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I just graduated from university and was officially bestowed the title of Magister Artium Philosophiae, which is awesome and all but unfortunately not the most useful degree toi have.
Anyway, after some consideration I and my girlfriend, who graduated at the same time, decided to move to Korea to live and work (study) there. Moving to Korea has always been something I planned to do once I have the chance and I don't think there'll be a better time to try this out than now.
My mother is Korean and my father is German so I’m one of those half breed bastards that are not really at home anywhere. Here in Germany I’m the token Asian guy and when I’m in Korea I seem to totally look Western to them. But that’s never been a problem actually, I consider that having the best of both worlds.
Germany is a good place to live but after spending all my life here in Munich I just feel that I need a change. Everything here is so neat, quiet, regulated and secure that I always feel exhilarated whenever I am in Korea and wade through the masses of people on the streets, with lights blinking and flashing, looking for a good place to have a hangover barbecue at 4am. It’s just so different from Munich, which just turns into a ghost town after 9pm. It’s the loud, dirty and superficial flair of Seoul that captivates me in a way that makes me want to stay there longer in order to see if stays as good or turns sour after a while (longest I’ve been was 6 months at a time).
My Korean is good enough to have no problems in daily life, but my written Korean is lacking because I never had much practice. I’m pretty familiar with Korean culture but my upbringing is Western so I don’t know how I’ll be able to cope with all that ugly stuff. In fact, as much as I love Korea, there’s a lot that I dislike about Korean culture and whenever I confronted Koreans about certain issues I never really got anywhere so I’ll just need to learn to deal with it better. I have no idea how it’ll turn out once I’m there but right now I’m planning to walk the “Hey, I’m a foreigner”-road in order to not be considered too Korean, with all the cultural consequences that follow that status. This works well for all those Americans over there, so I might as well try. But either way, I’m flexible so I’ll just adjust to what’s expected of me.
Right now I’m busy with all those formalities coming along with a big move: insurances, bank stuff, phone stuff, goodbye stuff, moving my belongings and all that. One thing I’m still wondering is how am I supposed to move my computer? I could just sell it and buy a new one over there, but I invested so much time in building this one and it’s pretty new and I don’t know where to get parts over there for a good price. But those problems are all minor, the big question is, what am I going to do in Korea? I have a F4 Visa (because my mother is Korean), that will help a lot, because it’s not as easy to be allowed to work in Korea as a foreigner.
Being a nerd my #1 goal would of course be to do ESPORTS related work, but getting in there is not easy. I’m thinking translator and other community related work. I’d like to bring more content to the international fanbase, so working for Gretech would be awesome. I did translations and Korean news for TL in 2008, but had to stop because I just didn’t have enough time to do it properly anymore because of other responsibilities. My other options are pretty limited. Being able to speak Korean, English and German is a good thing, but there are just a few German companies in Korea I could apply to and they all want people with engineering or economic backgrounds. German teacher is an option too, but German has gotten very unpopular in Korea, so there’s almost no demand, and also teaching is not really my dream job, but well, I’ll do it if I can’t find anything else. Teaching English is no option, since they only want natives.
My girlfriend will go to a University and learn Korean. Fortunately she can earn some money with writing articles for her fashion magazines, that way she can sustain herself even without a working visa in Korea. I’m really happy that she’s with me on this adventure especially considering she can’t speak Korean and has no special relation to Korea such as I do.
Right now I’m really excited and looking forward to Korea, even with all the uncertainties. But I’m a die hard optimist so I’m sure things will turn out great.
Things I need to take care of:
- Job (duh)
- Place to live (I don’t think it’ll be hard to find a good place to rent though, never had any problems with that thus far)
- Bank account – which bank is the best for foreigners?
- Phone plan – KT or SKT? I plan to get a Nexus S or Galaxy S2, depending on when it will be released
- What else is there?
If any of you have any tips or suggestions, I’d appreciate it.
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Is ur gf Korean? Y does she want to go?
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Hungary11282 Posts
Seems like we have the same degree, congrats  .
Concerning the computer, I thought Korea was pretty good in recent technology and these forums should offer you quite a few good suggestions for stores. But apart from that I suppose, I suppose the cost of shipping depends on how quickly you want it. By ship it will be cheaper but might take a month.
Can't help you much with the other issues, but best of luck!
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Great post. I'm curious, can you talk more about the parts of Korean culture that bother you?
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On March 03 2011 04:55 snowbird wrote:
I just graduated from university and was officially bestowed the title of Magister Artium Philosophiae, which is awesome and all but unfortunately not the most useful degree toi have.
I see what you did there
Congrats on the decision to move to Korea. I myself never left Europe, but studying abroad in France was a huge step in my life. I'm sorry I can't help you with any tips or suggestions, but I'm sure you'll make it somehow (I made it too, with no home until the last day before school started).
