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I've been a Lurker in the TL blogs for quite a while, and one thing I've noticed is that there seems to be a lot of curiosity surrounding everything related to Korea.
Since I'm trying to get more of my feelings about Korea on paper anyways, I figured I could share whatever information I possess (or am able to possess) about Korea with all those interested.
The most common or interesting questions I get will be edited into the OP, but I'll try to answer all questions put to me in this thread. If I don't know the answer, I will use what resources I have (Korean friends) to try and determine the answer in a timely fashion.
ABOUT ME:
I'm a 23 year old Canada who currently lives in the Seoul area of Korea, working as an English Teacher. I've been in Korea for only 8 months, but in that time I have gone out of my way to try and fully experience Korean culture. I speak the language at a much higher level than most foreigners here (I can hold a pretty causal conversation, but nothing too serious), and interact with a healthy dose of both Korean friends and fellow ex-pat friends. On the whole, I love it here.
I'm a pretty big fan of Starcraft II (played SC1 only on money maps and LT, never took too serious an interesting in the SC1 pro scene, but I can appreciate it for what it is), and follow the Korean Pro Scene to a decent degree.
First question: From a PM I received after my "Korean Christmas Tale" blog.
I am quite curious how you ended up in Korea, as I want to go there myself in 1,5 year as graduation period :D
Name withheld (feel free to identify yourself in the comments, I just don't want to betray any privacy issues related to PMs)
+ Show Spoiler +I ended up in Korea largely due to Korean friends in University encouraging me to give it a try. I first planned on being here only a year, but I like it so much, it may turn into a career. To become an English Teacher in Korea, you need: 1) To be a native English Speaker from an English-speaking country 2) A four year degree (any subject) from an English University 3) A clean criminal record That's it. It's also preferred if you have any teaching experiance or a TEFL or TESL certificate, but by no means necessary. The job typically pays around 2.1 million won per month, with a free, furnished apartment, and severance pay equal to 1 month's pay at the end of your contract (almost always 1 year long). By Korean standards, you are getting paid very well. To apply, simply go to any Korea Jobs board (I suggest Dave's ESL cafe: http://www.eslcafe.com/jobs/korea/ ) and get in contact with either a school or a recruiter who can guide you through the paperwork required to get a working visa.
How big deal eSports is in South Korea? Like same scale as soccer in europe?
+ Show Spoiler +No. Soccer is bigger in Korea than eSports is.
That said, eSports is largely accepted by all young males in Korea. Almost every male has played SC1 in PC bangs and there are 2 channels on Korean cable that show almost nothing but SC1 games with the odd programming of Tekken or Sudden Attack (basically Korean CounterStrike). I commonly have conversations about Starcraft with my elementary students.
However, this is the same cable that has a channel dedicated to the board game "GO".
I'd say it's popularity is similar to maybe Poker in America: Widely appreciated, but with only a few really dedicated enough to follow in-depth.
I can't promise to be able to answer everything, and there's probably a few better informed posters on TL who should feel free to contribute to this thread as well.
Ask away:
  
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ALLEYCAT BLUES50625 Posts
how many TLers have you met in Korea so far?
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On December 27 2011 22:48 BLinD-RawR wrote:
how many TLers have you met in Korea so far?
Zero. I'm mostly a lurker here so I don't really interact much with poster here, but I'd totally be open to meeting TLers. I've probably met a few at GSL finals, but I wouldn't know them by TL IDs.
EDIT: I met one guy from Edmonton who I hung out with at the Polt vs MMA Finals, and he took a bunch of pictures of me with Boxer, Wolf, and Tastosis, but he never emailed me the pictures. If you're reading mystery Edmonton guy this I want my pictures!
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What did you study before going to Korea? I just spent 40 days over there and loved it. I'm considering learning up and going to teach, but don't know what I want to do schoolwise.
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How big deal eSports is in South Korea? Like same scale as soccer in europe?
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Where do they hide the replays? 
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On December 27 2011 22:56 Symmetry wrote:
What did you study before going to Korea? I just spent 40 days over there and loved it. I'm considering learning up and going to teach, but don't know what I want to do schoolwise.
I studied Economics in University, which means that my degree is basically completely unrelated to what I teach. Like i said, basically any degree is accepted, but schools probably prefer degrees related to English.
As for non-university study before going to Korea: I learnt hangul before coming over, not specifically for this job but because I had a Korean girlfriend at the beginning of University who taught me it. It ended up being really useful.
How big deal eSports is in South Korea? Like same scale as soccer in europe?
No. Soccer is bigger in Korea than eSports is.
