Korean Job Discussion Forums

[chronicpride]

Hopefully, this thread gets some good feedback, as it would be interesting to hear more about the people that live/work here and visit this site. I've seen similar threads on other country forums, so I figure why not give it a whirl here?

The questions are:

1. How did you wind up in Korea?

2. How long have you been living here?

3. What do you like and dislike most about Korea? (this will be easy for some, but please add both a like and dislike.)

4. What is your favorite place in Korea and why? (Maybe a city that you lived in or visited, a cultural site, a hidden getaway, etc..)

5. What is your favorite place in Seoul? If you've been.(Specifically. Not just 'Hongdae'. Doesn't have to be the default entry of bar/restaurant, but could be a place that you have some personal attachment to. But if your favorite place is actually a bar, well, feel free.

6. What is the first thing that comes to mind that you can do here, but not back in your hometown?

7. What do you miss most from your life back home?

I'll start.

1. Desire to travel and explore a new culture, but not without some ability to pay off old debts and saving for the next jump elsewhere. General frustration and boredom of the rat-race office culture of back home.
2. 2 years
3. Likes: The food, the women, the East meets West mix. The positive aspects of Confucianism in the culture (insa, jeondaemal, filial piety, etc..). (god, this list used to be a lot longer. See dislikes) Dislikes: Not really Korea-centric, but the onset of boredom, after you adapt a fair bit, and the 'newness' fully wears off. And trying to recapture the 'honeymoon' feeling again. The close-mindedness many Koreans have about global culture. The negative aspects of Confucianism (how they regard male-female relationships, the restraint of showing emotion/smiling/laughing, etc..)
4. I like a lot of places, but a special spot is a beautiful galbi-jjim restaurant outside of Geochang, that has individual dining shacks surrounding an immaculate garden. Andong Folk Village was a good time, especially if you stay overnight at a minbak there. I can think of lots, but I'll keep it short.
5. I like studying and watching people. So, the subway is for me.
6. The whole idea of sitting on a floor, eating grilled pork intestines, getting wasted on soju, making your way to a noraebang, asking the ajumma to order 'norae-girls' to come sit, sing, and drink with us, then head to a nice massage parlor (not cheap barbershop-style), get a blind masseuse to go to work on you for an hour, before you are taken to your private jacuzzi room for the next girl. Then, head to a jimjilbang to shower, soak, and sleep on a floor with snoring Koreans, who probably just had a very similar night. Wake up, shower/soak again. Go to a convenience store and drink one of those Korean herbal hangover remedies, and then start my day.
7. The act of not having to explain everything in minute detail in non-teaching situations. Being able to say a brief conversation in one minute, as opposed to taking the extra 5-10 minutes in Korea, after having to think about the vocab level of the listener, speaking clearly and slowly, and being mindful of the korean phonetical understanding of english words.

[tomato]

1. How did you wind up in Korea?

It was either here or the rescue mission.

2. How long have you been living here?

5 years.

3. What do you like . . .

1. teasing silly children without fear of arousing sexual abuse hysteria
2. the challenge of dealing with the language barrier
3. learning Korean folk instruments
4. learning Korean sign language

and dislike most about Korea? (this will be easy for some, but please add both a like and dislike.)

1. strangers who think I'm a helpless infant
2. store clerks who think I'm a helpless infant
3. dingbat English school directors
4. dingbat Korean English teachers
5. dingbat foreign English teachers

4. What is your favorite place in Korea and why? (Maybe a city that you lived in or visited, a cultural site, a hidden getaway, etc..)

In Kumi, I lived 2 blocks from a park and a library.

5. What is your favorite place in Seoul? If you've been.(Specifically. Not just 'Hongdae'. Doesn't have to be the default entry of bar/restaurant, but could be a place that you have some personal attachment to. But if your favorite place is actually a bar, well, feel free.

I hate Seoul. It abounds with strangers who think I'm a helpless infant
and store clerks who think I'm a helpless infant.

6. What is the first thing that comes to mind that you can do here, but not back in your hometown?

In Hongseong, when one of the children squeezed my appendage and said, "����," I retaliated in kind. The director was standing right in front of me and she didn't say boo.

