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Hey guys,
Due to the nature of our interests (SC!) everyone seems to be quite interested in Korea as a country, and possibly living here.
I currently live in Korea, and was wondering if anyone had any questions about life over here, or anything they'd like to know? My apologies if a blog of this nature has been made before, just thought there might be some stuff people may find interesting. I know for me, Korea was very different from what I expected.
Just so you all know, I am not here in any gaming capacity, I'm an English teacher at a co-ed high school.
Cool, well if there's anything you'd like to know, fire away 
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Man I just got back from visiting there after not being there for 8 years, it's changed so much!!
Just curious, how'd you get interested in teaching there?
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How long have you been teaching? What's your ethnicity?
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Korea (South)11582 Posts
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Do Korean girls love English speakers? I'm assuming your not Korean, so are they friendly to foreigners?
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I have been thinking of this for some time now. In Korea can you, like go up to a girl and start talking about starcraft? o.0 And would she be capable of saying SC-related stuff that is clever.
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How much does starcraft actually come up? Like, is it natural for people to sit around and talk about the OSL as finals approach/after finals like u would any other big sporting event, or is it fairly limited to high school kids and that sort of thing?
what percentage of the population would know what you're talking about if you said "I think flash deserves the title bonjwa"? (Note i dont, i was just using a popular sc name with a popular sc reference without actually mentioning "starcraft" anywhere)
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Im mainly wondering about the SC Pro teams and how much Esports has integrated into the community.
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How big is gaming really over there (from observation only)?
I've always wonders what it's like to walk downtown in such a huge city?
How prevalent is North Korea in the News? Every day or just once a week or less?
The atmosphere in E-cafes there how would you describe it?
What are the restaurants like there?
How is the general mood outside on the street?
How crowded is it?
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What's the point of a QA blog if you don't......answer?
edit* my bad. 
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I'm South African, and White.
My great-grandparents are from England, so thats my "descent" if you will.
I got interested in teaching because an agency in South Africa that recruits for Korea came to my University and told us all about it. It was one hell of a sale's pitch Great pay, little work, completely new experience. Really cool. Been teaching for 6 months.
In answer to your Q CaucasianAsian, I'm gonna assume South Africa to be a "western country". Daily life there is pretty similar to America and Europe (been to both) so I'll assume South Africa qualifies
Anyways, daily life is definitely different. It's quite a culture shock. The food is completely different, and just all the little mannerisms and stuff are a lot to get used to. The language is obviously a big problem, the English here is NOT very good, despite the amount of learning they do. I stay in more of a rural area, a small city about 2 hours from Seoul. The English isn't as bad in Seoul but where I am it's pretty terrible. Have to get by with some rudimentary Korean and a lot of hand gestures It isn't too much of a problem though, and you quickly get used to it.
Transport in Korea, aside from Seoul which has a subway, is pretty much all buses and taxis. The buses are incredible, they go everywhere and are never even a minute late. The taxis are great too because they're really, really cheap. A 10 minute taxi drive somewhere will only cost you a few dollars. And I literally mean like 3-4 bucks.
There are very many bars and restaurants, a LOT more than are necessary. Most bars and restaurants I go to, its not uncommon for our group to be the only people there. Apparently they get subsidised by the government, thats how they keep operating. It's pretty rare in Korea also to find a "club" as we know it, i.e. no dancefloors. Most of the "clubs" are just really fancy bars with pretty lights, nice seating etc.
Being an English speaker here is very strange. In Seoul people aren't too bothered, as there are a lot of foreigners there. But where I am its crazy. My first week at school was like nothing I've ever experienced. The girls would all come up to me and say like "hello" then run away screaming and giggling. The first time I walked into my classes the girls all screamed, and i mean literally SCREAMED. It was like I was on TRL or something.
It's very common also to be walking down the street and for girls to tell you you're handsome. You;ll just be walking and girls will be like, "very handsome very handsome". It's really weird at first but you get used to it quite quickly. What might take longer to get used to is how you hear the same things from boys just as often. Boys will often say "very handsome boy" in the same manner. Boys here in general are very feminine, and touch each other a lot. It's a lot to get used to, they'd definitely be considered gay in another culture, but they're not.
