Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Kevtron]

Hi all. I'm starting to get all my stuff here packed up for job over there in Korea and was wondering what types of clothes I need to pack. Not so much for jobs (as I assume that's pretty much all suits), but rather for going out and just for wandering around.

As many normal college students who've just graduated a very large majority of my clothes include jeans or shorts, and t-shirts. So my question is basically: Should I go buy a pair of dockers or two and a bunch of polo type shirts for going out and exploring while there? Or can I wear my sandals/shorts/t-shirts and not look too touristy? I don't want to arrive and have to go shopping just to fit in.

Cheers!

[swetepete]

You can wear whatever you want, dude, the fashion police here are all completely insane. People dress like absolute dogbarf and it's all good.

You might want to get something in fuscia, or peach, or magenta. Pepto-bismol is the new black.

[normalcyispasse]

For the record, I've never worn a suit to work. Occasionally I may wear a nice shirt and tie, but it's never been required at any school/academy at which I've worked -- I generally just wear a nice shirt and clean jeans.

For kicking around, tee-shirts are fine. Shorts are fine in summer if you want 'em, and sandals are also okay. You're going to stand out anyway; don't worry so much about what clothes you're wearing.

[Kevtron]

[LUCRETIA]

Actually I've been meaning to ask a similar question - do you think Koreans think its okay to walk around with bare shoulders?
I've gone out on the weekend in a tank top and people stare like crazy, and I have noticed very few Korean girls wearing anything that shows their shoulders. I have so many cool things I want to wear to work but wonder if its a bad idea.
Some of the Korean teachers at my hakwon wear unbelievably short skirts sometimes - should be the same thing, right?

[Pak Yu Man]

Maybe they're staring cause you don't have a freakishly large vaccination scar on your shoulder.

[normalcyispasse]

[sojourner1]

Personally, I like wearing my monkey and clown suits that allow me be an edutainer providing world class edutainment to the masses of spoiled rotten rich kids who must be kept happy. LOL

We dress very casually in reality such as shorts, t-shirts, pants, jeans, and flip flops.

[Atavistic]

[Qinella]

[foundationef]

[PainterJane]

Like others have said: you can wear whatever you want. Back home some clubs have dress codes, but I've never been to one in Seoul that has a dress code, so you really have nothing to worry about.

About the whole tank top issue... I don't think it's really that big a deal. Perhaps there are fewer women that wear tank tops/things that expose the shoulders compared to back home, but I see lots of Korean women wearing tank tops all the time. It's maybe frowned upon to wear tank tops to work, but I think the same applies back home.

[Jizzo T. Clown]

[indytrucks]

As long as your clothes are clean, you'll be way ahead of the game here compared to most foreigners. I'm not saying this is Bangkok or anything, but this morning I was strolling around Itaewon, and my God, what some people wear. I swear these people don't own a mirror.

[ella]

In my experience, the best rule of thumb for dress when living abroad is the modesty standards of the average local married woman your own age. White women have to cover up a little more in countries where people aren't white. That's the result of living in a world with Britney Spears, Pam Anderson, and Paris Hilton. Welcome to reality.