Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jajdude]

1. Do you hear lots of garbage?

I understand a fraction (maybe 5% at best) and still hear enough nonsense.

(Wow, that guy over there has white skin, hairy arms and reads an English book)

And they are always amazed you understand a single word. Isn't that dumb?

Yes, I know when you say "waegookin" etc... takes a month or leven less in this place to figure that one out.

2. Aren't they amazed when you speak it well?

They must be. My Korean is poor and often enough I get an almost congratulatory reply, like I just climbed Everest or whatever. All because I can order food, go to the bathroom or whatever.

3. How often do you (as a foreigner) get insulted?

I am paranoid perhaps. But I cannot believe the number of derogatory, xenophobic and close-minded comments I hear, but am not always sure about... makes me glad I don't understand fully.

4. You must understand these people better than us language challenged bunch. But, are you ever accepted as a real person?

Honestly, I think most Koreans are too dumb to see a foreigner as a real person. Maybe I'm too dumb to understand anything?

This is a closed society. Please don't anyone try and tell me otherwise.

[Grotto]

I dont know if I would classify Koreans as dumb

I think its actually shock.

I have been told that I speak my limited Korean vocabulary perfectly by my Korean friends.

I know exactly how to say my apartments name and number to a taxi driver in order to get home....but many is the time I get into a taxi and say it and they look at me blankly and say ehhh? So I say it again slower ehhh? Third time is the charm I say it one more time and they are ahhhh! xxxxxxx apartu!!!

I think some of them are so surprised to hear Korean come out of a waygookins mouth that it shocks them.

First time?!?!?! what the hell was that....I dont think thats English!
Second time?!?!?! that sounded like Korean! Impossible!
Third time!! ahhhh~! Wow it is Korean

Sometimes I think it is also like the monkey spoke Korean
oh my god the monkey did speak Korean
Wow for a monkey you speak pretty good Korean

Take it in stride

[Demophobe]

I am not fluent, but I speak Korean well.

1. Yes, but no more than in Canada. People are people and I am often surprised how they talk of similar things or rather, in a similar way. Expecting people to talk outside of their world, or their paradigm is a bit unreal. Miners will talk about mining. Look at us....we always post about similar things. Of course, the subjects differ from country to country, but one is no more trivial than the other.

2. Yes, but I guess that is because of precident. I guess many foreigners haven't spoken to them in Korean much, or it's just because they are naive, and perhaps it's due to their having limited knowledge about the outside world. This is (was?), after all, the hermit kingdom. The Koreans who are surprised are usually nicely surprised, so it's a good thing. When you start getting annoyed at someone who smiles, compliments you on your ability and is a bit childisly surprised, you need a rest. They are really being nice, or trying. What does make me wonder is when I tell them I have been here for 8 years, and THEN they are surprised. I can't imagine anyone living in a country for so long and NOT speaking the language.

3. Very, very rarely. Then again, I am not insulted by ignorance, stupidity or by people being naive. Many Koreans just don't know better...it's like blaming a child for pointing. When it comes to foreigners, they have very, very limited exposure, for one reason or another. You are paranoid and perhaps deluded to a degree. Why do we think they are always talking about US? Are we rock stars? Tv stars? Special in any way besides being foreigners? Not really....not to them, anyways. We have to come down from our high horses. They do perhaps make a comment or two, but it's not worth anything, least of all to us. Usually they are ambivalent. We are just hyper-sensitive, a touch paranoid and so self-centered to think they are always talking about us.

4. I can't even answer this question. "Could we evr be accepted.....this is a closed society, don't tell me otherwise." This sentence tells me you don't want to know. You already have yyour answer, and anything other than that answer will start a row.
Throwing caution to the wind; Yes, they treat me like a real person. They are curious, sometimes infantile, sometimes resistant, sometimes obnoxious, sometimes rude, sometimes warm, sometimes careful....so many things. I too, am sometimes all of those things.
I always think of that old Chinese story which concludea by saying "You knew I was a snake when you picked me up. Why are you surprised that I bit you? Is that not what snakes do?"

Anyways, I think you have already made your mind up about all of your questions; I think you know you have too. I sometimes have enough struggle trying to live day to day here, and I haven't the energy to extoll the virtues of Korea to people who need convincing. It is what it is. One thing you can always count on Koreans to be: Korean.

