Korean Job Discussion Forums

Kea Joenee · Joined: 09 Jan 2009

A man working at Home Plus whom I met went to college in Kentucky for a few year--he speaks perfect English.

No one at immigration is anywhere close to fluent in English.

Did I go on a bad day, or is this just the way Korea is?

....I think it's just Korea. Before I lived in Seoul, I visited here, and I had to let a 10-year old kid help me at a bus station because the foreigner desk couldn't speak English at all.

jkelly80 · Joined: 13 Jun 2007 Location: you boys like mexico?

Don't say sparkling, it's a racial slur, apparently.

mayorgc · Joined: 19 Oct 2008

i've also met a guy at homeplus, who was korean, who spoke surprisingly good english. What's a guy like that working in the meat department? He was a pretty good guy too, helpful.

GwangjuParents · Joined: 31 Oct 2008

The guy may speak perfect English, but in Korea it's the official tests that determine where you go. The paper test is what counts most.

Maybe he didn't do well on the tests. Or maybe just doesn't want to work for the gov't.

Straphanger · Joined: 09 Oct 2008 Location: Chilgok, Korea

Jane · Joined: 01 Feb 2003

The couple who work at my morning coffee place speak great English, better than most Koreans I meet, or at my work. Yet, they serve coffee.

They want to leave Korea though and go back to the States.

ekul · Joined: 04 Mar 2009 Location: [Mod Edit]

Being able to speak English doesn't necessarily qualify you to be an immigration official. There are plenty of kids that can speak English well because they have lived in the Philippines or India but they are not smart kids, at least in an academic sense.

Xuanzang · Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Location: Sadang

Could have had a hot powered job but then a mental breakdown. Or he doesnt have the papers - the sejongs or the SKY degrees.

jkelly80 · Joined: 13 Jun 2007 Location: you boys like mexico?

harlowethrombey · Joined: 17 Mar 2009 Location: Seoul

bassexpander · Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Location: Someplace you'd rather be.

Which immigration office?

I'm impressed by the level of English at the Jungno office. It's quite wonderful. I can remember earlier in the decade when many there didn't communicate well in English. I really appreciate how things have changed.

The Cosmic Hum · Joined: 09 May 2003 Location: Sonic Space

harlowethrombey wrote:

Forward Observer · Joined: 13 Jan 2009 Location: FOB Gloria

I've got you all beat. At work (Top Korean company) I was eating at the cafeteria. DISHWASHER outside smoking a cig, speaks to me in near perfect English. Lived in Virginia and drove a cab for 25 years and came back to Korea. No formal education, but a really nice guy.

ChinaBoy · Joined: 17 Feb 2007

travelingfool · Joined: 10 Mar 2008 Location: Parents' basement

The solution to this problem is simple......LEARN TO SPEAK KOREAN!!!!!!

I rarely have anything good to say about Korea except when talking about their pizza, medical care, and public transportation, all of which are great in my opinion. The point is that I am not an apologist in the slightest. I get really pissed off when immigrants come to the US and expect us the cater to them in their native language. I get even more angry when foreigners refuse or have no interest in learning English or anything about our history or culture. What I am saying is that for me to waltz into immigration or a bank in Korea and get all indignant about them not speaking English would be extremely hypocritical.

This bears repeating again.....LEARN TO SPEAK KOREAN, or Chinese, Spanish, Russian, or whatever the language is where you are going. Not only will it make life easier and help you connect with the locals, it will also make teaching more effective, but I digress.