Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Solarian]

My little sister will be coming to visit me in about a month. She will be staying here for three weeks.
Unfortunately, I'm employed at a hagwon, and work 1-9pm weekdays, so I'll be pretty much unable to spend any time with her during the week. Since she's only 20 years old (yes, I know, an adult, but not to me), I'm not comfortable with just letting her jump on the subway every day and go to roam Seoul. I also happen to live in a very small town right outside of Seoul (Namyangju), so there's really nothing fun for her to do here.
It occurred to me that she could try tutoring someone, or do some sort of part time gig to pass the time and earn some spending cash too while I'm at work. I'm not sure about the legalities of this, but I'm under the impression that a lot of people do it anyway. The other idea that I got, is she could also tutor for free. This way she would still have some way to pass the time, and would not run into any legal issues/troubles.
The only thing though is, I have no clue how to find someone for her to tutor. Ideally I would also want it to be a girl, since being male myself, I know what boys often do under the guise of language exchange.

So, does anyone know a way to go about finding someone for her to be friends/have a language exchange with? I still have about a month until she comes here, but I'd like to at least semi-screen people, so she does not end up with some party girl as a friend that's going to take her out drinking all the time. I've always trusted in my sister's intellect and decision making processes in the past, but she doesn't have any of her friends here, and I will be her only family (family that's always at work), so I'm a lot more worried about her than I normally am.
Here is kind of a "ranking" of the possibilities:
1. Korean girl - My sister knows absolutely nothing about Korean or Asian culture in general(I doubt she can even use chopsticks), so I'd really love it if she could meet someone whou could teach her a bit about this place and the culture while she's here.
2. Foreign girl - Even if she can't teach her much about Korea, she can at least communicate well with her, and show her around.
3. Korean guy - This is a total last resort, but if I can't find any female friends for her, then I guess I would let her hang out with a Korean guy. By no means would I ever allow her to hang out with a foreign guy. I've been here for about 6 months, and met some people I think are pretty decent, but definitely not "allow them near my sister" decent. I'd rather she stay at home and watch TV/surf the net all day. My impression of Koreans is that they have a more respectful view toward women than we do, and don't try to get them in bed within a few hours of meeting them. This has been confirmed by several foreign female friends I have here, so it's not just my opinion.

Any input is appreciated. I'm mostly looking for ways to meet people for the specific purpose of language exchange, especially in a small town like this. It would be even better if she could tutor and make a few bucks so that I don't have to pay for her all the time, but even free is fine, I just want her to make a friend at least, and have some fond memories of Korea.

[Senior]

Firstly, lighten up. If your sister wants to go out and party, who are you to judge and moralize or even try to stop her?

As for the tutoring part. I'm led to believe that even free tutoring is illegal. So, really, it's up to her what she wants to do on that front.

Personally, I would send her out into the big wide world during the day. If she's old enough and intelligent enough to get here on a big scary, flying metal bird, she's good enough to navigate the subway and to entertain herself in your absence.

[Solarian]

Well, for one, she's lead a fairly sheltered existence back home, and this is her first time going abroad. What she does, back home, under my parent's roof, isn't really my problem. I don't want her to make any large, life changing mistakes when she's here on my watch, that's all.
I'd never presume to dictate the way she leads her life to her, but she never roamed Toronto on her own, and Seoul is a much bigger city. I just want her to have some sort of guide, that will not cause her to go astray. If she wants to go astray on her own, that's different. I just don't want her to be lead there. I also spoke with her about this, and she doesn't want to try exploring Seoul on her own either, she finds the idea rather intimidating, since it is her first time abroad, and she doesn't speak the language.

On the topic of free tutoring, I think that's really easy to get around, if it's not called that.

[madtownhustl]

Its going to be hard to find someone who has 3 weeks off the same time your sister does. Not really sure I'd want to teach someone English while i visited a different country either. Wouldn't she rather see the sights? South Korea is a perfect place for her to break out of her shell because of the low crime rate, language and alphabet barrier. Get her a cell phone, a t-money card and a bottle of soju and tell her to live it up!

