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tintinus
Joined: 29 Jan 2007
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 Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 2:43 pm Post subject: Weird in UK |
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Hello
Was in Korea in 2008. It was really cool. Although swometimes hectic. Am now back home and it suprising how unfriendly people are. I get wind ups all the time and English people are getting better and better at it. There's no let up. Has anyone found the same?
Rowanx |
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cj1976
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 3:37 pm Post subject: |
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I left England in 2005, and I have never looked back. Bad food, bad weather, cold and unfriendly people, the high cost of living, frustrating bureaucracy that makes getting things done a real chore, expensive & slow internet, violent anti-social chavs, shops and pubs closing early, the class system, tabloids, pompousness of people. That's just off the top of my head. I could probably come back and write a lot more later.
To summarise: The UK - it's crap. |
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edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 4:55 pm Post subject: |
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Gotta disagree with you on this one. Maybe the greasy spoon and fish and chip shops are pretty bad but UK supermarkets piss on Korean ones for choice and quality of items. Also posh restaurants in big UK cities these days are among some of the best in the world. The rest of the list is spot on. |
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bigclanger3
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 5:02 pm Post subject: |
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I'm no UK apologist. I left for many of the same reasons as already mentioned. Just curious why the OP who hasn't been in Korea for 3 years felt the need to come onto this board to bitch about the UK?
If you hate it so much...leave like the rest of us! |
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cj1976
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 5:07 pm Post subject: |
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| edwardcatflap wrote: |
Gotta disagree with you on this one. Maybe the greasy spoon and fish and chip shops are pretty bad but UK supermarkets piss on Korean ones for choice and quality of items. Also posh restaurants in big UK cities these days are among some of the best in the world. The rest of the list is spot on. |
There is definitely a better selection of food in the UK. I was really talking more about the food culture. Even though it is easy to buy fresh fruit and veg and a host of exotic ingredients, too many people still prefer eating food that comes from a box. The number of fat people I saw on my last visit was incredible - and not just a little tubby, but seriously round, red-faced, can't-walk-the-stairs-without-sweating fat. They don't realise how lucky they are to have more than one type of apple to choose from, yet they ignore them in favour of pies. |
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joyorbison
Joined: 06 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 7:31 pm Post subject: |
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| cj1976 wrote: |
I left England in 2005, and I have never looked back. Bad food, bad weather, cold and unfriendly people, the high cost of living, frustrating bureaucracy that makes getting things done a real chore, expensive & slow internet, violent anti-social chavs, shops and pubs closing early, the class system, tabloids, pompousness of people. That's just off the top of my head. I could probably come back and write a lot more later.
To summarise: The UK - it's crap. |
There's not a Korean summer/winter that goes by when I don't miss English weather. Also, fish and chips, roast dinners, sausage, bacon butties, fish pie, lamb chops ftw.
Tabloids, expensive and slow internet, pubs closing early all get the gas face though. |
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joyorbison
Joined: 06 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 7:35 pm Post subject: |
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| edwardcatflap wrote: |
| Maybe the greasy spoon and fish and chip shops are pretty bad |
What? You're probably from Kent or something and had hummus on pita bread in your lunchbox when you were 10. |
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Squire
Joined: 26 Sep 2010
Location: Jeollanam-do
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 9:13 pm Post subject: |
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| cj1976 wrote: |
I left England in 2005, and I have never looked back. Bad food, bad weather, cold and unfriendly people, the high cost of living, frustrating bureaucracy that makes getting things done a real chore, expensive & slow internet, violent anti-social chavs, shops and pubs closing early, the class system, tabloids, pompousness of people. That's just off the top of my head. I could probably come back and write a lot more later.
To summarise: The UK - it's crap. |
Bad food; It's better than Korean food. I'll take a fry up from a greasy spoon over a tasteless bowl of bibimbap any day
Bad weather; Fair point, but there's something to be said for the lack of extremes at times.
Cold and unfriendly people; I don't know, I can understand your point to a degree
High cost of living; Yea, that's a fact
Frustrating bureaucracy; Agreed- very frustrating
Expensive and slow internet; Not really. You must be uing the wrong provider
Chavs; yes, yob culture is perhaps my least favourite aspect of back home. It's embarrassing really.
Shops and pubs closing early; It's nice that stuff is open all night here, but I don't think it should be seen as a drawback to the UK. Bars closing early was annoying though
The class system; Yea
Tabloids; Yea
Pompousness of people; Well, I don't know... maybe you lived in London. Can't say I ever picked up on that |
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jammo
Joined: 12 Dec 2008
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 10:04 pm Post subject: |
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re: Tabloids - they have them here too lol
Joy - nice nick. I enjoy his work and that garage is being made again |
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eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 11:17 pm Post subject: |
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If you're living in a nice area (no chavs) and bringing in a good wage, then the UK gives way better quality of life, I'd say.
Even rich Koreans live in not very big apartments (compared to a large detached suburban house in UK) in densely populated areas.
