Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Lao Wai]

I just got back from Koreatown in Toronto (Christie subway station). Talk about bizarre. It's like I was in Canada when I got on the subway, and in Korea when I got off!

I should say that I just moved here from the East coast, so it was quite shocking to see all of the Korean shops with hangul plastered everywhere. It really could have been any street in Korea (except that it doesn't have a lot of people on it).

It was also weird when I went into a restaurant. The adjuma spoke to me in English. This is Canada, so of course she would probably speak to me in English, but because the restaurant was just like any restaurant in Korea (right down to the paper covered spoons), it was a little strange.

My Korean is actually not that bad. I lived there for two years and could converse fairly easily with taxi drivers. I was wondering how the adjumma would have reacted if I had tried to speak to her in Korean.

I now see why the adult students I taught who had studied in Toronto only had a limited grasp of English. They probably never left K-town! I mean, everywhere I looked, there were Korean hair shops, video stores, convenience stores, clothing stores, grocery stores, travel agencies, you name it. I felt a little resentful when I thought of all the times I would have killed for a bag of cool ranch doritos when I lived in Busan.

I know that Korea does have a lot of Western type food restaurants (Outback, T.G.I's, etc.), but the foreign food sections of grocery stores were still quite lacking when I was there. What's the story these days in Seoul/Busan? How hard/easy is it to find western groceries/snacks, etc. When I lived in China it was very easy to get just about anything from home (well, American products anyway).

Oh, on the way to K-town I was riding the subway listening to music on my mp3 player. Well, the subway was fairly busy but not noisy (usually doesn't seem to get noisy). Anyway, the next thing I knew, I could hear loud talking over my music. So, I looked up and two k-girls were talking away really loudly, oblivious to the general lull on the train. I saw a few other pairs of eyes dart their way as well.

[Jeju Rocks]

I was also quite suprised when I was in Koreatown while in Toronto.
You can get almost any Korean product you want and more. That got me to wishing that Korea had a Koreatown.

[manlyboy]

On a trip to Sydney recently, I was surprised at the number of Korean hair salons I noticed in Pitt street. But it was laugh out loud funny when my wife pointed out a sign which read �õ�� �뷡��.

[peony]

I visited Toronto early this year and made a trip over to Koreatown after dinner in Little Italy (is that what its called?) one evening as I was curious what it looked like, I actually went into the supermarket and it was well stocked with most of the Korean products you could want but the storefronts and restaurants were all pretty outdated, I guess it was quaint though (i live in nyc, so i guess a lot of k-towns would find it hard to compete with the 2 k-towns we got here)

here's a pic I took of the market

[just because]

[uber1024]

[shakuhachi]

[poddubny]

[jinglejangle]

[bignate]

[bundangbum]

All these different Towns are ok but when you think about it, it\'s really just the people who dont or can\'t intergrate into their new environment so they make the town like home so as to live the best they can or how they know.

Me i\'d be against them and destroy them.

[babtangee]

[bundangbum]

I didnt say everyone should think that way moron. That\'s just how i sort of feel. Anyway i guess it is good in a micro econimical kind of way. if you want to find something Korean just go to Korea town or something

[Bulsajo]

[jinglejangle]