# I'm Moving to South Korea



## Grand Moff Tim (Feb 17, 2012)

My fellow chatroom regulars already know the details, but I figured I'd start a thread here to let all the people who aren't awesome (or lame) enough to spend all of their free time on SSO Chat know what's up.

I got my BA last May and had been trying ever since then to get a position in SK teaching English as a second language. A few months ago I was finally able to find a position with the South Korean government to teach in public schools, _and_ (perhaps more importantly) I was able to jump through all the requisite bureaucratic hoops and red tape on time to secure that position.

I leave my hometown tomorrow, and then I leave for Korea on Sunday. The only way I could possibly be more stoked about it would be if I knew I had a harem of horny hotties waiting for me when I get there, but I can make due with the excitement of moving to a new country, starting a new job, and beginning a much needed new chapter in my life.

I'll probably use this thread to post random stories and pictures of my new life in Asia once I'm there, so keep your eyes peeled, if you care .

So... anyone else been? Anyone else there _now_? Tips? Thoughts?


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## Fiction (Feb 17, 2012)

I haven't been.... but, dude, congratulations! Quite a big move and will no doubt be an awesome experience


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## Stealthdjentstic (Feb 17, 2012)

Buy soju, lots and lots of soju


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## leftyguitarjoe (Feb 17, 2012)

Congrats bud. Have fun!!


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## Grand Moff Tim (Feb 17, 2012)

Stealthdjentstic said:


> Buy soju, lots and lots of soju


 

That's the plan .


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## ROAR (Feb 17, 2012)

Let me know how big Starcraft II really is over there


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## Vinchester (Feb 17, 2012)

Congrats especially hearing that you somehow managed to bypass the "bureaucratic stuff" and get a job with the govt. I have never been to SK but I heard they've got quite a modern society over there (100mb/s internet!!!) I wish you a great career and maybe a beautiful Korean gf 

Also Japan is just some water away for all the Japanese guitar shopping goodness 

EDIT : for a serious tip, as with all westerner coming to Asia, it'd be great if you mind your manners. It's always better for you to be a little bit reserved than to be a little too daring. You don't have to be an expert at etiquette but people will see you in a much better light if you ask when you doubt whether something is appropriate or not. Cheers!


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## The Uncreator (Feb 17, 2012)

Don't ever challenge them at Star Craft - and you will be fine.


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## ittoa666 (Feb 17, 2012)

Also, watch out for attacks from NK. I've heard that's not fun.

Do have a good time there though.


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## the fuhrer (Feb 17, 2012)

I haven't been to SK but I spent some time in Japan. I absolutely love Asian culture. I am completely jealous right now. Try to take advantage of every opportunity you have to explore something new. I regret not getting off my ass and doing everything I could while there, even though I did a lot of cool stuff.


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## mlp187 (Feb 18, 2012)

Congrats! 

Isn't SignalGrey out there? 

Can't wait for some photos!


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## Kobalt (Feb 18, 2012)

Congratulations, mate. 

Sounds like one hell of a life experience to leave your home country and start a new life AND career elsewhere. Somehow, I'm very curious of how it feels.

Hopefully all goes well for you.


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## MetalGravy (Feb 18, 2012)

Congrats, dude.


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## TRENCHLORD (Feb 18, 2012)

Take your own condoms. The sacks over there don't hold much lol.


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## Hollowway (Feb 18, 2012)

That's awesome! I've been there on vacation because I have a friend in Seoul, and I loved it. I'd live in SK or Japan in a heartbeat if I had the opportunity. That's great that you're doing it. A lot of people never live more than a stone's throw from where they were born, much less a foreign country. Plus, the more one experiences different cultures the more open minded and humane one is, IMO. I think there would be a lot less racism and bigotry if everyone did what you're doing.


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## Thep (Feb 18, 2012)

Please post pics!


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## skeels (Feb 18, 2012)

Seriously? 

Wow.

Good for you Tim! 

Best of luck! 
Congratulations! 
And glad you'll still be with us here!
Technology! So awesome! 
Can't wait to see pics of your journey! 
Dude.
Subscribed!


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## broj15 (Feb 18, 2012)

My aunt is from south korea. She still goes over to visit. If the rest of south korea's women can cook as good as she can then find one and marry her lol.


