Korean Job Discussion Forums

[PatrickGHBusan]

Dodge, most of your issues are self-inflicted.

If your plan was and is to come to Korea short term and return home that's great. In such a context you would be a complete outsider to Koreans and that would be normal and expected because, well, you will leave sooner than later! It would also make sense (to you) not to learn the language because, well, you will be leaving soon.

However, your expectations are out of proportion to your investment in Korea. You are the master of your situation and there are lots of things you can or could do to improve your lot.

Learning the language is at the top of the list because then, guess what? You become autonomous and can converse with people in Korea in their own language.

Wow...who knew?

By the way TJ is far from alone in knowing Korean. I too am fluent in that language (studied it) and am able to debate my points, make myself understood and other such basic things, without my wife's help. If YOU cannot then that is all on you. It is your choice and you have to live with it.

For the record, I was not treated like an outsider by my co-workers, Korean friends, Korean family, nor by Koreans in my neighborhood. The rest were to a varying degree strangers and as others have said why would you care what Mr Kim over there thinks of you as you pass him on the sidewalk???

Do you care what John Doe back home thinks of you as you pass him on the street? Here is hint: you should not care all that much because the odds are he does not even register you exist nor care about you....yeah I know shocker.

The basic rule in life is that you get out of any situation what you put into it in the first place. Expecting something from nothing is stupid.

As for your "going home" position, I have been curious about it for a while as you rant and post here. Your wife being Korean, did you ever ask yourself what "home" means to her? Also, since you are about to have a mixed-child who will be half American and half Korean, how do you think your berating and dumping all over Korea will go over with your wife and what impact will it have on your kid? Heck, how would you feel if your wife constantly puked and put down your home country, its culture, its people, its language? It is one thing to dislike/disagree on certain parts of your spouses culture (and vice versa), we all do that. You however come off as hating and looking down on the culture and country of your spouse.
My wife and I, after 13 years together still disagree on certain cultural aspects of each others culture (ex: approach to education) but thats done with respect. I would also never rant about Korea or Koreans in front of my mixed kids because frankly speaking that is how prejudice and racism is passed on!

As for the OP: I think it is great he naturalized because it made sense for him. I did not go that route because at the time Korea did not recognize dual citizenship and I did not wish to have to drop my Canadian citizenship. Had dual citizenship been open, I would certainly have gone down the naturalization path because he would have made lots of sense as a permanent resident of Korea (when I was there). It would have led to further integration and to the ability to vote and take part in local issues in a deeper fashion which is what a person does when they have a stake in the place they reside in....

[northway]

[PatrickGHBusan]

[wishfullthinkng]

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