Korean Job Discussion Forums

[lastat06513]

~ I know that some people would view this post as "unpatriotic" or
"pure Korean" in its tone (But trust me, the few people that do know me, know that I am NOT Korean). But I just want to write a blog-style open letter to explain why I gained a sense of new toleration for being here....

Awhile ago, I was walking across a street and I was standing next to a Korean girl and her GI b/f. "He's an English Teacher, people like him are bad because they have no skills and can't get a job back home." I heard her say. The guy just snickered as they crossed the street. I felt like 2-cent because of what she said coupled with the way Korean people view ETs' these days in the wake of the major scandal 6 months back.

Being an American English Teacher, I have always felt like a second-class citizen in Korea, just a step higher up the social ladder from Factory workers or other 3D workers in Korea because we are viewed as having an indulgent yet unstable lifestyle. I am always viewed as a guest, not a person who might want to make Korea their home because I am not "blood Korean".

To top this off, I got a feeling that the Americans associated with the USFK look down on the other American expatriates in Korea because they don't have the priviledges as they do, such as being shielded from Korean culture inside the high stone walls or high barbed-wire fences or being able to buy American goods tax-free (BTW~ I recently saw the prices in a PX circular and the prices for some items are almost similar to the same items sold in Korean department stores).

Sometimes I feel that being an English teacher here can be an isolated and lonely life.
But I have gottena new found appreciation to be here and I found it in an unlikely source; Hurricane Katrina.

I have always thought that since George Bush got elected and initiated this "War on Terror" and "The Iraq War", he has forgotten about the very people who voted for him. When I went home in both 2002 and 2004, I noticed that urban development has virtually stopped and the local governmental infrastructure has become more bureaucratic in recent times.
He has spent so much money on "his wars" that when it came time to help the American public recover from one of the worst natural disasters in modern times, it came alittle too late, causing the virtual evacuation of New Orleans not to mention the countless lives lost in the flood waters.
All the while, you hear about armed gangs that roam the streets robbing and raping, it sounds more like the lawless streets of Mogadishu rather than the happy-go-lucky sights and sounds of Burboun Street during Marti Gras.

Has America lost its power and pazazz that it enjoyed before Bush came to power. This natural disaster makes me think that coming to Korea was actually a very sound decision because I feel since I have come to Korea, minus all the mishaps, has been very stable and prosperous. I feel I have more of a purpose being here than I would back in the U.S., slaving away in an office all day just to pay my rent and bills. I feel I am making a world of difference to Koreans in that I am providing them with a service to enable them to improve their lives, more than enabling myself to scrape by at a normal 9 to 5 job.

And living here is more convenient. I can go shopping anytime I want thanks to places like Namdaemun and Dongdaemun. And I can do things like watch movies or play arcade games anytime with the all-night entertainment centers around Seoul. And most importantly, I can travel around Seoul without the use of a car, something that would be impossible if I was back in the US.
Also, the money is fantiastic, compared to the prices I would have to pay in the US (The cost of living here is still reasonable).

I know most people would disagree with my "rant", but I just want to voice my opinion.


Thank you, enough said.....

[Yu_Bum_suk]

For what it's worth I've found that the American teachers I've met here are definitely a cut above (several cuts above) anything I'd consider an 'average' or 'typical' American. The 20% of Americans who own passports are generally - with some noteable exceptions - pretty classy people, even if sometimes they can still surprise you with their ignorance. I think the GIs are probably just jealous that here you are clearing so much money and don't have to worry about what wretched places you might get shipped out to.

[peppermint]

The GIs I've met aren't worried so much of where they might get shipped off to- they signed on knowing about that. They are a little jealous of the lifestyle we lead though. No curfew set by Uncle Sam and all that.

[Paji eh Wong]

[desultude]

I told my sister in L.A. that buying that little house in Thailand or Mexico seems better and better every day, after watching the last week in the States. Living through the decline of the American empire isn't so exciting a prospect.

I like my life here, but know I can't stay forever, but things would have to turn around considerably for me to consider returning to the States permanently.

And, by the way, I so prefer my expat friends from other countries and the U.S. to the general public in the U.S. There are good people there, but you have to look hard and put up with a lot of dross to find them.

[jaganath69]

[djsmnc]

[lastat06513]

I am just heartbroken by the fact that after all the hype Koreans get about the US over here in regards to its foreign policy and military presence, they seem to be alittle oblivious to what is going on in their own back yard.

It took the Fed. gov't 3 days to even start the relief effort and FEMA/DHLS even achknowledged that they didn't even know there were people holed up in the New Orleans Superdome, although images were blared endlessly on CNN.

How can you ignore that???

When there was heavy rains in Kangwon-do a year or so back, the gov't here (coordinated between "GUN", "SI" and "DO" level) quickly dispatched relief supplies and soldiers to help in cleaning it up.

And here are some sad parallels between this and 9/11.