[Solarian]

Well, I was hoping that in exchange for being taught English, the other girl would show her the sights. I'm mostly looking for a friend for her, that will spend time with her during the day so she's not bored, and in exchange, the girl would get lots of time with a native English speaker without having to pay for it.

[madtownhustl]

[AsiaESLbound]

If money isn't a real issue, then let her have fun in one of the safest countries in the world. All she can do is blow lots of money and possibly get really lost in translation. If unexpected costs are a concern, you might be dinged to bail her out of stupid problems resulting from being young, naive, and having fun in a strange country she knows little about. I know Europe can be extremely risky for a young lone freebird, but Korea not so much so though costs are still a real concern. If she doesn't have a hand pone, she may not be able to call you in the event she is super duper lost out of her mind and turned around in an extensive maze beyond belief. She will be sorted out if people understand any problem she's having such as how to get back or simply the need to borrow a phone.

Too young and unqualified to teach, but not too young to be a tourist. There are funner things to do not to say that teaching English is miserable. It's just not a 3 week tourist thing to do. Yea, it would be ideal for someone to hang out with and be shown her way around, but that's hard to find. Good luck.

[Welsh Canadian]

20 is legal in Korea right? Sorry. Had to make a joke about it.

[furtakk]

Wow.

It sounds like she is going to have zero fun here.

Wandering around Toronto between 1 and 9PM is perfectly safe, she will be fine in Seoul.

Lighten up. Jesus.

Do you really think she's going to go boozing during the day or something? Seoul is pretty easy to get around and after hanging out there for a day or two in your company I'm sure she will be able to manage on her own.

[Goon-Yang]

[Zaria32]

Through your school, find out how you can advertize for a young woman to serve as a "guide" for your sister in Seoul. Offer to pay a small, but
reasonable sum, plus the "guide's" costs, ie lunch, subway fare. Specify that the guide must speak reasonably good English.

Many young women will jump at this as they will see it as a way to earn a small amount of money AND get language improvement. You will feel more confident because your sister will be in the hands of someone who knows her way around Seoul.

If you teach any high school students or adults, ask them if they know anyone who might like to do this. If this "guide" had your sister in hand
three days a week, at say $25.00 per day, it wouldn't be expensive, but
would certainly be a plus for your sister and for the guide.

[Solarian]

I guess I've miscommunicated my intentions and desires. My sister is NOT interested in going around by herself. This is just not who she is as a person, she told me that exploring a foreign city on her own scares her, and she doesn't want to do it. I did not dictate this to her, she expressed a concern.

I'm not trying to shelter her, I just want to make sure whoever is showing her around is not a crazy crackhead. You have to realize that when handing over your younger sibling to someone, you're more or less vouching for that person in their eyes.

Anyway, thanks for the advice. I am considering encouraging her to just try and explore on her own, on days that she can't find someone to go with her. Only after getting her a phone and a T-money card though.
I've also contacted some of my Korean friends here that are university students, and many volunteered to show her around, as well as ask their friends so that she has a larger network. I think she should be okay

[Katchafire]

You could always pay to have a friend of hers come with her. For the sake of a couple of weeks of your pay, it would give her all the company she'd want - as well as some peace of mind for you.

(You could tell your sister that the cost of the ticket covers Xmas presents from you for the next 10 yrs! lol)

Perhaps your parents might help? Her friends parents - if you explained the situation?

Good luck,

G

[detourne_me]

[ilookflawless]

I'm wondering why your sister wants to come to Seoul if she doesn't want to look around by herself? Sounds like she won't be spending that much time with you as your working. She's not keen on having an adventure and exploring a new city by herself. She's not brave enough to smile, take a deep breath and wing it. She's not strong enough to say "no thank you" if, heaven forbid, she ended up with a friend who drinks or has a different idea of leisure than herself.

Sorry to be harsh, but if she's really that sheltered and nervous then what's the point of coming??

My one piece of helpful constructive advice would be for her to book and join a load of organised day trip tours in a tour group with an English speaking guide. That way she's busy during the day, looking around then she can sit in a Starbucks and wait for you to finish work and join you for the evening.