Korean Job Discussion Forums

MollyBloom · Joined: 21 Jul 2006 Location: James Joyce's pants

1. has anyone gone to korea with a boyfriend/girlfriend?

2. my boyfriend and i are planning to leave as soon as we catch a job. does anyone know any good websites besides this one where we can browse for jobs?

3. What should we expect as an American couple; what public affection should we keep more private?

4. what are some hardships that other couples have experienced? and I don't mean cheating or straying...that can happen anywhere.

any other tidbits or stories will be appreciated.

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

cubanlord · Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Location: In Japan!

My wife and I are good. We hold hands and sometimes I sneak in (when she lets me) a kiss on the cheek. We don't sit there and play tonsil hockey or anything.

Boyfriend and Girlfriend? In a foreign country where you'll most likely rely on one another for EVERYTHING?

This will make or break your relationship. It won't be easy. Luckily for my wife and I, it made our relationship.

zappadelta · Joined: 31 Aug 2004

BJs in the park are considered polite here.

JZer · Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Location: South Korea

xtchr · Joined: 23 Nov 2004

ShaneM · Joined: 03 Feb 2005

jessiaka · Joined: 07 Jan 2006

1. has anyone gone to korea with a boyfriend/girlfriend?
Yes, and we're still together

2. my boyfriend and i are planning to leave as soon as we catch a job. does anyone know any good websites besides this one where we can browse for jobs?
esl cafe, and www.worknplay.com

3. What should we expect as an American couple; what public affection should we keep more private? just.. don't make out in public? I never do anyways, but yea

4. what are some hardships that other couples have experienced? and I don't mean cheating or straying...that can happen anywhere.
I think the added stress would be one, as was mentioned above. If you don't have a solid relationship before you come out here, well, the added stress could make or break it Smile

I've been here since June '05 with my man and we're still going strong. I also got pretty depressed from the culture change, so I think you guys might want to talk with eachother about things you could do to avoid that or ways of dealing with it if it happens before you come out here. Just a suggestion.

Novernae · Joined: 02 Mar 2005

thursdays child · Joined: 21 Sep 2005

Don't work together. You'll spend most of your free time together as it is, so don't work together. It is quite easy to find two schools that are nearby to each other that are hiring at the same time. Just make sure one of those jobs comes with a large apartment - live together in one and use the other as a guest house! Another way to do it is to ask both schools for the housing allowance - pool your money and rent one place.

One problem i found; there are a lot more male foreigners here so 'he' tends to make a lot more friends than you. I also found the men folk here (talking foreigners) to be more 'blokey' than my male mates back home. I always had to be one of the boys.

But me and my beau had a great time and relationship here (not together now - but the breakup happened outside of Korea).

HydePark · Joined: 23 Aug 2006 Location: Korea

I've known and seen a few couples teaching in Korea.
It doesn't hurt to e-mail a few recruitment agencies. You could work together at the same place (like a hagwon or university) or live together and commute to different jobs.
Holding hands or putting your arm around each other seems accepted, but I'm not a fan of seeing deep-throat kissing in public areas no matter what country I'm in Shocked

! So maybe people more conservative people will stare at you, but it's a choice you make -- do you let this bother you so that you stop holding hands, or do you continue about your merry way? Your choice. Smile

So, depeding where you are, being a "couple" (non-married b/f & g/f) might be accepted. Of course, some people may view this negatively...again, just depends on what you're comfortable with...as with a lot of things in Korea, you either let it bother you or you don't, and this doesn't mean ignoring or disrespecting the culture here...perhaps just finding a balance.

snowy32 · Joined: 03 Dec 2005 Location: NZ

I think the PDA depends on where you live. I live in a smallish city so the people here tend to be a little less exposed to westerners and western 'behaviours' such as kissing in public. I tend to just keep it to holding hands when in public.
My boyfriend and I work at seperate schools in the same city. This works out really well because we have seperate places to stay if need be. Something I found amusing was when his boss asked him if I could cook, he told his boss that I couldn't cook and his boss was horrified because how am I going to cook for him when we are married and I'm a stay at home mum? tehehe Laughing