But it's quite easy to adapt, and once you've settled into your general daily routine, found the places you like to eat and the bars you like to go, daily life kind of becomes quite normal It's all about the first couple of months, they're definitely the hardest. But you get used to the culture, whats bad and whats good, and pick up a little bit of Korean and things are OK!
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Starcraft is not as popular as you think it is there. People know about it, play it but it's not like total strangers in the subway start talking about a proleague match
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CA10828 Posts
On July 06 2010 13:51 OpRaider wrote:
What's the point of a QA blog if you don't......answer?
are you serious? the thread had only been open for 20 minutes when you posted that
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Yet another foreign teaching english in Korea? I wonder why the koreans can't supply their english teachers with local professionals.
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I thought about something like this for a possible career in the future, what basic qualifications(education) do you need to pursue this kind of career (teaching abroad in Korea)
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On July 06 2010 13:42 red_hq wrote:
How big is gaming really over there (from observation only)?
I've always wonders what it's like to walk downtown in such a huge city?
How prevalent is North Korea in the News? Every day or just once a week or less?
The atmosphere in E-cafes there how would you describe it?
What are the restaurants like there?
How is the general mood outside on the street?
How crowded is it?
From my observation, gaming is huge. After school, which ends at 5pm, or as late as 10pm for the diligent students, the boys all go to PC bangs. The PC bangs are considered a big problem in Korea, and you'll often see things in the news about them, and measures being taken to counter the problem. The government is trying to introduce new laws that limit the amount of time people can play, and start to slowly throttle their bandwidth if they spend too long playing games.
Walking downtown in Seoul is crazy. I mean the city itself is massive, so there are many different "downtowns". It's just a really, really busy place. There are so many people, and everyone is always in a rush! The amount of skyscrapers are unbelievable. I mean in some areas every single building is a massive skyscraper. They love to just build up and up, because there's not much space in Korea! Apartment blocks especially are very prolific, massiv eones.
The atmosphere in E-cafes is quite jovial. Everybody plays most of their games there, and you often go with friends so its a very social place. They can sometimes be a little dank and depressing though. You'll occasionally go into one and there will be a scattering of people, all sitting by themselves, and you can see they've been there aty least 24 hours! its a bit unsettling.
The restaurants are divided into 3 kinds I'd say. There's the traditional korean restaurants, which pretty much all serve the same kind of thing (most commonly strips of meat u cook in the center of the table on a big gas heated plate, then wrap in big cabbage leaves and eat, with a number of korean side dishes). Then there's the Western restaurants, which range from Italian food to burger joints. These are most common in seoul, in the more rural areas its mostly traditional food. Lastly, you get the "fusion" restaurants. These are chinese or japanese places that'll also serve korean stuff, or korean places that serve korean food but you sit on chairs and there's a definite western influence.
lastly the fast food places, aside from lotteria which is basically korean mcD's, are almost all pizza and fried chicken places. Every place in korea that sells pizza, sells fried chicken as well. You buy them together as kind of a deal, lol. Don't ask me why.
General mood on the street depends where you are, and what time it is. In Seoul, it is very crowded, and people are generally busy and have somewhere to be. On weekends though, or holidays, or more rural places, people are generally quite happy and talkative. Koreans really get along with other koreans. Some of them really have no interest/dislike for foreigners though. They're a very proud people, and think Korea is just the best place on Earth.
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What that other guy said is right, in answer to some of you guys talking about Starcraft infliltration into the community.
It's not like people talk about it ALL THE TIME, but it is really popular. I mean, compare it to how often you'd hear people in the US talking about football?
It's the same kind of thing. Almost all the boys in my school though play it, and are happy to tell me that their Zerg or Terran will crush me, lol. They also all really want to play me, I'm too scared haha.
But whether or not everyone is interested, almost everybody knows what it is.
One of my fellow teachers told me he's played 20 000 games of SC1, but he never plays anymore. I was like, you don't play at all? even on weekends or something? and he said no.
It seems that its popular amongst kids, but this country is so so work-driven its incredible, once people start working that quickly becomes their whole life. I guess he felt he didn't have times for games anymore.
As for girls, some do like SC, but its way way more popular with boys. The boys go to Pc bangs, the girls go to jinjubangs, which are like, saunas where they all get naked and bath and sit in steam and stuff. Lol, no, I'm not kidding. Stop drooling. 
As to necessary qualifications, all you need is a bachelor's degree, and a passport from UK, SA, US, Canada, Aus, NZ or England. They only take nationals from those countries.
