Korean Job Discussion Forums

[MixtecaMike]

As my K-day approaches I am looking forward to abandoning the evil noises of Latin America, Catholic churches with their fireworks displays every month, Protestant churches with their blaring loud speakers, and most of all neighbors with their hideous ranchero music.

Are Koreans quiet or noisy, for example do people in apartment buildings play hideous music at loud volume until 2:00 am or all weekend, do they celebrate everything with an aerial bombardment of fireworks?

Please tell me no, ...

[dogbert]

You're kidding, right?

[MixtecaMike]

Ooops, that reply doesn't sound promising.

Still, K-pop can't be as bad as norteños and rancheros, can it?

[prosodic]

Where will you be living? Be specific about neighborhood if possible. You simply can't ask this kind of question about all of Korea, but in general I don't think it will be a problem most of the time.

[MixtecaMike]

I have no idea where I'll be, possibly Ulsan, I was just wondering in general if people are noisy. For example here in Mexico there are probably some quite neighborhoods, but in general there is no concept that your noise should remain withing your apartment.

Your reply is reassuring, thanks.

[diver]

Do you like to buy vegetables from the back of a truck? They are freshest at around 6am...On a Sunday...

[skinhead]

[diver]

[chiaa]

This is the noisest country on the face of the earth.

Blue trucks with loud speakers.

The "Fish Man" with a bullhorn three times a week at 8 in the morning.

The loudest walkers on Earth.

The loudest talkers on Earth.

The loudest chewers on Earth.

As you can tell, noise the thing that I hate the most here. Everything else I can basically deal with. When a family comes home at 1 in the morning and just yell to each other like no one else lives in the neighborhood, well just drives me batty.

[schwa]

I'm guessing most of the complainers on this thread are in Seoul -- you've got half the national population packed in there & Koreans arent noted for their consideration of others' peace & convenience.

Smaller places I'm sure are easier on the ears, or at least the noise is spread a bit thinner.

I live in a quiet home on a quiet street in a quiet neighborhood in a reasonably quiet smaller city. Bit of traffic sound up the street but the predominant sound right now is birds.

Apartments tend to be concrete construction which deadens a lot of sound but in summer of course windows & patio doors tend to be open so yeah sometimes you hear stuff. If I go downtown some shops will be blaring Korean pop music (sometimes 2 stores duelling) but you just walk on by. When I was in Puerto Vallarta last year the music seemed louder -- maybe its the trumpets etc.

I dont notice loud talkers much here -- I think there may be regional differences. Folks around here seem softer-spoken than south & west-coasters I've met. Unless you become somewhat fluent in Korean its easy to tune out the 'mouth music' -- easy to not pay it any mind.

So I guess I for one dont feel aurally assaulted. Sometimes the dog next door barks or a vegetable truck parks outside my house for 5 minutes but its no big deal. Sometimes I crank my music up or have friends over late & its nice not to have to worry about it. Goes around comes around.

[dogbert]

[just because]

I'd go with noisy.. But a good noisy.

Except for the bloody vegie trucks

[igotthisguitar]

>. Friggin' doors slamming at all hours ( not to say anything of yelling ) ...
they tend to be TOTALLY oblivious to anyone else possibly living around them.

Like they're all still living back on the farm

[VanIslander]

[Corporal]