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| Does the bad out weight the good in korean ESL? |
| Yes, this is a NASTY BIZ and U better be locked and loaded! |
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41% |
[ 7 ] |
| NO, Its fine. just a few bad apples out there thats all! other wise it really is an honest BIZ |
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52% |
[ 9 ] |
| emmm 50/50 |
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5% |
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| Total Votes : 17 |
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itaewonguy
Joined: 25 Mar 2003
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 Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2004 2:30 am Post subject: Are there more bad stories than good in korean esl? |
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I mean I have been here a long time.. worked in at least 30 schools part time etc...
I have met about 100 teachers and had conversations with them about teaching etc.. I have met 100"s of foreigners in bars and we shoot the bull about esl and evil wonjungs etc...
I would say at least all of them had a bad story to share.. or at least knew someone who got screwed...
I have met about 10 people who have done the midnight runner.. thats who I have personally met!!! not talking about my friends friends.. or I know this guy whose ex teacher at their hakwon did a runner..
10% of the people I have met did runners..
checked out this board since feburary 97. when I was checking my email in Dream Cafe in PNU! anyone remember..
even JoHn in those days had a black list.. use to read horror stories then.
even today on spectrum, or other sites there are blacklist forums and they are full of schools! wonjungs,recruiters which are just been EVIL!!
so many bad experiences it just makes me think!!
YES I have heard great stories.. My hakwon is sweet. my director is so nice. blar blar.. but how rare is this?
Does the bad out weight the good??? |
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kiwiboy_nz_99
Joined: 05 Jul 2003
Location: ...Enlightenment...
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| Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2004 2:34 am Post subject: |
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| The bad might not necessarily outweigh the good, because all the good stories aren't going to make it to message boards and black lists. I do however think there are a disturbingly high number of bad stories, if you consult the black lists like I have, the bad stories are legion. I think the esl industry in this country is still a cowboy affair with not enough professionalism from the bosses and not enough legal protection for the workers. |
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canuckistan
Mod Team
Joined: 17 Jun 2003
Location: Training future GS competitors.....
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| Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2004 2:46 am Post subject: |
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Working in most hagwon's here is like the show "Fear Factor."
It's "what are you willing to put up with for 2 million".... Won-per-month that is! |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2004 3:46 am Post subject: Re: Are there more bad stories than good in korean esl? |
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| itaewonguy wrote: |
| checked out this board since feburary 97. when I was checking my email in Dream Cafe in PNU! |
I definetely remember Dream Cafe in PNU. I had a membership there.. I don't recall knowing about this board however.. but I do recall talking to others about getting an email account and learning that you can actually check a hotmail account from any computer in the world. It was impressive!
Yep, Dream Cafe I believe was the one upstairs with membership, right? I get it confused with the other one that one is a restaurant/bar and you could drink beer while emailing and web surfing.
Often hung out at PNU.. Monk Bar, Hard-n-Heavy, Tombstone (my favorite at the time) and the Mexican restaurant that opened up across the street from it.
The of course the after-midnight runs to Dallas Club (because all of Korea's bars closed around that time. |
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Tiberious aka Sparkles
Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Location: I'm one cool cat!
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| Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2004 5:28 am Post subject: Re: Are there more bad stories than good in korean esl? |
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| itaewonguy wrote: |
| I have met 100"s of foreigners in bars and we shoot the bull... |
Watch the Freudian type-slip.
Sparkles*_* |
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itaewonguy
Joined: 25 Mar 2003
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| Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2004 6:39 am Post subject: Re: Are there more bad stories than good in korean esl? |
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| Tiger Beer wrote: |
| itaewonguy wrote: |
| checked out this board since feburary 97. when I was checking my email in Dream Cafe in PNU! |
I definetely remember Dream Cafe in PNU. I had a membership there.. I don't recall knowing about this board however.. but I do recall talking to others about getting an email account and learning that you can actually check a hotmail account from any computer in the world. It was impressive!
Yep, Dream Cafe I believe was the one upstairs with membership, right? I get it confused with the other one that one is a restaurant/bar and you could drink beer while emailing and web surfing.
