Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bogey666]

I am/was not sure whether to keep this in the original thread, so I decided to start another, but if it's an issue/problem please advise and I'll keep it all within confines of one thread.

I probably won't have many more entries beyond several days... then perhaps only interesting anecdotes. Once again, the intent here is to shine a little light for incoming newbies on my experience, with the disclaimer that my experience will not necessarily be your experience.

I should also note that I am quite widely traveled, was actually born outside of the US, and am not a creature of US comforts and much more so, US "attitudes" about how things "should be". If I ever had any basic advice to give to any traveler or expat, that would be go out of your way to show interest in the local culture, language, etc, shut up, smile and observe and try to project an outgoing and friendly personality and it will likely be returned in spades.

an example of this would be at my school, all the teachers greeted me with big smiles, etc the other day, but there was one young woman who was a little stiff and formal and didn't smile a lot... She kind of wore that dragonlady expression. Yet later I made it a point to let her know her cellphone rang while she was away (a little difficult since she speaks almost no English) it turns out she was just a big shy and that 's her general demeanor.... so later she brought me some crackers.. and this morning bought me a piece of chocolate. So.. show kindness and interest and odds are it will be rewarded in spades (though obviously not always, such is life)

btw thanks for the advice and comments on original thread.

It turns out I was just an idiot on operating the hot water... spoke to landlord, he actually speaks very good English, having lived in the US for almost 30 years in the Philly region. He came back to Korea to take care of the graves of his ancestors (that's what he told me, most interesting) but had made/saved enough money with his wife so now they own 3 buildings with almost 15-16 appts in each, and their gross yearly income on those properties is almost 100 grand. I said.. wow that's a lot of money, especially for Korea and he said no... not really, people here had more money

He mentioned teaching is now a very popular profession in Korea (this goes against what I heard from previous FT) and that they generally make 40-50K USD with generous vacations while an average factory worker makes 20, 20 somethingK and works longer and harder. (previous FT suggested the Korean teachers make less than we do, which I find HARD to believe)

anyways.. to answer a previous question and to provide more background, i am in the city of Siheung (close to Ansan) and live in an area very close to the large industrial park in the city (supposedly one of the biggest industrial parks in the entire country).

As noted, I really really love the convenience of having stores right outside of my door.. one of the things i hate about the US, having to drive anywhere and everywhere.. I am a big walker.. you see and experience things while walking (another reason I refuse to take bus if I can walk)

so without a map last evening.. I decided.. what the hell.. time to start exploring (got home, took a nap and at 7 pm went out to walk around)

one thing I must dispute, at least from my experience, that is always noted on this board - the "monkey/foreigner" people will STARE and point at you phenomenon. NOT TRUE.. at least not in Siheung. I walked around for almost 3 hours last night.. didn't see a single Caucasian face and not a single person stared at me, much less pointed. I was more like a ghost

luckily seems the city has at least a basic grid structure, meaning I can explore with much smaller odds of getting lost than otherwise possible.
what I did yesterday was take long walks in every straight direction from the major intersection around my appt and see where it took me, taking detours for areas with high concentration of neon lights, commercial areas and anything else that looked interesting.

Found a huge neon lit area (several actually) to the "south" of where I am, I can't read Hangul but my Spidey sleaze senses were all tingling on full throttle as I walked around in certain spots... will have to be very careful once any future blueballs and any natural curiosity set in. Probably a good thing it will be some time before I can communicate in Korean as well... that will keep me out of trouble


btw. that bikimbap kept me fairly full almost the entire night long.. I had no idea what to eat and where later, so at the end just stopped at the store.. bought a couple of cans of tuna (the one marked "slim" hahah) and actually it was delicious - probably in oil though... I am used to the more nasty tasting in water US variety, which I buy for lower caloric content)

speaking of weight.. I feel effing fat. Definitely chunky. I feel it because I am... it was an endless winter in the US and I did little except stuff my face with shit food, so getting back into shape will be a top priority (for myself just as much as for anyone else,, it's a symbiotic relationship)

now.. speaking of weight again... generally.. actually I have seen a fair amount of what I would call "chunky" Koreans, especially females,, not US style obese/fat but definitely something far beyond pleasingly plump.
so now that subway photo someone posted the other day doesn't shock me as much.

