Korean Job Discussion Forums

[PastorYoon]

[RMNC]

I second the "korean girls" motion. I never contracted yellow fever, but I've never seen met many unsatisfied, yearning women in my life.

[Squire]

I live in an incredibly idyllic city. Literally 1 minute walk in one direction and I'm in the town centre with tons of bars, restaurants, convenience stores etc. If I walk 30 seconds in the other direction I hit a small rural area with old stone houses and people farming. Immediately behind that is a 1000ft hill with one of the best views I've experienced. I can see islands and fishing boats out at sea, small beaches, most of Yeosu city, other hills stretching to the horizon and it's almost always under a clear blue sky. I love it.

Today I went for a walk to another part of town and took a dodgy 'shortcut'. I didn't reach where I was going but I found a walkway going out to a little island. I meandered about it for a bit and came back here later. It was a great afternoon and I didn't spend a penny. Hills, beaches, islands... this is a great place to live.

[sunshiningschool]

[Squire]

[johnnybegood]

This place is so much a relief in comparison to NYC where I've been living most of my life. Jersey and North Carolina were pit stops while Korea is simply amazing.

I've never been through an area where I can ride my honda and see so much terrain in a single troop.

The housing is much better and cost efficient in comparison to the Northeast US and the people tend to be generally nicer.

Plenty of kind people I miss in the States and I'm going to do my best to convince some of them to fly over...

As a novice teacher it's like opportunity-ville and I'm just really looking forward to spending more then 3 months that I've spent thus far.

I was fortunate to meet a really kind boss and teaching school with one awesomely excellent co-worker in particular.

The kids are like doe pups and are about as innocent as they can get (most of them at least).

Kids in the states, especially hs level, are rowdy and obnoxious with a select few who are truly kind, but I have hope.

Kids in Korea are either wild and frustrated or gently naive.

This place helps me remember there is innocence in this world. Other then when I'd hold my baby nephew till he falls asleep, there are few other people as sweet.

You'll notice kind korean kids are shy and endearing and being a teacher is like a gift more than a job.

You also can pick and choose the peers you surround yourself with outside of the professional environment.

One thing is that they are mistrusting of outsiders because they are extremely cautious about their youth. The youth have enough struggles.

The screening process (immigration, etc) is fairly developed and arduous while still natural. I was pretty frustrated about the whole thing but I got all the paperwork done and things are leveling out after only 3 months.

If anything you can be in korea for a bit, just be nice to the kids (they take that very seriously here in a very very direct sense).

Aussieland is nearby and you can get through a few places in Asia by gaining some footing here in Korea.

Respect people, respect the law and fulfill your obligations. That's the basics and life can be pretty cool here.

I ride for hours just to find a new mountain road and it's like zen.

Oh yeah, crime here is almost minimal.

It's funny because the cute young lady behind the glass panel at the immigration office was heavily scrutinizing my face as she tried to decipher whether I am an alien or not (at least that's how it seemed). Beware the lady behind the glass panels... hehe...

[Louis VI]

"What do you like about life?" the suicidal ask.

This is how strange the question seems to a longtimer whose life IS in Korea. The day will come when I'll be leaving this realm, but until then I'm enjoying it to the fullest. The end I hope isn't near.

[Vix]

The way everything is so communal like game rooms, eating out etc so it's easy to find something to do with friends.

The cute themed cafes.

Some of the music

Constant compliments from Koreans, they really think my ghostly skin is pretty.

My students.

Bupyeong underground mall and all its weird and wonderfully cheap merchandise.

The cheap jimjilbangs, I would happily sit and roast in there all day.

The transport system is infinitly better than at home.

And yeah it is nice to not have to pay rent and council tax!

I am sure there are some more but I that's all I can think of now.

[Squire]

I made a post about the racism I've encountered a couple of weeks ago, but I had a couple of good moments this week. The first was the woman at the bakery giving me a free homemade cookie as I was leaving. Even the little things like them saying thank you and goodbye in English put me in a good mood every time I visit

Today I was really touched though. I was trying to buy a ticket to Incheon for next weekend at the bus station, and because I had a million things to do this weekend I didn't brush up on my phrases before I went (expecting the girl who speaks English to be behind the glass). Well, the girl couldn't understand me at all- but an ajumma started trying to help me and translated as best she could with the girl, and eventually rang up the bus company for me. After a while we sorted it out and I got my ticket, and we chatted before I left. She was so friendly and willing to take the time to help out a foreigner I was almost moved by it. Turns out she was from Seoul and had been taking English classes for 5 years. She looked to be in her 60s though.

Anyway, it really made my day. Those moments make up for all the unpleasant stares and sometimes plain rudeness I come across so often

[DejaVu]

[Gorf]

I got drunk in Hongdae, fell asleep on the bus, ended up in Gwangmyeon and the taxi back to me place was only 12,000. Amazing.

[ZIFA]

I like...

a) My Korean friends
b) The polite and diplomatic manner of many Korean women.
c) Trips around the countryside to little-known places.
d) The fun, loyal and interested students.
e) The food.
f) The weather in spring, fall and winter.

[rainism]

[Skipperoo]

I like pretty much everything except that I don't understand the language. I like the people (polite and courteous), I love the food, I enjoy the efficient and cheap public transportation, I like the tightnit expat community in my city, the fact that I only have to walk for 10 minutes and I'll be at the foot of a 'mountain', the fact that almost every restaraunt and bar in this city is independantly owned and not part of a chain.

None of it blows my mind with fascination or pleasure like some countries in S.E. Asia (except the people, who are the friendliest and most generous-spirited of any country I've been to), but I like everything.

[marsavalanche]

seeing thin, feminine women for a change as opposed to the states.

clean efficient public trans. (people constantly whine that it isnt 24 7, these people have clearly never visited nyc)

cheaper cost of living

cheaper healthcare

less rudeness

last but not least i think people are generally happier than americans despite making less money than the average american. think that says a lot about the american attitude towards happiness