Korean Job Discussion Forums

[itiswhatitis]

When I grew up (born in 1982) pretty much everyone who owned a house (in Canada) seemed to know their next door neighbors. Sometimes the odd person who lived down the street would also be known but the general consensus seemed to be that one ought to have a certain level of rapport with at least their next door neighbors.

When I lived in an apartment for a couple of years (in Canada) I quickly discovered that apartment neighbors barely speak. This makes sense as someone may live in a house for the rest of their life but not many people live in an apartment for the long haul.

How do Koreans who actually own their "house" (I guess we would call it an apartment in Canada BUT they own it and live long term) view their neighbors? Is the consensus to know at least the next door neighbor or do they generally ignore their neighbors?

Thanks!!!

[jvalmer]

I grew up in Canada in the 80's (when my city was really small) and we barely knew our neighbors. The only reason I knew one of my neighbors is because I went to school with their kids. Other than that, the only time I saw my neighbors was pretty much when I mowed the lawn. We'd exchange a hi, or a glance and pretty much ignore each other.

[highstreet]

I know many older Koreans living in high rise apts, they all have friends that live in the building. They all seem to know random kids when they walk through the lobby. When I was living in a officetel, in a mainly young area, it seemed as if everyone just kept to themselves. Fine by me either way,

[PatrickGHBusan]

[Zulethe]

One thing I learned long ago is that once you know your neighbors, you can't unknow them.

Moral of the story is to be cautious about getting to know your neighbors cause you don't know just how psycho they are.

First and last mistake I made was when I "befriended" this Korean guy only to learn a few days later about his incessant need for attention at 2am when he was drunk as hell.

Anybody venture to guess who was the target of his affection?

[alongway]

I've lived rural and city in Canada. Rural we knew our neighbours, but only because it was a very tiny community and our family has lived there like 40 years, and the neighbours on both sides have been there almost that whole time.

City living? Never knew anyone. Everyone keeps their head down, and no one talks to anyone unless it's to complain about something like a smell or noise.

here we know our neighbours and I get the impression that a lot of people seem to know each other in the building.

[happiness]

[Captain Corea]

It depends on the structure of the community. When I lived in an office-tel type place here, we knew some neighbors, but not many. It's hard to get to know ppl in 1 minute elevator rides.

Now that I've lived in an apt complex here for the past two years (with playgrounds and such), I can see tons of the same families over and over again. You definitely get to know your neighbours... if you so choose.