Foreigners living in Korea surveyed on pros and cons of the country

[theemii.livejournal.com]

Article: 1.6 million foreigners living in Korea surveyed on their views of Korea "Koreans of all income brackets work too much"

Source: Kyunghyang via Naver

Pros of Koreans
1. Hard working 21.5
2. Courteous 16.7
3. Patriotic 13.3

Cons of Koreans
1. No freetime 15.6
2. Strong pride 14.3
3. Closed-minded 12.3


Pros of Korean society
1. Courteous service 16.4
2. Strong sense of unity 15.4
3. Dynamic 13.5

Cons of Korean society
1. Excessive competition 30.2
2. Sense of Korean superiority 27.5
3. Fast with everything 20.2

Difficulties foreigners faced in Korea
1. Balancing work and life
2. Language
3. Corporate culture
4. Finding a place to live
5. Food accessibility
6. Communication within the workplace
7. Work advancements
8. Discrimination
9. Education for offspring
10. Co-workers
11. Rules of social relationships
12. Work in general
13. Skill accessibility
14. Compensation

Other points of discussion
1. Difficulty in understanding the drinking culture + senior and junior social relationships
2. The concept of 'attachment' that can often feel like a breach of privacy
3. Respect for seniors, like no smoking in front of adults
4. Not being able to eat by yourself (social stigma)



1. [+4,085, -107] I hate the senior/junior social culture too.

2. [+3,335, -66] I also hear foreigners talk about how Koreans put in a lot of work hours but aren't actually working but killing time...

3. [+543, -13] Culturally, Koreans tend to group very well but that doesn't necessarily mean we're also good at unifying.

4. [+503, -10] Korea's drinking culture is basically ruining ourselves. In order to advance or stay in business, you have to go out every night drinking and going to seedy places, take drinks even if you don't want to, even when you're sick. It just doesn't make sense. Any man who refuses to drink and instead wants to go home in a timely manner to his wife and kids is alienated at the work place.
Another problem with Korea is that people care way too much about other people. It's none of your business whether that woman's divorced or if another woman is at an age to be married or if that kid is from a divorced family or if this kid doesn't have a mom or dad. People care too much about other families and private lives that have nothing to do with them.
The third problem is the social culture of senior and junior relationships. It prohibits the proper exchange of opinions and communication and just adds tension and stress to a relationship.

5. [+496, -4] I'm fine with all of these aspects of our culture but not where it's forced. Why force someone to drink, to get married, to believe in a certain religion...

6. [+331, -10] There are a lot of countries who make less than us who live better lives than the average Korean. They get off work in a timely manner and spend their nights at home with their families. Meanwhile Korean parents work late into the night, the only 'free time' being spent on drinking... This isn't right and needs to be fixed.

7. [+292, -4] I heard in countries like France, employees don't need to know the contact information of their seniors. Just do your job and get off work when it's time. That's it. No one cares.

8. [+231, -13] Let me add another con. Koreans have completely different egos when on the internet and when in real life.

9. [+193, -2] Another thing is when Koreans judge others and talk behind their backs without knowing anything about a person. Everyone thinks they're a judge or a critic.

10. [+163, -9] I agree about the Korean superiority part. We have nothing to feel superior about but we're always talking about we're the first or the best at certain things. Foreigners know us so well ㅋㅋㅋ


Source: Netizenbuzz (naver)

Comments

[suxaholic.livejournal.com]

At least they seem to know

[fantaesticbaby.livejournal.com]

lol i find it interesting (surprising) that there are no outraged comments about foreigners not understanding Korean culture.

[milkmp3.livejournal.com]

sorry this is so ot but is that Esse from Weather Girls?

[fantaesticbaby.livejournal.com]

yeah it is :D

[milkmp3.livejournal.com]

ty! i love your icon btw... shes so cute ;_;

[fantaesticbaby.livejournal.com]

Thank you!!! She is!! I love her so much she's definitely my fave in the Weathergirls :3

[milkmp3.livejournal.com]

you're welcome!! ya same here she's just so adorable *_*

[jrt131n.livejournal.com]

These people seem to know what is up. The thing is, are any of them willing to change so that know of this is seen as an issue.

I find the whole junior senior thing a bit unsettling because I feel that there are probably a lot of seniors that might take advantage of their juniors because they know they can't do anything about it. And the being in everyone's business thing is ten types of annoying.

8. [+231, -13] Let me add another con. Koreans have completely different egos when on the internet and when in real life.
I bet they do. Half the stuff people stay on the internet they could never or would never say in real life because they would get their teeth knocked down their throat.

[donutism.livejournal.com]

Surprisingly no defensive comments.