That said, eSports is largely accepted by all young males in Korea. Almost every male has played SC1 in PC bangs and there are 2 channels on Korean cable that show almost nothing but SC1 games with the odd programming of Tekken or Sudden Attack (basically Korean CounterStrike). I commonly have conversations about Starcraft with my elementary students.
However, this is the same cable that has a channel dedicated to the board game "GO".
I'd say it's popularity is similar to maybe Poker in America: Widely appreciated, but with only a few really dedicated enough to follow in-depth.
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On December 27 2011 23:05 DKR wrote:Where do they hide the replays?
In Bunkers?
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Have you tried dog meat? If so, what's it taste like? From the pictures I've seen it just looks like really fatty pork.
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On December 27 2011 23:29 frequency wrote:
Have you tried dog meat? If so, what's it taste like? From the pictures I've seen it just looks like really fatty pork.
Yes. It was so-so. I had it in stew form so it was pretty soggy-soft and tasted somewhat like how turkey in soup tastes.
I wouldn't compare it to pork. Much more lean. I (obviously) never experienced the "sexual boost" that widely-believed Korean folk-tales say it has on men.
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How are the anmas in Seoul compared to down in like Busan area?
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The anmas you're thinking of generally refuse to serve westerners as far as i know, same as the rest of the sex industry.
So I have no clue how they compare to Busan.
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if you travel to korea and don't know a word of korean, is really difficult to communicate/find places/do stuff?
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On December 28 2011 01:27 XenOsky- wrote:
if you travel to korea and don't know a word of korean, is really difficult to communicate/find places/do stuff?
Generally speaking, no. The entire subway system is bi-lingual in Korean and English (tri-lingual in many areas with Chinese as well), so getting around is no problem at all. Most "touristy" things in Korea are also very English friendly. There's so much to discover in Korea that you can basically stumble around blindly and come across something new and strange to westerners, so you'll find lots to do on a short trip.
However, knowing Korean (or having Korean friends) can be very helpful in finding some hidden gems that you might otherwise never find.
Most Koreans have pretty poor english tho, so communication can be a problem at times. Often they'll be able to convey their basic needs/wants, but don't expect to hold many conversations with the average Korean. However, the ones that do speak English tend to like making foreigner friends, so finding Korean friends isn't too hard (indeed, many will approach you randomly and start speaking in english to you, it's way more common than you would expect).
There are plenty of English Teachers that live years in Korea with very minimal Korean-language skills (many can't even read the Korean alphabet) who still have a blast in Korea, so there's obviously plenty to enjoy.
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edit
i suppose you teach youngsters under age15?
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Mostly yes. However, there are plenty of jobs from kindergarten to middle school level. High school jobs and University jobs normally require teaching degrees and experiance.
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How difficult is it to move there and find a simple job/place to rent? Also what kind of jobs are common that aren't in the food business and/or teaching? I may consider doing that after college. I can pick up a language relatively easily, so I am not worried too much about lack of knowledge as far as speaking goes.
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How is BW doing these days? HOw is SC2 doing?
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How much is a ticket from Korea to Peru?
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How easy was it to go to Korea and get a job?
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On December 28 2011 03:54 Rkie wrote:
How difficult is it to move there and find a simple job/place to rent? Also what kind of jobs are common that aren't in the food business and/or teaching? I may consider doing that after college. I can pick up a language relatively easily, so I am not worried too much about lack of knowledge as far as speaking goes.
There aren't many common jobs outside of food, teaching, or military. Those 3 industries make up the vast majority of foreigners. There's a few engineering-sorts that are in Korea doing contract jobs, but generally they are here employed by foreign companies.
I have seen foreign lawyers--helping other foreigners with legal issues, and dentist assistants--doing both schooling and on-the-job training, so there's clearly other jobs out there that foreigners can have and apply for, but I wouldn't know how to go about that. I'll ask some Korean friends more about this later.
Teaching jobs are always based on 1-year contracts, so if you want to find a job in Korea, it might be good to get a Teaching job to get you into the country at first, then look for other jobs once you're in the country. Most companies who hire even foreigners prefer foreigners that are already in the country.
It's not too hard to find places to rent, but this obviously depends on location. Rent can get really expensive in the richer areas of seoul.
How is BW doing these days? HOw is SC2 doing?
SC2 seems to be picking up a bit of steam, BW is lingering on but will probably never reach it's former levels of popularity.
How easy was it to go to Korea and get a job?
You normally get job offers and sign a contract before you actually come to Korea. I had numerous job offers only two days of applying. Super easy for me, but it might not be this easy in the near future due to some job cuts.
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EPT