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## larry (Feb 18, 2012)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> .....I had a harem of horny hotties waiting for
> me when I get there, ......Thoughts?



 
funny you should say that. when i was in middle school, my grandmother
asked me if i had a girlfriend yet. after i told her i had a crush on a korean
girl that lived on the eighth floor of our building, one of her friends
exclaimed: "oh no laarrreh, korean girls are soo horny!!", and then they
all broke out into a long winded cackle. ever since then, i've whole 
heartedly believed that korean honies will 'put it on you' till a hip breaks.

so i guess the fillipino myth on korean chicks is that, they're waaaay into 
fuckin'. i've yet to verify this conclusion, so i'll be watchin' this thread
closely. hopefuly, you can prove the myth to be fact.


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## Chickenhawk (Feb 18, 2012)

I was married to a Korean chick for a while.


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## Grand Moff Tim (Feb 21, 2012)

Checking in. I managed to make it over here without incident, but I haven't really been here long enough to comment on much of anything. 

All I've had to eat so far has been cafeteria food at the University campus that's hosting my orientation, but it was some awesome korean food that was as good as anything I'd have expected at a korean restaurant back in the states. There were a few barely recognizeable dishes, and certainly a few I've never seen before, but I tried them anyway. I didn't come here to shy away from strange new foods, after all.

On that note, the vending machines here have a canned drink that's pine flavored. It sounds totally weird and I only got it at first to see what it'd be like, but I've had like four cans of the stuff since then. I didn't expect pine drink to be good, but man, I can see myself getting hooked on the stuff.


Oh, and there are hot chicks all over the fucking place.



Anyways, that's it for now. I'll try to get on here and mention/post pictures of anything interesting I come across.


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## Stealthdjentstic (Feb 21, 2012)

Good to hearrrr &#55357;&#56378;


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## TRENCHLORD (Feb 21, 2012)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> Oh, and there are hot chicks all over the fucking place.


 
 far cry from all these Illinios cornfed bitches


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## signalgrey (Feb 21, 2012)

Stealthdjentstic said:


> Buy soju, lots and lots of soju



do NOT do what he says.

Also PM me your phone number when you get settled down, if you need any help with anything do not hesitate to contact me. If you need a job or a place to crash or advice let me know. 

Prepare to get stared at...alot.


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## Alberto7 (Feb 21, 2012)

For some reason, even though I don't actually know you, I feel proud . Congratulations! I'm guessing that it really will be something else living out there! I've been around quite a lot already, and what Hollowway said about becoming more open minded is 100% true. I'll keep myself tuned to whatever you have to say about your experience!... I'm also very curious about this whole Korean horny chick ordeal .



signalgrey said:


> Prepare to get stared at...alot.



Yeah, for any Westerner living in or farther than the Middle East, getting stared at is as normal as breathing. I think that the amount of stares you'll get is directly proportional to the amount miles East you are from Europe .


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## signalgrey (Feb 21, 2012)

Alberto7 said:


> For some reason, even though I don't actually know you, I feel proud . Congratulations! I'm guessing that it really will be something else living out there! I've been around quite a lot already, and what Hollowway said about becoming more open minded is 100% true. I'll keep myself tuned to whatever you have to say about your experience!... I'm also very curious about this whole Korean horny chick ordeal .
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah, for any Westerner living in or farther than the Middle East, getting stared at is as normal as breathing. I think that the amount of stares you'll get is directly proportional to the amount miles East you are from Europe .



I lived in Riyadh as a kid for about 10 years. Its almost weird living in a place and NOT getting stared at hahahaha.


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## Alberto7 (Feb 21, 2012)

signalgrey said:


> I lived in Riyadh as a kid for about 10 years. Its almost weird living in a place and NOT getting stared at hahahaha.



Riyadh, out of all places... and for 10 years? I'm surprised you're still sane . Nobody I know that has lived there has had good things to say about it. Even locals.

South Korea must be an incredible improvement haha. Maybe not so much with the stares, but with the amount of freedom and things to do that you get.


*EDIT:* Upon re-reading this comment, I feel some people might feel offended, even if I didn't mean it in a harmful manner. Let me explain myself in short: My opinion is based on experiences of many friends who have lived in Riyadh and other places in the KSA. However, I completely respect anyone's opinion on the matter, and I know that a lot of people are actually fond of the place's lifestyle. My apologies if anyone was offended, including the person to whom the comment was addressed.


