Eat Kimchi, Teach English, Love

Yes, that's right. Last weekend I went to the movies with JH and saw Eat, Pray, Love. Although JH had scathing reviews of it afterward I leaned on the warmer side of the fence.

 

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No I did not read the book but recall it in the hands of many friends and family back when it was a popular read. 

What this movie has going for it is the story and the scenery. However it was pieced together in a very banal and typical way. I enjoyed seeing the story of a woman who didn't accept her married life and decided to seek out the adventures she always wanted. She ate (a lot apparently) in Italy, found prayer in India and love in Bali. None of this became a surprise as it went along since the director made it all perfectly clear. 

Looking back I think this movie would have been more enjoyable (at least for me) if it were directed in the same manner as Lost in Translation. I think we can put Lost in Translation in the category of movies where the protagonist is off in a foreign country and finds themselves. I think this movie better captures the feeling of what it is like to stay in a foreign country. The feeling of not knowing exactly what is going on, what people are saying and especially the intrinsic feeling that comes with being a westerner in Asian territory. They touched on this a little in Eat, Pray, Love but they showed Julia Roberts picking up the language and customs quite easily. Sure not all have difficulties with this, but for the most part not everyday is a walk in the park. Lost in Translation better showed how we see the oddities of the host culture and end up fascinated by it. Julia Robert's character seemed to just see it all a little bit too touristy for my taste. More of "Oooo" than "awe."

If I were to relate the movie Eat, Pray, Love to my own experience of living and traveling around Korea and Japan, I would say I have done a lot of kimchi eating, teaching English and finding love. 

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Of course there is so much to life here than just these three aspects. But I guess that will have to fill up the pages of a book someday. ;)

Reason Behind the Name

It has been spinning in my head for quite some time now to mention about how I came to name my blog Foreign/er. Also if you notice my name "Joy" is in the blog title inside the URL.

I came to this name "Foreign/er" when I was preparing to come to Korea and knew I wanted to blog about my experience here. Before coming to Korea I had graduated college and was working at an insurance company. It was banal work of making reports and researching quotes online. If I had stayed with that job and got into becoming an insurance agent I probably could still be living in San Francisco and making a nice sum of money. The picture is that I was a post-graduate living in a 2-bedroom apartment, with a roommate, and dreams of becoming something other than an insurance agent.

I had always wanted to go abroad either to study or just to have the experience, because I had never been outside the American border. During my junior year of college I was working on applying to study abroad in China, but after I became seriously ill the idea was let go.

There I was sitting in the insurance office and making my plans for teaching in Korea. I was thinking about what my experience would be like when I got to Korea. It came to me that Korea would be a foreign country and provide many foreign experiences. But I also realized that I would be a foreigner to Korean's eyes. I immediately realized that there was a dual relationship of living abroad.

• Korea is foreign to me.
• I am foreign to Koreans. 

That is where I came up with "Foreign/er". To put a "/" there between "Foreign" and "er" felt appropriate. I knew I would have experiences of seeing the foreign and that Korean people would have experiences of seeing me the foreigner.

To this day this concept still holds strong in my mind, especially when I am caught in a moment where a Korean person (old, young, middle aged) stares at me for a long time. In that moment I experience this "Foreign/er" concept of mine and actually try to hold on to it. I stare back and smile, which works really well with children.

The "Foreign/er" concept has presented itself in many situations as I have lived here. Many times I experience it with my boyfriend when we have a conversation about Korean life and society and find ourselves disagreeing. Other times I have it when I am experiencing something distinctly cultural about Korea, that can't be had anywhere else in the world.

This concept can also apply to my work where I have had struggles with accepting and understanding the dynamics of the Korean workplace. Along with being in the classroom and having moments with my students.

You might think that this is a kind of "outsider" and "insider" way of looking at one's life here in Korea. Or an "us" vs. "them" point-of-view. But I beg to differ, because the way I see it is that I am attempting to see myself from both my own point of view and that of the people of Korea.

I keep track of my blog by using Google Analytics, which is a software that can tell you what keywords people put in to get to your blog and which websites are linking you. Surprisingly, the number one keyword for a long time that people use to end up on my blog is Foreigner Joy. I don't know if this is because they heard my blog's name somewhere or they are specifically looking for "joy" from a "foreigner". If it is the latter one than I have to think people are coming to my blog to find foreigners feeling happy in Korea. One wonders if these people find what they are looking for when they come here, mostly because I have expressed my discomforts towards Korea. But I do try my best to balance it out with positive posts.


The thing is having the name "Joy" people might think that you are joyous all the time. Or that you are going to write about joyful things as a theme. That is fine, but so far I haven't explicitly done this on my blog. Yet it's an idea I am willing to toss around and use.

There you have it, the reason behind my blog's name "Foreign/er" or "Foreigner Joy." I hope this sheds some insight into the psychosis of my blog.

Let me know your opinion of my blog's title and what you thought it meant when you first stumbled onto it. Otherwise it would be fun to hear any catchy K-Blogger titles you have been thinking of.

Beginnings

April is just around the corner and that means that May will soon be here too. For me this time of year reminds me that I have been in Korea nearly 2 years. I spend my free time thinking about all that has transpired within this time.

Certainly what sticks out the most to me is that the way I feel about Korea today is nearly completely different from when I first got here. Of course that would make sense, right? But actually, I feel that as I go into creating my 3rd year here in Korea my attitude and outlook on the place is also very different than the first year.

When I first came to Korea I was 26 years old and now I am 28 (American age). My first job was at a hagwon (private school) and I understand now that it was this first experience at that place that shaped my mindset for the months to come.

The first 3 months of my life here in Korea were about survival and adaptation. It took forever to find certain essential things and also find my way to particular places. My Korean was pretty basic, yet I had a good grasp of being able to read it.

I remember my first 3 months busily trying to adapt to working at the hagwon. Coming in early to prepare work and finding myself hungry and tired during the last class before I came home. There were many times, I can recall, riding the subway home and trying not to cry in front of strangers.

