Korean Job Discussion Forums

[tideout]

Ok, I admit up front that this may just be my imagination

but.......

[IlIlNine]

Don't let it bother you. Change the topic to how much better Kimchi Jigae is than Hamburgers or Pizza and they'll be happy.

[AsiaESLbound]

Korean co-workers? They don't look that deep into non-Korean things, they are just going with the flow battling their every day responsibilities. Koreans also tend to be too shy to have open dialog discussions as everyone are so shy of me at my work place to the point of being too embarrassed to say, "hi." It's a huge hill for many of them to overcome when they finally build enough courage up over many months to finally say, "hi," and smile. Just to start conversing out of the blue would require some significant time to get to know them or they'll be a bit confused and giggle when you try to interact. You'd never be able to just chat with them and be a part of the group, but you may still be accepted and respected.

Foreign co-workers? The whole current situation is a big insult and makes them feel bad when reminded of anything negative such as the job market, economy, politics, and other things like Korea stuff such as talking about most phone shops turning away foreigners or a motorcycle hitting you on the sidewalk kind of stuff.

I think both Koreans and foreigners could be a bit more talkative, friendly, and a little less silent, but it's just the somewhat tense atmosphere in a country still technically at war.

[itistime]

Korea = bubble.

Don't worry about it. Just deal with it.

[Vagabundo]

yes, there's a bubble mentality, but in the case of teachers, and I assume you're talking about PS teachers here, they are one of the most protected civil servants around, and their unions are very powerful.

They basically don't have many worries, especially about job security, their earning potential is pretty much set. That would explain why they'll be more "economically smug" than most.

and re not knowing or caring in what's happening in the world around them, I have met plenty of American PS teachers who would nicely fit that bill.
You keep on forgetting that education majors were never the sharpest tools in the shed to begin with.

[tideout]

Well, interesting comments from the crowd at Dave's.

These particular co-workers are regulars with me and are under noooooo stress economically themselves. Plenty of vacations and plastic surgeries for their ladies.

In general it does seem that there's a low tolerance for anything uncomfortable even if it's not about anyone at the table.

The economic smugness may in fact come from their "set" status in teaching positions.......

[nathanrutledge]

The economic smugness is rightly deserved. You ever notice all the gold shops in Korea? There is a reason for that. EVERY Korean has some gold trinket, as a sort of security blanket. It's that gold that saved them during the Asian crisis in 98. Korea needed gold, the people sold their trinkets to help save the country.

The Miracle on the Han is still fresh in their minds, and while the younger generation (20's) has never known want, those that are in their 30's and 40's started off a lot lower then they are today, and those in their 40's and 50's are the ones that built this country to what it is today. They know that if things were to really collapse, they've been there before and they got out of it before, and if they had to do it, they could.

Look at old people in the US right now. My grandfathers grew up during the Great Depression and right now, while things are tight, they are both quite comfortable with everything. They've done it before and they know how to survive now - just like the Koreans.

[tideout]

[chellovek]

It's lamentable for sure and people should always avoid complacency, though I'm sure before our current woes quite a few foreigners (not people on this thread personally) doled out more than their fair share of smugness "Well in America/Canada/NZ etc....[smug observation]"

[nathanrutledge]

[jvalmer]

[tideout]

[Reise-ohne-Ende]

To be fair, not wanting to discuss important issues is not a 'Korean' thing. I forget quite often how frustrated I got with discussing politics, etc., with Americans back home. If anything, I have more enlightening conversations here because I'm meeting people from all over the globe.

Also keep in mind that speaking about heavy issues like economics is really difficult to do in a second language, even if you speak it really well. It's just not something most people have a lot of practice in doing. Often native speakers overestimate the ability of SLLs to understand complex topics because they seem so fluent in everyday situations.

[Jeju Rocks]

I once asked my coworkers over lunch if they thought that they could win a fight with a 100 pound chicken. No one answered. Just a blank stare. What's up with that?

[tideout]