7. What do you miss most from your life back home?

1. the Saturday morning opera broadcasts
2. Taco Bell
3. buttermilk

[peppermint]

1. How did you wind up in Korea?
After finishing uni I got my dream job, and realized that it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. I got a case of the "what nexts?" and figured that Korea would be a good place to think about that.

2. How long have you been living here?
Around 2.5 years.

3. What do you like and dislike most about Korea? (this will be easy for some, but please add both a like and dislike.)
I love the actual teaching part of my job, I've made good friends here, and it's easy to get used to the relatively carefree lifestyle here.

I hate the fact that I'm seen first and foremost as a race and not a person. ( It's been thrown in my face a lot recently)

4. What is your favorite place in Korea and why? (Maybe a city that you lived in or visited, a cultural site, a hidden getaway, etc..)
The folk village at Munei. It's tiny, really isolated but has great scenery and it's peaceful. I also like the irony of the drive in movie theatre just outside it.

5. What is your favorite place in Seoul? If you've been.
A tea shop in insadong that doesn't seem to have a name.

6. What is the first thing that comes to mind that you can do here, but not back in your hometown?
Travel easily, both within the country and internationally. ( I live on an island and for some reason getting off the island costs a small fortune)

7. What do you miss most from your life back home?
Diversity in people and things. I miss being able to go to a grocery store and be bewildered by the sheer variety of veggies.

[Ilsanman]

1. How did you wind up in Korea?

I wanted so badly to get out of my hometown and see something other than its boring self, and this was the easiest way out.

2. How long have you been living here?

Total time of 17 months.

3. What do you like and dislike most about Korea? (this will be easy for some, but please add both a like and dislike.)

LIke: women
Dislike: Xenophobia and corruption

4. What is your favorite place in Korea and why? (Maybe a city that you lived in or visited, a cultural site, a hidden getaway, etc..)

I like many places, but none of them are so great that I want to go too often. Hard to answer, so I won't.

5. What is your favorite place in Seoul? If you've been.(Specifically. Not just 'Hongdae'. Doesn't have to be the default entry of bar/restaurant, but could be a place that you have some personal attachment to. But if your favorite place is actually a bar, well, feel free.

I go to Universalis in Hongdae often. I like Sinchon for bowling alleys and Artreon movie theatre. I go to Kyobo bookstore often.

6. What is the first thing that comes to mind that you can do here, but not back in your hometown?

Drink on the street.

7. What do you miss most from your life back home?

Drive

[VanIslander]

1. How did you wind up in Korea?
A Korean man helped me when no one else wouldn't after my car broke down one cold snowy New Year's Eve on a dark rural highway. Two months later I accidentally googled across a job posting for Korea and six months later I was on my way!

2. How long have you been living here?
Since the late fall of 2002.

3. What do you like and dislike most about Korea? (this will be easy for some, but please add both a like and dislike.)
I like the spicy food and the kids the most; I dislike the darker side of being treated like a guest (a guest is always seen as an outsider, strange, distrustful, etc).

4. What is your favorite place in Korea and why? (Maybe a city that you lived in or visited, a cultural site, a hidden getaway, etc..)
This gorgeous island. There's over a dozen great beaches a few minutes away, clean air, lots of sunshine (I mean: LOTS, three weeks without a cloud in the fall and spring); two winters of NO snow; it's location relatively close to Busan (one hour ferry), Namhae Island (two hours by bus), Jiri Mountain (two and a half hours).

5. What is your favorite place in Seoul? If you've been.(Specifically. Not just 'Hongdae'. Doesn't have to be the default entry of bar/restaurant, but could be a place that you have some personal attachment to. But if your favorite place is actually a bar, well, feel free.
Haven't gone there. Don't plan to, except for the Elton John concert, in and out.

6. What is the first thing that comes to mind that you can do here, but not back in your hometown?
Norebang!

7. What do you miss most from your life back home?
My family.

[the_beaver]

1. How did you wind up in Korea?

Couldn't get a job in Japan.

2. How long have you been living here?

Since 1995.