But if you have a TEFL/TESOL/CELTA course to your name, or your degree was in English or Linguistics, you get paid extra
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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.
Koreans find it very, very difficult to learn English. There are 3 other english teachers at my school, and their English is not great. They want native speakers so that they can hear the natural speech, the right pronunciation, etc. My english teachers will often ask for my help with english problems they're having.
In fact, I have a class where I teach the teachers!
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Can you elaborate on those "mannerism" and other general social conventions western people might not be familiar with?
Also, the popular belief tends to dictate that asian are shyer than westerners, is this true in your experience? How diferent is it to get to know people during work or other social friendly events? WHat about making contact to a random stranger in the street?
nice blog btw, very educative
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how did you find out about tl?
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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.
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Mannerisms, where do I start! The most fascinating thing I've found about Korea is how much shit just doesn't make sense, lol. Let me explain.
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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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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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
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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?
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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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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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Dude life outside of Seoul sounds like 10 years back and so much more traditional. So much looser up here, especially with drinks, work, etc. You're right about all the teaching crud though. For private schools, think about it: last-minute is probably not the best business philosophy--and it shows.
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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Haha ya dude, life outside Seoul is VERY different.
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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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.
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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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Its great reading your experience and that your willing to answer questions about teaching here. I'm in Busan atm teaching at a private school and there are so many questions I had before coming that I harrassed my recruiter every day for almost a month trying to get a picture of life in Korea, the questions I'm reading on this post brings it all back, is great!
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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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.
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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!
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Korea (South)17174 Posts
what do you think about your white male co-workers?
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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.
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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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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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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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Do/did you make your own lesson plans (or did you use pre-existing ones from previous teachers)? Had you had any experience teaching a class before? How receptive were your students to the material/activities?
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Korea (South)17174 Posts
On July 06 2010 14:26 Subversion wrote:
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.
uh, no? lol
(standard dumb white boy move to take a few experiences and make broad generalizations out of them)
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On July 06 2010 16:02 moopie wrote:
Do/did you make your own lesson plans (or did you use pre-existing ones from previous teachers)? Had you had any experience teaching a class before? How receptive were your students to the material/activities?
I know that some teachers teach from a textbook. This isn't the case for me, I have to make my own lessons. But there are tons, and I do mean tons, of resources on the internet, lesson planning doesn't take very long. You have enough free time at school to do it all there, so you never really have to take anything home with you. And nope, never taught before coming here!
Your students' receptiveness really depends on the school, and the students! I have some students who are just really not interested, and I have some who come to me for extra help. It just depends on their ambition really. Although Korean students are really not always well-behaved, they can be naughty terrorists lol. You need to remember a lot of these kids are at school from 8am to 10pm, their whole life is school. They eat at school, sleep at school, brush their teeth at school, socialise at school. So that can mean discipline can be a problem. You just have to be firm from the beginning though, and you'll be fine I've had to be a little hard on them sometimes, but its been worth it.
Some days you have classes that are such a joy, and sometimes you have a class and its just a nightmare. You just get a feel for whats interesting for them, and where their level is at. They misbehave when they are either bored or don't understand. The first thing you can't always help, but the second you can.
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On July 06 2010 16:32 Rekrul wrote:Show nested quote +On July 06 2010 14:26 Subversion wrote:
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.
uh, no? lol (standard dumb white boy move to take a few experiences and make broad generalizations out of them)
Sure, its not the same for all girls. And I know plenty of guys who have hit on girls at bars with some success. But in general, when koreans go out, they often do so in a somewhat segregated manner. girls often don't like being disturbed at bars. I'm not trying to generalise to the whole population, but i have to talk in general here, its a post "about korea". This is just what i've been told by a number of people, and i've spoken to plenty of korean girls about it who have agreed. But hey, obviously this wouldn't apply to EVERYONE. Just thought it was an interesting part of the culture.
Also, not speaking from personal experience, I'm engaged so I don't hit on Korean women lol. Like I said, just what other foreigners and Koreans have told me. But guys, do take it with a pinch of salt. I'm not saying Korean women are unapproachable in bars!
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Korea (South)17174 Posts
korean people are more approachable than americans in bars
by a lot
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On July 06 2010 16:44 Rekrul wrote:
korean people are more approachable than americans in bars
by a lot
Would definitely agree with that. They don't seem to mind if you strike up a random conversation, especially if you're a foreigner.
