Korean Job Discussion Forums

[kinerry]

I'm talking sitting down at a bar or someone's house and having a long talk about things. That would be mind blowing.

Does it happen?

[Yaya]

Many North Koreans would love to GET OUT of South Korea. The defectors are discriminated against and the ones lucky enough to have defected to the West get more benefits than they do here.

Defectors are also monitored by South Korean intelligence, and well, I'd say most don't speak English. Don't forget, many defectors might still hold strong antagonism against Americans.

That said, you can meet them at certain churches they frequent, since many churches help defectors. If you really want to talk to one, you can offer to teach one English.

[beercanman]

Here's an old thread you might find interesting:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=23273&highlight=

[the_beaver]

Hardly mind blowing.

[seoulsucker]

Yup. A friend of mine does some work with an international aid group that deals with the halfway camps in Thailand and introduced me to a group of about 5 guys.

We had soju, samgyeopsal and drinks in Hongdae. Pretty interesting conversation...the discrimination thing is pretty hardcore. They even have special ID numbers...tough when you're applying for a job, a phone, insurance, a lease, etc.

However, they have a network of people here that really help them out.

The accent is kind of a giveaway as well...most of them just claim to be from the northern part of Gangwon province to avoid any drama when people ask.

[apocalyptic_tea]

When I was a kid I went to the DMZ with my folks and looked through the binoculars that let you peek into the mysterious and alluring Northern side of the DMZ. I actually did see someone walking toward the coast, and said as much--all the other tourists around me freaked out and clamored for the binocs.

Astoundingly enough, it turns out that North Koreans look pretty human from a distance. ;P

[drkalbi]

I once met a guy from North Dakota. Does that count?

[winterwawa]

Most of you probably won't believe this, but I have actually dated two North Korean women. The first was while I was in university. I did a year in Manchester England as an exchange student, and while there I met a Korean girl. We became friends and started dating. After our first date she told me she worked for the People's Republic of Korea. At first I didn't believe her, so she showed me her ID card. She wouldn't tell me what her job in N. K. was, but she was telling the truth. We didn't date very long because she was more interested in finishing her degree than having fun, but she was an interesting person.

The second North Korean I dated was here in Korea. Her and her family fled N.K. at the beginning of the Korean War. She and I worked at the same university in Daejeon. We dated for about three months. Then one day her father saw us together and he made her stop seeing me. This was back in 2000. We never talked about her life in N.K. She said that talking about her life in N.K. made her uncomfortable, so I didn't push her.

[beercanman]

Not many outsider dudes have dated one, never mind 2 North Korean women, so, well, um, ...I don't know. Interesting?

[mc_jc]

I was part of an entourage that accompanied Dick Cheney when he came to Korea in 2007. One of the places we visited was a relocation and transition center located near Deajon.
The stories these people told of their experience really made me understand how bad they had it up there.
During a hiring drive in Youido once, a lovely young North Korean woman came to the booth applying for a clerical job onbase. She had a really solid resume and worked extensively abroad with several state-run North Korean trading companies. Unfortunately, the USFK had a strict rule of not hiring North Koreans because of the difficulty of doing background checks on them.

[pete213]

[Yesterday]

[Xuanzang]

[beercanman]

Most of you probably won't believe this

but I once had a 3some with Santa and the easter bunny

[thekingofdisco]

Met the whole 66 world cup football team in Sheffield! Seemed a very nice bunch (although life was obviously pretty good for them in Pyongyang, compared to the rest of the country).