The Korean workplace is a whole different experience than what I was familiar with. I feel because I crashed and burned so hard with my fellow Korean coworkers that it scarred me. During that time I couldn't understand why my Korean coworkers were so bitter around me. We had fights and arguments, all of which lead me to grow a habit within myself, that of distrust. I began to believe that I could never trust my Korean coworkers. That they would never be able to understand the foreigner perspective. It is this mindset that kept on getting in my way at my future jobs.

In the beginning, I was fragile and weak. The long hours and stressful work environment made me wonder if being an expat was always full of hardships.

But really at that time I was a new face amongst the expat crowd here. Everything seemed so new and different and every new place I went was thrilling.

I managed to quit the hagwon and move to a public school. That was a very dark and stressful time of my life. Things between me and my exboyfriend were crumbling and falling apart. I needed his support and good words but mostly what I got from was half-hearted. Yet, at the time I knew I needed to make money and get my career out here back on track.

My new school moved me into a terrible new home. First it was a room with no window that had cigarette smoke pumped into it from neighboring tenants. Then with enough nagging I got moved into a room across the hall with a window. It didn't change the fact that the place was a dump.

There I was alone and feeling treated wrongly by new school. I couldn't believe that people would put someone to live in such a shit-hole. Because of this I grew very resentful of my new coteacher and the staff at my new school. This combined with what I took from the hagwon, which was that I couldn't trust my Korean coworkers. Needless to say, this was a recipe for more disaster.

As I look back I only see all the potential that was wasted.  For example, my old public school had it's own classroom. It was also considerably small in class size and my schedule wasn't overloaded. However, I didn't really care about making new materials or decorating the classroom. I only put my energy into the after school classes because it was the most difficult aspect of the job. (No curriculum, 20 energetic students). I also spent extremely little time getting to know my coteacher. The first one seemed not to interested in me so it wasn't much of a problem. But the second coteacher was a very kind and generous woman. Yet, because of my bitterness towards the school and that I still had not gotten over my distrust for Korean coworkers, we got off on the wrong foot.

Looking back I wish I had gotten to know her well and really worked more with her. She had already 3 years English teaching experience and really cared about their education. Also she was into the modern sense of teaching and liked to use new ideas. In other words, I know now what I threw away because of my personal choices.

And so here we are at my 3rd job here in Korea. I made a promise with myself that at this new school I would try hard to teach the kids well, make stunning lesson plans and try to care about my coteachers. From December to January it seemed I only cared about the first half of my promise. And ended up on the dark side of my coteachers, yet again. But February signaled another chance to get it right, since we were given new coteachers.

If you have been reading since that time then you would know how I had a big fallout (last week) and then a huge turn around.

Now I understand how to balance both my desire to make good lessons and keep my coteachers happy. I believe it is because I have come to realize so many things over the course of living here, but also because I have grown to accept the Korean way of things.

In addition, because of this weekend's KOTESOL conference, I was able to see that it is really about working on a team.

Yesterday I felt more aware of the people around me and my role. In the classroom I could see how, although I was the leader and teaching most of the time, I needed to bounce it back between myself and the coteacher. Then, after work, we went out to dinner and during this time I talked a lot with everyone and opened myself up. I did all this knowing that it is what is best for the team, and ultimately for the children.

Today was just another teaching day and I realize now that I ended up putting myself too much into my planning. But I have started to check with the coteacher about her opinion of the day's teaching and see how she feels. We are going to play a big game with the 6th graders tomorrow and I showed my excitement.

In the beginning, I was fragile and weak.  Now, I am stronger and confident. Yet a part of me still feels like there is a hidden monster inside myself that could slip out without notice. I suppose the only thing I need to do is have a first-aid kit ready to go.

;)

I Like Korea: Reason 1

I know I write a lot about my tribulations at the workplace and so I worry that my blog casts off a negative impression about life in Korea. Therefore, I want to present posts called "I Like Korea" to counteract the negative experiences I have here. I feel there are many occurrences that I forget to mention that would help other people see that Korea is a fun and enriching place.

I would just cover this in one post with a list of the reasons why I like Korea, but I felt it would be more significant to examine each one with singular posts.

Random Acts of Kindness:
Many might feel that Korean folks, out in public, are cold people who keep to themselves. Sure when you walk into a building the person in front of you typically doesn't hold the door for you. But it's their way, right?

What I am talking about here is the random gestures of kindness that I receive from complete strangers out in public.

1. "You're beautiful!":  I don't mean to brag here, but there are times when random individuals near me look me in the eyes and say "You're beautiful" or "Oh, so beautiful!". I take it on the account that I have blue eyes and curly hair and this strikes them as different. Last week, when I was exiting the subway station making my way up the escalator such event occured. An older gentleman got on before me and I could tell he was looking my way. Eventually he leaned over and asked me where I was from, and then finished the conversation with the beautiful line. Although a little awkward it did boost my morale and make me feel better about my self-appearance. (I have gained some weight this lovely winter). 
2. Old Ladies Giving me Candy: I can recall on numerous occasions sitting next to old ladies who handed me some candy. One time it was traditional type candy that is handmade. In these situations I can't help but not eat what is given to me, even if the candy happens to be ginseng. At first I didn't really understand this kind gesture, and found it unnecessary.  But after all it really warmed my heart and helped feel a part of Korean culture.
3. Service: Perhaps in any country if you smile and are polite you can get a little something extra when ordering food. There are times when I am ordering food somewhere and try my best to do it in Korean, and end up getting an extra leg of chicken or something on top of my order. Korean folks like to call this "service", when you get something extra at a meal. It goes without saying that it isn't just something exchanged between Koreans and foreigners. This kindness I feel is a good token of Korea and shows them as fairly generous. 