K guys, its 5pm here I'm going home for the day! Will check on this later tonight!
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How big is the demand for foreign teachers that are not native english speakers?
like german, french, spanish etc?
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God this blog just reminds me how much I cannot wait to go to Korea to start teaching. It's been my dream for the past 18 months. I wish there was a way to get through school faster.
Are you familiar with the TALK program? I believe there's a second program like it as well where you can go to Korea before you get your bachelors, temporarily, at less pay. Are you familiar with them? Any info you can give me on them?
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51466 Posts
On July 06 2010 16:32 Rekrul wrote:Show nested quote +On July 06 2010 14:26 Subversion wrote:
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.
uh, no? lol (standard dumb white boy move to take a few experiences and make broad generalizations out of them)
are you hating because he's a......
+ Show Spoiler +
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United States33416 Posts
On July 06 2010 15:46 Rekrul wrote:Show nested quote +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
Psh, do you think you could tell bleach, drain cleaner, mildew remover, and laundry detergent apart  ?
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Ahh, so just a bachelor's you can attain in either a college or university? Or is it specific to one or the other?
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On July 06 2010 14:46 Subversion wrote:Show nested quote +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
What about if you're Asian looking? I've been mistaken for a Japanese guy when I was in Japan and I still can pass for one I think, so, is there still some hostility to the Japanese, and would other foreigners think that me looking like a Korean be a bad thing?
Note: I live in the Philippines where there are A LOT of Koreans studying English AND whatnot in some of our biggest Universities.
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Korea (South)17174 Posts
On July 06 2010 20:22 Waxangel wrote:Show nested quote +On July 06 2010 15:46 Rekrul wrote: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 Psh, do you think you could tell bleach, drain cleaner, mildew remover, and laundry detergent apart ?
yeah just buy everything then smell it at home lol
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On July 06 2010 15:46 Rekrul wrote:
Show nested quote +
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
Psh, do you think you could tell bleach, drain cleaner, mildew remover, and laundry detergent apart ?
It reminds me of two co-workers who for the last 3 months were buying fabric softener and thought it was detergent, haha, they wondered why there clothes always felt dirty in Korea.
I am poking my head around a few posts but I figure Subv. if your in Korea as well you might have found the answer. How are you planning to get an English copy of SC2 on July 27th? Download, shop in Seoul, wait for gift package? (I don't care how Koreans get their copy...I WANT MINE :-)
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Ok just gonna handle the Qs in order!
Firstly, not familiar with the TALK program, all the teaching programs I know of require a degree, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist! Sorry can't be of more help there. My advice is to wait till you get your degree though.
SONE, sorry if I'm being daft but I'm not sure I understand your question But I'm pretty sure the degree has to be at least 3 years.
Ciryandor, that shouldn't really be any problem at all, as long as you have a passport from one of the countries I mentioned earlier. You won't get any hostility from the foreigners at all! Only thing I could say on it that is a negative is that the Koreans will most likely think you're Korean, and try talk Korean to you, which may be a little annoying I have an Asian friend who doesn't speak the language and she gets that a lot But other than that no problems at all!
krndandaman, it doesn't matter at all what your background is, all that matters is that you have a passport from a native-english country, So if an asian-american has a US passport, he'd be entitled to the same stuff a caucasian american would. As for the weekends and time off... there's an awesome group of foreigners here, all places here have a group of foreigners that you will get included into quickly, thats how it works here, especially in the smaller places So every weekend we generally make a plan together! Most of the time its going out for drinks, movies, restaurants, going to the beach (i live on the coast) pretty similar to what you'd do at home! We often make missions up to Seoul though, get shitfaced and sleep in love motels Weekdays we often go out for a few drinks, or out to dinner. You have an enormous amount of disposable income here due to the good pay and very, very little expenses. So there's plenty of cash to party with My friends aren't gamers unfortunately, else we'd go to PC bangs a lot more! :D Do most of my gaming at home, the internet here is incredible.
Boarderline, I'm gonna go for the digital download. I'm pretty sure all copies to be found here are going to be Korean, so I'm just gonna download it from the US blizzard store! Think its the best option, don't you? Quick, easy, don't have to leave the house
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On July 06 2010 19:03 101TFP wrote:
How big is the demand for foreign teachers that are not native english speakers?
like german, french, spanish etc?
