Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Big Mac]

I'm about a week away from the completion of my fourth contract in Korea. It's been a good few years and I'm glad I came here. I've had a lot of good times and I'll take a lot of good memories with me. On the other hand, I'm also glad I'll be leaving for good in six months.

For my first few years in Korea I was willing to overlook all the little odd things that make Koreans unique. I never really gave them a second thought. I tried to be patient. I actually found the differences interesting. But I've been finding that over the last few months, all those little things that I never really gave a second thought to before are bothering me more and more. Sometimes these things make me so angry that I just want to scream at people. I know that this is a very good sign that it is time for me to leave, and I'm glad that I will be leaving soon. It's definitely time to move on.

So I thought I would compile a list of the things that after four years in Korea I will never be able to get used to.

--The fact that no one seems to pay attention to what is going on around them, especially when they are driving or walking.

--Answering the cell phone is always more important than the person who is talking to you face to face. It is impossible not to answer your cell phone out of respect for the person you are talking to or the class you are teaching. Sometimes I think it will be easier to talk to someone on their cell phone instead of face to face because they won't be interrupted ten times during the conversation. Why are Koreans so popular anyway? No one calls me on my cell phone every five minutes.

--Driving seems to be a free-for-all where you make up the rules as you go.

--Park on both sides of the street and who cares if there's enough room for another car to get through, let alone traffic going in both directions.

--People who feel the need to point out what they consider to be your physical imperfections. They'll point out every zit, every bit of fat, your big "nose holes"....everything they don't like, never once considering your feelings. On the other hand, they will also point out what they do like about you physically...to the point of being somewhat creepy and a little too touchy-feely.

--People who feel the need to analyze everything in your shopping cart and give you disapproving looks once they've decided that it isn't what they would eat and that all foreigners eat bad food.

--Old people who think they can do whatever they want and get away with it just because they are old. This really annoys me when I'm at the bank or paying for something in a store and the old person basically pushes me aside and insists that the clerk deal with them NOW instead. It annoys me even more when the clerk decides to keep the old guy happy and starts to ignore me.

--Safety is not important. Kids can ride on the back of motorcycles without a helmet while their parent is wearing one. Third floor windows in a school can have kids hanging out of them, with no supervision, in danger of falling to their deaths. People deliver food on motorcycles at 100 km/hr while holding on with just one hand and holding the delivery container in the other. Nobody knows what a car seat is. Red lights are a suggestion. Buses start moving before you even put your feet on the ground. I could go on and on.

--Nobody knows what the temperature gauge on an air conditioner or heater is for. In the summer, you turn the air conditioner to 18 and put it on turbo and when it gets too cold you turn it off. In the winter, you turn the heat up to 30 and when it gets too hot you turn it off and open the windows. The bathroom is so cold that the water in the toilet is about to freeze. Heat is not necessary in the hallway. And of course, you can only turn an air conditioner or a heater on on the specified date that all Koreans know, regardless of how hot or cold it is outside.

--You wear your coat in the classroom and complain that you're too hot. Taking off the coat is not an option. Turning off the heat is. You sit in front of the air conditioner and complain that you're too cold. Moving is not an option. Turning off the air conditioner is.

--Are you married? Why not? Are you a grandfather? (I'm 32, but they can't get their head around the fact that I have grey hair). How old are you? What university did you go to? What's your university's rank? (aren't they all the same in Canada?). Where are you from? Oh, Canada...Bancouber?

--Leaving everything until the last minute.

--There is no need to tell you important information. You must learn to read minds.

--Plumbing is just sliding two pipes together and hoping that they will stay that way. There is no need to put in place fixtures that block the smell coming up from the sewer. Don't you like the smell of poo and rotten kimchi in your bathroom?

--You must like ALL Korean food. It is not acceptable to only like certain things. And if you don't like it, it's an insult to all Koreans. But the food you eat in Canada is bad for you. You must eat Korean food instead.

--Korea is perfect. There is nothing bad about Korea. Koreans can do no wrong and are the best. If we only say good things about Korea, foreigners will believe there is nothing bad about Korea. Only foreigners do bad things.

--No soap in the bathrooms.

--No toilet paper in the toilet stall. You must decide how much toilet paper you will need beforehand and take it from the communal roll.

--Staring. What is so interesting about me washing my car?

--Common sense? Logic? Critical thinking? What are those things?

--But this is the way we've always done it! We cannot change it. It's impossible.

