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Expectations |
The first things that many foreigners think of Korea upon hearing about the country are its adjacency to North Korea, MASH, kimchi, taekwondo and soju. If you know more than that, you can consider yourself pretty savvy for someone who hasn't been to the country before. But this still leaves a ton of questions regarding what one might need to prepare in advance of coming here.
A few things of note about expectations.
- Korea isn't a 3rd world country and you're not embarking on a Peace Corp type job. You're not being expected to lead the country into the global community and drop pearls of western wisdom. Many teachers come over here with the idealism to 'convert' Koreans into a western mindset and an eventual way of life. Korea is Korea. You will find that it is firmly an Asian country that fully intends to remain so, but sometimes likes to absorb different aspects of Western or other Asian cultures and fashion it in a way that suits itself. There are a bevy of examples to describe this trend, such as Konglish, Hof culture, or the Zzang Burgers at Lotteria that use rice cakes instead of buns. But after living in Korea from your first day, you'll see what we're getting at. In short, taking an approach of "why do they do that, that's so weird/gross/rude/illogical? Why don't you do like this, like us Americans/Canadians/Australians, etc...?" will virtually guarantee you for an unpleasant time and you'll likely find yourself dejectedly looking out at Korea through Burger King windows with the other foreigner you managed to meet who shares your frustrated vantange point on the cultural differences that you can't accept. However, you'll fare well by keeping an open-mind and remembering that you're on the other side of the world in a culture that is, in many ways, the polar opposite of what you're coming from.
- Yes, Korea is Korea. Very Asian. And you're strongly encouraged to jump head first to experience the best of it. But, for those that are a little squeamish about going head first and would rather slowly get their feet a little wet, rest assured that English runs quite well through the nooks and crannies of this country, as do western amenities. You can find sprawling Costcos stocked with Western goods, as well as Walmart-esque E-Marts and Home Plus' everywhere. Major foreigner hangouts for bars, food, and shopping such as Itaewon and Hongdae, plus most major cities have sections of their downtown where you'll find fellow teachers congregating like Texas Street and Seomyeon in Busan, the nightlife district around Samdeok Fire Station in downtown Daegu, etc... Outbacks, KFC, and Starbucks, seemingly on every street corner. Plus all the 'Black markets' that carry most of the hard-to-find Western foods and items that you can't get at the average Korean convenience or grocery store
- Despite Korea being so close to North Korea, you'll find that most expats in this country are just like the Koreans on the issue. Too busy with their lives to worry much about the regional sabre-rattling and posturing that Kim Jong Il and the Western media likes to play up. There have always been endless online debate in the expat culture over here about the politics of it all, like what can be found at the popular expat blog, The Marmot's Hole. But teachers still come, still stay, and some fall in love with the culture or get married and end up staying for years, if not permanently.
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