itistime
Joined: 23 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 8:44 pm Post subject: |
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Maybe she's buying too much make-up, surgeries,
clothing and hand bag type stuff.
Holiday gf, man. Holiday gf. |
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fermentation
Joined: 22 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 9:01 pm Post subject: |
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So she spent years working her ass off and accumulating debt while not really learning anything in order to get a degree that's worth zip other than to land her at a job that wastes away most of her life yet pays barely above minimum wage?
Its called modern life. |
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Lazio
Joined: 15 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 11:11 pm Post subject: |
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| fermentation wrote: |
| ....yet pays barely above minimum wage? ... |
It's more than twice the minimal wage. Just sayin.... |
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pkang0202
Joined: 09 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 11:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Modernist wrote: |
I think you are all missing the key point in his complaint:
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| Yet she told me when we met three years ago that she wanted to be self-employed or own a business, work an alternative job compared to the Korean corporate route, travel around the world with me, etc. |
I'd say it's not about the pay, the prestige or even the hours. He had it in his mind he was with a girl who was all about taking the road less traveled, going down interesting paths, taking chances and risks, living differently. Now he's staring the reality in the face, which is that his girl fully intends to be a typical Korean drone, doing nothing out of the ordinary and nothing that would offend typical sensibilities or her family's image of her as a good, dutiful, responsible daughter.
His beliefs about her from 3 years ago were likely nothing more than the daydreams of a student, probably exaggerated by the romanticism of dating a Western guy. She was never going to be that girl in the 'real world.' Very few Koreans will contravene societal expectations in that way.
One of many reasons to stick to Western girls and skip the pretty but limited K-girls. |
How many 20's something Koreans do you know with at least $150,000 in the bank to start their own business? Korea ain't like the US. You can't just walk into a bank with a business plan and get a loan.
Korea doesn't exactly make it easy for people to start their own businesses. You can't be successful on dreams and aspirations along. You need money to make money. |
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jvalmer
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 11:57 pm Post subject: |
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| Modernist wrote: |
| nothing more than the daydreams of a student, probably exaggerated by the romanticism of dating a Western guy. |
Aren't we a little high on ourselves here... |
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ldh2222
Joined: 12 Oct 2007
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| Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 12:53 am Post subject: Re: My K-GF Makes Under $6 Per Hour |
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I love how the OP threw in the getting ready, commuting, and lunch hours under the facade of "work-related hours". And the "tens of thousands of dollars of debt"? Puhhh-leaze... that's nothing. (probably $20,000 max) Don't make it out to seem like it's $50,000+...
Oh, what a tough life! Oh, what a tough society (based on this loose example)!
ottokkeeeeeee |
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Koreadays
Joined: 20 May 2008
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| Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 2:23 am Post subject: |
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she makes 6, and you make 12. whats the big deal?
the minimum wage here is 4100 an hour I think, so she is doing ok.
what does your girl friend do? |
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happiness
Joined: 04 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 2:36 am Post subject: |
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| too bad. to live an interesting life, be an interesting person i say. |
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DaHu
Joined: 09 Feb 2011
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| Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 2:54 am Post subject: |
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| I've noticed that Koreans seem to work long hours, but frequently it's not exactly "work". Lots of free time for internet shopping, chatting, making a business plan for yourself, etc... |
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UknowsI
Joined: 16 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 3:03 am Post subject: Re: My K-GF Makes Under $6 Per Hour |
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| ldh2222 wrote: |
I love how the OP threw in the getting ready, commuting, and lunch hours under the facade of "work-related hours".
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| DaHu wrote: |
| I've noticed that Koreans seem to work long hours, but frequently it's not exactly "work". Lots of free time for internet shopping, chatting, making a business plan for yourself, etc... |
While both of these are true, long hours, commuting time and company lunch/dinner does take away a lot of time you might want to use for your own hobbies. It is almost impossible to practice your hobbies or have a social life when you're preoccupied from 6 to 9:30. An exception is if you're able to sleep at work. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 3:49 am Post subject: |
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| DaHu wrote: |
| I've noticed that Koreans seem to work long hours, but frequently it's not exactly "work". Lots of free time for internet shopping, chatting, making a business plan for yourself, etc... |
Don't they work the longest hours in the developed world while having the lowest rate of efficiency in the developed world? |
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Who's Your Daddy?
Joined: 30 May 2010
Location: Victoria, Canada.
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| Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 4:53 am Post subject: |
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| Koreadays wrote: |
she makes 6, and you make 12. whats the big deal?
the minimum wage here is 4100 an hour I think, so she is doing ok.
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The govt. doesn't really in-force the minimum either. Some people are working below minimum; especially those still in high school. |
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madoka
Joined: 27 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 6:59 am Post subject: Re: My K-GF Makes Under $6 Per Hour |
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| ldh2222 wrote: |
| I love how the OP threw in the getting ready, commuting, and lunch hours under the facade of "work-related hours". |
He could have added her sleeping hours too into his calculations as sleep is necessary to work the next day. Then he could claim she only makes $4 per hour. |
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jeremysums
Joined: 08 Apr 2011
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| Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 8:31 am Post subject: Re: My K-GF Makes Under $6 Per Hour |
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Better than no money and no job in my opinion.
| chungbukdo wrote: |
My Korean girlfriend wakes up at 6 to get ready and go on over an hour and a half of public transportation to get to her job, and finally gets home at around 9:30 PM on a normal day. On other days, she will work until 11PM with no overtime pay (but they'll pay for a cab for her to go home). Busy weekends she will also be expected to come in without pay.
So on a normal day she spends 15.5 work related hours, including transport, getting ready, and her lunch. She gets paid like $2000 Canadian (can't remember the exact Korean won salary) per month. In other words, she makes about $6 per hour to work as a pissant secretary in a dead end job, and that's not including the occasional late nights or unpaid weekends.
She spent several years and racked up tens of thousands of dollars of debt getting a degree so she could do this job (which is basically a secretary position they'd hire a high school girl to do in Canada, however it's considered "prestigious" in Korea because she works in an office in a nice part of Seoul). She can't afford to move out of her parents house with this job or pay back her student loans. If she did move out, she would have to live in a sardine can. Her degree that she spent tens of thousands on is in French, yet she can't speak French.
Her hobbies include getting to go to the gym once a week on Saturday, because that's the only time that it is open and she's not working. Yet she told me when we met three years ago that she wanted to be self-employed or own a business, work an alternative job compared to the Korean corporate route, travel around the world with me, etc.
Yet I have to move to Korea so she can focus on her job? |
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