Korean Job Discussion Forums

[kmr538]

I am in the process of deciding to move to Korea and teach at the start of Sept. I am Canadian easy going, but my biggest concern is meeting people. I have heard such conflicting stories about how easy it is to make some great friends. I am considering taking a job in Seoul, and many people that have lived in Korea have stated that it is much more difficult to meet people in Seoul than smaller centers.
Ugh, some advice from those that live there and do/do not have friends!!
Thanks

[Straphanger]

My best friends are the ones that leave me alone. Look, the best friend I have here, I see him....once a month? Other than that, I'm on-site, I'm doing site work (which is teaching kids at the moment), and I just don't care to be bothered.

There's a HUGE Canadian community in Daegu, they're not bad. It's the 양곡s (if I spelled that right) ... the Aussies and the Brits that are jerks.

[Kimbop]

Are you good-looking, female, rich, and promiscuous? If not, you'll likely be ignored.

[kiknkorea]

[blurgalurgalurga]

Yeah, no worries, you'll be ok. It'll help if you're a drinker or into sports, I'd think. There's other stuff here too obviously--arts and music and religion and all that--but those scenes can be a little bit tougher to crack.

I'd recommend taking some free Korean lessons in Seoul, thereby getting to know a cross section of people (including non-teachers), and also increasing your conversational enjoyment of the locals.

[bobbybigfoot]

If you have normal social skills, it might take you awhile to fit in.

If you have abnormal social skills, then you just need to locate the right crowd. (the geeks, the alcoholics, the douchebags, the slackers...)

75% of English teachers here are abnormal in some way.
25% are A-OK.

Good luck.

[Straphanger]

[jajdude]

[esglumac]

Watch who you hang out with....

If you care to maintain any amount of class, then you will see

what I mean when you arrive.

Oh, and stay outta Iteawon, it won't help your employment terms

[kmr538]

these comments leave me feeling discouraged....
any positive stories out there to balance the negative ones out?

[Kimbop]

I ignore most newcomers unless they have something to offer me. I rarely go out of my way to make desperate, 20,000-dollar-a-year new English teachers feel welcomed in Korea. They slow me down and are usually uninteresting, cheap people. And I'm too busy to waste my time by drinking with hakwon babysitters.

[Sophomorik]

[Kikomom]

When you get a job offer, make sure to have the current teacher(s) there contact you (or vice versa). If it's a hagwon with multi teachers, they may even live in the same building. You can make friends with them on Facebook, and start networking from there.

After you get your ARC, you can get a cell phone then keep in touch with new friends via texting and meeting up for dinner and whatever after classes. The cell made a BIG difference to my son, having his friends be able to contact him easily.

In the meantime, check out some blogs and see what others are doing with their life in SoKo. http://www.koreanbloglist.com/

[blurgalurgalurga]

Don't worry. It's easy to make friends in Korea.

[RufusW]

If you go with a public school you'll have orientation (a week of lectures and drinking) so you can meet people when you've first arrived and stay in contact. (This definitely happens with EPIK, don't know about SMOE etc...)