EPTLife in Korea - Page 2
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Qwerty.
United States292 Posts
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Subversion
South Africa3627 Posts
It is commons for Koreans to loudly hawk up phlegm and spit, and burp loudly. This isn't considered rude or embarrassing at all. But I blew my nose at my desk, and one of the teachers politely told me that its rude. lolwut?  There are tons of little conventions you need to get used to. When you go out, and pour yourself a drink, you offer someone else first, usually someone in a higher position. You do this by kneeling (because you are sitting on the floor) holding the bottle with 2 hands, and pouring. Then he drinks it, and does the same for you. Now you must kneel below his level, hold the cup in 2 hands, and when you drink it you must face away from the person who poured (its considered rude to look at him). Seniority is also huge here. The most senior person at my school is the principal, and he walks on water. If he comes into the cafeteria and you're waiting in line, you give him your tray and your place in the line. If he enters the room, you stand up and bow. People here seriously kiss his ass, hard. Stuff like that takes some getting used to, and you only generally know you've done the wrong thing when you see someone else doing something different. Asian people are more shy, but more than that, they're more indirect. If I ask you to do something and you can't, you'll say you're really sorry but you can't because <insert reason>. Here it's very different. "Maybe" often just means "no". Noone will ever say something to you directly. They won't say "you're late" they'll say "you know everyone arrives at 8" or something like that. Another thing to get used to is what the foreigners jokingly call "last minute korea". EVERYTHING here is short notice. You will never get good forewarning. They will tell me as I'm about to leave for class that its been cancelled. They'll tell you things a day before, an hour before. Everything is done at the last minute. It's really bizarre for such an organised people. Its generally assumed here that you don't have any other plans. It's like I said, your work is your life. If you have plans for a Saturday, and your boss says "can you come in tomorrow", you do NOT say no, you just don't. You pretend you didn't have plans. This doesn't really apply to the foreigners as much, but thats how the Koreans work. I have a couple of Korean friends, and this girl got a call on her public holiday asking her if she can come in. And she had to go. We said "tell them you cant" and she explained that if she did that, they would say it was fine, but weeks or months down the line they'd find a way to screw her over, or if she needed a favour they'd so no. It's just how things work here. Work/social events are very festive. They try very much to include me, but the language barrier is very difficult. If you go out, its very easy to make contact with a stranger at a bar or something, they're generally pretty open to being chatted to. But here's one weird thing. At bars, and such, girls dont like being hit on. When they go out to a bar with other girlfriends, they're not interested in guys. They would prefer if you hit on them at the gym, or at the supermarket or something, weird. | ||
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Kentor
United States5784 Posts
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Subversion
South Africa3627 Posts
On July 06 2010 14:25 Qwerty. wrote: your experiences seem very positive about the foreign-teacher-in-korea experience, but I've read a lot of horror stories. have there been negatives for you? or have you just been lucky? appearance is very important in korea, and if everyone's coming up to you (as a foreigner) and saying very handsome, i'm sure it's been to your benefit. There are horror stories out there certainly. It depends on a lot of things really. Some people get a co-teacher thats not too nice, or don't like their apartment or where they live. But you really just have to make the most of things, you have to be prepared for anything. You can't go in with a poor attitude. I find a lot of Americans here (no offense to US ppl!) mostly complain because things here aren't like they are in America. You have to be prepared - the food is weird, the customs are different and people don't speak English! If you dive in with both feet though, it can really be awesome and you shouldn't have any major problems. It depends on what type of person you are. One thing I would recommend though - do not work for a private school. There have been problems with private schools not paying people, people being fired etc. If you work for a government school you get the same pay every month, it comes on the same day, no problems, and your job is secure and your contract solid. It's really a much safer, better choice. I would definitely recommend this to anyone though, just make sure you go through an agency that doesn't shortchange you! The pay is great and the work is easy, and its an awesome experience. If anyone is applying and wants to ask me if their pay/benefits are standard or they should be getting more, PM me or even ask in here and I'll help you out. Just to give you an idea of the pay and benefits: 2 - 2,3 million won per month - about 2000 dollars? rent-free apartment provided health insurance provided salary is tax-free plane ticket here and back covered 13th bonus cheque equal to your salary upon completion of contract 25 hours work per week MAX ( i work 18, my fiance 6!!!) | ||