Sorry 101, forgot about you! The Korean english programs here are pretty rigid about this unfortunately. They won't accept anyone who is not from one of the countries I listed earlier. As far as I know they are really, really strict about this I know a couple of people from Zimbabwe, white, English speaking, and they weren't allowed because they didn't have a South African passport. Sorry if this is bad news
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For SONE
Ahh, so just a bachelor's you can attain in either a college or university? Or is it specific to one or the other?
Only a 4 year degree is considered, not a Canadian college (my Canadian friend tried explaining the difference between the two) Anyway her answer was only University counts.
Sorry for jumping in again, just an answer I finally know ;-)
And THANK YOU! (seriously) for letting me know its download-able. Koreans (especially the kids) can NEVER give me a straight answer to that question of how to get an English version.
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Ahh just got back, thanks for your answers.
Thanks also to boarderline, that's what I meant with my question.
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Calgary25981 Posts
On July 06 2010 16:44 Rekrul wrote:
korean people are more approachable than americans in bars
by a lot
I don't think that's true. But in my limited experience it's easy to approach both.
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Calgary25981 Posts
Yea that's a pretty easy icebreaker lol. If you start speaking fluent korean, 99 out of 100 girls are going to go "wahhhhhhhhh"
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United States33416 Posts
more like, rekrul speaks adorable bad korean, which is fine with me (/cuddle rekrul)
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One question from me:
How popular are the other e-sports in Korea ? Do they talk about WC3 or Counter Strike as much as they talk about Starcraft ? Are people like ReMinD, Lyn or Moon as popular as Flash, JaeDong or Bisu ?
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Osaka27149 Posts
On July 06 2010 19:39 GTR wrote:Show nested quote +On July 06 2010 16:32 Rekrul wrote:On July 06 2010 14:26 Subversion wrote:
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.
uh, no? lol (standard dumb white boy move to take a few experiences and make broad generalizations out of them) are you hating because he's a...... + Show Spoiler +
aN English teacher.
God.
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Calgary25981 Posts
On July 07 2010 06:58 Manifesto7 wrote:Show nested quote +On July 06 2010 19:39 GTR wrote:On July 06 2010 16:32 Rekrul wrote:On July 06 2010 14:26 Subversion wrote:
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.
uh, no? lol (standard dumb white boy move to take a few experiences and make broad generalizations out of them) are you hating because he's a...... + Show Spoiler + a N English teacher. God.
An Englishee teacher.
You live in Asia now.
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On July 07 2010 02:54 Metalwing wrote:
One question from me:
How popular are the other e-sports in Korea ? Do they talk about WC3 or Counter Strike as much as they talk about Starcraft ? Are people like ReMinD, Lyn or Moon as popular as Flash, JaeDong or Bisu ?
I don't hear much about WC3. They seem to play weird shit here, games I've never heard of are really popular. There's a couple of WC3 mods (not dota!) that seem to be really popular as well, but again, not anything I've ever heard of. WoW is really popular as well, obv =/
Lol @ Manifesto & Chill - but I gotta give it to Chill "Englishee" would be most accurate
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Korea (South)17174 Posts
i find it very laughable that you guys are dumb enough to think that what i say is based on my own personal experiences
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On July 06 2010 23:54 Chill wrote:Show nested quote +On July 06 2010 16:44 Rekrul wrote:
korean people are more approachable than americans in bars
by a lot I don't think that's true. But in my limited experience it's easy to approach both.
Chill that is because your amazing looking, (I have never seen you but I just know it is true)
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Well, I just hope since our country is bilingual enough that I can get a chance.
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Just thought of something interesting I want to add here.
In Korea, your age is different than it is elsewhere. So for example, I'm 22, but in Korea I would be 24. This is because when you are born in Korea, you are age 1, not age 0. They also add an extra year somewhere in adolescence.
So if you come to Korea, and someone asks your age, add two years!
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Yeah that's the other thing, their birthday they don't get any older, lol. Everyone gets older on the same day!
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1019 Posts
seniority and social hierachy should be very conscious on your mind if you go to Korea, especially if your a Korean-american, or a foreign korean because they will expect the same level of respect as a native korean.
foreigners, probably they wouldn't care so much, but at least show that you know some korean culture and are not ignorant by being respectful of elders and older people in general.
