Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Tiger Beer]

[brento1138]

I'm at the three month mark too, but I still quite like this experience...

Maybe you know some already, but definitely do what some others here have suggested: get to know some Koreans. They'll help you learn new things (food-wise especially) and show you how friendly and warm these people really are! Who knows, maybe you'll even hook up with a member of the opposite sex, and good times will roll in.

Take up a language class, learning Korean will be valuable for you. Find something to do with your time that builds you up a bit. You don't wanna come home to your friends & fam saying you spent the last 8 months of your life hating it! You wanna tell them all the cool, interesting stories of travelling to a far, distant country!

[lilla_fjaril]

I think what I hate the most is the feeling that who you are as a person counts for absolutely jack here. I feel like a Korean woman could be the second-coming of Mother Teresa and she still wouldn't be seen as good enough for her boyfriend and his parents if she wasn't beautiful and able to produce male children. I feel like a Korean man could be honest and kind and funny and wise and women would just ignore him because he wasn't handsome and didn't have a good job. I feel sorry for these people because their cultures seems to force them to focus all of their time and energy and money and hope on things that probably shouldn't be important.

And you can say I'm being ethnocentric and that I shouldn't judge my American values as being right and their (seemingly superficial) values as being wrong. And you would be right. But, I can't help but see that my students are suffering. When they say things like "I hate spending all of my money on drinking alcohol every night. It is stupid, but I have to do it", "I do not want to have any more children, but I have to try again for a boy" or "This man was wonderful and kind to me but my parents would never let me love a foreigner/poor person" etc. I can't help feeling like many of them really agree with me that their society is focusing on the wrong things.

Anyways, I don't much care whether anyone agrees with me. I just came across the 'why i want to go home' thread and it resonated with me at this time (3.5 months completed.)

[JAWINSEOUL]

Why
?

[Natalia]

[umpittse]

I spent a year in korea about three years ago and will be returning in March of this year. I remember my first 3-4 months there and it was challenging. I agree with what others have said about your negative feelings about your life in Korea and your desire to return home. You are experiencing culture shock and homesickness. Give it some time and try to have a open mind to life in Korea. You might find yourself starting to enjoy it.

[elavndrc]

I've been here a month and well the moment I stepped off that plane I felt normal. I studied abroad here last year and well I don't have any big problems besides the whole, I can't speak Korean fluently thing.

[Shlain]

I'm going on 9 months now and can still not get used to the attention. Its just too much, the constant staring and people talking about you assuming that you can't understand them. I can't wait to go home, just to feel normal again.

On the other hand, considering that I want to enter the field of international relations and international business, I can see how this experience with asian culture has been beneficial. I've learned a lot about the culture, people and bureaucracy. Things that may be very valuable to me in the future. Therefore, I don't regret my time here, I just wish the last few months would go by a little faster!

[aschmies]

I know how you feel half_pint .. it happens everywhere. i was in spain and peru and mexico and every time i would begin to just let things about the culture/area annoy me. nothing seemed to make me as happy as i would be if i were at home..

then i get home and i realize it's all me and my attitude. at home there are good and bad things, also.. i just choose to focus on what i want.

goodluck

[klis]

Half_Pint, I completely understand. Everything. You are so right. But I would say that I did not get homesick until the end of my first year.

But everything you said is true because I did witness it. Also Korean is not as healthy as they make it sound. the reason why it is healthy because of the Base or Foundation ingredient. Such as Kimchee ,

( OK, Cabbage is Healthy, However it does not mean putting fish paste and hot peppers on it still makes it Healthy))
( Beans are heathy, HOWEVER , the bean curd paste that has so much salt and takes all of the flavor away from your other foods makes it healthy.))

Anyways, I am sorry I said too much.

But That is Korea , at least you can understand it now and be prepared to encounter situations like that in the future. These things will bother you, just like they have bothered other foreigners like myself and about 50 of my friends that live in Korea.

GOOD LUCK !

[sherly.140707]

Hello I am a student from Sunway University College, Malaysia. I wish
to further my studies in Korea and I am majoring in Social Sciences. I noticed that Yonsei University offers
the subject that I
wish to study and I am interested in studying there for fall intake.
Can I know what are the requirements to enter?
I have finished my O-levels (IGCSE- Cambridge) and I have a diploma
from Canadian International Matriculation Programme.
I do not understand or read Korean.
Does that mean I have to learn Korean 1st?
Do I have to sit for a test before entering the school?

Thank you very much for the information.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Have a nice day.

[brakattack]

Here's somewhat of an introspective question: Does anyone find that it helps to deal with their culture shock by taking a walk in the woods, along a deserted shore, or any sort of place in nature that is removed from people?

I am likely gong to be placed in a suburb of Seoul and I worry that I won't be able to find a way to get away from the throngs of people and the hustle and bustle of everything. I know I will experience culture shock in some form but I think that as long as I have a place to get away from everything after a bad day at work I will be able to refresh my mind and handle the stress that comes with culture shock. Is it plausible to take a short trip after a day of work to somewhere where there aren't cities and loads of people? I know this is a very general question but it is looking like I will be placed in Anyang if that helps.