Korean Job Discussion Forums

[The evil penguin]

Is anybody else forced into a wangta existance due to the inability of k-coworkers to regard foreigners...as..well... people.

Been in the job for 3 weeks now (no, not a newbie to korea- have just returned after a 4 year break) and all my enthusiasm for starting a new job has died a pretty horrible death.

Since starting, nobody, (with the exception of the secretary who keeps handing me different forms to fill in) has made any effort to talk to me during the day- except for the obligatory morning greeting as we walk into the office.

And so i sit, at my little wangta desk, in my little wangta corner, trying to actually to get some kind of meaning from the job i'm supposed to do.. as all the folk on the other side of the room (literally, I'm tucked away in an isolated corner near the unused filing cabinet and broken photocopier) babble away to each other....

Lunch-times are also fun... First day the group disappeared together, the flustered secretary stammering the apology "we know foreigners don't like eating korean food all the time so...ummmmm...errrrrr" before she rushed off to join them. Leaving me to wangta-wander the campus...... hands in pockets, kicking an old rusty can in front of me as i walk... shoulders hunched as i miserably try to ignore the drizzling rain..... You get the picture.

World class university my arse.

[Silence Dogood]

It is a sign from the sky that your mind must be brought to new heights. Thou should study the ancient texts of civilization and ask yourself "who am I"?

[climber159]

Slurp your soup louder and express your love and devotion to the many and varied kimchies. You'll be right back on top of things in no time.

Or, stop caring what your coworkers think of you. Do you job, be polite, and consider it a blessing that you can have a personal life that isn't being constantly poked and proded by your Koworkers.

[The evil penguin]

[Ya-ta Boy]

Maybe you can buy your way into social acceptance with a couple of bags of oranges and some cookies. If that fails, check the expiration date on your deodorant.

[fortysixyou]

I SOOOOOO know exactly what you're talking about!

I've been there, man. I've been right where you're sitting.

I swear to God, I went 3 months without even being acknowledged by a fellow co-worker at a hakwon last year. No greetings, no lunchies, no class support, no nothing. I eventually got transferred to another department, where a nice hot foreigner-friendly ko-teacher took me under her wing.


I wish I knew how to break the spell, man. I guess the best thing is just don't be the only foreigner in the office. That doesn't help you much though.


People are all so noonchi-sensitive in the office, no one really wants to hang with the new scary foreigner. The women probably want to talk to you, but if they do they'll get pegged as foreigner-loving hussies. The men probably don't give a shoot, unless you want to go smoke cigarettes and play pool with them, which you probably don't.

Try fostering relationships with your ko-workers outside of the office. I think that's where the relationships are formed. Maybe ask them out for drinks some Friday. My former hot foreigner-friendly ko-teacher really started to like me after I invited her out to one of my shows (I'm a musician). I never got with her, but we sure became friends after that.


Hope that helps.

[Mr. Pink]

Is it really that big a deal to eat with Koreans? Where are the other foreigners? If it is a university, are you the only foreigner they hired? Sounds weird. I have never worked at a place where I was the lone waegookin.

As another poster said, bribery works miracles in this country. Bring in some cake or fruit for them - they will love you in no time

[fermentation]

Is this a bad thing?

[beercanman]

I feel sort of the same here in China. I'm quiet and reserved anyway, and the frequent language barrier does not help. I'm in a pretty big company with I don't know how many Chinese, 100 or 200, and I'm the only foreigner in the building, spending all day in my own office which has its own bathroom. People come in now and then with questions and things for me to proofread, but other than that the days are spent mostly in silence. It's not stressful or anything bad really, just a bit odd.

There have been three or four people here who had never once said a word to me for up to four months, not even "hi" so I just assumed they knew no English, then one day they'll say something to me in passable English, like, "Let's take this car today because the bus is not coming," surprising me. But mostly I think most just kind of ignore me in what someone else called a "benign neglect." They may sort of just be unsure how to act around someone different. A lot of people have so little experience with foreigners and perhaps regard them as really different for whatever reason. I think a lot of it is about being the only foreigner too. Another thing is their nervousness with using English and worries about what co-workers will think, blah blah blah. I think a lot of them want or maybe even expect some stereotyped foreigner like a character from a sitcom, all cheerful and chatty.

[manlyboy]

I've found that most Koreans, and by that I mean the shy, socially awkward ones, not the students and barflies, expect the foreigner to do the heavy lifting early on when socializing. They tend to expect the stereotype of the extroverted, outgoing westerner. If they're shy and withdrawn, that's OK, 'cause they're Korean. If you're shy and withdrawn, there's something wrong with you, because they distinctly remember from Bruce Willis movies that normal westerners aren't like that.

[beercanman]

I read once about a Korean woman not being hired for a job (I assume that required English ability) because her English was too good! The employer explained that her high level of English might cause some conflict with the other workers. So the employer hired a less proficient English speaker to maintain group harmony.

I wonder how common this sort of thing is, and whether perhaps it has any bearing on the type of situation the OP is talking about. It almost sounds absurd, but maybe you've experienced a new kid coming into a class and being way better than the others at English, how they hate that kid especially if the star is younger.

Is what we have to some extent a huge amount of money and time spent on learning English plus a fear of being an outcast for showing off? It's not only the kids who can be petty about these things.

[crescent]

You're not missing anything.

[djsmnc]

The hell with the people in the office. Go out one night and you can make 100 Korean friends easy. You'll be so busy sending texts in your down time at work that you won't know anyone there exists.

[Pojogae]

[beercanman]

Ah, coulda been that Breen book, wasn't sure. Guess that is a bit of an old story then. Just wondered if this kind of thing persists still.

A bit unrelated, but a few times when I've been in the same situation you describe, the only foreigner, and the others are flying in their native language, and then you laugh or something because you understood a comment, it can be interesting. Someone may be apt to remark something like, "Oh, you understood that? I better be careful what I say."

I figure the group comes first, but are we part of the group? Not sure about that. Not that you really want to be, as they say, but just want some consideration I guess. These Asian countries are strange.