Korean Job Discussion Forums

[weebil]

i've been back in the US now for about six months after teaching in korea for 2 years. ask me anything.

[The Sultan of Seoul]

How do you feel about it?

[weebil]

[The Sultan of Seoul]

[weebil]

well... i don't know. it's a bummer in most ways. i remember now that i hate having to drive everywhere. the cost of living here is so high. and everyone is so fat, it grosses me out. i have to go back to school now because i can't get a job with benefits and pay nearly as good as those i had in korea. and all my friends are still doing the same boring stuff they were doing when i left, which is kind of depressing.

but on the upside i have more free time since i'm working only part time, though that will go away of course when my classes start. and i've got my music career going again which i couldn't do in korea. but yeah, i don't really feel great about being back here, but i didn't want to do ESL my whole life. i really wish i could get a job i liked, but in korea [or overseas somewhere else].

[Dodge7]

the freedom of going into any store you want and asking for help without any hint of confusion HAS to be refreshing.
And the food alone in the US is worth going back.
You blend in without being stared at. That's a plus.
Look on the bright side, it can't be that bad.
Korea is not home to me. I can't stand living here and can't wait to get home.

[Hokie21]

You can't get a job that makes roughly 25K a year? That's depressing.

[Ballerina2012]

Where did you teach and live? I am moving over this summer, all I do is worry about the stupid drug test. I take prescription anti-depressant, and anxiety(Lorazepam). I am getting off the Lorazepam in June, but staying on the other. I have this nightmare about failing the damn drug test!
Stupid, yes, I know, but I can't help it!

[Hokie21]

[The Sultan of Seoul]

[PatrickGHBusan]

[quote="Dodge7"]the freedom of going into any store you want and asking for help without any hint of confusion HAS to be refreshing.
And the food alone in the US is worth going back.
You blend in without being stared at. That's a plus.
Look on the bright side, it can't be that bad.
Korea is not home to me. I can't stand living here and can't wait to get home.[/quote]

Does your pregnant Korea wife know of your feelings?

Anyway, if you guys are going to move back home with a baby in tow, I hope you do well!

We made the move and it was in what I would call optimal employment conditions. I know others who struggled and at the end of the day home is like Korea: imperfect and no paradise. You just trade one set of circumstances for another!

Also factor in that your Korean spouse will need to adapt and will be away from her support network (family and friends) be completely reliant on you in the begining. That is something that can be challenging to deal with even it is not critical.

We moved back to Canada with our two kids and it took a while for my wife to adapt. She gets the K-blues regularly and thankfully we get to travel back each year since we left and her parents visit too. Finally, having mixed kids, and this is just my opinion, puts the onus on us as parents to at least respect the mixed cultural heritage of our children. You can bet that living abroad may in fact lead a Korean spouse to put extra value on her culture and want to pass it on to her kids in an environment where it is not dominant (ex: US, Canada...) just like it would be important for a westerner to pass on his values to his kids in Korea....

Good luck and all the best if you guys make the move.

[Dodge7]

She knows my feelings all too well. I have told her that I will try not to talk bad about Korea and always comment on how things are better in America and how I wish I was home.
And like you, we would most likely take yearly trips to Korea since she is very close to her mom. No problem there.
Work is a problem though. I'm a licensed teacher back home and I just don't have the connections to get into a school district. I'll need to work on that.

[PatrickGHBusan]

[litebear]

[Died By Bear]