Korean Job Discussion Forums

[LTeach]

Although I have yet to obtain a job in Korea, one of my fears is that I will have trouble making friends once I'm there. I know that the English Teacher expat community is particularly tight, something I guess we can attribute to the power of the internet. As a young woman, however, I worry about the safety of meeting people online. I was recently on a Korea-Expat Facebook group where a young woman was warned not to meet with a man that had offered to accompany her on a trip - these people claimed that his Facebook account and photo were fake. So I just wanted to know what are people's thoughts on these kinds of matters?

[ttompatz]

A strong dose of common sense goes a long ways (although admittedly, rarely is common sense used any more - common sense is no longer a common commodity).

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[Jake_Kim]

Safety could have many aspects, but personal security and money safety would matter the most.

As for the former, meetup events with random people can still be safe as far as you don't let your guard down. But then it applies to any kind of meetup events even in your hometown unless you're fully backed up by your trustworthy friends. If you're referring to, say, a day event with a dozen or more people participating, it wouldn't pose too big of a challenge. OTOH, if it's a road trip of just 4 or 5 people, for example, then it'd be foolish to tag along before you sort of size up your counterparts, develop basic grounds over time, and assess possible threats.

Money matters could be more likely an issue when there's a requirement for paying up (deposit or actual cost) in advance. From an organizer's point of view, when external contracts are involved, taking prepayments sometimes may be inevitable even without malicious intent. Unless you know, or become friends with, the event organizer, however, any reasonably skeptical participant may not feel comfortable with such an arrangement. If that's the case, you should choose only the events where costs can be paid individually at the scene. Beware that quite a few meetup events do have commercial agenda on the part of organizers, which may not be explicitly disclosed, even if it's only a simple dinner at some very famous restaurant.

Bottom line: Try out and participate, but stay vigilant and reasonably skeptical.

[Rteacher]

I met a lot of nice people in Korea through the Seoul Veggie Club (on Facebook) ... http://www.facebook.com/groups/11299200065/?ap=1

[modernseoul]

[Zackback]

If I were anybody else but myself I wouldn't trust me.

[jennykwon]

I met a lot of good people through the Seoul English Party:
http://www.seoulenglishparty.com/

[Keeper]

Always meet in a public place. If you don't know them in person don't trust them. It takes time to know and trust others even after you've talked online. Trust your instincts and play things safe for at least the first few meetings. At some point you will need to make the decision to trust or not to trust. It's the same as when you have met someone offline.

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

I met a lot of jerks through the Seoul Veggie Club.