I think that is a good list of the random acts of kindness that I experience here. I am sure there are more memories of sweet gestures from Korean folks but those written above are the major ones.

All right, well I hope you are enjoying your Tuesday. ~

Reader's Questions Answered

I don't like to show off but now and then readers of my blog send my way questions about life here and teaching. I try to do my best to answer honestly and to help them understand life out here.

One reader, a while back sent me some questions about public vs. private schools and so I thought I would post up my response. Here we go~

would you recommend newbies completely avoid [hagwons] them?
I don't think one has to completely avoid a Hagwon. Just be very picky and do a lot of research first. Also know the differences between a public school and a hagwon and ask yourself if you are willing to make those sacrifices. I know people who have worked at and are still working at hagwons and haven't had the same experience as me. Many have a pleasant time. Also you can work at hagwons that teach adults and so have a completely different experience. For a newbie you just need to know the challenges that lie ahead for either a public or private school. 

But are hogwans, in your opinion, to be avoided at all costs?
Not really. Some are run by very nice people. I know someone who is trying to develop her own hagwon school. Right now it is kind of small. Generally it comes down to these facts:
Hagwons = are a business. They will expect you to do a good job to keep the number of students at the school. If parents complain than you are going to be bothered a lot. 
Public school = run by the government, follows a repetitive schedule, more holidays, solid pay schedule etc. 

The similarities are:
Both mean you will be working with Koreans and the Korean system of doing things. You can't avoid that they lack the ability to give prompt notice. If you have read about it on my blog you would know that working with Koreans is a whole ball of wax that takes time to get use to. Some people have no problem adjusting. I just want to say that whether you work at a hagwon or public school you are still working with Korean people who typically function different from Western society.

Complaints about public school:
I had to think about this because well my complaints aren't that major I think. The one thing I would say is that the the Principal will make or break a public school. If he is very conservative and traditional than the people you work with will be scared of him. Doing things like using a personal heater might upset him so if he comes around you have to hide it. Again this points to Korean culture and what you have to get use to.

But really I don't have any major complaints. There are struggles now and then to make your lesson plans in time and full of good things but that is normal I think for a teaching job.

Update: I would say that you have to be cautious of your coteacher. They will be use to teaching in a certain style and may not be open to your suggestions or methods. Therefore in this case patience will be needed.


How do you like living in Gyeonggi rather then Seoul? Is there much of a foreigner community where you live now? Is it difficult to make friends?

I like living in Gyeonggi rather than Seoul because it has a suburban feel. Depending on the area it can be more quiet and quant. In Seoul everything is covered in concrete and parks are crammed in. Out here you can get to know your neighbors a bit more because you will typically see them more often. I just like the less stressed city feel out here. But living in Seoul offers more resources and fun things to do in my opinion. But if you live close enough it is easy to get there.

There are foreigners living in any major city and small major city. Usually they get together in their groups at bars or clubs. My friends and I are trying to start major communities so to make it better for all of us. It is not difficult to make friends. IF you work at a hagwon you get to know those folks. If you work at a public school you get to know people in the program. But you do meet a lot of new people and folks from around the world. It is a lot of fun.

Any other advice??
Sleep a lot when you first get here. It really helps battle jet lag. Also just try to relax and let yourself work out all the culture shock stuff. Give yourself time and eventually the things you love and hate about this place won't be that big of a deal.

Outlook of Being a Foreign Woman in SK

Lola O. asks:

I wanted to ask, if you would write a blog entry about your outlook of being a foreign woman in SK, as far as safety, discrimination, and anything else you can think of.

I would like to hear what you think, and I am sure others would appreciate that.

This topic, I feel, is very important to address. But I also feel that I need to be cautious of passing feminist judgments on to the people of South Korea. I intend to answer this question solely based upon my own experience as a woman in South Korea. This experience is based upon surely several factors including my appearance and status. I am a 28 year old woman with a small frame and average body weight. Often times I have been called beautiful but I am not trying to point this out in an arrogant way. I don't wear make up or dress up in high heels or other fancy stuff. I tend to lean towards casual dress.

As for my status I am an English teacher here in South Korea. I have a Korean boyfriend.

The following is my analysis of what it is like to be a "foreign woman" in South Korea. Bear in mind that everyone has a different experience.

Safety:

I would have to say that being a woman in South Korea is generally easy and not difficult. Meaning I can get around easily, shop and do regular life things without facing any major hurdles.

This is because the streets of South Korea feel safe most of the time. I lived in San Francisco for a few years and felt at times threatened due to being a woman. This would come from walking down unsafe streets with drug dealers and homeless people. There were times when strange men would approach me either on the street or on public transit.

Young women are doubtless the target for men who feel the need to take advantage of them. These type of men are prevalent in any society whether they appear out in the open or stay hidden. In San Francisco they were out in the open, but in South Korea I don't see their presence. In other words I don't feel threatened here as much as I did back in San Francisco.

Keep in mind I am not out late at night or walk the streets drunken. I feel if I were to do that more often my safety would be more of concern.

Discrimination:
To make sure I fully understand the concept and meaning of discrimination I am going to do a brief wikipedia look up.

Discrimination is a sociological term referring to the treatment taken toward or against a person of a certain group that is taken in consideration based on class or category. The United Nations explains: "Discriminatory behaviors take many forms, but they all involve some form of exclusion or rejection."^[1]

 Have I been excluded because I am a White American Woman? The answer is No. I have never once felt myself excluded from an activity or place due to my appearance.

However, I have felt that my appearance has rewarded me with staring, and oddball questions. It is my opinion, that if you live in a country where your appearance drastically differs from the native appearance around you that these people cannot help but notice you. How they react is an individual decision made upon that person's lack of or bountiful experience with people like you.

Someone's reaction can thus be considered as discriminatory, depending on the degree to which they react.

But I feel the question about discrimination here is not entirely about my race but my sex and whether or not being a woman means that I have been discriminated.

