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chaz47
Joined: 11 Sep 2003
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 Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2015 11:31 pm Post subject: Is it time to cash out of the ROK? |
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I've been here awhile and I should qualify for the F2-99 once I get the paperwork in and do a smidge of TOPIK study, but I'm getting sick of this place. When I meet some students nowadays I'm finding myself in a sort of "serenity now" moment.
I mostly teach adults and university students with a handful of middle-school and high school kids sprinkled in here and there.
I've been at the same academy for a few years and have several students I genuinely like, and when/if I leave, I'll miss them. But I've also got a majority of students that are just doofus hipsters/princesses or bored housewives spending their daddy's money or their husband's money and complaining my class is too hard. I just want to yell at them, "hey! jackass! don't drink so much and maybe sleep more than 4 hours a night and maybe you'll find the class isn't so hard".
The whole Korean cultural belief in endurance/long-suffering, etc. which leads to 4 hours of sleep being considered virtuous and which inevitably leads to the open mouth goggle eyed vacant stare 80% of the time is creating a negative vibe for me. I have the luxury of decent sleep and free time which allows me to see the funk on every Korean I meet. It's just sick, it starts with the middle school kids and never stops. The uber-competitive balibali modern culture is toxic as is the binge-drinking to relieve the ever-present stress.
I'm halfway through my contract, maybe I just need a holiday. I don't know. Something deeper is telling me it's just time to go. Maybe I'll try to get the F2-99 on my way out and hedge my bets, but wow... this place lately. I've heard the economy here is getting pretty bad so maybe that's contributing to the malaise and discontent I'm picking up on (and also a good reason to cash out?).
Anyway, thanks for reading my moan. If you have left the ROK, when did you know it was the right time? Is there anything you regret about leaving? |
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schwa
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Location: Yap
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| Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2015 12:24 am Post subject: Re: Is it time to cash out of the ROK? |
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| chaz47 wrote: |
| If you have left the ROK, when did you know it was the right time? Is there anything you regret about leaving? |
I left this spring after a good long stint. My time was up at public school (age limit) & I could have found ongoing work in a town I loved but declining job conditions have been obvious for several years now. Bolting was an easy choice for me.
What's your backup plan?
I miss a handful of amazing Koreans I got to know & we keep in touch but the culture generally, no. Best luck in your decision. |
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FMPJ
Joined: 03 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2015 5:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Sounds like it's time for you. Best of luck. |
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crescent
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Location: yes.
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| Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2015 6:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Economically speaking, it was time 5 years ago. 2 years ago if you worked in a uni. |
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chaz47
Joined: 11 Sep 2003
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| Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2015 7:07 pm Post subject: Re: Is it time to cash out of the ROK? |
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| schwa wrote: |
What's your backup plan?
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Well, the past few years I've been trying to get my art and design (I studied Graphic Design and Psych) chops back in form. I was able to make almost a thousand USD from illustration during 2015. And while I'm under no illusions about getting rich off of my art, I'm willing to give it 6 months of my whole attention. I'm guessing I'll maybe make as much as I would in a service industry job which might not be too bad in the end.
If after 6 months I'm dipping into my savings unduly, then I'll try another country or return to the ROK if I manage to get the F2-99. I cannot get my head around working on another E2 here after all these years. |
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isitts
Joined: 25 Dec 2008
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2015 11:38 pm Post subject: Re: Is it time to cash out of the ROK? |
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| chaz47 wrote: |
| I've been here awhile and I should qualify for the F2-99 once I get the paperwork in and do a smidge of TOPIK study, but I'm getting sick of this place. When I meet some students nowadays I'm finding myself in a sort of "serenity now" moment. |
lol Serenity now  Sounds like you’re kind of in the same place as me. If I stay one more year, I’d have the five consecutive years that I need…but not the language skills or the sanity. And it would be five consecutive, but seven total. Not as long as the long timers, but still…
I think in a different market, I might consider it. The nonsense at work I can handle. But getting an F visa doesn’t sound like the bees knees it used to be. And I think life outside of work is what’s kind of making me think it’s time to go.