[Homer]

[Rhoddri]

I remember reading a book by George Berkley, and one of the quotes always sticks with me: "To be is to be perceived". If I ever get too paranoid I always try to remind myself that in many ways a problem is only a problem if it is perceived as such (of course this isn't always the case). This is very simplistic but if, for example, you woke up one day and had a very minor headache but thought nothing of it. Then you went to work and during a break read a newspaper which had a story proclaiming "SCIENTISTS NOW PROVE HOW PEANUTS CAN LEAD TO HEALTH DEFECTS". Your mind would race back and think about what you ate etc. in the past day or so and try to relate the problem of your headache to the belief that you may have consumed something with traces of peanut in. Of course it may have something to do with it, but it's not until your mind is focused on a certain article, until you perceive it, that it really effects you psychologically.

I hate the term waegook and I used to get really aggitated if I heard the word spoken by people who were near me. I knew the word and perceived it, but I also associated it with negative conotations. i.e. "ohh they said foreigner! They must be talking about me.....I read so much stuff about racism on Dave's esl, so they must be saying racist stuff about me..etc". I'm sure, and I know that sometimes there are racial slurs made by Koreans in public towards people that they don't think understand. However, since my understanding of the language has got (a little bit) better I've also listened in on conversations such as "ohh I really want to travel abroad and go to another country etc"....."Some foriegners are so tall"....."I saw a foreigner in a restaurant the other day and he used chopsticks and ate GoChoo!" (all conversations used the word waegook many times). So I've come to tame my slightly irrational phobia of the word waegook.

Although the fact remains, if you hear the word and face it and perceive it with the belief that it's negative and aimed at you, you are more likely to be affected negatively by it (whether it was actually derogatory or not).

A lot of situations in Korea, and in life can be related to the trail of thought. Guess the old phrase "stay positive" comes to mind.

[steelhead]

I am going to be here for a while I figure. thought it would be a good way to take up some fo my time to learn. I have taught myself to read fairly well, have a book which gives me some insight into general grammar and vocab, but its just not enough.

If I really want to learn what is the best method, keeping in mind, I have limited time, and weekdeays work till 7:30.

Any info?

[Corporal]

Koreans often whining about how they need to lose weight, go on a diet or have too much stomach fat (as they have another helping of samgyeopsal) gets on my nerves.

I see men and women doing this. Or fat kids calling another student "pig".

[masuro]

I think many Koreans are amazed or surprised when a foreigner says a few words in Korean because 1) during the dictatorships (and even now by some teachers still not over it) they were taught in school that Korean peppers are the hottest, only Koreans eat squid, Korean is much too difficult for foreigners to learn and 2) so few of us can speak Korean or even bother to try. I'm surprised when a foreigner can make a full sentence. I also know people who tell me Koreans are so stupid because they don't understand their Korean. They don't realise that their pronunciation is often quite bad.

To answer a question in the first post, I am accepted by Koreans. I live in a very small town but I've had no problems. Old people in my village keep encouraging my wife and I to have babies and even offer to babysit for free. My wife's students tell her that mixed-blood babies are usually very pretty so we should have children. That doesn't sound like racism to me.

The first poster said he hears a lot of garbage with the 5% understanding he has of Korean. Know what bothers me? Going back to Canada where I can understand 100% of the garbage people around me are saying.

[masuro]

I think many Koreans are amazed or surprised when a foreigner says a few words in Korean because 1) during the dictatorships (and even now by some teachers still not over it) they were taught in school that Korean peppers are the hottest, only Koreans eat squid, Korean is much too difficult for foreigners to learn and 2) so few of us can speak Korean or even bother to try. I'm surprised when a foreigner can make a full sentence. I also know people who tell me Koreans are so stupid because they don't understand their Korean. They don't realise that their pronunciation is often quite bad.

To answer a question in the first post, I am accepted by Koreans. I live in a very small town but I've had no problems. Old people in my village keep encouraging my wife and I to have babies and even offer to babysit for free. My wife's students tell her that mixed-blood babies are usually very pretty so we should have children. That doesn't sound like racism to me.

The first poster said he hears a lot of garbage with the 5% understanding he has of Korean. Know what bothers me? Going back to Canada where I can understand 100% of the garbage people around me are saying.

[Mashimaro]

deleted.. I was a bit grumpy this morning

[Eazy_E]

[just because]

Once again i recommend the Seoul university workbook and tapes.
Level 1 is a big yellow book and it has helped me a lot.

[Homer]

[tomato]

[Gladiator]

From Tomato: