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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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 Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 5:43 am Post subject: |
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| eamo wrote: |
| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
| eamo wrote: |
| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
| Cedar wrote: |
| Pojogae wrote: |
Your depiction of me being some lonely drunk barging into other people's conversations is as unreasonable as if I depicted you as surly and unsociable because you claim to just crowd around a table with the same group of friends blocking the rest of the world out.
Drinking in random pojangmachas and bars is a good experience. I strongly recommend it. |
I'm not saying you're a lonely drunk or barging into conversations, I'm just saying you shouldn't assume you're so much fun to talk to and the rest of the --Koreans-- are not interesting. Maybe in some cultures random conversations over beers are fun and interesting, but it's not the norm in Korea, so you're asking people to behave not-very-Korean just to entertain you, which I don't think is fair.
I assure you, I've been through the pojangmacha stage of life-in-Korea and I'm very glad I'm beyond it. |
Cedar makes a GREAT point here. |
How's things going with the Cedar Appreciation Society, Patrick? |
Great considering she deserves it as she is one of those people who knows a heck of a lot about Korean culture and the Korean language. so when she speaks up in here, it is kind of wise to pay attention because at least she took the time to undertsand the culture and learn the language.
Other questions? |
I respect the opinion of the posters here who sometimes applaud Korean culture and sometimes don't. Because that's how it is with all cultures. Some good and some bad. Those posters show that they still have all their powers of critical analysis intact. Every anti or pro Korea thread should be approached on a case-by-case basis.
But those who come on here and slavishly stand the pro-Korea line, or, indeed, those who slavishly take the anti-Korea line, well, those guys seem to have an agenda and don't care if they're right or wrong in this case or that case.
So someone could have learned Korean fluently and lived here many years, but that doesn't mean they come on Dave's with a balanced attitude.
A weather man has to report the good and the bad weather. If they decide to insist that the weather is only good or only bad then no one will take their opinion seriously after a while. |
That is a fair point eamo but Cedar is does not slavishly stand the pro-korea line. she provides INFORMED insights. It is up to everyone to do what they want with those insights however.
As for the rest of your post, you are of course refering to those people that get tagged as apologists by some people on this board because of what they post. That label is simplistic and works very well on this board for many users as it allows them to debate things in neat little right\wrong or Good\Bad format. Some people have a broader or deeper view of things and will look beyond the first level and try to explain\undertand the reasons behind things or events.
Cedar does this very well in here. Her posts in here are a great example of going beyond a simplistic post that tried to paint everything one way and then showing what lies behind and at the same time broaden the scope of discussion.
Sadly, some people do not like this.
At the end of the day, I agree that anti or pro Korea threads should be taken one by one and typically with a giant grain of salt. I will also add that this board has greatly improved over the past couple of years as far as balance is concerned because more posters than before are willing to post positive or balanced experiences in response to bash threads.
