Korean Job Discussion Forums

[parkhelens]

Will not be a popular topic, unless it picks up a cynical twist (which is somewhat inevitable), but hey Christmas is coming up, I'm getting into the Charlie Brown spirit and I'd like to hear some good reasons why we're all here.....missing the ham, eggnog, and ridiculously great office xmas parties back home.

For me, Korea's high speed internet and low income tax gets me pretty hot.

[RACETRAITOR]

1) Public transportation
2) Urban scenery (not so much rural)
3) Mountains everywhere
4) Hongdae
5) Castle Praha
6) Very few ugly chicks
7) Barbecue restaurants
nobody pissses on the seats on toilets
9) Dongademoon
10) technology in general

[soy]

Fried chicken and beer places, inexpensive food overall, not paying 14 dollars a ticket to see a movie, not needing a car to get everywhere...

I can't think of 10!

[butlerian]

[blurgalurgalurga]

Hmmm...ten? Shouldn't be too hard.

1) Cheap yummy food
2) Public transpo
3) Cheap sauce
4) Cheap clothes
5) Being a minority
6) Being told I'm handsome, even though I'm not, really, at all
7) Very little random street violence
Rampant intellectual piracy
9) Easy money
10) Koreans seem to like me more often than they don't

Dead easy! I bet I could think of more too.

[chris_J2]

I never thought I'd ever say this, but I actually missed Korea, when in China, Mongolia & Russia, for 3 months.

I missed:

* reliable public transport (no busses or planes for a week in Siberia)
* food not covered in sand (Gobi desert)
* Able to find a g/h or hotel without demands for 3 day Russian stamp
* Internet access everywhere
* Choice of Western restaurants in Seoul
* Hot water (no showers in the Gobi!)
* Lack of pushy crowds (as in China)
* The people: For the most part, they're warm & genuine
* The ubiquitous "Hello, Ku Ri Su" by kids in the local streets

But I did like the cheese, & the peach milkshakes, in Russia.

[Vicissitude]

Some people don't seem very honest. Obviously, most people are in Korea for the money. So it makes sense to put it in the top ten. So here's mine:

1. Decent salary with real savings potential
2. Low taxes
3. Bonus (at the end of the year)
4. Low cost health insurance
5. Cheap, but good transportation
6. Pension with earnings and interest
7. Cute pet dogs running around in their coats and shoes. Korea is one of the few countries left that will let you keep one in your apartment.
8. Metal chopsticks and proper spoons
9. Free cold refreshing water at every restaurant - help yourself
10. Ajummas who see that you've eaten all of one side dish and immediately fill it back up. They never like to see an empty plate/bowl.
11. High speed internet with very few connection problems.

[shaggy]

In the spirt of the season here is my top ten

1. ondol floors
2. cheap and extensive public transport
3. close proximity to other Asian countries by air
4. cheap sushi at E-Mart
5. cheap socks
6. the ability to dress up like a hooker and get complimented for it not insulted or condemned for it
7. cheap places to pick up make up like Face Shop or Missha
8. Beautiful buddhist temples near Bukhan-san or any mountain in Korea
9. the ease of learning how to read and write Korean
10. made some very close and sincere friendships with Koreans

and one more

11. Korean guys don't have a problem with holding your purse
12. you CAN wear a skirt in the winter
13. low tax rate and you can get a tax credit from what you spend on your Korean credit card- not really good for Koreans becuase they don't have well developed social programs and they are encouraged to spend not save but good for guest workers like myself

[mercury]

1. getting paid while on vacation in Thailand
2. getting paid while on vacation in Hong Kong
3. getting paid while on vacation in Rome
4. getting paid while on vacation in Mexico
etc..etc..etc...

[jaderedux2]

goofy tee shirts
galbi
Yongsan and the "special" DVD's Yes I am a scoff law!
proximity to places I like
money is good so I can go to places I like
my students cuz they are better than yours...
watching the princesses walk about in the snow in their high heels
cheap gyms
cheap restuarants
and the great friends I have made here.

[jlb]

Yeah..more of the same:

1. Cheap eating out
2. Great, like-minded friends who want to see the world and have some adventure.
3. 4 months paid vacation, 20 hour weeks
4. Hiking opportunities in abundance
5. Transportation dream
6. Low taxes
7. Crazy savings
8. Overtime/private teaching
9. Being told I'm beautiful all the time
10. Being treated like a superstar sometimes.

[StAxX SOuL]

Someone posted this thread about a month ago...

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?p=1399695

My contribution...

Top 10 Things About Life in Korea

1. 5,000W for a home-delivered Teriyaki Chicken, Bulgogi, Cheyuk Bokum Bap etc. w/accompanying kimchi & soup... (shout out to the street food lady outside of the old The Loft in Itaewon too... chicken stick & sausage stick, 1,200W each)
2. Appetising and healthy meals for breakfast and lunch... it took a while to get used to, but a sandwich no longer cuts it
3. Ridiculously fast, cheap and uncapped internet service;
4. Mobile phone usage on the subway and DVB-TV service on that cellphone;
5. 90 cable channels for about 20,000W;
6. The DVD salesmen on every major street, in every major subway station, and the ultimate DVD stall in Yongsan;
7. Public transport � convenience, cost and cleanliness of the subway stations
8. Ondol;
9. Korean chicks � aesthetically beautiful;
10. The easy life that is teaching and the quality of life that 2,000,000W a month can provide in Korea;

[ardis]

In no specific order:

-cheap food (coming from D.C., where an average meal was $14 with tip, Seoul is a dream)
-public transportation (the subway is fast and cheap, and the buses are everywhere)
-PC bangs (I wish we had these in America--they're great time killers or if you really need to pop in and check your email, they're right there--no need to go home)
-relaxed drinking culture (America is too hyper-sensitive)
-cute shoes (it's a girlie answer, I know, but I love having a wide variety of cute flats that would be twice as much at Urban Outfitters)
-pastry shops (I can tell I'm going to miss all the Paris Baguettes when I go home. We just don't have pastry shops on every street in DC the way they do in Seoul)
-cheap clothes (it's easier to be stylish here than it is to be stylish at home)
-active older people (even though the pushy ajummas drive me crazy, it is nice to see older people that are out hiking all the time, rather than the ones in America that just sit in their apartments all day)
-the mountains around Seoul
-the money.

[tomato]

▶ no sexual abuse hysteria
▶ no hoodlums on the street hollering "Hey, you queer!"
▶ no self-righteous people trying to serve as my superego
▶ no April 15 deadlines
▶ the challenge of learning a foreign language
▶ translating Korean children's books
▶ learning Korean songs
▶ learning to play Korean folk instruments
▶ fast and inexpensive computer repair
▶ last but not least, job availability

[Positive Realist]

In no specific order...

1. Being tall, busty and gorgeous, as oppose to average.

2. Being able to use my cell phone to watch TV, transfer money, get on
the subway, access an ATM machine and get discounts, well, everywhere.

3. The abundance of beautiful black men in such a small area.

4. The best Bangladeshi food outside of Bangladesh.

5. The price of crotch rockets and not being bothered by police while on one, even if it's not registered and you aren't wearing a helmet (I know, dangerous, but oh so fun).

6. The train that goes 300 km an hour and gets you from hustle bustle to pure peace in under 30 minutes.

7. Things being delivered at anytime - I got a package from Canada delivered to my door at 11pm on a Sunday night.

8. Ladies night, need I say more.

9. The cost of manicures, pedicures, hair cuts, facials, etc... The vanity of Korean women is so beneficial to me

10. Being anonymous