The question is then: Have I been discriminated against due to being a woman in South Korea?
The answer is that I have been treated differently than what I feel a man would be treated like here.

How?
The accounts I am speaking of relate to that I have been treated like I am delicate and dependent. For example, I am often offered the more comfortable seat at restaurants. One time at JH's office his coworker gave up his comfortable desk chair to me. Is this because I am a woman? I think so because it connects with other similar experiences. I don't think a man would be treated in such a way as being "delicate" instead I assume they would be treated as "strong" and "independent".


Is this discrimination or just people being nice? I think the line is crossed when people start to treat me like I am ignorant and subordinate. That my ability to lift heavy tables or chairs are hindered because I am a woman. Or that I my opinions are somehow less important than a man's.

Woman have a subordinate role:
I think we all have to understand what is going on here, which is that South Korea functions socially in a different way from the west. The dynamic in South Korea is that woman are generally placed in subordinate role and that we as "foreign woman" are also being placed into this. At work I tend to feel myself in this position and also observe the woman around me acting out these roles.

My Korean woman coworkers seem use to it and are okay with being put at a subordinate level. Indeed, the one one male teacher at my old school was made to do many of the sport and activity organization duties due to that he was the "man" at the school.

Therefore you can see that as a foreign woman who is use to being put at the same level as men in their western society will find themselves integrating inside a different social environment and coda.

Often times my head strong independent woman self comes up against this social barrier set for women here in South Korea. It is often times aggravating and depressing. But this is 2009 and many changes have been made to Korean society and woman nowadays are taking on more responsibilities and claiming their place in society here.

Therefore as far as discriminiation goes I cannot help but feel I am treated differently because I am a woman. In addition, I consider that I am also treated somewhat differentially because I am a foreign woman.

Although, no accounts of discrimination have been painful or severe, rather they are mentally mind boggling and exhausting.

Separation of the Sexes:

Woman over here and men over there.

On some occasions I have been separated from men. Take for example this past weekend spent with JH and his friends. The men were not allowed to sleep in the same room as the women. If this were a similar party in America no one would give a hoot whether the men or women slept together, unless possibly it was some ultra conservative group. But generally the feeling that I was 14 again and had to go to my "room" so not be around the guys felt a little odd.

Again, however there really is no harm in this treatment. It's just as I have said a little confusing considering that we were all adults and it's the year 2009 and not 1945.

Generally though as a woman in South Korea you will encounter experiences where you are to be seperated from the men. However, in public you can hang out with guys and it is fine.

Conclusion:

South Korea is generally a non hostile place to live. Underneath the glamour and modern aspects of society here there still remain codes of Neo-Confucianism that govern how a woman is treated here.

As a foreign woman you can survive here without having to fear walking down a street. Yet you will find yourself in situations where because you are a foreign woman that your appearance affects the people around you and how you are treated.

Traveling the world is a great opportunity to see how other cultures function and treat each other. As a global citizen you must be willing to understand what you see around you and learn from your experiences. In addition, as a woman traveler it would be important to keep in mind that most cultures still follow codes that treat women not as equal to men. But it is not something we should point the finger at and partake shame, rather it is best to come to terms with these factors and try to understand their origins.

Finally, it is important to keep in mind that as a woman we travel not only with our appearance but with our way of thinking and functioning in society. With that said it is a good idea to make female friends of the foreign country and have discussions about these differences.

Therefore, my response of being a foreign woman in South Korea is pretty much clean of any horror stories. Bear in mind, though that I have heard accounts from other foreign women of having nasty experiences here in South Korea due to being women. In conclusion, no matter where you are in the world you are still a woman and men are still men.

Please comment with your thoughts or any corrections you would have towards my accounts here. Certainly I am not the carrier of truth and would like to hear what others have to say whether you are a man or a woman.

The Job Market

There has been some generated buzz going on about how the current English teaching job market in Korea is undergoing transformation especially in the public sector.

Major issues are changes to housing, length of vacation and competition. Larger than this is that there are a bigger supply of applicants than ever before.

As we all know I am in the job market right now looking specifically for an Elementary gig inside Gyeonggi-do. I am not going the route of applying to GEPIK but looking for schools that hire a teacher on their own.

It is dry out there folks, and I think it is mostly due to it being the off season.

Ben Johnston says:

There are going to be great and terrible changes in coming years, and this place, market-wise, will continue to feel a lot more like Japan and a lot less than the Korea I knew in 2006.

First, I think we need to get out of our panic mode and take a clearer look at the job market and the job itself.

It should not be surprising to see the Korean government make changes to contracts as the world economy changes and in general as time passes. Of course some of these changes are unattractive.

But do we not all look at our contracts before we sign it? And yes I know contracts out here are like liquid, but you can fight for what you signed.

Hmmm

This is what I want to say:

1. No school's boss or owner is created equal. This applies towards coteachers. Therefore your work environment and the benefits of time off will revolve around these individuals attitudes towards you and the teaching profession.
   
2. Public schools, although vulnerable to the same mishaps as private schools, are in my opinion still better.

I am going to talk about the second point because it seems to be the biggest issue of all time. The idea I am trying to convey by stating that public schools are better than private is that we are making a choice based upon the quality of one's life.

Quality of life.

For example:

Private schools:

• Working hours typically range from 9 am - 7pm or split shifts of 9 - 12 then 2 - 8pm. All in all, the schedule varies. This means that you will eat dinner at 9pm (for some this is okay).
• You will have 20 minutes off here and there. But what will you do in your time off? You can go walk around somewhere or do planning. In these cases your schedule is not concrete and varies. If you are a flexible person who enjoys changes then this will not affect your quality of life.
  
• Also if you don't mind teaching ages 7 - 14 in one day then you will be fine. But for others going from kindergartners to near middle school aged kids can be draining.
• Intensive periods of teaching nearly 12 hrs straight.
• Solid vacation time of just 10 days throughout the year. Sometimes clustered together in bunches of 5 days or 4 days for your pleasure.
  