3. What do you like and dislike most about Korea? (this will be easy for some, but please add both a like and dislike.)

Like -- enormous holidays and freedom (and the meat dishes)

Dislike -- never allowed to really fit in beyond a few close circles (but that's not necessarily bad because I'm not into M.T. and ���� �� shit).

4. What is your favorite place in Korea and why? (Maybe a city that you lived in or visited, a cultural site, a hidden getaway, etc..)

Seoul. Ullung-do for a getaway.

5. What is your favorite place in Seoul? If you've been.

Tongdaemun market.

6. What is the first thing that comes to mind that you can do here, but not back in your hometown?

Get paid for enormous vacations.

7. What do you miss most from your life back home?

A good howling blizzard.

[Zyzyfer]

1. How did you wind up in Korea?

Was stuck doing dead-end grocery store work back home in a military town. Realized that it was too much of a struggle to make simple ends meet and that every job in my hometown required someone with experience in the field. Went to my uni's Career Management Center and inquired about work overseas. First person to contact me was some recruiter for work in Korea...while I wanted to work in Japan with a friend, I was running out of money and didn't have a lot of time to be picky. Bam.

2. How long have you been living here?

Arrived in October 2001, but I've spent about 6 months total back home and travelling around.

3. What do you like and dislike most about Korea? (this will be easy for some, but please add both a like and dislike.)

The thing I like the most about Korea is the people I've met while I've been here.

The thing I dislike the most is the inability for the average Korean to dare to be different. Even a small step to be individual would be great.

4. What is your favorite place in Korea and why? (Maybe a city that you lived in or visited, a cultural site, a hidden getaway, etc..)

Geomun Island, because it's as relaxing as other "island" communities, but quite close by. Probably the most beautiful place I've seen in Korea thus far.

5. What is your favorite place in Seoul? If you've been.

That's tough. I don't really like Seoul that much.

6. What is the first thing that comes to mind that you can do here, but not back in your hometown?

Drink on the street.

7. What do you miss most from your life back home?

Pulled pork BBQ sammiches and my old friends.

[HamuHamu]

1. How did you wind up in Korea?

Same as a lot of people - fed-up with the boredom and rat race back home, fearing that if I sat there for much longer it would be "too late" go travel and live out some dreams. But, needed a job that would pay me enough to send the money home for my enourmous student loan payments. And, couldn't get a good job in Japan without a qualification. The pieces fell together to leave, and the pieces fell together to come to Seoul.

2. How long have you been living here?

About 2 years. Have left and worked in other countries and come back here for a second go of it.

3. What do you like and dislike most about Korea? (this will be easy for some, but please add both a like and dislike.)

Likes:
how cheap some things are (drycleaning, taxis, ice cream bars, cable tv, and there must be more); the subway system; my students; the 24-hour openness of shops, pubs, the city; the friendliness of some shopkeepers and taxi drivers wanting to know where i am from and being really nice to me; and most of all my personal safety in walking home alone from the bar at 3am.

Dislikes:
how utterly expensive some things are; the crowds on the subway; the exhasution of feeling like i give-give-give all day at work and some days don't get much in return; the staring and knowing that no matter what, i will never "belong" in this society; the fashion; the 24-hour pace of "go-go-go" and chaos and bali-bali attitude of everything; not being able to communicate fully with people; food; the bordom of that "I'm from Canada and yes I like that Korea has 4 distinct seasons" conversation that I have to have with every taxi driver or shopkeeper that is being friendly towards me; the boredom and repetitiveness of my life; and the person that I often feel I have become from living in a place where there is such a dichotomy between things I really love in a place that I really hate


4. What is your favorite place in Korea and why? (Maybe a city that you lived in or visited, a cultural site, a hidden getaway, etc..)

Dae-cheong-do (Island) off the coast of Incheon - calm, friendly, isolated, and a good memory from a vacation there.

Chuncheon - a nice quiet town that makes me feel a sigh of relief when I get off the train, but yet still has some "city" aspects to it.


5. What is your favorite place in Seoul? If you've been.

All of the places on my list of "Places to Visit" that I haven't yet made it to. Because they offer me a sense of hope and excitement, and they haven't let me down yet....and always provide me with something to possibly do on a bored Saturday afternoon.

