Korean Job Discussion Forums

Tiny_Tibbo · Joined: 21 Apr 2005 Location: In My Skin

I'm in my 8th month and find i'm being consumed by feelings of home sickness. I don't neccesarily want to be back in my home town, just an english speaking society. I was doing fine here but maybe its because i'm on my countdown till my contract is up...getting too anxious. I love my job, just want to be in my country.

Is it normal to have periodic home sickness?? And what's the best way to get over it??

bijjy · Joined: 11 Sep 2005 Location: Daegu

Sorry to hear you're homesick.

The first day I came here I was homesick. Hell, even before I left Vancouver I missed Vancouver. 3 weeks in Korea and I miss Vancouver. I can't even imagine how much I'll miss it 8 months from now!

I've travelled before for months at a time overseas, but have never been homesick until this trip.

Anyway, the thing that keeps me the most grounded is the internet. It may sound like 'in denial behavior', but I find that spending a good weekend inside my house reading and chatting with friends online is very helpful. It's almost like I'm still in Canada.

Of course, the other 5 days of the week, I can go outside, socialize, and practice my very beginner Korean on the unassuming public. The 'English only' weekends are what keep me from burning out from the stress of navigating a foreign culture.

numazawa · Joined: 20 Mar 2005 Location: The Concrete Barnyard

Aha, from Vancouver -- easy to imagine you'd miss it. I've been back in Kville 7mths. now and I still miss the waterfront (Kits area), not to mention a bunch of great sushi joints and Greek diners... ack, don't get me started...

But I do notice there appear to be more of those K-babes here though. Cool

sheba · Joined: 16 May 2005 Location: Here there and everywhere!

It sounds completely normal to me! Just make the most of the time you have left cos you just might end up missing Korea (or things about Korea) when you get home. You built a life back home and you had to leave it to start all over again. In a few months youll be leaving this life behind to start yet again back home.

Or is Korea a much longer term plan?..... either way.....

peemil · Joined: 09 Feb 2003 Location: Koowoompa

Oh yeah... Just go out and punch someone. That'll cure it.

mercury · Joined: 05 Dec 2004 Location: Pusan

If your feeling lonely, try working out. A lot of people just head to the local Hof to down a bunch of beer, or soju when lonliness strikes, but I usually head to the gym, or go to a book store and buy a book I always wanted. Lonliness is a state of mind, everyone feels homesick! Do you have a hobby............maybe find one, write short stories, buy a bunch of paints, try martial arts, pottery, or.......................bake chocolate cakes! Ha ha

Ya-ta Boy · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994

In my opinion, the best medicine for homesickness is to keep your mind occupied with something else. I think sitting in a bar drinking a depressant is not a recipe for success in battling down feelings. Going to a party and drinking would probably work. Reading an absorbing book. Doing something that keeps your mind from thinking about home is the key.

It's a crappy feeling, I know. So good luck with it.

Yu_Bum_suk · Joined: 25 Dec 2004

Did you live away from home much before you came to Korea? I've been here ten months and hardly miss Canada at all. In fact, I get annoyed by Koreans always asking me if I'm homesick - what do they think I am, a helpless, single K-guy who can't cook, clean, or find friends, much less think for himself?

Making Korean friends and feeling comfortable in a Korean-only setting is probably one way to avoid longing for home. Thinking about politics back home helps, too.

Tiny_Tibbo · Joined: 21 Apr 2005 Location: In My Skin

yes i have lived away from where my family lives before. I packed up two suitcases and left on a bus with $200 to my name and started over half way across the country. And never had the erge to move back.

I'm probably tired of the energy here...i really miss my free spirited hippie like lifestyle back home.....i find it so hard to stay in a meditative state.....its to the point when i call home i get upset when they gotta let me go cuz the joint is rolled or they're leavin for the beach.....i feel like i'm in prison and they're talkin bout the real world...lol

but then agian...maybe its just the PMS......

Qinella · Joined: 25 Feb 2005 Location: the crib

I don't get homesick, as in I'd rather be back in the US, but I do miss certain elements from time to time:

- good beer
- landscaping and attention to flowers, etc.
- appealing architecture
- my cats
- "greenery"
- a variety of food at relatively similar prices and quality

When I get in those types of moods, I find the best remedy is to get as drunk as possible, write poetry, listen to music like Bright Eyes or Hot Water Music, and dance around until I pass out on my bed with my tongue hanging out. That works wonders for me. No reason to displace my thoughts - much better to live in those thoughts and be present in my human emotion, as Thich Nhat Hanh suggests.

ajuma · Joined: 18 Feb 2003 Location: Anywere but Seoul!!

Yep! Perfectly normal! You've been through the "honeymoon" phase (WOW!! What an experience!!!) and the "comfortable" phase (I can find my way home!). Now you're in the "I wish I could get what I want, WHEN I want it without so much hassle" phase. Depending on your overall experience here, when it's time for your contract to end you'll feel happy, ambivalent, or sad about leaving.