Often hung out at PNU.. Monk Bar, Hard-n-Heavy, Tombstone (my favorite at the time) and the Mexican restaurant that opened up across the street from it.
The of course the after-midnight runs to Dallas Club (because all of Korea's bars closed around that time. |
wow seems like we were living the same life!!
dream cafe was the one door stairs, and there was a cafe/bar in it. and the pc area was in the corner owned by the korean guy..
yeah I got my first hotmail account there too. I too remember meeting people and discussing getting hotmail accounts.,.
were you there the night princess dianna died? we were all there reading about it on the net..
man I miss those days!! korea was sooo different!!!
monk, remember that recruiter perc? thing everyone went there...
late runs to dallas hahahhahah OHHH god!!! hahahahaha 
yeah had to change the scene sometimes so we use to boot all the way down to pusan station and drink vodka with the locals!! |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2004 2:53 pm Post subject: Re: Are there more bad stories than good in korean esl? |
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| itaewonguy wrote: |
wow seems like we were living the same life!!
dream cafe was the one door stairs, and there was a cafe/bar in it. and the pc area was in the corner owned by the korean guy..
yeah I got my first hotmail account there too. I too remember meeting people and discussing getting hotmail accounts.,.
were you there the night princess dianna died? we were all there reading about it on the net..
man I miss those days!! korea was sooo different!!!
monk, remember that recruiter perc? thing everyone went there...
late runs to dallas hahahhahah OHHH god!!! hahahahaha
yeah had to change the scene sometimes so we use to boot all the way down to pusan station and drink vodka with the locals!! |
I don't remember when Princess Diana died.. but I don't think I was there. it was probably after I left.. maybe I was in NYC or still in South America.. not sure.
Yes Korea was significantly different. Particularly Pusan. Early bar-closings. Everyone in Pusan remembered every thing about you and brought it up at the most strangest of times. For example, met some girl reading a J.D Salinger 'Catcher in the Rye' book.. chatted her up.. and she told me in detail of another time she saw me standing with 3 friends in the subway and what she assumed we were doing and where she assumed we were going, etc. That stuff on a routine regular basis.
Also recall 'The Expatriate' paper.. one guy Carl Moore who wrote is now living in New York City (I worked with him in NYC for 2 years) and another guy from "The Expatriate" is Rolf Potts who is now a published travel writer!! 
Also, MONK BAR. If you recall the owner.. he committed suicide during the IMF Crisis by jumping off the top of Lotte Department Store in Somyon.
Dallas Club.. too many stories.. I'll save the rest for another time.. |
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itaewonguy
Joined: 25 Mar 2003
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| Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2004 5:49 pm Post subject: Re: Are there more bad stories than good in korean esl? |
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| Tiger Beer wrote: |
| itaewonguy wrote: |
wow seems like we were living the same life!!
dream cafe was the one door stairs, and there was a cafe/bar in it. and the pc area was in the corner owned by the korean guy..
yeah I got my first hotmail account there too. I too remember meeting people and discussing getting hotmail accounts.,.
were you there the night princess dianna died? we were all there reading about it on the net..
man I miss those days!! korea was sooo different!!!
monk, remember that recruiter perc? thing everyone went there...
late runs to dallas hahahhahah OHHH god!!! hahahahaha
yeah had to change the scene sometimes so we use to boot all the way down to pusan station and drink vodka with the locals!! |
I don't remember when Princess Diana died.. but I don't think I was there. it was probably after I left.. maybe I was in NYC or still in South America.. not sure.
Yes Korea was significantly different. Particularly Pusan. Early bar-closings. Everyone in Pusan remembered every thing about you and brought it up at the most strangest of times. For example, met some girl reading a J.D Salinger 'Catcher in the Rye' book.. chatted her up.. and she told me in detail of another time she saw me standing with 3 friends in the subway and what she assumed we were doing and where she assumed we were going, etc. That stuff on a routine regular basis.
Also recall 'The Expatriate' paper.. one guy Carl Moore who wrote is now living in New York City (I worked with him in NYC for 2 years) and another guy from "The Expatriate" is Rolf Potts who is now a published travel writer!!