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My girlfriend is German (Vietnamese parents) and she also always had this urge to get out of Germany. We've been to Korea on holiday twice and she liked it so when I brought up the idea of moving to Korea for some time I guess she just thought, yeah why not?
On March 03 2011 05:26 Aesop wrote:Seems like we have the same degree, congrats . Concerning the computer, I thought Korea was pretty good in recent technology and these forums should offer you quite a few good suggestions for stores. But apart from that I suppose, I suppose the cost of shipping depends on how quickly you want it. By ship it will be cheaper but might take a month. Can't help you much with the other issues, but best of luck!
Well congrats to your awesome degree then :D
Right now I'm leaning to the idea of disassembling my computer, bringing all the parts with my regular luggage and just buying a new tower in Korea, but I'll have think about that some more.
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I'm jealous, I want to go to korea T_T. Take me with you!
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As for the parts of Korean culture I find controversial, hmm... for example:
- seniority system at work (in contrast to the western style of a more performance oriented system)
- exaggerated importance of respect towards elders
- role of family in life
- problems with gender equality
- obsession with beauty
- image is more important than substance
- double morals regarding sex related topics (woman needs to be a virgin, man can whore around)
- excessive national pride
- etc.
These are difficult topics and of course there are reasons for why things are like they are, so these are no black and white issues. Most of the stuff I mentioned is deeply rooted in Korean society and will not change anytime soon (not saying that they have to change).
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You mean you girlfriend is Vietnamese born in Germany? Btw, don't take this the wrong way, but it's going to be hard for you two to stay together. Almost all stories i've heard of white guys with gfs in an asian country almost always leave their gf because asian women are throwing themselves at the guy.
Though it all depends on what you look like considering that you're a hapa.
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On March 03 2011 06:04 buickskylark wrote:
You mean you girlfriend is Vietnamese born in Germany?
Well, whatever you want to call it, yes
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Zurich15324 Posts
Yay Snowbird! Are you going to post on TL more often now? I am really excited for you and wish you all the best that everything is going to work out with getting a job.
Munich is going to be an even more boring place without you :-( Guess I'll really have to visit Seoul soon then.
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I'll try to post more often ;D
I'll be expecting you in Seoul in April!
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Calgary25977 Posts
I opened an account at Hana Bank when I was there. It was really easy and costed $5. Then I realized you can take money out of any ATM for a $10 handling fee ($5 ATM charge + $5 bank charge) and I never used the bank account. As far as I know it's still open, either collecting interest or getting raped by fees.
I know that doesn't help you, but that's my story.
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Calgary25977 Posts
On March 03 2011 06:04 buickskylark wrote:
You mean you girlfriend is Vietnamese born in Germany? Btw, don't take this the wrong way, but it's going to be hard for you two to stay together. Almost all stories i've heard of white guys with gfs in an asian country almost always leave their gf because asian women are throwing themselves at the guy.
Though it all depends on what you look like considering that you're a hapa.
Yea snowbird be careful, don't take it the wrong way but this guy who knows nothing about your or your relationship with your girlfriend is telling you that you'll break up because of almost all the stories that he's heard.
Careful.
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Wait can you re-explain the part where you say "teaching english is no option becuz they only want natives." I remember lots of white people who go to korea to teach english. Did I misread that part? Why can't you teach english?
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On March 03 2011 06:44 MaRiNe23 wrote:
Wait can you re-explain the part where you say "teaching english is no option becuz they only want natives." I remember lots of white people who go to korea to teach english. Did I misread that part? Why can't you teach english?
because he's not a native speaker...?
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Zurich15324 Posts
Because he is not a native speaker.
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On March 03 2011 06:44 MaRiNe23 wrote:
Wait can you re-explain the part where you say "teaching english is no option becuz they only want natives." I remember lots of white people who go to korea to teach english. Did I misread that part? Why can't you teach english?
Afaik schools will only hire native English speakers, at least that's what everyone's been telling me and that's also what the job offers say. You need to be from the US, Canada, UK or Australia and preferably white and more preferably female and white.
But correct me if I'm wrong!
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On March 03 2011 06:32 Chill wrote:Show nested quote +On March 03 2011 06:04 buickskylark wrote:
You mean you girlfriend is Vietnamese born in Germany? Btw, don't take this the wrong way, but it's going to be hard for you two to stay together. Almost all stories i've heard of white guys with gfs in an asian country almost always leave their gf because asian women are throwing themselves at the guy.
Though it all depends on what you look like considering that you're a hapa. Yea snowbird be careful, don't take it the wrong way but this guy who knows nothing about your or your relationship with your girlfriend is telling you that you'll break up because of almost all the stories that he's heard. Careful.
Edit: nevermind lol, she's angry now that I posted it!
I'll be careful yep! :D
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As another honhyeol I can totally relate to that not really feeling at home anywhere thing :[
Good luck with your plans! I plan on moving to Korea myself after school at least for a year or two, possibly indefinitely if my own plans come through for me.
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EPT