• Quality of life could be heightened by higher salary.

Public school:

• Working hours are most often and typically 8:30 - 4:30, give or take a difference of 10 minutes. After school programs can have a schedule of only working 12 - 5:30.
  
• The schedule does not change. However the amount of classes taught each day vary, but that too is a strict schedule.
• These two aspects make for one's quality of life to be regulated with few surprises as to changes day to day. This means you can wake up at the same time and eat meals at the same time. After work there is still time in the day to go to places before having dinner. You can go home clean your house and do laundry without feeling drained from working till 9 or 10pm.
  
• Also this schedule mirrors what a typical job would be like back in your home country.
  
• Age range is generally dependent at what level school you teach at. Elementary = 9 - 14 yr olds. Middle = 14 - 16 and High = the rest.
• Because age range doesn't vary highly you can focus your teaching style and lessons towards one age group. A quality of life bonus, in my opinion, because you won't have to stress over finding multiple materials for different ages and different strategies to keep the material interesting.
  
• Vacation time is meant to be 2 weeks in the summer and 2 weeks in the winter. New rules are coming into play but a lot of the current contracts out there, I bet, are within these guide lines. If there are reasons you are being denied your stated vacation time you can negotiate what is going on with your coteachers. Remember this aspect of teaching is about being ahead of the game and inquiring way ahead of time when you get those 2 weeks. Generally around vacation time schools add in "camps" and other extra stuff to keep you busy. So plan ahead with your coteacher.
  
• Some days you do no teaching. Due to special days and testing.
• You get to design your own teaching methods and materials. You base the general classes off a set curriculum by the government but how you teach is yours to develop. This is great for quality of life because it allows you to be creative and grow as a teacher.
• Quality of life could be lowered by that generally public schools don't pay as much as private. But all the other reasons give a justified look into why public school has a higher quality of life.

I didn't mention housing with these topics because that varies depending on who finds the house, location and allocation of money.

When it comes down to making the decision of private or public it comes down to quality of life. Sure public school is not some magical arena where the same bullshi* that goes on at private schools doesn't happen. But public schools ARE government regulated and if they deny you pension or even salary you can take it up with the local government. Heck, the school will look bad in their bookkeeping if they make mistakes in paying you. I think they call this job security.

Still if you work here after a while working at either institution is possible since you know the way the system works and what to look out for.

One last thing:
I hope I didn't sound pretentious in my thoughts, and I really want to reassure people that there are jobs available here. Although the job hunt has become more competitive it just means we need to market ourselves a lot harder.

And I would like to leave a note saying that this type of job market is amiable to changes at any time whether there are recessions or not.

As I grow older and learn from my mistakes I realize how important it is to remain an adult and be professional. In that case, I am the one with the magnifying glass and skeptical eyes when checking out a new job position. In other words, I can't rely on my recruiter to know what it is like to teach at the school being offered.

All in all, let's keep an eye on these changes and before we press the panic button let's do a little more thinking and research into what is going on.

***Also if any point I made here about private or public school contrasts from your experience then please share. Teaching jobs vary so much here so it can be difficult to sum them up in a few points.

Survey Says

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SMOE Teachers Axed

A lot of crap recently went down with 100 SMOE (Seoul public school) teachers being axed before coming here. Due to SMOE overbooking.

I just wanted to add my two cents here on my blog in response to Brian's posts.

I too agree that public school work is still better than hagwon work. Yes they screwed up this time. But those who did get through and work at the school's will still have more job security than at a hagwon.

I too work with GEPIK and am now working on finding a new school within the system. I think if you go the route of not putting yourself on the lottery system, which is SMOE and look for a school yourself then you have a better shot of getting off on the right foot.

In my opinion I don't think SMOE will make this mistake again. I think they have learned from this. Also I believe they are probably working on rearranging and reforming the program to fit the flux of new candidates due to the high unemployment rate in America.

I would advise those who plan on going with SMOE for the Spring term to have a 2nd or 3rd option on the table and work with recruiters who speak honestly with you. Talk to them about this situation and what their plan would be if it were to take place again.

And if you do get screwed and were planning on coming out here anyways..you could come on a tourist visa and find a job here in person. You could live up to 90 days on a tourist visa.

All in all, any person thinking of coming to Korea should realize and accept the fact the workforce functions differently out here and unexpected things happen all the time. And most of it doesn't make sense and most of it doesn't reflect what is written in a contract.

Wise Advice

One of my relatives reads my blog. I usually get their comments via email, and their responses are typically very insightful. Since this person is an older figure in my life I respect what they say a lot.

Hopefully, even though I am not getting permission first (thinking it will be okay) I am going to publish pieces from their recent email.

I think it is important to share the conversations that I have with my relatives to show how living abroad touches one's family. Sometimes, even though, our family can be very supporting you get questions relating to what you are doing out in Korea and how long do you plan on doing it. With the world economy and especially America's unemployment rate the future of young folks (like myself) is unstable. So I can understand their concern.

Here for you reflects this kind of concern that travels across the digital waves.

Something you recently posted has been gnawing at me. It seems you have no idea why your contract was not renewed. Since graduation, you've had three jobs. You were, apparently, very successful at the insurance agency (but bored out of your gourd). Your teaching experiences have been far less successful, yet you're seeking another teaching position.

It is true. Why would I be continuing in this profession if it seems I keep on complaining about it and saying how difficult it is? The answer is that I view teaching in Korea like a layered cake.

• One layer = Teaching the kids
• Second layer = Working with Korean coteachers/coworkers.
• Third layer = Life outside the classroom.

I enjoy all of those except the second layer, because it is the most difficult to understand and tolerate. But I haven't been booted out of the country so I guess I am still given a chance to get it right.