1. Always give up your seat for an old man/woman in a bus or subway. Koreans don't expect foreigners to stand up for the elderly but if you do, you would seem very well-mannered and polite.
2. If you want to speak korean to a korean, always use formal speech. Always. I guess if your non-asian, it wouldn't look as bad, but still, when I see white people just using casual speech to koreans, it is very awkward and not polite-looking, even if they do not mean to be. Unless your talking to a kid, always use formal speech to be on the safe side.
I can't think of any other tips for foreigners off the top of my head right now but feel free to ask me any specific questions about life in korea.
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Oh, I just HAVE to ask this. Which place has the best Fried Chicken? 
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Lol, you're not hard pressed to find fried chicken here!
There's no KFC or Popeyes or anything that I've seen, but the Koreans love fried chicken and pizza as their fast food, most places sell them together So there's loads of Korean places that sell fried chicken! My favourite place is a little place down the road from my place - awesome nuggets :D
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How long do you plan on teaching for? To be honest, I wouldn't mind a short(ish) term in Korea just hanging out and doing minimal work for nice pay.
And you're 22 and engaged?? nice.
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On July 07 2010 23:54 Subversion wrote:Lol, you're not hard pressed to find fried chicken here! There's no KFC or Popeyes or anything that I've seen, but the Koreans love fried chicken and pizza as their fast food, most places sell them together So there's loads of Korean places that sell fried chicken! My favourite place is a little place down the road from my place - awesome nuggets :D
I read your earlier post on how everything had chicken with it. Was wondering which of the big places had the best. *is expecting a certain answer* :p
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1019 Posts
yeah theres fried chicken places all around. I've only seen KFC's in seoul, outside it not so much.
And when I was skimming through the thread, I thought I saw someone posting about how life is "different" or "boring" outside of seoul. That isn't the case, there are many urbanized places outside of seoul where my relatives live, and life is very good there. Call seoul an international city, but go to somewhere like 분당 (bundang) or 평촌 (pyongchon), thats a typical korean lifestyle..
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Life outside the big cities is quite different, but certainly not boring. And yeah, there are plenty of huge cities in Korea like Daejeon and Busan, Seoul is not the only one!
As for fried chicken places, I really can't recommend a specific one. All the ones in my area are not really part of a big chain. The places that sell fried chicken aren't nearly as franchised as they are in Western countries, there's plenty of stand-alone places that sell. Just gotta find your favourite
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Argh Goobne Chicken. =))
Also, how saturated is media w/ idol groups? Does the nightly news include THEM?
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idol groups?
not sure i understand the question, do you mean like pop stars and stuff? and is "THEM" general or sumthing specific im missing?
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On July 06 2010 13:52 il0seonpurpose wrote:
Starcraft is not as popular as you think it is there. People know about it, play it but it's not like total strangers in the subway start talking about a proleague match
Actually, when I visited Seoul my friend and I took a day to go visit one of the palaces. There was a place where you could put on a guard costume and take pictures. The guy who helped me put on my costume was talking to my friend in Korean, and I heard the guy say Jaedong's name. I was like O.o
My friend pointed at me and said Terran and the guy started laughing at me. =(
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1019 Posts
Yes, starcraft is popular to a certain group of people, nearly all people in their 10s or 20s, not the entire country.
On July 08 2010 09:15 Ciryandor wrote:
Argh Goobne Chicken. =))
Also, how saturated is media w/ idol groups? Does the nightly news include THEM?
not saturated..I mean if something happens they obviously include it in the "entertainment and culture" portion of the news.
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i heard interest in sc2 is quite low in korea. is it true?
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1019 Posts
well people are just starting to get to know it. It depends on how good the game is and how balanced it is compared to brood war if we want to consider how popular it will be in the long run. But brood war is so perfect that I don't think sc2 is going to become as big as brood war.
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NeverGG
United Kingdom5399 Posts
No KFC or Popeyes? Of course there is. Infact even my rubbish little town down South (about 3 hours from Seoul) had a Popeyes. I don't really like fried chicken so it was of no consequence to me.