Have a good week eamo. |
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NohopeSeriously
Joined: 17 Jan 2011
Location: The Christian Right-Wing Educational Republic of Korea
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| Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 6:33 am Post subject: |
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| I'm an Korean-Canadian living in Korea right now. Let me tell you this: I hate Korea. The only reason why I have to stay in Korea is because I have to take care of my dad's side of the family. |
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Mr. BlackCat
Joined: 30 Nov 2005
Location: Insert witty remark HERE
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| Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 7:59 am Post subject: |
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| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
| edwardcatflap wrote: |
| Well put Blackcat, although I thought University jobs paying around 3 million a month for not many contact hours were fairly common |
Nope. And those that do tend not be advertised. If you doubt that spend some time trawling some ESL job boards. I'll be suprised if you find more than 1-2 that meet the requirements above. A lot of unis tend to pay even less than 2 million because they know someone will figure the long vacation is an equitable trade off. |
Yeah, those great uni jobs are hard to get. You need lots of experience, connections and education just to get your foot in the door. Maybe you can get a position out in the middle of nowhere, but then you're out in the middle of nowhere. And while the salary might seem high, it usually doesn't include housing and other benefits like the flight. They're still great positions, but like I said, you're not getting it in your first year with a BA. You can supplement your base salary easily once you make connections, but again it's not 3 hour days at all. Anyone coming to Korea expecting all this handed to them will definitely have a rough time and end up being a problem at work. |
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myenglishisno
Joined: 08 Mar 2011
Location: Geumchon
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| Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 8:09 am Post subject: |
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| Gotta wonder why the OP left if they liked it so much... |
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Died By Bear
Joined: 13 Jul 2010
Location: On the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
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| Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 11:56 am Post subject: |
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| NohopeSeriously wrote: |
| I'm an Korean-Canadian living in Korea right now. Let me tell you this: I hate Korea. The only reason why I have to stay in Korea is because I have to take care of my dad's side of the family. |
Stop it. You will miss it terribly when you're gone. Seriously.  |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 2:25 pm Post subject: |
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| NohopeSeriously wrote: |
| I'm an Korean-Canadian living in Korea right now. Let me tell you this: I hate Korea. The only reason why I have to stay in Korea is because I have to take care of my dad's side of the family. |
That is really too bad and I am sorry to hear this. No one should be stuck in a place they hate. Life is too short for that but sometimes family responsibilities are more important than what we personally feel. |
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MollyBloom
Joined: 21 Jul 2006
Location: James Joyce's pants
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| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 12:39 am Post subject: |
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| Stout wrote: |
| MollyBloom wrote: |
| minos wrote: |
pull that at chain hagwons like berlitz
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James Joyce once worked for Berlitz. |
\
So did Tom, Dick, and Jane. |
You mean Seamus, Finn, and Saoirse? |
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Cedar
Joined: 11 Mar 2003
Location: In front of my computer, again.
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| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 5:54 am Post subject: |
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| eamo wrote: |
I respect the opinion of the posters here who sometimes applaud Korean culture and sometimes don't. Because that's how it is with all cultures. Some good and some bad. Those posters show that they still have all their powers of critical analysis intact. Every anti or pro Korea thread should be approached on a case-by-case basis.
But those who come on here and slavishly stand the pro-Korea line, or, indeed, those who slavishly take the anti-Korea line, well, those guys seem to have an agenda and don't care if they're right or wrong in this case or that case.
So someone could have learned Korean fluently and lived here many years, but that doesn't mean they come on Dave's with a balanced attitude.
A weather man has to report the good and the bad weather. If they decide to insist that the weather is only good or only bad then no one will take their opinion seriously after a while. |
Then you should respect me and take my opinion very seriously-- I certainly don't say only good things about Korea, but I've been here long enough (and so have you eamo) to know that Korea is for the most part a good place to live.
A few of my low points in Korea, all of which I've mentioned on this forum (if not this thread):
1) I was screwed by my first job in Korea (a hagwon) and lost a lot of money (two months salary unpaid, final month of the contract and facing the refunded airfare and 1 mth bonus) it was also quite upsetting to find someone so only out for themselves as my former employer.
