Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Bingo]

Recently Korea is really bothering me. Maybe it's the change in the weather, but every negative thing that I can usually get passed is piling up. The horking, snorting, hacking, spitting, littering, bumping, pushing in line, prehistoric table manners, people not saying thank you, excuse me or I'm sorry, cars blocking crosswalks, motorcycles on the sidewalk, general discouresy, gum snapping, staring, inane questions, those vegetable trucks, the dude who invades my privacy (and sleep) over the speaker at six in the morning, car horns, excessive whistle blowing by those traffic guys, traffic congestion, polllution, neglect of dogs that are tied up all day, jerks who smoke anywhere and everywhere (even directly under no smoking signs), the ongoing nonsense about blood type, incessant insistences on Koreans being geniuses and very kind, taxi drivers who don't stop for foreigners, anti-Americanism, the whole 5000 year nonsense, noise (everywhere, all the time), having to tell my students a hundred times each class to stop talking, the incredible hassle that one must go through to get a sick day off when you have the flu, cars going down one way streets in the wrong direction, neighbours slamming their doors every time they go in or out, lying recruiters, dishonest employers, sneezing on packed buses and subways, pushing onto an elevator before the people on the elevator have exited, the (criminal) refusal of parents to place their children in seatbelts, the fact that nobody washes their hands after using the bathroom, bus drivers who think that throwing their passengers around the cabin is part of their job description, the fact that they wait until the very last minute to inform
the foreign teacher of anything, etc etc etc..

I like my job and adore my students. Besides that, however, I'm really piszed off with Korea recently. It'll pass, but at the moment I aint feeling the dynamism....And that whole 'Dynamic Korea' thing. Don't get me started on that. If it was so friggin dynamic they wouldn't need to keep going on about it. It would be so obvious we'd be telling them that Korea is dynamic. Not the other way around.

I'm finished. Thank you for your indulgence.

[ucfvgirl]

So that's what it is. I have been feeling the same things for all the exact same reasons. I was hoping to add to your list, but I think you have it all covered. I can totally sympathize with you. Thanks for the read. It made me feel better that there is someone else out there like me!

[laogaiguk]

[Mashimaro]

you covered the negatives pretty well there.. If the only thing you like is your students you might be better off elsewhere. I dunno about Japanese students, but maybe you'd find the country more to your liking.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

It's amazing how this collection of boorish xenophobes got anywhere, isn't it? If it weren't for long, hard work and copying the Japanese and Americans (their two greatest enemies) can you imagine where they'd be? Well, I guess the norther half of the country is pretty much there with only obsolete Soviet aid. I'm so determined to visit the North just to see how much of the OP's description suits them as well.

That said I still like it here. I could be living in Canada or America, after all.

[ThePoet]

I usually feel like this about two weeks before I take a vacation...can't wait to leave. I get angry by a bug crawling on my wall and begin blaming it on Koreans lack of pest control, and little things like that. As if there aren't bugs on walls back in Canada?!?!

But then I go scuba diving for a month and when I come back I just smile and things don't faze me anymore. Being under the water at 30 - 40 meters just kind of calms you down and you see how peaceful things are.

This year I won't be taking a vacation because all of my spare cash is going into tuition, so I don't know how that will effect me.

Poet

[JeJuJitsu]

[Homer]

[Qinella]

[markhan]

Ahh, yes, pleasantries, public manners, silent peace, I do miss good ole USA.

I go back to US and everyone seem to have great manners, everyone smiles pleasantly, say "thank you," "please," "excuse me,'' and so on,,, but tell me, WHY DO I FEEL SO UNSAFE?

Is it because this kind-looking 50ish white who I worked with bragged about how she used to live with the minority guy, about how her beautiful daughter is thinking about dating this black guy, about how open-minded and multi-cultural she is, and yada yada yada.
But upon my question why she did not marry the minority guy, with slight sneer she blurts out, "I am not going to have a Puerto Rican baby!"

Or is it because two white guys decided to have fun with a black guy, except that black guy is tied to a car and drag on for i don't know how long.

And then, you have school shooting where you are not shock anymore.
And so on and on.

Mind you, I hate Korean spitting and other ill-mannered craps as much as next guy. And I tell Koreans that Ajussi loud spitting is like "mouth pooping."

And yet, I cant help thinking it is minor nuisance when compared to life in US. There are a lot of brutish and unsafe behavior in Korea but generally it is harmless. On the other hand, in the US, you see smiling faces, pleasantries, general niceness, and yet, Why do I feel more danger in the State than in Korea?

[JeJuJitsu]

[okokok]

[ontheway]

Great list. But, reading it over, I have to disagree about one thing. The Koreans are not static. They are very active, busy, doing all those things, so, although we might not appreciate what all they are doing, there is no doubt that Koreans are "dynamic."

[Corporal]

Hand sanitizer. Everything is better when you have hand sanitizer.

[jajdude]

Re: Washing hands in the bathroom. It's a pleasure do so when you have warm water and soap. When it's just cold water, like in most bathrooms in Korea, hmm... not so pleasant. It may help, but I can see why many skip it. Parhaps we should carry soap with us?