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matjlav
Germany2435 Posts
How long does the application process take? Thanks for making this thread, it's actually really really interesting to read. When there's stuff like this that I could be doing, I often wonder why it is that I'm getting a 4-year education to slave away in some office job for 40 years  | ||
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Ciryandor
United States3735 Posts
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Subversion
South Africa3627 Posts
On July 06 2010 14:40 matjlav wrote: Have you studied any Korean? Why/why not? How long does the application process take? Thanks for making this thread, it's actually really really interesting to read. When there's stuff like this that I could be doing, I often wonder why it is that I'm getting a 4-year education to slave away in some office job for 40 years Hey thanks man, glad you're finding it interesting! :D The application process is a little bit of a bitch, but it shouldn't take longer than a couple of months really. Just takes time to get things like a police clearance (showing you have no record) and character letters from 2 people (to show you're a cool guy ). Once you got all the documents sent and sorted, you'll have a short telephone interview (shouldn't be a problem, i think they just want to hear your pure, english voice lol) and then you'll be approved an on your way in no time!The big intake of people is in February and August, but you can get slotted in throughout the year. Would definitely recommend it for a different and interesting experience! Also, almost everywhere you go there is a great community of foreign teachers in your area, they'll take you under their wing and teach you what you need to know I've made fantastic friends here.. people will see you and be like "hey, you're white! wanna hang out?" lol :D | ||
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Subversion
South Africa3627 Posts
On July 06 2010 14:43 Ciryandor wrote: How prevalent is Kimchi in supermarkets? Not trolling, serious question; wanted to know if Koreans still made them at home. And yes, how great is demand for English teachers there? Kimchi is everywhere. You will NOT eat korean food without kimchi present, anywhere. It will literally be with every meal. Literally. It's in supermarkets, restaurants, and they make it at home. lol. When they go on holiday, they take it with. I'm not kidding. Got a class now guys, be back in a little bit | ||
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Quesadilla
United States1814 Posts
This blog makes me want to link to my personal blogs about stuff here. I'm much more opinionated and random on my blogs which makes me cringe to think about which responses I'll get from this post-2008 TL crowd, but I might do it. You seem to be getting good responses and interest. Good blog! True stuff right here. edit: I got class too, haha. Bye. | ||
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Subversion
South Africa3627 Posts
It's very very traditional, I guess what all the folk here would consider "true Korea". You get a lot of that in Seoul too, its just that there's also a lot of Western options, like Itaewon, Hongdae etc. If I was you I'd also hang out mostly in the Western parts But being out here gives me a really good idea of what Korean culture is like, so thats one thing I guess. Also only 2 hours away, so I spend a lot of weekends in Seoul But yeah I'm also holding back a little on personal opinion, hehe :D | ||
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Dog22
United States140 Posts
How much Korean did you know before going into it (I know you mentioned "rudimentary Korean" but did you have that as soon as you arrived...etc)? You mentioned a difference in pay depending on what you've studied. What if you just have a simple bachelor's degree (Economics to be more specific)? Is the salary gap pretty noticeable? Thanks again for posting this. | ||
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29 fps
United States5724 Posts
On July 06 2010 13:54 fabiano wrote: Yet another foreign teaching english in Korea? I wonder why the koreans can't supply their english teachers with local professionals. it's hard to find koreans who are THAT good at English. Those who are at the very good level probably arent going to be mere teachers and instead work as interpreters/translators or something of a higher level. perhaps the koreans COULD hire local professions, but why should they when theres a whole bunch of foreigners who are willing to do it for relatively low pay? | ||
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boarderline26
6 Posts