Or put more simply, when I think about staying, I get exhausted.
When I think about leaving, I feel happier and more energetic, and more optimistic.
I figure I need to work at least 10 more years before I can stop working. And I think going straight through them here in Korea is just not going to happen. If I can change my scenery a bit, go home see some family and friends, and then jump back into it (somewhere else, mind you), I think I can manage. As it is, there isn’t anything really holding me here at this point anyway.
So, that’s my story, for what it’s worth. |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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| Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2015 4:35 pm Post subject: Re: Is it time to cash out of the ROK? |
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| chaz47 wrote: |
Anyway, thanks for reading my moan. If you have left the ROK, when did you know it was the right time? Is there anything you regret about leaving? |
I probably would have left the ROK several years earlier than I eventually did...except for the fact that I was rather lucky in picking up some very economically rewarding positions, one right after another so as to speak. But then with the cutbacks in public schools (which provided the base for said positions) and the declining overall conditions and subsequent decline of such positions I figured that it was time to try my hand elsewhere. Had it looked like just a temporary dip...I likely would have stayed to bide my time. But all over Korea schools are closing, both public and private, the demographics (for my preferred age groups) are in free-fall, and the attitude of "you're a loser (regardless of salary) for doing ESL" was becoming more and more prevalent...even if not outright stated. Not this last was a big issue (as the opinions of strangers/acquaintances is nothing I apply a lot of weight to...but it's still annoying). Then there is the current government which seems to regard us as a legitimate target to deflect criticism of it.
Sure there are things that I regret about leaving the ROK. You don't invest over a decade of your life in one place without some regrets when you finally leave. But given all the above the deficits finally outweighed the benefits late last year. |
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Adam Carolla
Joined: 26 Feb 2010
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| Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2015 4:25 pm Post subject: Re: Is it time to cash out of the ROK? |
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| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
| chaz47 wrote: |
Anyway, thanks for reading my moan. If you have left the ROK, when did you know it was the right time? Is there anything you regret about leaving? |
I probably would have left the ROK several years earlier than I eventually did...except for the fact that I was rather lucky in picking up some very economically rewarding positions, one right after another so as to speak. |
Funny. You're basically saying that the only reason you stayed was for the money. (Which is funny because you were one of the biggest apologists the board has ever seen, and if you only stayed because the money was good, then the extremely clear implication is that there was quite a bit that you didn't like about Korea. Interesting.) |
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Adam Carolla
Joined: 26 Feb 2010
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| Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2015 4:43 pm Post subject: Re: Is it time to cash out of the ROK? |
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| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
| chaz47 wrote: |
Anyway, thanks for reading my moan. If you have left the ROK, when did you know it was the right time? Is there anything you regret about leaving? |
I probably would have left the ROK several years earlier than I eventually did...except for the fact that I was rather lucky in picking up some very economically rewarding positions, one right after another so as to speak. |
Also, I remember reading this way back in the day...So the real answer all along was....$$$$$$$$.
| JongnoGuru wrote: |
| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
| 9. What's keeping me in Korea? Friends, family, job,....and the list goes on. |
I read that you're on an E-2 visa, and I thought I read that you're not married. What family are you talking about here? |
Also, to second the question, what family? (The obvious answer is that you made a mistake or lied, but that would be too mature for you to admit to. I'm curious how you're going to spin this one, oh infallible one.) |
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Lucas
Joined: 11 Sep 2012
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| Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2015 11:08 pm Post subject: |
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| The grass ain't always greener. I quit Korea last year, got a job back home straight away, bought a house and a car. Just starting my three week x mas holiday now. But I miss Korea. Everything is so expensive in the UK. I miss being able to save lots, something I was able to do in Korea! |
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Fallacy
Joined: 29 Jun 2015
Location: ex-ROK
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| Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2015 12:11 am Post subject: RE: Is it time to cash out of the ROK? |
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For all but a select few, yes, it is.
| crescent wrote: |
| Economically speaking, it was time 5 years ago. 2 years ago if you worked in a uni. |
This. Agreed. Demographics = destiny. A cling-on strategy only defers the inevitable. |
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