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## Rick (Feb 21, 2012)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> Oh, and there are hot chicks all over the fucking place.



And you're checking in with no pics?


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## Grand Moff Tim (Feb 29, 2012)

Howdy, peeps. Checking in from my new apartment (yay!) for the first time. I'm living in a small apartment building in a nice little neighborhood just ten minutes south of downtown Cheongju, so I don't have to go far to find anything. I actually just got back from a quick walk down the street to a noodle place that sells huge bowls of noodles for 3,000 Won, which is less than $3 US. That's pretty hard to beat.

I'll be working in a tiny rural elementary school about 50 minutes away in Goesan. It only has 39 students and 10 teachers, but I think that's a good thing. It'll be much easier to get to know my students and coworkers than if I was at a large school with multiple classes of 30 or more students each. I was invited to a farewell party for some of the teachers at a nice Korean barbecue joint last night, and it was pretty awesome. I'm pretty sure every man in the room came to sit by me and pour me a drink at least once. I was pretty lit by the end of the evening, and I didn't pour myself a single drink. I poured quite a few for my coworkers, of course, abd they all seemed very pleased with my knowledge of drinking etiquette (and the four or five words of Korean I know, hahaha). I tried seasoned raw beef for the first time, too, which was... interesting. I'm glad I didn't have to pick up the tab, though, because the korean beef we were eating was 45,000 Won per steak (about $43!). I had an awesome time, and I'm definitely looking forward to working with all of them from now on.

I also met my downstairs neighbor, who luckily for me speaks English quite well. He helped me with my heating system and my internet, and we had a few drinks last night at his place while I was waiting for my room to heat up. It was he who showed me the noodle place and a few more useful shops and restaurants in the immediate area. I'm really glad I ended up with a friendly neighbor who's my age and speaks English (and likes baseball, to boot!).

I have some pictures I took at a farming village last week and a few I took of the view from my window today, and I promise I'll get around to uploading them soonish.


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## Fiction (Feb 29, 2012)

Woah, you're there already! Sounds great, especially with such a warm welcoming and what not. Have you got guitars with you?


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## Grand Moff Tim (Feb 29, 2012)

Nope, just my ukulele. I'll probably look in to buying one while I'm here, though.


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## Grand Moff Tim (Feb 29, 2012)

Okay, I finally got around to uploading some pictures. Nothing too special so far, but I'm sure there will be plenty to come.



The view from my apartment window:







Obligatory food shot:






That's bibimbap, which is essentially various vegetables, sometimes meat, and spicy sauce that you mix all together. That pic is pre-mix.


Here's some fresh tofu I had in the farm village where it was made. Doesn't get much more fresh and local than that:






I hadn't really thought there's could be that big a difference in quality with tofu, but that stuff was seriously good.



The farm village had a giant caterpillar statue, because why not?:








Then there was this thing...:






It's pretty much a makeshift see-saw/teeter-totter. The goal of the "game" is to try to cooperate so you can get eachother as high into the air as possible, but before we found that out we were just trying to knock the other guy off by jumping up and down at the same time. I think I liked our way better . I'm not in the pic, btw.



So that's that, for now.


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## Stealthdjentstic (Feb 29, 2012)

Why no soju.


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## Rick (Feb 29, 2012)

Why no girls.


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## Grand Moff Tim (Feb 29, 2012)

I haven't had my camera on me any of the times I've had soju so far, and I'll need to find a non-suspicious way to work the local ladies into some pics .


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## Chickenhawk (Feb 29, 2012)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> I haven't had my camera on me any of the times I've had soju so far, and I'll need to find a non-suspicious way to work the local ladies into some pics .



You're a metal loving American, whom is also a Vet. There's nothing non-suspicious about you, or anything you do in South Korea. Just walk up, and take a pic. 

Shit, that's what I do in America


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## Grand Moff Tim (Feb 29, 2012)

A couple more pics.


This has been my go-to Korean beer so far:






Nothing to write home about, but it's slightly less pisswatery than the other korean beers I've had so far, and _much_ cheaper than imports.