Also, I disagree with you on saying the media isn't completely saturated with idol groups. You just have to walk down any street in Seoul and you can spot at least ten things being advertised by the members of groups such as SNSD, Big Bang, 2pm and newer acts like CN Blue. Most of the big brands have at least one idol group sponsor if they're not using an actor/actress or sports personality. This is also reflected on television, and through the music played in shops in places like Gangnam and Myeongdong. To certain demographics here (from teenagers upwards) Korean idol groups can be a major factor in their lives so it's no wonder they have such extensive coverage in the media.
Lastly, online Korean netizens debate their looks/actions and words down to the most minute detail. It's not a big issue for every age group of course, but even the most insular, or untargeted type of person for this kind of music (aka. grannies and little kids.) is at least vaguely aware of all the pretty, young people decorating their local supermarkets and restaurants.
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On July 08 2010 22:28 NeverGG wrote:
No KFC or Popeyes? Of course there is. Infact even my rubbish little town down South (about 3 hours from Seoul) had a Popeyes. I don't really like fried chicken so it was of no consequence to me.
Also, I disagree with you on saying the media isn't completely saturated with idol groups. You just have to walk down any street in Seoul and you can spot at least ten things being advertised by the members of groups such as SNSD, Big Bang, 2pm and newer acts like CN Blue. Most of the big brands have at least one idol group sponsor if they're not using an actor/actress or sports personality. This is also reflected on television, and through the music played in shops in places like Gangnam and Myeongdong. To certain demographics here (from teenagers upwards) Korean idol groups can be a major factor in their lives so it's no wonder they have such extensive coverage in the media.
Lastly, online Korean netizens debate their looks/actions and words down to the most minute detail. It's not a big issue for every age group of course, but even the most insular, or untargeted type of person for this kind of music (aka. grannies and little kids.) is at least vaguely aware of all the pretty, young people decorating their local supermarkets and restaurants.
So Yu Na Kim is absolutely a Queen/Goddess there? Oh yeah I shouldn't be asking that, it's a bloody given! Okay now for some transport queries:
I heard Seoul's subway system is one of the most used in the whole world... is that really true, and also, are they also as bicycle happy as Japan is? Are compact cars all the rage as vehicles, esp coming from guys like Kia and Hyundai? Considering that they have similar topographies and climates, I wouldn't put it past them to have similar transportation choices.
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1019 Posts
Yes, people in korea respect her, but I hated how the american media portrayed her during the winter olympics. They made it look like koreans were going to rip her head off if she got a silver, which is not true at all. Even getting on the podium would have made koreans proud. No doubt the SOB's were trying to set up a sensational story if she really screwed up.
too bad she got the gold and the media shut their god damn traps.
korean subway system is very convenient and useful..not like america where you need a car or are stuck in your home. Bicycles are popular and so are motorcycles and buses.
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On July 09 2010 00:09 white_horse wrote:
korean subway system is very convenient and useful..not like america where you need a car or are stuck in your home.
I've never been to other cities other than Seoul, how true is this statement in a more rural city?
While Japan boasts its subway/train system, I still feel cars are more or less necessary (or would greatly convenience your life) if you live in less populated cities, which I had done.
A car is not necessary if you live in a large city in the US either (NYC, SF, Chicago, etc.)
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The reason why cars are more prevalent in America is because we have more space. :p
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1019 Posts
Outside of seoul and its surrounding area, subway lines are much more simpler. Busan only has like 3 lines and daejeon I believe has only one. Seoul has like 9 and they are still building new ones.
in cities outside of seoul subways are obviously not as useful, so buses and taxis become more prevalent for public transportation.
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Calgary25981 Posts
Busan subway is pretty outdated compared to Seoul. You do feel way more restricted there if you don't know the bus system, as opposed to Seoul where I almost never used the bus.
I bought the wrong ticket (1 way 1 line when I needed 1 way 2 line). I was trapped behind the turnstiles and there was no "upgrade your ticket" machine back there. I walked around back there looking for a machine or someone to help me for a few minutes. Then I just waited for everyone to leave when the next train arrived. There was no one around except one old man sitting down on a bench looking right at me. I jumped the turnstile and quickly looked at him and his face was pure :O and did not change the whole 2 seconds I was looking at him afterwards. At least he had a story to tell his family that night about some CrAzY foreigner.
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Wait, so most Koreans are taught in public or private schools?
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1019 Posts
public. pre-school and kindergarten are often private though.
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EPT