re Korean women, oh I saw a couple of pretty ones, but I have to admit generally speaking that they are just not going to do it for me... after being spoiled in Latin America, dreading coming home to US heiffers, the American girls begin to look damn attractive in comparison (some of them anyways). Pardon me for being so blunt/opinionated, but that's just one man's opinion - mine.

to be honest, if I could get a similar setup with same appt, pay, conditions, etc almost anywhere in Latin America, I would be there tomorrow (which is why I want to get into "international schools" eventually). I miss the sounds of son and salsa, and those surrounded by tetas y culos, oozing not only sexuality but sensuality.

there is a sports park several blocks from my house, great big running track, you can rollerskate alongside as well - great great stuff. I will start jogging here this weekend to beging to work off the American fat.

Now I still need to find a good gym... and to get to E-mart and find pin converter and voltage converter and just know where it is.
and then I think I will be QUITE content.

btw.. brought some gifts today from home.. I bought several fancy looking embroidered hats with the name of my US city on them (Chicago), they were very well received... if only for the thought... now that I know that the VP for e.g. likes good whiskey, we'll take care of him next time I travel, I'll buy something duty free.

was invited to to eat lunch with head of the electrical dept at school today.

btw, as noted I am being treated with every courtesy and kindness, so I am trying to extend such in return.

in fact.. yesterday when asked to join the guy for lunch, I said "I would be honored", and I could immediately notice the pleasure on the face of my Korean handler who translated as well as the guy's face.. the VP and other guy immediately wanted to know/repeat that phrase in English.

(now in the US if you ever really said "I'd be honored" to anyone, even in a business situation, they would think you are a bit goofy,, but we're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy)

now really the big fear is simply how the hell am I going to teach these big classes "English" when their levels of English "seem" to almost minimal.

it's good to have at least some guide in the form of this teacher's conversational workbook they put together for the kids, BUT - this book seems to miss the very basic POINT of book, (IMO)

which is to present material... and then build/re-enforce and then progress off that material.

their "book" seems to be a hodge podge of basic conversational situations thrown together, little more.

so - that is now my biggest fear/concern, since I really want to do my best, despite the hurdles being faced.


(in this sense I miss my Venezuelan situation, where oftentimes the English levels encountered were very very high, in some situations almost perfectly fluent). I often felt it was with those people that I could help best, to really enrrich their English, present them with business situations, etc etc etc

well, we shall see.

[ciccone_youth]

good stuff! get used to being "fed" at school, people will give you snacks all the time!

the parents always bring donuts, juice, and iced coffees for us.... that's crazy, i'm trying not to eat them!!!

you should start a blog!

[bogey666]

[ciccone_youth]

the lunch is usually provided by the school, it saves you some money!

as for the coffee, i only have one piece of advice. DON'T drink the little coffee sticks (coffee mix with sugar and dry cream), it's FULL of sugar, it's awful for you. chances are your school will provide that kind of coffee.

here we (FT's) just bought a french press and some ground beans and make our own!

[bogey666]

[ciccone_youth]

yea you'll get sick of it quickly! i used to drink it all the time during the first week, until someone told me i'd get fat drinking them, haha! now i find they taste awful, too.

korea can be tempting for sweets... people love donuts here for some reason.

[bogey666]

[ciccone_youth]

you'll probably lose weight in Korea like most people, unless you drink all the time and eat the donuts


i thought i'd get fat with all the rice, but au contraire.

[bogey666]

[raketbaler]

Bogey, keep these stories coming.

[ciccone_youth]

refreshing to hear that.


young korean girls are obsessed with their appearance.... my Grade 6 korean female students even asked me how much i weight, i cannot believe they're obsessed with that already at that age.

and last night i was at a restaurant, and a korean girl my age was sitting with her BF, just taking various pictures of HERSELF with her phone, then reappyling makeup. i saw that in the subway as well.