--There's a chief for this. A chief for that. A principal. A vice principal. A head teacher. A vice chief of nonsense. A chief of the chief. A consultant that only consults when you don't follow the rules exactly and think too much for yourself. What do all these people do? Can you ask them for help? Do they offer their help? Do they know how to deal with problem children? Can they help you improve your teaching style? Do they work to improve the quality of the education being offered? Do they have advanced wisdom and a superior intellect? No...they are old and their job is comfortable. We can't bother them. We must solve our problems ourselves and learn from the other teachers.

--Horking on the street. Horking on the stairway in my apartment building. Horking in the urinals. If you take a pee in Korea you must hork in the urinal. It is culturally unacceptable to do otherwise.

--I want to learn English, but I don't care about your culture. I just want to pass my tests so I can get a good job. But Korean culture is great, wonderful you must know everything about our culture because our culture is the best and kimchi cures cancer and Japan is bad blah blah blah. After four years in Korea, I don't want to hear anything more about Korean culture unless I ask. I've heard enough now and it is no longer interesting to me, just as my culture is not interesting to you. So stop ramming it down my throat!!!

--People who give you bad directions (especially at tourist centres) and know it's bad but are too embarrassed to tell you that they don't know. They'd rather you figure out on your own that the directions are bad, no matter how long it takes you.

--My alien registration card number is rejected from every website in Korea, despite the fact that I've been told for years that this problem will be fixed soon.

--Confidentiality does not exist. Your doctor will call up your school and tell them about your problems (this has happened to me). Your salary and personal information is discussed openly and sometimes left about the classroom for all to see. I'm not even sure how safe your banking info is and I've suspected in the past that my boss knows a little too much about what I'm doing with my money.

I think that's enough. Any other long-timers have things that they will never get used to? Is it strange for me to go for years and suddenly have my patience wearing thin?

[asmith]

I have a secret happy place!

[Bronski]

[VanIslander]

Big Mac, several of things that you never got used to I TOLD MYSELF BEFORE I CAME HERE I HAD TO DEAL WITH AND ACCEPT IT AS A FACT OF LIFE AND NOT TO GET MORAL OR FRUSTRATED WITH IT BECAUSE IT WILL NOT CHANGE: carelessness toward strangers in public, risky behaviour lacking safety precautions in many areas of Korean life, extremes of heat and cold with doors and windows illogically open, bali bali rushing last minute after delaying decisions and actions, not being informed of class schedule changes, no soap or tissue in bathrooms, an unwillingness to do different that the korean way, spitting, a willingness to give bad directions rather than admit they don't know.

None of the aforementioned in and of themselves really bother me because I prepared myself for them. This is a different country, and I tried to prepare myself for the adjustment, not just to try and appreciate the differences, but to accept a lot of them - but I'm not a thoroughgoing relativist and so things like the abuse of women and dogs in public have gotten me really upset, as has the refusal of service just because I'm a foreigner.

[eamo]

[soviet_man]

Thanks for sharing Big Mac.

What can I say >>> daves eslcafe class of 2005 certainly still keeps it real.

I guess you have to ask would a 5th contract bring anything new that the other 4 previous ones did not.

[McGenghis]

[eamo]

[polonius]

People stopping in a doorway, or while walking down a busy sidewalk, or at the bottom of an escalator.

People rushing into elevators or subways before letting people out.

People touching my 21 month old son. He is blond haired and blue eyed. He is back in Canada. Sad for me, but, now he won't have to worry about being perceived as a superstar.

No concept of what a line is.

A gaggle of people walking either arm in arm or side by side, making it impossible to pass them. Furthermore, they are walking super slow.

The assumption that I can't eat spicy food. BTW, I don't think Korean food is spicy. Try Thai, that is great.

Soju is the greatest alcohol ever to be produced.

Men treating their wives as servants rather than the best friend they should be. Fathers being to busy to spend any quality time with their kids.

I love my lifestyle in Korea. I love many things that are Korean. I have enjoyed most everyday of my 7 years here. But, I am counting down the days until I fly out this August and set up my roots in Canada. I am not ruling out coming back to Korea, as I have been treated very well where I work. But the goal is to stay in Canada.

Good luck to you Big Mack.

[Joe666]

Quote:
--Confidentiality does not exist. Your doctor will call up your school and tell them about your problems (this has happened to me). Your salary and personal information is discussed openly and sometimes left about the classroom for all to see. I'm not even sure how safe your banking info is and I've suspected in the past that my boss knows a little too much about what I'm doing with my money.

Another Quote:

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