Korean Job Discussion Forums

[swk2099]

k.

[Wangja]

A breath of fresh air: well put.

[billybrobby]

this thread is about to explode.


edit-- dang, i wasn't even the first reply. if ksw sticks around, i'll bet this thread hits 10 pages. welcome to the forum ksw. hang in there.

[periwinkle]

[laogaiguk]

[Swiss James]

just a tip- when responding to a thread- it's easier to hit "Post Reply" than start a new thread.

[swk2099]

k.

[laogaiguk]

[Pyongshin Sangja]

[Axl Rose]

[mithridates]

Well, here are some more white people but they're not from one of the 'blessed seven' but rather from Udmurtia; not sure if Koreans would envy them:



The problem is that we don't have a good word to encompass the people from the western countries we know we're talking about when we say white. The closest would be UK and former British colonies, but that's not quite right either.

Udmurts do have a cool flag though:



That's some nice flagwork.

No, most people are not here because they're unemployable back home. With those who have been here for four years and above, then maybe. Anybody who spends over half a decade doing the same thing and hasn't picked up a new skill in all that time is probably unemployable just about anywhere though. I find that bringing the discussion back to Udmurtia can help keep things in perspective when you're not sure who's right or not.

[swk2099]

k.

[teachmeenglish]

First of all, I fear that you are raising the level of this board and may well result in some posters runnign to other sites (E.....Sp....) to have thier b fests.

Secondly, Whiel i agree with much of what you say, I must disagree with your idea that most teachers are here becuase they are not good enough to get a job back home. That type of thinking is at the heart of the racist treatment towards westerners here and is nothing more than some Koreans rationalizing the negative treatment that some accord westerners.

Sure some westerners are trailer park trash. My guess 2%. Some are here for a drunk fest year (20%). I would guess the vast majority (70%+) came here for the love of travel (like me), or due to a dislike of thier own country (people fleeing Bush). Others may have broken up with a partner and needed a change. Sure, some may not have been able to get a job, but that is more a result of the poor state of the (Canadian) economy, not becuase they are bad people.

So the idea that many are here becuase we are not good enough in our own countries is pure b. s., to think otherwise is rationalizing poor treatment of foreigners whether they are 3d workers of englsih teachers.

Thirdly, teachign conversation classes is not common in Korea. most teachers deal with poorly behaved children nd need a lot of skill to control a class. that skill takes years to develop. I was a sheet teacher my fist year, and if that was my only year I would still be a sheet teacher. what made me better was skills I developed over the past 7 years.

Teachign is an art not a skill learnt in a uni. Very few teachers do a good job thier first year, but most try very hard. Just speaking the Englsih does not mean that you can even teach someone the alphabet unless you have developed teachign skills.

cheers.

[billybrobby]

Whenever I hear the whole "english teachers come here because they can't get jobs back home" argument, I always think that the person making that argument secretly assumes that korea is such a crap country that there is no reason to come to it for even a year or two. So I find it more than a little ironic when Koreans make that argument.

I'm not an english teacher, but I too have had Koreans tell me that foreigners living in Korea are all outcasts and failures. Is Korea such a crap place? It's like if a Korean moves to America he's getting upgraded to first class, but if an American goes to Korea, he's getting yanked out of his seat and stuck in the baggage compartment.

[periwinkle]