Ask me about living in South Korea
- Thread starter SuperUberBob
- Start date
Recommended Videos
Bah, everybody lives in Seoul.wilsonscrazybed said:
When will a person I see posting online live in Kyungam Province?
Seen any b-boy battles or exhibitions? Seems the South Koreans are pretty good at it. That's what I'd want to see if I went there.
Incidentally, my brother in law was the Papua New Guinean ambassador to South Korea a while back. My sister lived in Seoul, went to all sorts of fancy diplomatic parties etc.
Incidentally, my brother in law was the Papua New Guinean ambassador to South Korea a while back. My sister lived in Seoul, went to all sorts of fancy diplomatic parties etc.
What's the general feeling there towards Japan? I know there's been an extremely bad history between the two due to Japan's treatment of the Korean people, and while the countries are starting to work together more, is there still a lot of bad blood among regular people?
No I haven't.Buffoon said:
And that's really cool.
Koreans seem to be a bit more accepting of Canadians than Americans. Reason being that Canadians used to the majority nationality of expats. People confuse me for being Canadian all the time. They say they can tell the difference between Canadians and Americans based on their accent and if the person speaking uses any slang.ShawnRiles said:
They perceive Americans as the loud, obnoxious types and they think Canadians aren't so much like that.
The issue between the two countries is that the Japanese government refuses to formally apologize for the war crimes committed against South Korea. On top of that, they celebrate those soldiers on a yearly basis. Plus unless you let people know you're Japanese, you are assumed to be Korean.hotacidbath said:
My question; would you recommend it as a holiday destination? I don't like package holidays though. If I came to S Korea with a backpack and stuff would I be able to get out and enjoy the great outdoors?
Also; what percentage of the population speak English there in your experience?
And; do they have need of park rangers? I could do with a change of country.
Furthermore; what is the weather like?
Also; what percentage of the population speak English there in your experience?
And; do they have need of park rangers? I could do with a change of country.
Furthermore; what is the weather like?
Depends what you're into. If you're into the outdoors, spend a day (maybe two) on Jeju Island. It's busy during the tourist season, but absolutely gorgeous. It also contains South Korea's largest mountain. There's a large mountain outside of Daegu and you have Haeundae Beach in Busan (couple of nice hiking paths there as well). There are also places to go camping. Take a ferry off of Tongyeong (a coastal city on the southern coast of South Korea) and you can see a whole bunch of islands. Went to Yokjido from there. Total blast from the past. Looks like what Korea was years ago. I guess no legit camping parks, but there are places to pitch a tent for a day. There are other islands, but I have never been to them. Could make for some exploring.cuddly_tomato said:
Depends where you are. The bigger the city, the more likely you'll run into English speakers. Countrywide, I'd say a rather small percentage (less than 10% percent) can speak English at a proficient level. But if you're a tourist, good hotels will have English speaking staff members and English tour guides are available if you are in Seoul. Most road signs are in English as well as Korean.
I haven't seen a park ranger in South Korea.
Again, depends where you are. Seoul is snowy and has ski/snowboard resorts during the winter. Busan is mild all year around. Tongyeong has the highest rainfall total of all cities in South Korea. As a whole, the monsoon season is during the summer. It's not uncommon to see 4-5 consecutive rainy days. It is extremely humid and extremely hot during the summer (in the 90s easy). And there's no deodorant or body spray. Bring your own.
Not sure about constantly. But they are there.silver wolf009 said:
Yes, they are. However, Lotteria is the most popular fast food chain in South Korea.Quaxar said:
Aside from soccer (Kyungnam FC) and baseball (Lotte Giants), I don't watch TV.
Always seem like such a jolly bunch.
SuperUberBob said:
I'm currently working on getting my English Teaching qualification and am planning on going overseas with it, so this is all good advice for me, thanks a lot dude. Now you say you learned a few phrases before you went but was the language a big barrier when you got there, or did it just come naturally after a while? I'm going to try learning some conversational phrases before I go but I'm slightly worried about not being able to communicate when I get there.
Well, technically it's still going on. I answered the question earlier in the thread.JupiterBase said:
I've wondered his myself. I seriously have no idea.MurderousToaster said:
This could help: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_in_South_Korea
I heard every year about 3 or 4 times there are air raid sirens as the citizens prepare for the possiblity of N. Korea invadeing again. The streets empty, doors and windows are locked, shops and stores close instantly and emergency personal are the only ones on the streets.
Is that true?
Is that true?
Do people there call it South Korea or just Korea?
For some reason people outside of South Korea call it Korea a lot, which rather annoys me, as though North Korea didn't exist, even if it is a pretty crummy place to live.
For some reason people outside of South Korea call it Korea a lot, which rather annoys me, as though North Korea didn't exist, even if it is a pretty crummy place to live.
Yeah, the language barrier was a bit of a problem. But hand gestures and the basic phrases do go a long way. So don't worry about it. Teaching wise, they don't expect you to know any Korean and since you're in uni (lucky ************), you'll teach the class exclusively in English and your students will for the most part understand you. If you really want to be ahead of the curve, you can teach yourself some Korean beyond the basic phrases. Ordering food, bargaining for items are pretty useful tools. I slacked off on learning the language myself and I'm just starting to pick up more of it now. Once you learn just a little bit, a bunch kind of falls into place over time. No Korean will expect you to be fluent, but any effort to speak Korean is appreciated.Amethyst Wind said:
Overall, don't be intimidated by the place. You'll undergo an initial culture shock, but don't let it get to you too much or you'll be on the next available flight to your home country.
No.Fox KITSUNE said:
They call it Korea. There could be a bunch of reasons and I think it's a little of each one:KillerMidget said:
1. It's easier. When you say Korea in South Korea, pretty much everybody will assume you are talking about South Korea since there's normally not much to say about North Korea unless you are in an academic environment.
2. Old-timers might say it because they were alive when there was no North or South.
3. People like to think that North Korea doesn't exist and calling it Korea will disassociate itself from them. After all, who wants to associate with a communist, nuke-bearing government that treats its people like shit?
-----------------
I'm going to sleep now. 2 AM in Korea.