2) I was stalked by a psychopath for two years who eventually drove me out of Korea
3) I had a boyfriend who was a cop for awhile who I met on the job because the guy who worked across the street got drunk and tried to rape me (throwing bricks through my window and climbing on the first floor roof to break in to my second floor apt)
But all of that, and I still love this country, and yes, I've learned enough Korean and about Korean culture to know what I'm talking about. Just because I've had some bad experiences doesn't mean I wouldn't be happy to stay here. None of the bad experiences I had were because KOREA is a bad place, they were just what fate threw my way for a variety of reasons. |
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gem
Joined: 06 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 5:58 pm Post subject: |
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| NohopeSeriously wrote: |
| I'm an Korean-Canadian living in Korea right now. Let me tell you this: I hate Korea. The only reason why I have to stay in Korea is because I have to take care of my dad's side of the family. |
I appreciate your honesty. You are not the only one who HATES Korea. I have no desire to lie or ever "save face" for Korea. I was suckered into this opportunity and can't wait until this contract ends. I can at least thank Korea for making me appreciate my life back home. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 6:11 pm Post subject: |
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| gem wrote: |
| NohopeSeriously wrote: |
| I'm an Korean-Canadian living in Korea right now. Let me tell you this: I hate Korea. The only reason why I have to stay in Korea is because I have to take care of my dad's side of the family. |
I appreciate your honesty. You are not the only one who HATES Korea. I have no desire to lie or ever "save face" for Korea. I was suckered into this opportunity and can't wait until this contract ends. I can at least thank Korea for making me appreciate my life back home. |
Again, you've been here what, three or four months? Barring the possibility that your job is truly horrible, it seems like you got off the plane and decided that Korea was horrible. |
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gem
Joined: 06 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 6:32 pm Post subject: |
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| I landed here in the winter and had no heat or water pressure, plus I had mold growing on my walls and they don't give a sh!t. I have 11 coteachers and only half of them speak English and less than half of those have any desire to help me at all. I have to reach hard to think of a more xenophobic country I've been to. They're irrational, ill mannered, superficial, and unfriendly unless they're being fake. Stop making excuses for these people. I'm dealing with it and making the best of the situation but I'll never make excuses for their behavior or lie about what really happens here. |
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Cedar
Joined: 11 Mar 2003
Location: In front of my computer, again.
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| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 6:41 pm Post subject: |
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| gem wrote: |
| I landed here in the winter and had no heat or water pressure, plus I had mold growing on my walls and they don't give a sh!t. I have 11 coteachers and only half of them speak English and less than half of those have any desire to help me at all. I have to reach hard to think of a more xenophobic country I've been to. They're irrational, ill mannered, superficial, and unfriendly unless they're being fake. Stop making excuses for these people. I'm dealing with it and making the best of the situation but I'll never make excuses for their behavior or lie about what really happens here. |
As long as you understand that this is your experience, and that it does not mean that all of Korea, or everyone's experience is like yours has been.
I appreciate that you've had a tough time of it, but try to look beyond your co-teachers and your workplace to find some of the good points about living in Korea. |
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Stout
Joined: 28 May 2011
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| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 6:42 pm Post subject: |
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| You are in a bad situation, Gem. Why not interview with another outfit and give notice? There are tons of other jobs out there, at least some of which couldn't be worse. I know my new place of work beats the stuffin' outta my last gig, and it's made all the difference. |
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gem
Joined: 06 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 7:06 pm Post subject: |
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| Cedar wrote: |
| gem wrote: |
| I landed here in the winter and had no heat or water pressure, plus I had mold growing on my walls and they don't give a sh!t. I have 11 coteachers and only half of them speak English and less than half of those have any desire to help me at all. I have to reach hard to think of a more xenophobic country I've been to. They're irrational, ill mannered, superficial, and unfriendly unless they're being fake. Stop making excuses for these people. I'm dealing with it and making the best of the situation but I'll never make excuses for their behavior or lie about what really happens here. |
As long as you understand that this is your experience, and that it does not mean that all of Korea, or everyone's experience is like yours has been.
I appreciate that you've had a tough time of it, but try to look beyond your co-teachers and your workplace to find some of the good points about living in Korea. |
It's my experience but there are too many people out there who can relate to this experience. I might try to switch locations but I'm finding that Korea never really hits bottom. I'm headed home soon and I'm okay with that. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 7:16 pm Post subject: |
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| gem wrote: |
| I landed here in the winter and had no heat or water pressure, plus I had mold growing on my walls and they don't give a sh!t. I have 11 coteachers and only half of them speak English and less than half of those have any desire to help me at all. I have to reach hard to think of a more xenophobic country I've been to. They're irrational, ill mannered, superficial, and unfriendly unless they're being fake. Stop making excuses for these people. I'm dealing with it and making the best of the situation but I'll never make excuses for their behavior or lie about what really happens here. |
All of your complaints relate pretty directly to your job. |
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