Korean Job Discussion Forums

[whome33]

I've spoken to this with some korean girls i've been dating. And the obvious consensus is that 'so many' english teachers cause problems in korea. Me and some pals were talking about this lastnight. Clearly there are alot of young westerners, fresh out of university. That, and the price of soju, makes for some wild nights. For alot of teachers, korea is an extrension of college life.
But the reputation is such a shame. Because the truth is, the percentage on english teachers who cause trouble is such a small minority. In any group of people there are always going to be some trouble-makers. Yet, because of the media, all english teachers are perceived as trouble makers.
This saddens me, because I know there are alot of westerners here who really love korea. Personally, I do. So does every other english teacher I meet. I think the negativity on this forum isn't a true sample of the opinion that the 1000's of teachers throughout the country have about korea. Sure, there are some things that bother me about Korea, but I love it here nonetheless. There are things that bother me about Canada, so what? But there's so many teachers who have been here 5+ years, have korean gf's or wives, love their students and jobs, and various other things about the ROK.
However I don't think that the general Korean population realizes this. Having sad that, is there anything we can do to change the reputation of english teachers in Korea? How can we remind that that we are choosing to be here instead of Japan, China, Taiwan. How would they feel if there was a mass exodus of experienced, quality teachers to those countries instead? But most of all, how could we convey to Koreans that we love being here, and we love teaching their kids?
suggestions?
maybe its been done..but what about an 'I know Dodko' tshirt?
or just '[Mod Edit] Japan!' t-shirt (politically incorrect, i know..but effective?). I bet a waegook wearing one of those tshirts would be getting high fives on the subway from ajosshi's instead of bad looks.

[Moldy Rutabaga]

[....]

[beercanman]

Smart people will take you as you are, individually. Forget about the others if they aren't smart enough to do that and withhold their ideas until they actually know you. In fact, feel sorry for them. Easy to say, may not be easy to do. Media are a joke. No smart person buys all that crap. I may say I dislike a society, generally, but not everyone there. That would be idiotic.

[halfmanhalfbiscuit]

And yet she isn't able to mention a single example. She just mentions "so many". She should stop watching the K-news and features.

Koreans are pretty myopic, especially as Koreans more so than individuals. I noticed it coming back on the plane-the warnings over the strength of gochujang in tubes for the bibimbap meal and the stewardess saying I shouldn't drink too much as it makes foreigners too warm for the temperature check. wtf???

It takes a lot for Koreans to be able to stand outside of their Korean-ness and drop the foreigner shock nonsense.

[misher]

[Moldy Rutabaga]

[....]

[Julius]

[halfmanhalfbiscuit]

[He with Horns on Head]

[whome33]

well it certainly isnt a korean only thing to believe what one hears on tv (remember 'weapons of mass destruction'?)

obviously a xenophobic bias is going to be condusive to believing anything negative one hears about foreigners. it just seems so contradictive, as their society is putting so much emphasis on learning english. english ability ties in so much with university acceptance, and good job. where's the appreciation? seriously..

[GwangjuParents]

Most Koreans don't read those goofy English newspaper... And thank god for that..

Hate to burst any bubbles, but most Koreans are indifferent to the ESL crowd, the same way back home most of the locals are indifferent to Asian immigrants who basically live in their own little worlds.

Sorry ESL'ers: No one really cares about you...

Contrary to what some people think here, 99.9 percent of all Koreans do not stay awake at night wondering about some 22 year-old westerners and their 2.2 million a month salary and free airfare.

They've got more pressing things to think about....

[grunden]

Who cares how we are perceived, I know that the people at the bank perceive me as a big saver of cash as I wire huge hunks of money home each month. The important thing is how will people back home perceive me when they see me in the shelby I will be driving next summer.

[whome33]

[giraffe]

As an outsider view here. IM not an english teacher, never was. When im in korea people assume im an english teacher ( understandable) soo no matter what i fall into the english teacher are bad category even though im not one. however, i've honestly havent had many problems with koreans on that front. Most of them approach me happily to get a free english conversation or start small talk like " do you like kimchi" " where are you from" or ajumma bringing their kids over for me to talk to. Most are also curious. I've had korean grandmas and grandpas come up to me wanting to shake my hand and touch me. Over all my experience with korean people has been 99% good and harmless. There is a 1% where i have been stared at with the evil eyes, cursed at or even spat at But those situations are sooo far and few apart that I dont even think about it. From my experience theres ALOT more back stabbing , bad mouthing in between english teachers especially And im starting to think that ALOT of what fuels this "english teachers are bad" comes from our side talking bad about each other. I've witness / been around other english teachers talking bad things about some other english teachers in fron of koreans saying thigns like "oh that guy does alot of drugs back home" " hes uneducated, not smart" " Hes ugly, a nerd , cant get a girl." I've walked by other foreigners and behind my back i would hear them talk about me "oh look at that guy with his korean GF, he must of been a loser back home" the funny thing is i look back and its some foreigner with a korean GF haha. Why would anyone say that about an other foreigners? Probably to make themselves look better in front of other koreans, set themselves apart for not being the same as most foreigners there. Sure, you're trying to make yourself look good but in the end its only hurting your self because koreans end up taking this as truth and it spreads and bites you in the ass. YEs there are some stupid english teachers in the country that do retarded things and yes they deserve to get that reputation BUT i think koreans are smart enough not to think every english teacher are like that. Most koreans have interacted with an english teacher and they know that most of them are OK people.

[samd]