Korean Job Discussion Forums

plus99 · Joined: 30 Dec 2007

_yeah, im not sure why i thought that was an appropriate title but whatever.

one of the things ive thought about most since ive been here is the fact that my school doesnt seem to respect me very much. if they do they certainly don't show it. there is one woman in particular who makes it very clear that shes my boss whenever she is having a bad day and i just wanted to point out some of why this is ridiculous in the off-chance that there are people in similar positions who are unaware of the facts that follow.

i make twice as much money as the woman above me on food chain. shes obviously not happy about that fact. im sure she feels that the system is rigged, that everything is unfair, etc etc. shes been doing this job for ten years. she had to go through the trouble of learning english, and i didnt. i understand these things and i do agree that its not fair that i make more money.

the problem, though, really, and the evidence that she isnt more capable, skilled than i am is the fact that she doesnt realize that shes in the wrong business if someone with no experience can immediately make more money (100% more) without even having to do a real interview. if she really was as big a deal as she thinks she is, she'd be doing something else.

im sure she thinks im a bad teacher. i agree that i shouldn't be winning any awards for this. but she equates this with overall intelligence. she thinks shes smarter than me and she uses that as the justification for talking to me the way she does.

ill give another reason for why this isnt the case. this isnt politically correct. but its true.

i think its less likely that someone from south korea is smarter than, for example, someone from lower new england. im not saying its impossible for the reverse to be true and it would be easy to cite math and science scores as a counter argument. but there are major cultural deficiencies that are a part of living in an area that is not the cultural center of the world (the US).

this is going on longer than i planned so ill just give this as as example: I grew up watching SNL, not Mohan Dojun. The true talent flows to where it makes the most money. The US.

do i think that makes me cooler than south koreans? yeah, at least for the most part. smarter? yeah, basically.

there is a lot of talk about the constant bashing and negativity on here but i dont see any examples of positive sites that attract more readers. there must be a reason for that.

roybetis1 · Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 2:44 pm Post subject:

Not really sure what to make of a lot of what the OP said, but he does raise an interesting question. Can growing up watching Korean TV (or not using chopsticks) make you stupid?
Jared Diamond made the point in one of his books, I think it was "Guns, Germs and Steel", that environment is definetly a factor in intelligence. His example was those who gre up in Papua New Guinea vs. Those in America. In New Guineau if you're stupid you're going to step on the wrong place or eat the wrong plant and you're dead.
In the U.S. if you're stupid they're many protection nets. It's really tempting to make a "you might even end up as president" comment. In Western and Korean society we have many safety nets and dumbed down entertainment, which fails to weed out those of us who should've gotten a Darwin award, which results in a lower IQ for our societies.

mj roach · Joined: 16 Mar 2003

snl ???...talk about shooting yourself in the foot!

Alan Partidge · Joined: 29 Nov 2005

plus99, you are yet another moron with entitlement issues. Why don't you fark off back home? Maybe if you acted in a way that warranted respect, you would get it.

Kimchi Cha Cha · Joined: 15 May 2003 Location: was Suncheon, now Brisbane

You started the OP by saying that you think this lady thinks she's above you and doesnt respect you, fair point. But, then you end the argument by insinuating that you, by the fact that you are American, are most likely smarter and cooler than Koreans. Aren't you doing the same thing that you complained that lady is doing? Confused

Sleepy in Seoul · Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 9:04 pm Post subject:

plus99 · Joined: 30 Dec 2007

plus99 · Joined: 30 Dec 2007

Sleepy in Seoul · Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 12:17 am Post subject:

plus99 · Joined: 30 Dec 2007

lol @ "is stupid is conceited"

thanks for the entertainment dude

ytuque · Joined: 29 Jan 2008 Location: I drink therefore I am!

I was here as a young serviceman back in 80-81, and this was a very poor country. Returning after all these years, I am shocked by how advanced Korea is now. The rate of change has been truly amazing. To do this the Koreans have not only been hard working but rather clever as well. The Koreans may not meet the OP's subjective definition of cool, but there is a good chance that he is not viewed by them as cool either.

I do find it amazing that someone would propose they are more intelligent based on regularly watching a comedy show.

plus99 · Joined: 30 Dec 2007

the point isnt that its a comedy show but that theres a clear quality difference between the two. the best talent is drawn to a certain part of the world and there is a reason for that. that part of the world isnt south korea.

it's full of stars · Joined: 26 Dec 2007

Why aren't you in America then?

plus99 · Joined: 30 Dec 2007

youre actually curious? i hadnt really seen any of the world before, and this seemed like the easiest way to save up some money. im sure ill spend a good part of the rest of my life living in other countries. my main point is that most south koreans, at least in my experience here, do not seem to value westerners on a conscious level even though they are willing to pay us what for them is a lot of money when all they get in return is some personal contact and some language coaching. the fact that this amount of money is exchanged shows that they really do value us. i dont understand why they arent more willing to act like it. i can give a lot of anecdotal examples and i know im not the only one.

pangaea · Joined: 20 Dec 2007