As for food, give me a British supermarket over a Korean one anytime. Cheaper, better quality and more selection. Korean supermarkets are terrible. |
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Geumchondave
Joined: 28 Oct 2010
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 11:30 pm Post subject: |
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i agree - why come on this korean forum to bash the uk when you have no ties to korea any more?
That aside a couple of key points to address - firstly you seem to be missing the main point about going back home after living in another country. you don't live in another country, you live in a tiny bubble in another country however fluent you are in korean you are still not going to be bombarded by tabloids, you are unlikely to understand everything the yobs are saying and you are going to be eating and drinking in more up market venues then you would at home and still find them withing your budget so you don't get an accurate comparison to your home country at all. korea has all those negative things you are just living in your expat bubble.
going back to some of the completley retarded posts elsewhere in this thread - since 2005 internet has improved (surprise surprise) and we now have 24hr drinking - its just regulated so residential areas dont have pissheads falling out of bars at 5am - something i think korea could benefit from even though i do also like the 24hr drinking scene here - but really should be limited.
class - class is only an issue if you let it affect your thinking too much - i.e if you go on about chavs and pompousness so just be quiet, really - the class system is just a little quirk of british thinking, be aware of it but dont let it get to you
food - again just because people eat badly does not mean the food is bad - we have more Michelin stars than most over countries (top 4 i think?) and as has already been said the variety of ingredients is just incredible - i would say our supermarkets are the best in the world.
bureaucracy - dont even get me started comparing that to korea, yeah it can be annoying but live in any country and it will be similar , but korea??? come on! try to get your vacation days out of a public school and then talk to me about the lines at the post office - seriously.
from what im seeing it looks like you prefer living as an expat - well fair enough, you like a good lifestyle and the ability to easily tune out the negatives of where you live - good for you. but dont slate off the U.K for things that are just as bad here, or just as bad anywhere where you aren't wealthy and have a local to do all the leg work for you. If you had mentioned drugs, or high rates of violent crimes id have had more respect but just whining about things you just haven't personally experienced here and then blaiming them on the whole of the uk is so annoying |
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drydell
Joined: 01 Oct 2009
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| Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 1:39 am Post subject: |
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Nowadays the British cook more than the French..
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/mar/22/british-cook-better-than-french
(don't show your French friends this..)
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| But a poll has undermined France's reputation as the home of unrivalled culinary excellence with results that suggest the British cook more often, for longer, and produce greater variety than their French counterparts. |
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cj1976
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
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| Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 1:47 am Post subject: |
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Ok, violent crimes, rampant drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, failing economy, struggling healthcare system, over-burdened welfare state, massive divide between the rich and poor, overpriced and unreliable public transport, intellectual snobbery, etc.
The class issue is unavoidable because it is so pervasive in everyday society. A lot of people will limit what they do, what they eat and drink, what sports they like, what newspaper they read, what TV shows they watch etc, because it doesn't fit into their class-based perspective. Earlier in this thread, someone joked about eating humous because it is presumably a middle-class food. It is so engrained in the British that people don't even realise they're doing it. |
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da_moler
Joined: 11 Nov 2006
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| Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 3:00 am Post subject: |
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| cj1976 wrote: |
| A lot of people will limit what they do, what they eat and drink, what sports they like, what newspaper they read, what TV shows they watch etc, because it doesn't fit into their class-based perspective. Earlier in this thread, someone joked about eating humous because it is presumably a middle-class food. It is so engrained in the British that people don't even realise they're doing it. |
Exactly! This absolutely sums it up.
I made the mistake of returning to England from Korea a few years ago. I regretted my decision almost every moment I was there due to the bigotry, the snobbery and the reverse sobbery that was so different to living/working in Korea. People in the UK seem to judge others based almost entirely on how they speak (i.e. accent), and, as the previous poster so correctly observed, eating habits, leisure activities, etc. It's like people have to pigeon-hole others as quickly as possible based on these factors. Hence endless discussions about 'where you're from' almost every time you meet someone for the first time.
Working in Korea, where people are judged to a far greater extent according to their personal qualities, educational qualifications, work experience, and, yes, ability to do a job well, is like a breath of fresh air. The class system in England - which, amazingly, you now hear some people in the media saying no longer exists - is all-pervasive and makes for a stifling, frustrating and demotivating environment in which to live and work. |
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eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
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| Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 3:37 am Post subject: |
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| da_moler wrote: |
Working in Korea, where people are judged to a far greater extent according to their personal qualities, educational qualifications, work experience, and, yes, ability to do a job well, is like a breath of fresh air. The class system in England - which, amazingly, you now hear some people in the media saying no longer exists - is all-pervasive and makes for a stifling, frustrating and demotivating environment in which to live and work. |
Well, I'd say the first thing you're judged on in Korea is your looks. Especially if you're particularly good looking or particularly ugly.
After looks they will judge you by which university you went to. If the Korean has heard of your uni, you're sorted. If they haven't heard of it they will assume it's a second or third tier uni and be unimpressed.
I don't think the British, to their credit, are as impressed by looks and alma mater as much as Koreans are..........which is a good thing too because we have an awful lot of ugly people in UK!!!  |
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