I majored in Art History and it has been thought that I should break off from teaching and get back into this profession. However, as much as I love art and its history I find it very difficult to start pursuing this career. This is because I would need a Master's or Doctorate degree plus years of experience behind me. From my perspective I am living my passion for the subject by residing in Asia. In fact another relative also speaks this concern via email...

I just wonder where your passion for Asian Art and painting (creating art) fits into your career outlook/plans.
Where does teaching English to foreigners rank in your passions or all of this?
As you didn't want to take Ed courses in college when I made that suggestion it appeared that you really didnt' want to teach for a lving
and so its seemed to me that teaching was just a means to an end so that you could experience living in Asia.
??

But to blame Korea for my inability to be rehired back at this school is really not proper. I should look at myself and the choices I have made. I am pursuing a 3rd job here in Korea and I will probably not be able to use the excuse of "I am new here" at the new job.

If your rejection by two schools still puzzles you, please try to understand now how to improve your future career, and act on what you learn. Don't reinforce by repetition, habits of behavior that undermine you. Try to adapt.

One of my favorite aspects of sharing my blog with my relatives is getting their tidbits of wisdom. I strongly want to walk into my next job and start it off on the right foot. My habits of being paranoid and keeping to myself will have to go away. Of course I believe it is a two-way street and I will have to learn what my new coteacher / coworkers will want from me or will give to me.

Joy, I want you to find a comfortable niche somewhere in this world... perhaps in Korea, perhaps in the USA. I don't know you well enough to suggest specific career (or other) objectives, but all of us need feedback when we're not functioning at the level we expect and hope for ourselves. Be courageous enough to open yourself to a little hurt by listening to such info.

Thank you! hehe The bottom line is that if I am to really figure what went wrong at my current school I will need to ask my coteacher. I want to do this but it is like walking into a room full of mirrors. Maybe I will have enough courage when my end date draws closer.

So what wise advice have you gotten throughout life? Especially for living abroad? I am also curious if there have been any novels or non-fiction you have read that were inspiring during your time abroad.

Agra Food Interview

AgraFood the

monthly magazine published under the government budget. The name is Korea Agrafood (www.agrafood.co.kr) and it has contained articles about agricultural products and its export. There is a content about people who live and like Korea.

Contacted me via email requesting an interview by me via email. I figured why not and just recently replied with my answers. I have to say I am a bit ashamed I couldn't name the Korean names of my favorite Korean dishes. So looks like I will try to jot it down the next time I eat it. haha

Here for you are the questions and answers...enjoy!

1. Could you introduce yourself? - and your profile

 I am a 27 year old woman from San Francisco, California. However I grew up in Florida and have lived in California too. I graduated from San Francisco State University in 2007 with a degree in Art. I enjoy living in Korea and have been doing so for a little over a year now.

2. Why do you came to Korea?

On New Year's Day 2008 I made a New Year's resolution to come and teach in Korea. At that time I was working at an insurance company and felt like my life was not very meaningful. Also I have always had an interest in Asian culture and traveling. I had never been outside the country and really wanted to explore. In addition I had previous jobs where I was with children and found that to be more enjoyable than office work. So I combined my two passions and decided to teach in Korea. I chose Korea because out of my other choices (China and Japan), Korea seemed to over the most benefits and appeared to be a clean and safe country.

How long have you been?

I have been hear since May 2008.

3. About Korean food.

1. What';s your favorite and what kinds of Korean food do you hate?

Unfortunately I have not memorized all of Korea's food names. For me my favorite is Lamb galbi because it is so unique. But I also enjoy the "pizza" or pancake type food. I really enjoy panchan (side dishes) because they offer a great variety at the table. Also I think Korean soups are very good and healthy. When I feel sick I no longer make my chicken soup but go out to a Korean restaurant and order Jook or other soup. The Korean food I hate are the foods sold in the carts on the street. I am skeptical of the food quality. I really don't like squid or octopus so anything with a strange sea creature I don't like.

2. Do you really enjoy Korean food?

Yes I really enjoy Korean food. It is very healthy and covers many food groups in one meal. I can tell Koreans have a long standing tradition with their food.

3. Is there any Korean food you can cook?

Unfortunately there is not, but with some time I would like to learn how to make a simple soup with tofu.

3. experience

None?

1. What is you first impression about Korea or Korean culture?

My first impression of Korea when I came here about a year ago was that Korea is a very well developed country. I was amazed to see sky high apartment buildings. As for the culture I found it interesting to see how everyone talk boisterously during meals and that Koreans are very curious about Westerners.

2. Are you hanging out with Korean friends?

I have a Korean boyfriend and I spend my weekends with him.

3. In your opinion, where is the best part of Korea- for sightseeing and eating food.

I feel the best part of Korea for sightseeing and eating food is near the Insadong area called Samcheondong in Seoul There you can get a glimpse of old style buildings while also getting a feel for unique cafes in Korea. Also nearby is a famous palace which is very amazing. All in this neighborhood I feel are many unique places to experience Korean food and sightseeing. Every time I go I find someplace new and feel very relaxed. I highly recommend this part of Korea.

4. Future

I am nearing the end of my 1 year teaching contract so I am up for resigning. I would like to continue living in Korea and at my present school. The only way they can keep me if they provide me a better house. Unfortunately for English teachers our housing situation is often degrading. Now that I have been here a year I feel I deserve a quality home. Also I would like to explore Korea more and see the sites around the country. I haven't been to Busan or Jeju-do so it would be nice to see what is down there.

5. Last

Thank you for giving me this interview I hope it shows other people that foreigners living in Korea have a good time. We love to explore new places and find out what is going on in Korean society.

Could you tell me your opinion about Korean food and culture?

Korean food combines many different spices and ingredients. Whenever I eat a Korean meal I feel I can taste so many different things. I for one am not really fond of Kimchi but many foreigners like it. For me I can't handle the spiciness. I am constantly amazed at how fresh everything is prepared and cooked. I can tell Koreans value fresh food and meat. Also I enjoy Korea's seasonal fruits and vegetables. While shopping I can tell what is popular by all the ahjummas standing around the fruit or vegetable bins. I think Koreans see their daily meals as a way of providing comfort for all in their family.

