Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Blue Line North]

Is there anyone out there to whom the title of this post applies? Has anyone out there had a remarkable experience while teaching in South Korea? If so, I would be interested to read what your experiences have been. Please list the top five things you've enjoyed about your time in South Korea.

[Ramen]

1. Misunderstandings
2. Xenophobia
3. Ddong-Chim
4. Kimchi
5. And some more misunderstandings.

[Ya-ta Boy]

I've had a couple of jobs that sucked big time and in the good jobs I've sometimes had students I would just have soon shot as ever see again, but the majority of my experiences have been very positive.

Most of my students have been adults, so...

1. I've met a lot of students whose dedication to and passion for learning is awesome. In 20 years of teaching back home (high school) I sometimes worked with that kind of student, but not as often as here.

2. Because the students are adults I've met people who have had fascinating life experiences totally different from mine.

[Bibbitybop]

1. The good Korean people I meet, many of which have become great friends. I think about these people when the rest of society pisses me off. This topic includes my Korean girlfriend, a free-thinking, educated, low-maintenance, adventurous world traveler.

2. The good expats and foreigners I meet. Many people here do have some social problem, but I meet many great people who, like me, were unhappy with teaching back home or unhappy dealing with the Western business rat race.

3. My jobs. Having an SMOE job with 21 business days vacation as a minimum is more than most people get (teachers aside) in the USA, my home country. My new job allows me much, much more time off than SMOE. Pay is good, too, compared with the crap I don't have to put up with teaching here vs. teaching in the USA.

4. Traveling. It's easy to see many countries given the short flights to SE Asian countries. It's easy to see Korea, too, especially when you have your own wheels, but buses, taxis and motels are cheap as hell, too. Korea has many hidden gems from bars to restaurants to mountains to beaches to historical places, etc. Camping is free and legal on all beaches. You can wander around on bus, on foot or in taxi completely wasted and no one cares.

5. Cheap hobbies. Many hobbies and recreations are cheap. My big one is cheap motorcycles and their cheap as hell maintenance. Cheap electronics, pirated dvds, cheap sports equipment, cheap clothing, etc. Out of the ordinary things are more expensive or must be imported.

[blaseblasphemener]

1. Met me wife, who is Korean.

2. Love the food, and eating out is cheap and fun. I prefer Korean waitresses to the one's back home, and I don't have to tip them here.

3. university job, almost half the year off.

4. ability to save money that in incomprehensible to me.

5. adult students, especially uni students, are wonderful.

6. weather, free apartment, easy to travel in korea, being an outsider can be better in ways, learning how to be a more well-rounded person by gaining the knowledge of a entirely-different cultural mindset. Taking the good and learning how Koreans deal with the bad. I've finally learned that it's not that Koreans love everything here, it's that they don't let stuff get to them, like a lot of us foreigners do. I'm a much happier person now that I've realized and applied that to my life in Korea.

[Bibbitybop]

[canuckistan]

[Zaria32]

1. The friendliness and welcome of the Korean people.
2. The super neat kids (yes, I had some challenges, but for the most part the kids were/are great)
3. Exploring the, uhm, cuisine...
4. The wonderful friends I've made
5. Just the wonder of living in another culture - it's been great.