6. What is the first thing that comes to mind that you can do here, but not back in your hometown?

Have a cigarette in a pub while I drink.

7. What do you miss most from your life back home?

Friends, family, food, driving, fitting in, and everything that seems to be to be "normal" in life.

[Son Deureo!]

1. How did you wind up in Korea?

After 3 years of working as a legal assistant, it became all too painfully clear that I was in a line of work that wasn't for me. Boring, long hours, too much time staring at paperwork or a computer screen and not enough real human interaction. An earthquake while I was in my 36th floor office made my mortality immediately obvious and I decided it was time for a change.

A high school friend of mine who had just moved to the city and was scraping by with temp jobs said he wanted to go to Asia to teach English. It felt like I was being handed a life preserver while standing on a sinking ship. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to get myself out of my rut, and learn an Asian language at the same time (a longtime dream of mine). So after researching Dave's for a bit, it looked like out of the Bermuda Triangle of lucrative Asian ESL destinations (Taiwan, Japan, South Korea), Korea had the lowest startup costs, and the best salary relative to cost of living.

For the first time in my adult life I felt like I was fully living, and still making at least as good money as I had made in the legal racket, while getting to visit places I had never dreamed of. Part of me feels like I'm supposed to go back, but faced with a cruddy economy back home plus a seemingly unlimited supply of decent work here in a place I enjoy I'm finding it difficult to find a reason to go back. Yet.

2. How long have you been living here?

2 years and 10 months, not including several vacations outside of Korea, including two months in the US.

3. What do you like and dislike most about Korea? (this will be easy for some, but please add both a like and dislike.)

Likes:

The Korean language and the challenge of learning it solo.
The feeling that I am always learning, and helping others to learn.
Cheap restaurants, no tipping.
Grilled meat, kimchi, baekban, and chigae.
Excellent public transportation. I don't need or want a car.
My girlfriend.
Beautiful women everywhere I look.
Hiking trails that are accessible by subway.
Music request bars.
Cheap cellphones, internet and cable.
The compactness of Korea coupled with a good transportation makes it easy to visit all kinds of places in the country.
The ready availability of work that provides a good standard of living as well as savings potential.
The knowledge that I'm living a life I never would have expected or dreamed of.
Soju at $.80 a bottle.
Fun and interesting people in the expat community.
How easy it is to meet people, Korean and foreign.
Easy access to exotic vacation destinations.

Dislikes:

Pollution and the drab scenery of Seoul.
Unavailability of Korean classes. I never dreamed it would be so difficult to get the resources to properly study a country's native language.
How patronizing Koreans can be to foreigners who have adapted to and enjoy life in Korea ("You can use chopsticks? OOOOOOOooooooo!!!!").
Not being seen as fully human be many Koreans.
Lack of variety of foreign foods.
Lack of variety of jobs available for foreigners. I don't really want to teach English forever.
The lack of long-term stability and advancement in English teaching jobs.
Being seen as a public commodity for English practice.
The E2 visa system, and how hard it is to change jobs even if the current boss is exploitative.
Exploitative and shady hogwon bosses.
The hello chorus.
Saying good-bye to good friends every few months.
Being viewed with skepticism by my girlfriend's family because I'm a foreigner.
Being the target of racism for the first time in my life.
The rampant alcoholism that comes with soju at $.80 a bottle.
The fact that Korean isn't an international language that is useful when I leave Korea.
Growing more distant from my family and friends back home the longer I stay here.

Hmmm.... I guess I'd have to call it a love/hate relationship.

4. What is your favorite place in Korea and why? (Maybe a city that you lived in or visited, a cultural site, a hidden getaway, etc..)

The Yellow Sea Islands off the coast of Incheon. They may not be the best islands of Korea, but they're easy for me to get to, and a different world from Seoul. Clean, quiet, and rural oases away from the urban desert of the Seoul megalopolis.

5. What is your favorite place in Seoul? If you've been.(Specifically. Not just 'Hongdae'. Doesn't have to be the default entry of bar/restaurant, but could be a place that you have some personal attachment to. But if your favorite place is actually a bar, well, feel free.