9/11~ The relief effort began as soon as the first plane hit the WTC, although many emergency workers died when the second plane hit and subsequently when the towers collapsed. Police cordoned off of the area around the site to help with the investigation and the inevitable clean-up.

Katrina~ It took 3 days for the relief effort to begin. Police deserting their posts amid the lawlessness (some even barracading themselves at night). People are still trapped in the city without food or water.

And what is not surprising is that as soon as the smoke has cleared, the Bush administration is pointing the finger at the local gov't for not allowing the federal gov't assume governing power over the hurricane-stricken area. But that would only bring more red tape.

The one person I would give some credit to is the New Orleans mayor for telling it like it is.


I love my country
But the way things are ran has got to change, dramatically

Another example (though, non-hurricane related)

My parents are on what is called Title-19 medical care. This is free medical care for elderly and handicapped individuals and they are also on SSI (Social Security Insurance). For a few month from February to July 2004, the gov't gave my parents an excess of about $75 a month to their SSI payments. My parents reported it to their case worker, but she just said that it might be a bonus.
But it wasn't a bonus!
They put my parents on "spend-down" and started taking back the $75 plus interest! AND because of the excess money, the government deemed my parents ineligible for Title-19, which my mother needs to pay for her pain medication.


Here is yet another one

A friend of my family has a "special needs" son who has been going to a school to learn basic skills to live. In June, 2002, the government cut money for the program and now he spends most of the time at home watching TV instead of learning the abilities he needs to confidently live a normal life.

And one more....

Starting in 1992, the government got grants needed to open police substations in the most dangerous parts of the city. Because of these substations, crime decreased about 11% annually over an 8-year period prior to Bush's initial inaugeration. After 9/11, alot of the money for the substations was diverted to the fight the "war on terror". The substations closed. Since then, most people are under a virtual "curfew" of 9pm since it is too dangerous to walk around outside.


Inspite of all this....

Bush gave Yale University a generous grant to build a new wing to the Yale Medical Research Center (the same center that has been remodelled 5 time over a 20 year period)


I love being an American
I really love being an American

But George Bush is a retarded big-eared monkey that has to go.
period!

[keithinkorea]

Lastat you're not wrong. I'm not an American but have quite a few American friends. Some of them are teachers, some Military types and a few other misc types. And I actually have to try not to feel sorry for them at times with the lousy government they've got stuck with. I dont want to hurt their feelings.

It is one thing for an American to criticise America but a lot of yanks get upset if a non yank does it. Some of the wankurs on here, I don't care about what they think but I don't want to upset friends, so I'm a lot more diplomatic IRL.

The only two reasons I care about American politics is that I have American friends and also American policies do not just effect US people.

America has really gone down hill. Bush has proved himself a moron time and time again, I'm getting tired of all the stupid nonsense 'your either with us or against us' and other such BS rhetoric. Why can't some people admit when they are wrong, very few Bush fans will admit any negative aspects of his presidency and worryingly some of them even call him king or saint A very sad state of affairs indeed.

Bushee is a spoiled kid who went to war 'cos "nasty ragheads tried to kill my daddy" and he thought he'd be able to make some cash for him and his friends of the deal. Before Iraq every conservative on every board was saying 'just wait' WMDs will be found, American troops amd their allies will be greated with street parties and joy, etc ad nauseum. I thought senior Bush was a shadey character but compare him to his retard son and he looks like a fine character indeed.

Every country has things that have gone wrong but how many leaders have presided and made worse so many situations. America now is seemingly run by the sort of people who run some of the more unsavoury countries out there and they certainly have a lot of links to a lot of those places too.

My country is far from faultless. We have the same sort of scum running around in our country, a major difference is that despite having much stricter censorship laws regarding press the press is largely more free in the UK. The US press has largely been bought out by big business and lobbying groups and those who pay there rent.

Americans deserve so much better. You got another chance in a few years to get an administration that will serve you rather than their rich powerful friends. As the late great Zappa said 'Don't forget to register to vote' and if you're not happy with then get motivated and run yourself.

[RachaelRoo]

deleted.

[PolyChronic Time Girl]

[Paji eh Wong]

[manlyboy]

Anyone catch the latest episode of Real Time?

It seems a US official has said something to the tune of "the people of NO were given adequate warning, so it's not our fault they chose not to evacuate". Then I heard that a large percentage of the victims didn't even own automobiles, and that the head of the organisation responsible for managing the disaster is an old college friend of Bush's with no experience in disaster management whatsoever.

Then the actor guy from The West Wing (Brad Whitford, I think) says that he received a $250 000 tax cut last year.

Seriously, I wouldn't be surprised if rioting in other cities breaks out soon.

[sublimeshawn]

America is definitely in a down spiral in a lot of ways, but a reasonably intelligent person can make at least $35,000 a year here and own a house with some land and and other amenities, America is a beautiful country, I live in the sticks myself so I dont have to worry about a lot of the bigger city worries, I have al ittle money and I can fish, golf, and travel so Im a happy camper personally. As far as where my country is headed in general, Im not as hopeful

[lastat06513]