Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Enrico Palazzo]

By Michael Elliot Braun

In 2008, after a full year as an ESL teacher, I returned home to Chicago. My reverse immersion experience got a jolt of culture shock after a year in Korea.

As an independently educated student of Korean culture and language, I had gladly adapted to Korean lifestyle; eating local food, flying around Korea by scooter and train, dating a beautiful local girl, befriending several native and international teachers, camping and rock climbing with gracious Korean hosts. In one year, I'd traveled to six Asian countries and Australia and managed to acquire a savings account.

Results of this high quality of life lead many expatriate ESL teachers to identify Korea as their new home. However, others, much like me, choose to uproot themselves from Korea and transplant themselves back to their origins. I offer these few a contrasting glimpse of American life:


CHICAGOFRANKSINATRA

[Yaya]

This piece was a boring piece of trash. Just about every newbie who spends one year in Korea thinks wow, I know what the differences between Korean and U.S. culture are, eureka!

[aka Dave]

Where, exactly, are the Korean equivalents to Yosemite or Yellowstone?

[Whirlwind]

More drivel from a Korean rag. By the way, I like the fact that drinking isn't a 24 hour activity back home. And Korean "mountains" are hills compared to American mountains.

[MANDRL]

The thread below is my experience with reverse culture shock. It wasn't so much about the stuff in Korea that I missed, it was trying to adapt to life back home. For example, nobody gives two shits about your experience abroad like you would want them to, so it is a bit strange when you first return home.

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=115016&highlight=

[steroidmaximus]

He is advocating working illegally. Posted by a mod?

My first bout with reverse culture shock involved noticing how warped some notions of Canadian culture were, not necessarily about glorifying Korea. Some things are better here, but I want to hear more about what he learned about his own culture upon his return.

Fluff piece.

[Scotticus]

[Return Jones]

The part that got me was that he claimed gas was $15 per litre in the US. Higher level math skills at work there.

[WoBW]

The OP is a pretentious tool.

[agoodmouse]

Ivory tower, not ivy tower.

[Enrico Palazzo]

I don't agree with the guy. He's only been here a year. I thought I'd have you guys go at what he said. Anyway, I think life is artificial for many foreign teachers over here. Life is hard for Koreans, I imagine.
However, the US definitely needs more public transport, I'd say.

[branchsnapper]

British tourists who go to the US are usually about as fascinating as him when they come back.

How was your trip? What did you think of the U.S?

Oh, it's really big. Lots of different scenery. Such a big country. Much bigger than here.

[Dome Vans]

[bejarano-korea]

[Jeweltone]

It is very difficult to readjust. I am temporarily living back in Silicon Valley (with my family) as I recover from a long and painful illness (incurred in Korea). I miss the social life in Korea; no one here has anytime to hang out (50 hour work week), and all of my friends have gotten married or are caught up in long-term relationships. The gas prices make it difficult to get out of the valley (I am only working part time due to my illness).

I returned to the US in November (2007). I started teaching English Composition at a proprietary school last March after two years of teaching in a Korean university setting and one year in a prestigious (yes, really) hagwon. My fifth-grade hagwon students were at a higher level of writing competency than some (though certainly not all) of my current American university-age students... The sometimes arrogant entitlement attitude (students see themselves as customers who are always right) really threw me for a loop, and I am now considering giving up teaching.

In comparison, my Korean Phys.-Ed.- I-am-being-forced-to-take-English-my-freshman-year students were angels. They could be a bit disrespectful at times, but there was an underlying respect for the position of teacher, if not for the person (actually, they did respect me pretty well, but they drove their conversation teacher insane!).

Edited for TMI/rant and consistency; plus, I'm bored...