During the day, the hiking trails of the mountains that can be reached by subway. Also the Han River.

By night, the music request bars of Shinchon and the meokkolli bars of Insadong.

6. What is the first thing that comes to mind that you can do here, but not back in your hometown?

Eat out every single day without worrying about the cost.

7. What do you miss most from your life back home?

My friends and family.

[Badmojo]

1. How did you wind up in Korea?

It wasn't high on my list. I wanted to continue teaching, but couldn't find a job in Europe. Korea's an easy place to find one.

2. How long have you been in Korea?

Almost eleven months.

3. What do you like and dislike?

Like? See number one. And you can save money doing it.
Dislike? Not being able to talk to the people here. I don't care for their Confucian attitudes either.

4. What's my favorite place in Korea?

I don't have one. How about the airport!

5. What's my favorite place in Seoul?

I haven't been up there enough to know.

6. What is the first thing that comes to your mind that you can do here, but you can't back home?

Save money. Absolutely, 100%. When I'm broke, I'll probably be back.

7. What do you miss most about your life back home?

Friends is the first. Things I understand is the second.

[animalbirdfish]

1. How did you wind up in Korea?

Again, tired of working 60-70 hours a week with no real reward in sight. And I wanted to try teaching a bit before I committed to a graduate education program (which, despite my good experience here, I now know I never will).

Actually took a NOVA job in Japan, but found out how dodgy they were before ever getting to Japan, so resumed the job hunt and the Korea recruiter hooked me up first.

2. How long have you been living here?
2.5 years now, and I'll probably be here for another five or so, depending on how things shake out. Haven't been back 'home' in about 18 months.

3. What do you like and dislike most about Korea?

Likes:
my girlfriend, the food (esp. the seafood and galbi), the people (overall very friendly and helpful), not having to understand every idiot's conversation in a public place (a cheap argument for not learning the language), my students.

Dislikes:
the food (goodness, I'd like some affordable variety), the people (the lack of manners and individuality is maddening), again: being an outsider, the four distinct seasons (summer is wet/cloudy, winter is freakin' cold, and fall/spring are just as nice in a hundred other places).

4. What is your favorite place in Korea and why?

Staying in a minbak - as someone mentioned - at the Andong Folk Village was wonderful. Also, Jogyesan Provincial Park near Gwangju.

5. What is your favorite place in Seoul?

Namdaemun. It's always alive and active and fits my preconceived notion of what I thought Asia should be when I came to Korea (and realized that Korea's not really 'Asia.').

And I'll add another one: the rose garden at Seoul Grand Park. A nice place to sit and read.

6. What is the first thing that comes to mind that you can do here, but not back in your hometown?

See twenty million Korean people everyday.

7. What do you miss most from your life back home?

Diversity in almost all things: people, food, drinks music.

And untouched wilderness. I want to hike for days without seeing another damned human.

[schwa]

1. How did you wind up in Korea?

Free ticket to new unknowns.

2. How long have you been living here?

5 years.

3. What do you like and dislike most about Korea?

I like the pace & the people.
Sometimes the sameness gets to me.

4. What is your favorite place in Korea and why?

Sokcho just an allround nice place to come home to.

5. What is your favorite place in Seoul?

Every visit is different.

6. What is the first thing that comes to mind that you can do here, but not back in your hometown?

Make decent coin & blow it on fun with impunity.

7. What do you miss most from your life back home?

Nothing much really.

[uberscheisse]

1. How did you wind up in Korea?

vancouver is dull as dishwater, i was in debt, wanted to go to japan and settled for korea and am glad for that because it's cheap here.

2. How long have you been living here?

7 months

3. What do you like and dislike most about Korea? (this will be easy for some, but please add both a like and dislike.)

-likes- i like the cost of living, the ease in movement from place to place, the friends i've made, the food.
-dislikes- i actually only have two real dislikes - pollution (air and noise) and archaic attitudes to marijuana. the rest of it is a funny, sometimes trying adventure.

