Korean Job Discussion Forums

[legalquestions]

As an older (51 years old) white, American, assistant professor at a law school here in Korea, I often garner quite a bit of (much appreciated) respect from my students.

But at other times I feel a bit of ridicule: "Why did you change careers from American attorney (high status, I suppose) to Korean law school (ie "mediocre) professor" (not quite so high status I suppose)?

Also, "Why did you marry a Filipina?" (not so highly regarded in Korea, because of the south Asian, dark skin/racism issues).

I am quite content here (and that is what matters to me), but I can't quite understand why the Koreans can't get past this narrow-minded way of thinking.

Anyone else encounter this this here?

[moosehead]

every foreigner encounters similar qs.

if you want to be happy here (or anywhere for that matter) you need to set your own clock, not let others set it for you.

[gangwonbound]

Korean's would rather live in a bed of Lies rather than face the harsh truth...I guess it works so far as long as they keep blaming others and not losing face.

[Bloopity Bloop]

Uh... I think it's because they've grown up in such a homogeneous society. Isn't this common sense?

Diversity doesn't play a role in Korean society, so I'd assume the same values/morals regarding foreigners (lighter good, darker bad!) get passed down generation after generation.

Also, the poster above me is right in the sense that Koreans are not actively incorporating new (modern, less xenophobic, 2009?) ways of thinking. My Korean friend justified this by bringing up Korea's history of being attacked and that Hermit Kingdom stuff.

Add those 2 together, and I'm sure you get the bulk of Koreans' "ignorance".

[JongnoGuru]

We used to have a weekly calendar in the office, and in the corner of each week sheet, there was a 1-panel, English-language comics along with the (frequently inaccurate or incomplete) hangul translation below it. Staggeringly unfunny and stale jokes for the most part, I didn't pay much attention to them but the Korean staff would always read them.

There was one that showed a wealthy tycoon being driven around by his chauffeur, and the dialogue went something like...

[superacidjax]

[Ya-ta Boy]

[dporter]

I was asked similar questions while teaching at a uni in China. My standard answer revolved around the issue of adventure.

Living in the states and going to work 9-5 isn't much of an adventure. In fact, generally speaking, we don't have much risk or adventure in our everyday lives here in the U.S.

But move to a place where you are the minority and don't speak the language and life gets very interesting. Suddenly, mundane tasks like getting a haircut and trying to buy 2% milk take on a whole new level of adventure.

So when asked by a student why I moved to China I usually answered, 'Because life is more adventurous for me here.'

[jsk]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. In every conversation I have with students, they always ask me why I decided to come to Korea and teach English rather than work as an attorney back home.

Back in the U.S. I often talked to Korean temporary workers and immigrants and invariably I found myself asking them the same questions my students here ask me. I don't think it's to be rude, just an attempt to make conversation across language/cultural barriers.

[Cheonmunka]

[bassexpander]

I am asked the same thing occasionally. Only they want to know why I married a Korean.

[need 2 know]

Do your own thing. All it takes is a few good friends, (preferably one REAL good one) and hell with what other people think. The "you're not there game" they play used to bother me, but I know I have more fun accidently than they do on purpose. Nobody gets to bring me down. I reserve that right for myself alone. Cheers!

[Yu_Bum_suk]

I think we should keep in mind that Koreans are often faced with this thinking, too. Talk to any Koreans who've got divorced and you'll find out that they're often bombarded with puzzlement from people wondering why they didn't put up with an intolerable home life for the sake of their career and family status. Even some teachers who could have gone into other fields get this. One of our graduates had such high CSAT scores (which doesn't happen often at our school) that she could have gone to a SKY uni, but chose instead a university of education because she wants to be an elementary school teacher. I'm sure she'll have to put up with a lot of stupid questions, too.

When it comes to waegooks, this seems to show a tacit acknowledgement of western superiority at times. For all the 'Korea #1' hype one sometimes senses, they do seem to feel inside that the west is tops and that's why it's hard for them to figure out why we'd prefer here to there.

[samcheokguy]

I always just say "I can make more money teaching English than teaching Russian." It usually works fine.

[ThingsComeAround]

Every time I goto KB and the teller can't explain why I don't get a Debit card, I get mixed feelings about Korea

Every time I get into the taxi and the driver overcharges me off the meter, I get mixed feelings about Korea

When I goto Dunkin Donuts and taste the hard/plastic-like chocolate honey dipped donut that isn't anything like the sugar-heavy yet fluffy variety from back home, I get mixed feelings about Korea.

When I come to work and asked to do something random and unrelated to teaching *which suddenly supersedes teaching* I get mixed feelings about Korea

I get that feeling quite often