I never understood the junior senior thing. It isn't quite as intense in other asian countries as it is in korea it seems.

[phililen3.livejournal.com]

I'm South African. These social hierarchies are very common here, although not in every social group and it isn't 100% like Korea.

[premonitioner.livejournal.com]

it's a Confucianist thing. Korea took Confucianism and fucking ran with it, more than China or Japan did

[nana-the-dwarf.livejournal.com]

What's the use of acknowledging it if they're not willing to change?
Should probably keep my mind shut since I haven't experienced what they have.


One thing that I've never been able to wrap my head around is their drinking culture. What's the use of getting wasted regularly (almost daily)? Like these people say, they could be spending time with their families and friends, hell even getting some alone time. Why do people get exluded unless they're getting drunk?

Also the senior/junior relationships. I feel like seniors get away with so much shit simply because they're older.

[goodgolly-miss.livejournal.com]

It is sooo hard to change stuff here. I'm under the assumption that a lot of the netizens commenting are from the younger generation, because lol internet, and I've heard a lot of this kind of complaining from my students between 20-30 years old.

The issue is that those people? Have almost zero bartering power in the workplace. Most of them are just entering the work force and they have no senority/authority at work. It's one thing to imagine working in a better, happier environment but making it happen is a slow change. It almost reminds me of old university hazing rituals, where the seniors would harass freshman because they have to "pay their dues," and because the seniors went through it so why shouldn't everyone else?

And the drinking thing is soooo deeply connected. Alcohol is widely believed and understood to be a social lubricant above all else, so the concept behind drinking with co-workers is to build stronger relationships while the "walls are down," so to speak. Therefore, refusing to drink is often interpreted as a refusal to become closer, which can be damaging to inter-office relationships.

It doesn't make sense, but it's so hard to change.

[adenar.livejournal.com]

8. [+231, -13] Let me add another con. Koreans have completely different egos when on the internet and when in real life.

oh commentor it's ok, in this at least, south korea is definitely not alone.

[annhh.livejournal.com]

7. [+292, -4] I heard in countries like France, employees don't need to know the contact information of their seniors. Just do your job and get off work when it's time. That's it. No one cares.

lol "I heard"... that's pretty much how it's supposed to work. and seniors working late because they have a reason to. pretending to be equally busy will get you in trouble. parallel universe, continues to perplex me

[bumie.livejournal.com]

I actually agree with the comments.

[mlmello.livejournal.com]

the eating alone stigma would be the worst to me. I'd feel extremely uncomfortable if I was eating by myself and people judging me. I love hanging out with people to eat, but I'd never give up to go to a place just because I don't have company...

[pinksparkles14.livejournal.com]

The 10th comment hahaha so many truthssssss

Korea's superiority complex is so annoying!!!

[bunica1990.livejournal.com]

What is the concept of "attachment"??

[atopworld.livejournal.com]

It's interesting to see there aren't any negative comments. I assume it's because the commenters are the ones experiencing the same thing, so it's easier to understand? I didn't know the senior-junior drinking culture was that intense. So you can't even decline and say you don't drink or else you face alienation?

[jasmineakaiumi.livejournal.com]

Pretty much. My non-Korean friend working in a Korean office is married and thus always refused to participate in sleeping with prostitutes like his coworkers (all married) so they started alienating him and treating him like trash, despite treating him fine before.
It got so bad he recently quit.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_pinkfish/]

Oh my god that is horrible! :( And why force someone to cheat? What the hell is wrong with people?
Hope he finds another job soon, a better one.

[jasmineakaiumi.livejournal.com]

Right? Like do it yourself, whatever, but why make someone else do it too?

tbh it's probably bc they felt bad about doing it themselves on some level and felt he was acting high and mighty and above them by not doing it lmao

[dot-rose.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised there wasn't the "Go back to your own country" comment among the top voted ones.
Nice that there is a growing awareness to some things such as the senior/junior concept among others.
Awareness is ..the first step of many to change :P
But change takes a long ass time.

[fancy-sheets.livejournal.com]

But what about that time Yoon Doo Joon had to eat alone in a restaurant on Burning the Beast?

[chibi-rei.livejournal.com]

You can eat alone. It's just people think you're weird. I felt awkward at first too (even tho I ate alone back home), but eventually I stopped caring cuz dammit I want food.

[fancy-sheets.livejournal.com]

Oh I see. I already have that complex so I rarely eat alone anyway.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_pinkfish/]

Same. I never go anywhere to eat alone, I'd rather just pick it up then or order in. I don't feel awkward eating alone when I'm at home, but never in public. There was even a time when even if i was with a friend I didn't want to be the only one eating, and a friend of mine had that too, so whenever one of us felt hungry we would snack together. Awkward haha. I'm not scared to eat alone anymore on public transportation or something, but I'll never have lunch or dinner alone at a restaurant.

