Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ohme_ohmy]

I've been trying to figure out what gifts to bring to the school that I will be teaching at. I'm moving to SK from NYC and thought maybe some touristy souvenirs might go over well.

So I picked up an I <3 NY mug and t-shirt, a mini NYC snowglobe, some pens, postcards, etc. I figured the mug and t-shirt might be good to give to the school director (who is female), however I just read in a book I got about Korean culture that gift giving is very important, especially an appropriate gift.

Are these gifts appropriate? I've seen a few suggestions about giving nice bottles of wine, whiskey, etc. or even chocolates but figured maybe NY souvenirs would be appreciated because you have to visit NY to get them? I don't want to come off as cheap and want to be sure I make a good first impression on my new colleagues.

Any thoughts?

[pjmancktelow]

those gifts sound great. they'll eat it up. they just love stuff from other countries really. also, not everybody does it so you'll be onto a winner. im from london and bought loads of cheap crappy pens/pencils with london on it and used them trhoughout my 1st year here when people helped me do stuff. i did get whiskey for my 1st boss. mainly because it was buyable at the airport and i wouldnt lose any of my luggage allowance. i also bought a few boxes of chocolate/fudge for all my new coworkers to share (i had 15 other teachers at the hogwan). they really loved that. wait a few days before you give the gift in my opinion. it seems to be better that way. when you arrive everything is rush rush. hope that helps.