Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Birder]

Hey, Everyone. New here to the board and Korea. In a bit of a strange situation in that I'm full-blooded Korean but was adopted as an infant by Americans. So, I'm American, pretty much completely. Lots of baggage there, mostly resolved, but I now find it's pretty odd to look like I fit in to a culture but in fact do not, and the reactions I get from Koreans. Any other adoptees out there who can relate? How do you deal with it? I'm finding I face hostility, however muted, to looking like I belong but not, in fact, belonging. I get it, the social dynamic, but I don't yet know how to live with it. Suggestions? Advice? HELP!

[jvalmer]

Not an adopted Korea, so take this however you want.

First of all, Koreans will usually assume if someone looks Korean, they will speak Korean. After that it's as process of elimination. Goes from Korean to not Korean at all. Probably the last thing they will think of is you being adopted. So often they'll assume you're some American born Korean that is being arrogant, or something.

I've noticed kind of a collective guilt about giving up so many to foreign adoption. So if they actually determine you were adopted overseas, the hostility you perceive is probably more of confusion and guilt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_adoptee
Read the first paragraph. I'd say that sums up Koreans' current feelings about foreign adoptions and adoptees.

[wishfullthinkng]

[robinsoncrusoe]

as another male gyopo, agree for the most part with the above.

also, most of what you'll experience at first should just be chalked up to culture shock. we all get it.

i felt defensive and insecure my first few months here until I finally learned to loosen up and get over whatever was bothering me about the culture here. within days i began to see just how good life is here for gyopo guys (slightly different story for the gyopo gals...but that's another story).

like wishful said, it's almost unfair how much shit we get away with for no legitimately good reason. if you manage to break out of/avoid the english teaching world, you'll see that you have options the majority of other foreigners can't even touch.

i have the opposite problem of most guys i know. too many girls and more money than i ever thought i'd make at my age. but none of it happened until i knocked the chip off the shoulder.

[The Floating World]

Being able to speak de lingo like the above poster, will obviously open a lot of doors. No speak de lingo = work at ps job or maybe hakwan earning less than the average esl teacher. Unless you're a hot female and then you can get good money at the swank hakwans in Seoul if you don't mind being ogled some.

Welcome to office politics in Korea kid.

[Birder]

Thanks to everyone for chiming in. I guess I painted a harsher picture than I needed to. It's not AWFUL or anything, just really disorienting. Probably mostly just culture shock and my own insecurities. I'm already working on learning the mother tongue and since I posted I found a new dish I LOVE - dak-dori-tang! mmmm. Life is good, pretty much. I hope you don't mind if use any of you guys to bounce things off of if I hit another wall. Thanks again.

Birder

[braindrops]

for the gyopo set, is it a given that to find employment not of the english teaching variety, that you should get to learning korean stat? not so long ago one poster, freakstar, mentioned that he landed a corporate job at a chaebol, which he largely attributed to his korean and his ivy league papers.

in my experience, i have been turned down on four occasions, for the following reasons:

1) not a female gyopo -- for a translator job for a touring athlete
2) not a white person (not my words, my recruiter's) -- for a corporation business program
3) not good enough at korean (twice) -- one test-prep position (required bilingual), one 1:1 position

would it be fair to say that korean is more important for gyopo guys than it is for gyopo girls?

[wishfullthinkng]