[nana-the-dwarf.livejournal.com]

Lmao, why would they?

I would be so screwed, I sometimes forget to eat when I'm focused on something. Next thing I know, lunch hour has passed and although I can eat at my work station, I prefer to wait until I'm off work and there I am, at 7pm eating by my lonesome at my favorite eatery. I quite enjoy it too, I love my food and eating slow so rushing to eat is sort of a crime to me.

[uguukawaii.livejournal.com]

yeah once you get over the ahjumma feeling sorry for you for not having a boyfriend or w/e its not that big a deal. but at first i was so surprised when i went alone to the shinsegae and people were like 'why did you go alone do you not have friends?'

[tommy50702.livejournal.com]

I can’t deny that Koreans are the most beautiful people in the world. They are all thin, tall, well dressed, and work very hard to maintain their appearance.

[torontok.livejournal.com]

The drinking culture is just mind-boggling to me.

[aneeleniffum.livejournal.com]

I work with Koreans now and man.... the work-life balance is gone out the door the moment I agreed to join them. They have no qualms to hold meetings after 7pm lol.

But how is 'Fast with everything' a con? Working with them, approvals and decisions are made so quickly it made my old company look terrible.

[jasmineakaiumi.livejournal.com]

I think they're referring more to the constant go-go-go lifestyle.
For example, where you can't even sit down for a breather and a chat after eating because it's immediately up the moment you finish your food and on to the next thing.

[uguukawaii.livejournal.com]

if im being honest i love the drinking culture and the hierarchies because im in a school environment where it feels fun and close-knit. i think if i saw less of the nice parts of it (oppas buying the drinks for you and getting to look after younger people) and more of the like bullying that can happen i would like it less but at this point i really enjoy that aspect

my biggest problem living would maybe be the fact that like korean parents didnt let their kids live at dorms without a curfew so i have to be home by 12 even though im an adult? that kind of strictness and lots of rules and too much studying make me feel worried for my roommate and friends that they dont have enough freedom

[embroideredkiss.livejournal.com]

I'd agree with most of this article, and the commentors seem to know what's up as well, but I gotta admit I laughed at the Pro's list:

Pros of Koreans
1. Hard working 21.5
2. Courteous 16.7
3. Patriotic 13.3

1, People might look like they're working hard, but in my experience it's 90% talking about how busy they are, 10% actually doing anything useful
2, Yeah, service in shops and restaurants and stuff is fantastic, but common courtesy....I've lived here 3 years and I can count on one hand the amount of times a stranger has held a door for me.
3, Patriotic....idk if it's something to be applauded when it's as blind as most people's seems to be here.

[missmomoko.livejournal.com]

What do people do if they really can't take their drink? (they get the Asian glow) I think I would be completely miserable because drinking makes me have palpitations, headaches e.t.c.

[goodgolly-miss.livejournal.com]

A lot of people here (in Korea) really can't drink. I teach adults and I would say somewhere between 15-20% have told me that they have some really negative side effects when they drink. I can't say directly, because my company is about 50/50 with foreigners/Koreans so they're kind of used to more Western perspectives on forced company dinners, but a lot of those students who can't drink have to work really hard to compensate for not participating. Even when they explain themselves, they get a raised eyebrow and an "ok, I guess..." It leads to a lot of people who can't drink being dragged off to outings where their coworkers get shitfaced and they sit and do nothing, maybe occasionally pouring drinks or eating snacks. I think this perspective is changing a little, but it's slow change.

[rydee.livejournal.com]

Are you an adult ESL teacher?

[goodgolly-miss.livejournal.com]

Yes I am! I work at a tutoring center for university students and young professionals, it is a blast.

[welljustguess.livejournal.com]

senior/junior think which leads to no-exchanging-opinion-because-it-will-be-considered-rude seems the worst for me

[bloods-rose.livejournal.com]

there's social stigma with eating alone in lots of countries though? Can't do it in the UK without wierd looks. :( Japan has been the only place I've been to where eating alone is accepted and even normal.

I will never understand the senior/junior thing. I've been raised to respect elders - and it shocked me who is not British the way british kids address their friends parents by their name and how casual students are towards teachers for instance, and the casual way of addressing strangers - but the korean way sounds very extreme. The drinking culture is also a problem in the UK, although probably not on the same level as Korea, and either way it makes me sad the idea that drinking is the only way to socialise :/

[jessi-cola.livejournal.com]

"the way british kids address their friends parents by their name"

That's cause everytime you meet someone's mum or dad they're like "Oh don't call me Mrs. X, that's my mums name! Call me Claire"