Korean Job Discussion Forums

[CaptainConjunction]

Although I've been in Korea for a while now, 90 percent of the ajoshis I've met fall into one of these categories:

A) Drunk
B) Grumpy
C) Silent
D) Rude
E) All of the above
F) Fascinated by, but totally ignorant of western culture

Interestingly, they mostly seem to have diabolical English skills which they insist on painfully sharing with you until you are both unable to comprehend anything of the conversation.

Most younger Korean guys seem to be normal enough. What happens to them as they get older to make them turn out so awful? Or is it just a nasty coincidence that many ajoshis are also hagwon bosses.

[itaewonguy]

just avoid them! they are not worth even talking to!
I usually just end up fighting with them! so for me its best to avoid them!

[TheUrbanMyth]

3 of my best and closest friends are adjoshis. I get along very well with them.

[jaganath69]

I'm technically one myself. I like myself. That is all.

[Homer]

You do realize that ajoshi is not a social class or some sort of type of person right?

It basically means older man....so are you asking if we cannot get along with any korean men over that are no longer students?
A pretty large category.
Thats like saying: do you get along woth guys over 25-28 back home? To me they fall into the following category....

By the way, if you are over your mid-twenties or close to your thirties, you are, yourself an ajoshi...what category do you fall under?

[Qinella]

[peppermint]

I've encountered my share of creepy soju adjoshis (you know what I'm talking about) but I've also met some very cool ones. The students at the company where I used to teach volunteered to drive me home after the lessons, my old VP treated me like a daughter, and one memorable night a guy came up to me on the street to thank me for teaching the kids of Korea.

There's good and bad, just like any group

[bellum99]

It depends on a very important fact...do they give me the long blank stare? If they can resist the attempt to make me feel lower than them , then I can get along with them. Some of you will know what I mean...that weird stare and unhappy look on their face. That stare often precedes a question that will allow them to make themselves feel better. Those questions consist of:

1: Where do you live?
2: You own a car?
3: Ahhh, so you are an English teacher?

There are more questions. If they avoid being a d*ck longer than 10 minutes I give them a chance. Not many can do it.

[nautilus]

[laogaiguk]

[mithridates]

I know lots of cool ajosshis. One is high up in a construction company with projects overseas and he hates spitting. Another guy at the same company has lived in Libya for 15 years and is really interesting. Another one I know makes movies. Another one has been in the States for 10 years, travels to Russia all the time and has met Putin before. Etc. etc. Lots of cool ajosshis.

[Maugrim]

The difference is largely one of class, I think. The ajoshis that most of us have frequent contact with tend to be of a lower social class as determined by income. Just like back home, it's the less educated, less travelled people who tend to be the most nationalistic, the most fearful of change. The ajoshis that I have talked to who work at Samsung, or LG, or as professionals have been very friendly and open.

It's not like Koreans don't realize that there are social problems here; societies change slowly.

I know I've made some generalizations in this post, but I think I'm describing an identifiable trend, so lay off.

[Corporal]

[Qinella]

[Corporal]

Location, location, location.