Q & A: Coming to Korea

Since I have lived here for a year now I would like to think that I have a lot of experience. Of course I humbly think I don't know everything about living here and I admit I still haven't seriously studied the language.

But for those thinking of, or are on their way, coming to this other world then there are likely a lot of questions that need answering.

I know before I came out here I did my best to get different opinions and point-of-views about life here before I came. Certainly it didn't prepare me for everything but it did make me feel like I could meet the challenge.

A reader of my blog recently sent me many questions pertaining to her anticipation on coming here. I was kind enough to answer and thought that my information would be useful to other people.

So for you are the Q & A's I have from our emails.
Questions & Answers on coming here and life in Korea:

Q. When you first arrived, it seems you didn't know the language was it difficult to pick up? It seems that hangeul is a bit difficult to read. How is your reading now?

A. Before I left I studied reading it and a few phrases. I also watched a lot of Korean movies and dramas to get a feel for how it sounds. But nothing really prepares you for being in another country. It is not difficult to pick up since you are around it all the time. I can read it easily now but I have very little vocabulary. I have gotten by with just knowing phrases. I would like to learn and hope to do more soon. I would recommend getting the hangeul down as it will make life a lot easier.

Q. Which age groups have you taught and which ones seem the easiest?

A. I have taught kindergarten to first year of middle school (at the hagwon). I mostly teach elementary kids now since I work in an elementary school. The difficult thing for me is the younger kids...say kindergarten to 2nd grade. They have no patience, cry and well act like children. I like to kind of be serious so they don't buy it. Really it depends on the person. From what I hear teaching middle school kids is the hardest since they are dealing with puberty and changes like that.

Q. When you were packing and when you arrived...what did you regret not taking with you? As well as what did you pack that you might have decided otherwise if you found it in Korea?

A. Ok lemme think. I packed a lot of stuff actually. 2 big suitcases worth. I took a lot of American medicine.. .like over the counter stuff and deodorant. Yes you can find deodorant here but it is hell-of expensive and usually you just find one brand. You can find practically everything modern society has to offer and more here. But if you are taken to particular American brands then bring a lot of it. For me I brought a lot of maxi pads since I only like a certain kind. Also my Dad still ships me hair products that I can't find here. What I regret not taking are precious memorable things I left at home. And would have liked to burn more copies of movies onto my hard drive. But you can find a lot of stuff here.


Q. How has it been with homesickness? Have you visited your family on vacation?

A.The hardest part about living here is the homesickness and loneliness. You can't avoid it no matter how many friends you have. This is because you live in a foreign land and everything is still foreign. But the way to get through it is know that it passes and that it brings you closer to the people back home. I haven't been back since I got here but plan on going for vacation in August.

Well that is the Q & A in a nutshell for now. She asked a whole lot more questions in more emails which I would like to detail and will do in a follow up post.

If you have any questions about my experience here then give me an email I would be more than happy to answer. (email is located in my profile)

It's Time to Clean Up Our Act

Poor Rob is like the lone soldier fighting for the truth. Apparently there has been a lot of bashing of ATEK on Dave's ESL lately. And so after reading Rob's digestion of that I had my own 2 cents to add.

Here is my own response to this dynamic situation: Including spelling and grammar issues

Rob,
This is disheartening to hear. But it reflects how most of our expat sentiments are discussed and dealt with here in Korea. And that is on Dave's ESL.

Before I came to Korea I thought that as an expat we would all find ourselves as one group and keep ourselves safe. But it really didn't turn out that way. Sure I am friends with you and you help me out.

But I am talking about the expat collective.

In America, I believe, expat Koreans and Asian nationals get together within their national group to form a community. You know how there is Chinatown, Korea town..etc. Well I think it is not just because they want to sell cheap trinkets on the roadside. It is because they come together to form a community. The help each other with housing and legal issues.

I thought as an expat coming to Korea I would find a similar "community" feeling. But unfortunately it is not true. Instead I think most expats get to know certain people within their school and group and consider that as enough. They get screwed in one way or another and immediately brand their life in Korea as horrible. This affects their outlook on life and gets spilled over to small talk, which gets passed around and before you know it groups like ATEK are branded as the enemy. When in fact they are trying to be our superhero.

What also happens here is that people build up their lives here as if they are their own superhero. They survived crap and got out of on their own without anyone else's help. Now some group is coming along and it promises to be their umbrella.

Fortunately for ATEK there are still a number of expats that could benefit from their program. In fact we all could.

We just need to realize and rethink our positions here in Korea.

Whether you are married to a Korean, not a teacher or a teacher we all come from the same background. And that is that we are expats. We weren't born in this country. And so society works differently here. The outlook of this is that some of us have been mixing in well and other haven't.

If we don't group together as a whole and continue to keep ourselves distanced from one another than the problems that occur to us today are going to live on.

This isn't just about getting to know each other and sharing a few beers.

This is about understanding our role here in Korea and helping Koreans understand us, our background and our role.

We need to represent ourselves. And Dave's ESL is not going to do that for us.

Maybe even ATEK can't do everything for us. But if we ATEK's enemy than that means we have the power to make ATEK work for us. I know that sounds strange. But we have the ability to take this group and suggest what we really need and don't need.

If you look at the dynamic of ATEK it is a group that has the possibility to break the barrier between being an "alien" to being a person in this country with better rights.

So instead of us throwing shit at ATEK let's throw something more useful.

Finally I want to add that this hiatus reminds me of my disappointment in the expat community here.

I believe that we all have higher educations, learned critical thinking and how to judge life. Instead all I usually see (talking about Dave'e ESL here) are a bunch of whiners without a light at the end of the tunnel.

Let's get it together people. You are here and we are all here. It's time to get our act together!

Slap ... kick....BAM!@!!