[Tiger Beer]

[bogey666]

well we had lunch with the entire electrical dept today and principal and VP came along as well.

it was quite amusing.. the principal is one of those guys that has the carefree air of someone who knows his ass will be kissed and basically doesn't concern himself with small things. He has an obvious rug on top of his head, but I am not going to hold that against him since I wage a losing battle against that despicable genetic trait myself. (no, most guys do not look good bald... especially if Caucasian or Asian, you look horrid)

I'm finding him pretty cool... he really loved the Chicago baseball cap I gave him with Bears football colorsm gave me something from his desk, some kind of towel... I haven't thouroughly checked it out yet.

anyways.. we went to the seaside.. for a "Korean sushi" dinner. Turns out one of the students parents own a place there.. so we were treated like royalty.. I never liked seafood much, but believe it or not, I actually kind of enjoyed this meal, tried almost everything...

even what looked like squid... and it was still MOVING. of course I milked this a little.. made some funny faces.. said "but it's moving" in an incredulous tone and of course everyone was laughing. It was an all male affair, as there are no female teachers in the electrical dept..(or any of the technical depts in the school actually). but of course I took the squid, chewed on it.. the thing was still moving.. and it tasted like tasteless rubber.


then I went back to the sushi which was actually excellent dipped in that red sauce they gave me... a little spicy but not too much.. the fish soup with rice was pretty good too. I think I am going to enjoy Korean food JUST FINE.! do I like it? some of it... do I really really like it?? no..
but so what.. the things i REALLY like are often shit food which makes you fucking fat... as it has made me fucking fat after 7 months of Chicago winter and sitting on one's fat ass.

I was invited to play softball with them later which I eagerly accepted.. but I didn't particularly distinguish myself.. they all wanted to see the big blond buy whack the ball over the fence.. but they were pitching quite fast.. almost girl softball style.. which I am not used to, have never played so my timing was way off (but no I didn't t strike out either)

made some bumbling plays in the field and now as I sit typing this.. my entire fucking body aches.. that is what you get sitting on one's fat ass eating shit food that makes you fatter still in the good old US of A.

I'm already super motivated but if this doesn't ice the deal I don't know what will.

went to E-mart today, no need to go there other than to buy chicken breasts I can get almost anything else from my corner stores (I've developed a super taste for this particular tuna they selll and will eat it by the canloads)

and as noted.. I think Korean food half the time will serve me very well.
That lunch filled me up till evening.

ah... the reason they played softball today and the reason our lunch was almost 3 hours was because there were no classes in the afternoon and Monday is Buddha's birthday or something like that. Great!

I made a concerted effort to be able to lift the sushi with chopsticks and after many failed attempts I got one... lifted it off was dipping it.. and then it fell off... they were all cheering for me to go "alll the way" but the principal was so pleased with the "almost" he insisted on pouring me a shot of that alcohol we were drinking..

wasn't soju.. haven't tried that yet.. it was something else.. they said it was 'softer' tasted like wine to me.. was quite good actually.

btw. re Korean girls/women I would be remiss not to mention I did see some great high heels/shorty shorts/skirts combos this afternoon around E-mart.. quite appealing.. but as I said... still doesn't QUITE do it for me.

re appearances.. yeah it's big here.. even though Im fat I am super lucky to have the frame to hide a lot of it.. though no matter.. I already declared to alll the men at dinner and my female co-teachers that I am "fat" and need to lose 10 kilos.

Nobody disagreed (and if they did it'd be a blatant lie) hahahahah though thanks to frame I am thought of as "healthy strong man" hahahaha

one of the female teachers I noticed checks herself in the mirror for the entire time of break in between classes!!!

btw. the most common kimchi I have tried and it's "ok".. I don't particlarly like it.. but I don't particularly DISLIKE it.. as I do with many other food, even of the Western kind. My relationship with food, especially when I've decided I am fat is simple. I don't care if I "like it".. I like not having fat on my body more. So if it's healthy and edible.. I'll eat it.
It helps that I actually really do like good healthy stuff like chicken breasts and tuna.


and yes.. there are definitely some potentially "interesting" places around here as well. I am sure I will get around to seeing just what they are and how interesting they are.. but I have time.. not yet.. definitely not yet.

last thing.. the seashore is the coast of the Yellow Sea... I used to stare at atlases for days and nights without end as a small boy and I remember loooking over the Yellow Sea thinking.. man... that is so "exotic" and I'll probably never see it though I'd really like to..

and today I did.. (not that it was particlarly impressive... no beach, quite industrial in this area)

last quick note on the restaurant... it was an all fish place.. obviously very healthy and low cal food, yet the ajumma owner/mother was fairly overweight but her teenage son was an outright whale... even by US standards..

a shame really.

[jetrash]

[bogey666]