4. What is your favorite place in Korea and why? (Maybe a city that you lived in or visited, a cultural site, a hidden getaway, etc..)

-bukseoka temple near andong. absolutely beautiful, a nice walk up apple tree lined trails to an old temple on a hill.

5. What is your favorite place in Seoul? If you've been.(Specifically. Not just 'Hongdae'. Doesn't have to be the default entry of bar/restaurant, but could be a place that you have some personal attachment to. But if your favorite place is actually a bar, well, feel free.

restaurant-my local korean restaurant. don't know the name, we just call it the panchan house. excellent food.

6. What is the first thing that comes to mind that you can do here, but not back in your hometown?

act like a complete jackass with absolutely zero fear of getting my ass kicked

7. What do you miss most from your life back home?
my friends, my family, live music and clean air

[inkoreaforgood]

1. How did you wind up in Korea?

Friend came here first, called me up and offered me a job at their school. I was broke, and it was a chance to travel AND eat!!!

2. How long have you been living here?

7 years

3. What do you like and dislike most about Korea? (this will be easy for some, but please add both a like and dislike.)

Likes- the wife, food, cheapness of so many things. Some good Korean friends. Cheap medical care and dentistry.

Dislikes- I stick out like a sore thumb and people stare at me. Corruption. Dealing with coworkers who are jealous and insecure.

4. What is your favorite place in Korea and why? (Maybe a city that you lived in or visited, a cultural site, a hidden getaway, etc..)

Hmmm. Anywhere where it's quiet and there are no people. Is there such a place in Korea?

5. What is your favorite place in Seoul?

Shinchon, there's a nice little Korean restaurant there, plus dessert at A Twosome Place.

6. What is the first thing that comes to mind that you can do here, but not back in your hometown?

My hometown had dirt roads, so pretty much everything. Except pee and not be seen by others, which I did back home

7. What do you miss most from your life back home?
People, like friends and family. After so bloodly long a time here, there's not much else I care about.

[captain kirk]

1.How did you wind up in Korea?
After Uni I worked treeplanting for seven years. I didn't want to fit in to a structure, a job with a boss in a city, so this appealed to me. I enjoyed working in the wilderness across Western Canada. Saw some wild stuff, bears, glaciers, all kinds of weather, people working under duress, up to Alaska, and so on. In the off season I was working a construction labouring job and almost died. A 12 ton machine ran over me from behind crushing my feet. It was in sand, luckily, so there was a bit of give to the ground relieving the crush. 7 months on worker's comp, 1700 dollars a month I think it was. Towards the end of that 7 months I went back to Uni for a summer class, 19th C British Lit, then had my Ba in English lit completed, left undone seven years before, when I left to treeplant. With that I went to Korea to teach English-ee.

2. How long have you lived here?
Arrived in '95 or '96. Been in Korea since then except for two jaunts to Taiwan to teach English. One job in Taiwan at a bushiban (Taiwan-speak for hagwon), and another in the public schools.

3.What do you like and dislike most about Korea?
I like the lack of rules and regulation, the low tax rate, how foreigners are left alone to do what they like. The old ways in the country seen from a motorbike. The climate except for the humid four months of Summer. The crisp cold in Winter. The population density making trips interesting, always another city to explore not far away. The subdued nature of Korean people, dignified and respectful, very reined in, controlled. The honesty of people. The long history, the wars and comings and goings of other nations, transgressions and trade. Being close to Japan, China, perched as it were. The nature. Pines, mountains, trails, streams.

I dislike the touchiness about a foreign man being with a Korean woman so that it's alway an issue.

4.What is your favourite place in Korea and why?
The forest, old ruins such as forts. The seacoast, beaches. Traces of ancient villages where there is now only forest. Echoes in time kind of places.

5.What is your favourite place in Seoul?
Tongdaemun market, the flea/street/used goods market that starts at Dongdaemun subway exit number 6.

6.What is the first thing that comes to mind that you can't do back home?
Ride a motorcycle year-round. Go to Thailand for a break between jobs.

7.What do you miss most about your life back home?
Sitting down with my mom, grandmother, dad, brother, sister and having a chat that way. Instead of long distance.