One Year in Korea Part 1

Come the end of May in two months I will have completed one year here in South Korea. It feels like everything has happened in the blink of an eye. So it is that I want to remember it all and capture the greater moments.

I created this little video to give a kind of preamble to my year here in Korea. There are so many emotions when it comes to contemplating a year living in another country. So stick with me as I will release more videos summing up and sharing what it has been like fulfilling my year here.

An Essential Video

If you are considering entering Korea and being a part of the education system here, whether public or private, then please watch this video. Which I originally found out about through Kimchi Icecream.

It highlights the education "culture" and business here and how intense it all is.

Let me remind you that the children, the younger ones, do not really want to be bussed around and going to school at all hours of the day. I would bet even the teens, although may benefit their test scores, probably would rather be doing teen stuff than being stuck inside a classroom.

According to the video Korea's English ability is the worst amongst Asia.

Who is responsible? The students or the teachers?

Which leads me to my next point about this video. That there weren't too many foreigners pictured, I mean Foreign teachers. I think it would have been beneficial to get our opinions and experience listed within the context of English education in Korea.

New Year Reflections

Goodbye 2008. Does anyone remember what happened?

I do.

When January 1st 2008 happened last year I knew exactly what my New Year's Resolution would be. That was to live and work in Korea. I knew I had to do it, no matter the fact that I had a chronic illness or very little money.

And so as this is New Year's Eve I feel somewhat nostalgic and proud that I made my 2008 resolution come true.

But now what??

What New Year's resolution should I make now that I have completed last years? I feel somewhat intimidated from the fact that I reached a goal of mine.

I guess I need to think about what I want to see happen in my life in 2009.

So here are some lofty goals:

• See more of Asia.
• Create more Art (an everyday goal that slips past me)
• See more Art
• Make more friends
• Become a better teacher.
• Try to get a TESOL certificate
• Complete a 2000 piece puzzle. (I secretly love jigsaw puzzles)
• Learn Korean!

Anyways when you think about New Year's is a good time in life to be gracious for all you have. It means you lived one more year of life.

For Koreans the New Year also means that on January 1st everyone becomes a year older.

Tomorrow folks I will be 29 years old, via Korean age!!! I can't even comprehend where 27 and 28 went?? In my heart and mind I am still 27 years old. But BK likes to tease me that soon I will 30. I don't care about my age really and that I will someday be 30 or 40. In fact I have always enjoyed getting older.

Life these days has been calm and without large amounts of stress. I believe I have leaving the Hagwon to thank for that.

Tonight for New Year's Eve I have nothing planned. I could go venture out into Seoul, but it is too cold in my opinion. I am doing laundry right now and will figure out something "fun" to do.

I have tomorrow off and will meet up with BK, who is back from training finally.

Anyways to all those out there I wish everyone a fruitful and peaceful 2009!

Look at the Korean Healthcare system

This weekend wasn't as eventful as previous ones, but that was okay because I really needed to get some things done.

First off was a visit to the GI Doctor:

For those not in the know, I have a chronic illness called Crohn's disease. When the conditions are bad and I am not in remission the symptoms are the equivalent of having the stomach flu. Needless to say it is important that I keep in regular contact with a doctor and also keep my medicine replenished.

One might think that living far away from family and their local health care system poses as a threat to someone with a chronic illness, for example if you have diabetes too.

Questions like:
How do you get your medicine?
Is the health care system up to date on your disease?
Will it be costly to receive treatment?
Will I receive insurance or should I buy travelers insurance?

Answers:

So yesterday (Saturday) I managed to get these answers up close and personal. I visited the Yang Hospital. Amazingly to get to this hospital all I had to do was walk a couple of blocks in my own neighborhood.

Inside the hospital was neat and clean, with friendly personnel at the front desk. BK went with me so all I had to do was follow his instructions. I think if you are a foreigner visiting a hospital in a foreign country and do not speak the language, it would be wise to take with you a native speaker.

Within minutes I was sat down with a GI specialist. I brought my medical records from back home and handed them to the doctor. He seemed to not have a problem reading it, but did read it carefully. He spoke to BK and then he went on his computer and searched to see if he can prescribe me my medicine. This he was able to do, except one of my drugs he could not find a matching company but was able to find the matching formula from a different company. Afterwards he discussed something with BK and we were dismissed.

Blood test:
As part of my drug treatment I take a pill which works against my liver, so I need regular blood tests to determine whether the drug is depleting my white blood cells.

So we went upstairs in the hospital to the blood room. I for one can't stand needles, no matter what hospital I am in. So I looked away and hoped it would be over soon. The first try I didn't hold my fist hard enough but managed to do better on the second try.

Results of visiting a Korean hospital:
Keep in mind that this hospital basically specializes in just gastrointestinal issues. It isn't a big University hospital and so I think that can be cause for its genial atmosphere.

All in all, I have been very pleased with Korea's health system and National Insurance Program. The total I had to pay from this visit was 10,000 Won, or about $10. Compared to America, when I had no health insurance, this visit would have cost me on $35.

Filling Prescriptions:
I take a large amount of pills, lets just say 13 in one day. So making sure I get each and every pill is important.

Going to a Korean pharmacy is just like visiting one back home. You take your prescription slip to the pharmacist, they mumble something and then you sit on your ass and wait.

One particular difference is that they don't put your meds inside a bottle, rather inside wax paper daily packets. Here is a photo explanation: Next to my package of pills is some Birth Control Pills. I was not able to bring with me a year supply of what I take at home, so I am going to have to switch to what Korea offers. Looks pretty similar to what I take, so I hope there won't be any complications. Total cost was roughly 87,000 Won or abut $88 US dollars.

Back home I was on the Poor Man's healthcare system, so my drugs only cost $5 a month...looks like I have to spend more. However still affordable.

Well that is my experience of the health care system. This won't be the last time I visit the doctor so we will see if this good service keeps up.