Also, MONK BAR. If you recall the owner.. he committed suicide during the IMF Crisis by jumping off the top of Lotte Department Store in Somyon.
Dallas Club.. too many stories.. I'll save the rest for another time.. |
ohh yeah I remember the owner of monk killing himself..
man.. wonder who got his cd collection! naa thats not funny..
hey you remember that deaf waitress at dallas? |
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Cthulhu
Joined: 02 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2004 6:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Dallas Club.. too many stories.. I'll save the rest for another time.. |
Say Tiger, you were in Busan in '96, right? Did you ever go to the old Legion Club (before the renovations killed it) just up the road? I was a regular in 96-97 and for a few months lived right behind the place with a few friends. Walking down the alley with a glass of soju in my hand...went to the Dallas a lot too, I have to say. Some memorable experiences indeed! |
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itaewonguy
Joined: 25 Mar 2003
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| Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2004 7:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Cthulhu wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Dallas Club.. too many stories.. I'll save the rest for another time.. |
Say Tiger, you were in Busan in '96, right? Did you ever go to the old Legion Club (before the renovations killed it) just up the road? I was a regular in 96-97 and for a few months lived right behind the place with a few friends. Walking down the alley with a glass of soju in my hand...went to the Dallas a lot too, I have to say. Some memorable experiences indeed! |
I remember that place.. and yes I was there too before the renovations..
they open a new bar also I remember.. man that place was a dump!! hahahahaha.. still it was like something out of starwars.. |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2004 10:26 pm Post subject: |
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Itaewonguy, I don't recall the deaf waitress at Dalles Club.
Cthulhu, I do remember LEGION! I was trying to remember that club's name as we'd usually go to both clubs regularly. Just couldn't remember the name
That was always a weird crowd.. 1/3 English Teachers, 1/3 G.I. Guys, and 1/3 generally Korean prostitues of some nature. I recall bringing my Korean girlfriend at the time (who spoke perfect English) to those bars as of course we were going out together.. and western guys would just say stuff in front of her in English assuming she was a tramp or something or another. Irritating. But anyhow, usually I was out with friends though most of my contract and would just pour into that place every Saturday night.. always interesting.. and always fun.
I also recall a great place to order something like chicken-on-a-stick which you'd get with rice.. I'd walk down and order that if in the neighborhood.. delicious stuff..
Its also strange how many people from 96-97 Busan crowd are still around.. and how many made their way up to Seoul. I have two other ex pusan-co-workers who are in Seoul now.. and a couple others who were recently around still recently left again. |
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Cthulhu
Joined: 02 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2004 7:34 am Post subject: |
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Itaewonguy, I DO remember the deaf chick at the Dallas. The Star Wars reference seems appropriate too. Lots of fights and weirdos.
| Quote: |
| That was always a weird crowd.. 1/3 English Teachers, 1/3 G.I. Guys, and 1/3 generally Korean prostitues of some nature |
That's about the right mix, though early on the English teacher element seemed to be the minority with the G.I.'s picking up the slack. The Dallas always seemed to have a few more teachers than the old Legion Club.
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I also recall a great place to order something like chicken-on-a-stick which you'd get with rice.. I'd walk down and order that if in the neighborhood.. delicious stuff..
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That would be the departed and lamented "Chicken Shack", otherwise officially known as "The Best Chicken House in Busan." Located across from Hialeah's main gate and halfway between the Dallas and Legion. Great memories... |
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canuckistan
Mod Team
Joined: 17 Jun 2003
Location: Training future GS competitors.....
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| Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2004 8:10 am Post subject: |
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| Since after the first couple of posts this thread went off topic, should we re-name it "The Good Old Days In Busan" ? |
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Cthulhu
Joined: 02 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2004 8:30 am Post subject: |
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Hell yeah!
Too many depressing threads around here as it is.  |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2004 11:56 am Post subject: |
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| canuckistan wrote: |
| Since after the first couple of posts this thread went off topic, should we re-name it "The Good Old Days In Busan" ? |
Yes. Good idea. Someone should. I almost athought about it.. "Pusan 96/97' thread.. as its before IMF and many have that same experience/memory..
to your question - YES! |
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