Korean Job Discussion Forums

[n3ptne]

I've been here over a year, and in that time I've come to realize one fundamental truth about this country: The character of the average foreigner [here] is just barely scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Honestly I can't stand my "colleagues" here. They are lazy, unmotivated schleps without the slightest regard for understanding either the country, culture, or people they find themselves amid. And, I unconditionally understand/support the Korean line of distrust towards foreigners. I even adopt it as my own.

I am constantly enamored by the composition of Korean ethics vis-a-viv all things, and find myself trying to mimick them down to minutiae. I find myself adopting their prejudices toward the Westerners here.

I'm not being xenophobic, as I'm sure I'll be charged (despite my Americanism), but the ilk of half of you (or undoubtably more) is simply substandard compared to those I once knew.

We are paid nearly double what the average Korean makes, yet we work roughly half as hard... and despite this, we, as a collective, campaign for even greater disparity. We call in sick for colds. We have no conception of how business is conducted here, or how things reflect on our employers. Worse yet, we don't care. *beep* you, pay me.

To the majority of us Korea is either a place to party, or a "spring board" of some form whether it be to see the world, or sock away money. But, from all that I gather, and despite the great benefits being given to us, the average foreigner has no desire to reciprocrate upon their hosts. It's all about "me".

That's the exact attitude that drove me out of the West.

Not saying Korean's are guilty, or even perfect. But I will this, I'll take my chances with them, over the average foreigner, any day of the week. I respect them.

I can't wait to immigrate.

[ChopChaeJoe]

I hate Koreans.

I hate foreigners.

I hate foreigners that hat koreans.

I hate Koreans that hate foreigners that hate Koreans.

I hate foreigners that koreans hate.

And on and on.

Dont you realize....


all you need is love.

[flotsam]

[n3ptne]

Love for lazy bastards who complain because the silver spoons they were born with weren't gold?

No thanks.

[jaganath69]

[n3ptne]

[huntjuliehunt]

I am someone who came to Korea for money alone. Yes, I could have stayed in the USA and gotten a job, but I'm not normal, and when my acting and writing aren't paying the bills, I refuse to have a "normal" job. So, since schools pay airfare and housing, I thought- what the heck- I'll go to Korea. I'm on my way out of here next week, and I have nothing left to prove to anyone. I have nothing left to gripe about in angst, because I see the near future, and Christmas with family, where Korea is a distant past.

I never found a true friend here. I have spent 6 months alone in my room. I haven't exercised or eaten well, and being a vegetarian has been especially difficult for me here. Contrary to foreigners telling me that I would "be infected with yellow fever" like everyone else if I stayed long enough (the term sounds offensive to me anyway) I never found myself physically attracted to Koreans. I never felt that I related to them, and I spent all of my time trying to find quality foreigners, or at least one who I identified with. There are some good ones, and many nasty ones, but like I said, I've been alone. No real intimacy of any kind.

At the end of this, I feel that I haven't had a true Korean experience. And yet, what is that exactly? I'm not one to run to every landmark for a common tourist's photo. Yes, I'm sure there are some things I could have done to enrich my time here. But I realize something too. I have spent my days, and my only real conversation, with my Korean students. I have experienced this country through their eyes, through their hearts and thoughts. And life is not about things, but about people. I've had some nasty students too. But I have cared about my students and been real with them, and for me, they are Korea.

I am giving you more information than you need, but I understand the original poster's message. The need for money is a hard reality, and there is nothing wrong with going somewhere for that sole purpose. But I have spent months being antisocial or indifferent with the Korean teachers, while everyday they put a little candy of some sort on my desk and seem to stumble nervously around me.

The first foreign teacher I worked with, screamed at the director everyday and threatened her in front of everyone. The other foreign teacher never spoke to anyone. I liked both of them regardless. At the same time, my heart aches for the negative ways we handle cultural barriers and the way we hurt people. I am not ashamed that I never ate Korean food. I am not ashamed that I haven't completed a to-do list of touring Seoul. I am only ashamed that I didn't give a little more of myself to those around me, and that they may have been emotionally hurt by the actions and attitudes of foreigners like myself.

Schools faults, some enormous, include cheating us on money, which is something I'm facing right now. But I can't excuse my faults based on theirs. I also had a nasty Korean manager from Seoul in America, but he can answer for what he's done over there. The Koreans here have, more often than not, treated me well and soon it will no longer be about "me" and "them" but about God and me, and about me and me... and what will I see?

[Oreovictim]

I'm with you. I look at Foreigner with disgust. I've always hated "Cold as Ice," "Juke Box Hero," and "Hot-Blooded." Everyone, let's forget about this bloated dinosaur rock band.

[Ginormousaurus]

[n3ptne]

[Roch]

[n3ptne]

[ben the saint]

"We are paid nearly double what the average Korean makes, yet we work roughly half as hard"


You are very wrong or misinformed here. It�s the other way around. The poverty level in Korea stands between W1.5-1.8 million per month, which is the close to the average salary of an ESL teacher here.
Read this from a Korean newspaper:


By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter
South Korea�s 20 largest business groups listed on the Korea Stock Exchange (KSE) saw their workers� monthly wage jump to 3.72 million won ($3,200) in the first half of the year, up 10.16 percent from 3.37 million won in the same period last year.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Monday, Samsung Electronics recorded the largest growth in average monthly wage, calculated by dividing the total of monthly salaries by the number of workers, with the figure shooting up by 25.2 percent to 4.03 million won in June this year from 3.22 million won in June last year.
Kia Motors, the nation�s second largest automaker, came in second with the average monthly wage rising to 3.28 million won in the first half, up 23.3 percent from 2.66 million won, followed by SK Corp. with a 17 percent gain to 5.17 million won.
Hyundai Motor saw its average monthly salary jump to 3.5 million in the first half of the year, up 8.36 percent, while Hana Bank raised its monthly wage by 11.3 percent to 4.04 million won during the same period.
Meanwhile, LG Philips LCD paid its workers 2.61 million won a month in the first half of the year, up 1.53 percent from a year ago, while workers at Samsung SDI received 3.1 million won per month, up 0.65 percent over the corresponding period last year.
Shinsegae Department Store recorded the lowest average monthly wage at 2.09 million won in the first half among the 20 business groups, up 14.2 percent from a year ago, but exclusion of the firm�s 3,911 part-time workers put the figure at 2.75 million won.
A majority of business groups raised wages by a large margin in the first half after generating record profits, with the difference in wage growth rates between different companies being attributed to the number of low-paid temporary and contract workers, a KSE official said.

And these same people have the same education level as many foreigners here. So if you take the average ESL salary W2.1 and add 300,000 for housing, you still fall below the Koreans with the same qualifications.
ESL salaries have dropped over 20% in the last 5 years and inflations has risen over 25% in the same time. In the year 2000 most university salaries were W3 million plus and now look at the salaries offered by the universities today.

[n3ptne]

[n3ptne]