Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Qinella]

It happens a lot here on Dave's that, when a person expresses a negative opinion about some aspect of Korean life, someone tells that person that maybe it's time to just go home. In the past, I may have agreed with that opinion or even said it myself, but I've since changed my mine.

No country is immune to the problem of unemployment. All over the world, people migrate to other countries looking for economic opportunities. Sometimes, people put up with incredible hardship, including outright racism, possible homelessness, and risk of deportation, just for a shot at some extra money.

Think about Mexicans illegally immigrating to America. In college, I read several ethnographic reports about immigrant Mexicans living in various parts of the US, and many of them are unhappy, miss their friends and families, and sometimes even despise American culture. They are often on the receiving end of racism and prejudice. However, they stick it out because of the money.

Now, look at our home countries. Unemployment rates hover around 5%, and even if you can find a job, most of them are going to pay around 20k USD before taxes. So, many people come to Korea because of a better economic opportunity. The basic teaching job here pays a lot better than most starting positions available to new college graduates, and is more interesting than sitting in an office all day.

So it is clear that there is a strong economic advantage available for college graduates in Korea. That is why so many of us come. What we happen to think about Korea or Korean culture is essentially irrelevant. The only time it would make sense to tell someone, "If you hate Korea, why don't you just go home," would be if they are here as a tourist.

When I think about my home country (USA), I can come up with a list as long as my arm about grievances and things that are wrong. I often voiced these complaints when I lived there. The funny thing is, sometimes, people would tell me, "If you hate America so much, why don't you just leave?" I always regarded those people as ignorant hicks.

Q.

[Junior]

if you don't like it, improve it.


this is what people in the 3rd world are unable to do, which is why they flood the US and elsewhere.Everyone wants to go somewhere else than where they are.

[oneofthesarahs]

Isn't that sort of a bleak outlook to have? I would never do something that made me unhappy just because it paid well. (Well...maybe if it paid really, really, REALLY well. But we'd have to be talking big sacks of money with dollar signs on them here.)

I have my bad days in Korea like anyone else, but if I truly hated it, I would probably stick out my contract and then run like hell. And I originally came to Korea for the money. I'm trying to pay off my debts before heading out into the "real world." But I've ended up overall enjoying my experience here, so doubleplus good.

What I'm saying is, I'd rather be relatively happy but with less money than miserable with lots of money.

[Qinella]

[SPINOZA]

Can't say I agree with this, I'm afraid.

A graduate from an English-speaking country coming to Korea is much more a choice than a compulsion. A Mexican moving to the US, an African moving to France, an Indian moving to England.....these are of course choices too, but possibly they are under some financial compulsion because of abject poverty.

Whiners in Korea should definitely pack their crap and leave. Folks who re-sign contract after contract in a country they hate, with people they hate, with nothing whatsoever good to say about their host country, are mentally unstable.

[stevenisi]

Well qinella is I think you're being generous.

The people who make gross generalizations about every Korean littered crude remarks, etc.. they're not improving the situation or really care about anything in general. I suppose they don't have even one Korean friend or else it'd be hard to look them in the eye after certain coments about Korea.

Complaining about Korea and just being a total asshat are completely different.

[Qinella]

[bobbyhanlon]

i know korea pays teachers quite well, but its not megabucks we're talking about. if anyone works here for 2million KRW a month and hates the place (but keeps re-signing the contract), that is a really sorry state of affairs in my opinion.
on a personal note i've been here three years, loved it for most of that time, but now am starting to get sick of the place. i'm going home in a few months. life is too short to be in a place you don't want to be.

[blynch]

so what's ur pt?

[Qinella]

[goodgood]

I understand that people say things on this message board to get things off their chest, and that they say things they wouldn't normally say in "real life."

But I've found that the people who talk to me in person about how much they hate Korea are the most small-minded, small-town attitude having chumps I've met anywhere.

Most foreigners here are great! But I am consistently shocked that people who can not handle any kind of cultural difference decided to come all the way here in the first place. Nobody had to come here. I thought before I came that the place would be filled with open-minded adventurous travelers. And many people are like that. But there are a good number of ignorant, close-minded people here who sholdn't have left home in the first place.

If you moved to a predominantly black or hispanic neighborhood back home, would you spend all your time whining about how "black people listen to their music too loud" or "black women are only good for buying you drinks, but don't get involved" "or "the sound of black people yelling makes me sick.", like you do about Koreans? A lot of the comments I hear people make about Korea (both on this board and in real life) ARE racist. Theres no two ways about it. I'm the least "PC"person in the world, but s++t like this makes me sick.

And who hates an entire country? Are you so boring that you can't find anything you like about a place? Do you have no interests? Do you not find anything about Korean culture interesting? No friends? How did you like living back home? Not that much either, did ya? Oh-you say you loved it-and this place is awful? Why'd you come here then? You made a mistake. GO HOME!!!

(sorry about the incoherent rambling- i'm no essayist)

[TheUrbanMyth]

I don't think too many people tell someone to go home if they are complaining about say the vegetable truck. Usually something like that inspires 2-3 pages of "Me too!"

It is the people who constantly crap all over Korea and Koreans who are USUALLY told this (though there are exceptions). And I can see the justification for this. If you are in a place that you dislike so much and dislike the people, why stay? And why COME BACK? People whine on and on yet keep coming back year after year. This leads me inescapably to one of two conclusions.

A) Korea is not as bad as they make it out to be, or they wouldn't keep coming back. In other words they are trolling.


B) Korea is as bad as they make it out to be...but they can't get a job back home..or not one that pays even nearly as much. Hmm...this speaks for itself.

[blynch]

[goodgood]

[Qinella]