Kimchi is everywhere. You will NOT eat korean food without kimchi present, anywhere. It will literally be with every meal. Literally. It's in supermarkets, restaurants, and they make it at home. lol. When they go on holiday, they take it with. I'm not kidding. This is so true, I even saw a taxi driver have it cooking in his trunk when we took a trip to the beach (course he had a soju bottle in his cup holder, haha) I have only been so Seoul once for a DMZ tour and Phantom of the Opera with some friends. Was not a fan of Itaewon but coulda been the company at the time. I did find a real club here in Busan (its kinda 1960s style) its called Arabian Nights and it had a VERY interesting performance and hoppin dance floor. Your right on the girls at some of these places dance floor was girls together, boys together and couples, there was no inter-mingling. I really want to go to Seoul more, maybe I'll get the chance soon. Anyway Great Post! | ||
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29 fps
United States5724 Posts
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Subversion
South Africa3627 Posts
On July 06 2010 15:35 Dog22 wrote: Wow, this is an awesome thread. I appreciate you putting this up. It actually makes me very interested in looking into something like this. How much Korean did you know before going into it (I know you mentioned "rudimentary Korean" but did you have that as soon as you arrived...etc)? You mentioned a difference in pay depending on what you've studied. What if you just have a simple bachelor's degree (Economics to be more specific)? Is the salary gap pretty noticeable? Thanks again for posting this. Thanks a lot, really glad there some people interested here As far as how much Korean I knew... NOTHING! Lol, I could barely say hello in Korean! Don't worry, you're not expected to know Korean at all They just want your mad English skills The difference in pay isn't much! For example, I am in level 2+, because I have a degree in Linguistics. You would be in level 2, thats only 100,000 won difference! You should be getting 2.1-2.2 million won as your salary. In dollars, according to internet currency convertor, that's 1,800 dollars. So basically, the difference between level 2 and level 2+ is only 70-80 dollars a month. So its totally worth it for you with just a bachelors degree! | ||
Rekrul
Korea (South)17174 Posts
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Schnake
Germany2819 Posts
Very interesting blog btw. | ||
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Subversion
South Africa3627 Posts
On July 06 2010 15:44 29 fps wrote: you said youre 2 hours away from Seoul. I think it's important to know that while Seoul is the image that people get when they hear Korea (if they get any image), it is vastly different from the countryside or places outside of Seoul. Just like how Tokyo is very different from everywhere else in Japan. Seoul is pretty different from the more rural areas. But there are a lot of other similar places, the big cities like Daejeon, Busan, Gwanju etc. are not that different from Seoul, in my experience anyway Seoul is tight though! | ||
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Rekrul
Korea (South)17174 Posts
On July 06 2010 15:45 Schnake wrote: Can you elaborate a bit more on general life and the little obstacles you have to overcome? Like, going grocery shopping and not knowing what it is exactly you are buying or household related stuff. How are you coping with people not speaking English so well or have you not had that many problems with communication, e.g. asking for directions etc.? Very interesting blog btw. u have to be a complete retard to not know what ur buying lol | ||
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Subversion
South Africa3627 Posts
On July 06 2010 15:45 Schnake wrote: Can you elaborate a bit more on general life and the little obstacles you have to overcome? Like, going grocery shopping and not knowing what it is exactly you are buying or household related stuff. How are you coping with people not speaking English so well or have you not had that many problems with communication, e.g. asking for directions etc.? Very interesting blog btw. Thanks! :D The biggest problems I find I have, are stupid little things like you mention. The biggest obstacles you have to overcome here are the daily things you take for granted. But you do have a co-teacher who's job it is to help you with stuff like setting up a bank account, getting a cellphone, internet all that kind of stuff sorted. Figuring out the bus networks and all that as well can be challenging! But after the first couple of months, you've learnt all the little things that you need to. You know what buses you need to take, you know what food sucks ass and whats good You know the restaurants and bars you like, how your bank and cellphone and all that stuff works. It helps once you've learnt a tiny bit of Korean, so you can read the names of destinations, communicate a little with taxi drivers and stuff like that. Communication is always a little bit of an issue, especially where I am, but you just get by with a bit of charades and trial and error It's really not a huge deal, there can be little frustrations but once you learn your way around its not a problem, and there's always foreigners/co-teachers to help you rekrul: easy, i have none but the other teachers in my area are really cool people, which is nice.class time again guys, be back in a bit | ||
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