I tried makgeolli for the first time just now:






For those not in the know, it's a rice-based drink that's around 6%abv. It tastes alot like Nigorizake (cloudy sake), but less strong and a little bit fizzy. It's cheap as balls and pretty tasty, so I can see having a few cans whenever I'm drinking.


EDIT to add the right picture, Derp.


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## signalgrey (Feb 29, 2012)

Makeoli and dongdongju are pretty tasty. Go try some with a pajeon.

Cass = ass
Hite = Shite
Max = something clever.

Drink Suntory Malts, they are still pretty cheap and actually taste really good.


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## Grand Moff Tim (Mar 1, 2012)

Just for Stealthiepoo:


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## Stealthdjentstic (Mar 1, 2012)

Yay


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## signalgrey (Mar 1, 2012)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> Just for Stealthiepoo:



NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


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## Grand Moff Tim (Mar 14, 2012)

Well, my newest Korean adventure is going to be going through the Korean healthcare system. I was playing volleyball with all of the other teachers and school administrators (it's mandatory once a week. the principal's obsessessed, and what he says goes), and while overdoing it to impress the principal, I squatted down for a tricky play and all of my weight came down awkwardly on my knee, it twisted, I heard a sound like someone crushing an empty water bottle, and I crumpled to the ground in a wailing heap of fat, hair, and bad knee. I tried to shrug it off and just soldier through work for the rest of the week, but my vice principal wasn't having any of my nonsense and sent me off to the clinic today.

An MRI later (my very first! Yippee!), and I found out I completely tore one ligament, sprained another, blew out some cartilage, and have some blood building up. Looks like I'll be getting surgery for the first time in my life fairly soon. It's a bit awkward that my first experience with surgery will come a month after moving to a country where I don't really speak the language, but I have to admit I'm rather glad it happened here where I have insurance and healthcare is pretty cheap to begin with, rather than back in the States where I was uninsured and healthcare is absurdly expensive. You know what I paid for my MRI today? About $115. My two prescriptions? About a dollar each. A coworker said he had three operations on his knee two years ago and spent about $800 total, which I'm miffed about having to spend on my knee instead of a guitar or a room full of hookers, but I'm sure it's a damned sight better than I'd be paying for it in the US sans-insurance.

I'll keep you guys posted, if you so desire.

Or if you don't.


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## Metalus (Mar 14, 2012)

I demand pics of hot Korean girls


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## MF_Kitten (Mar 14, 2012)

i read "north", figured you were insane/an idiot. Re-read it, realized i was the idiot.


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## larry (Mar 14, 2012)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> That's bibimbap, which is essentially various vegetables, sometimes meat, and spicy sauce that you mix all together. That pic is pre-mix.



that looks delicious as fuck. 
you've done it now man... 
that pic makes me HOOOWWWWNNNGGGRRRREEEEYYYY!!!!!!!!


thanks for sharing though. good thread is good.


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## Alberto7 (Mar 14, 2012)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> Well, my newest Korean adventure is going to be going through the Korean healthcare system. I was playing volleyball with all of the other teachers and school administrators (it's mandatory once a week. the principal's obsessessed, and what he says goes), and while overdoing it to impress the principal, I squatted down for a tricky play and all of my weight came down awkwardly on my knee, it twisted, I heard a sound like someone crushing an empty water bottle, and I crumpled to the ground in a wailing heap of fat, hair, and bad knee. I tried to shrug it off and just soldier through work for the rest of the week, but my vice principal wasn't having any of my nonsense and sent me off to the clinic today.
> 
> An MRI later (my very first! Yippee!), and I found out I completely tore one ligament, sprained another, blew out some cartilage, and have some blood building up. Looks like I'll be getting surgery for the first time in my life fairly soon. It's a bit awkward that my first experience with surgery will come a month after moving to a country where I don't really speak the language, but I have to admit I'm rather glad it happened here where I have insurance and healthcare is pretty cheap to begin with, rather than back in the States where I was uninsured and healthcare is absurdly expensive. You know what I paid for my MRI today? About $115. My two prescriptions? About a dollar each. A coworker said he had three operations on his knee two years ago and spent about $800 total, which I'm miffed about having to spend on my knee instead of a guitar or a room full of hookers, but I'm sure it's a damned sight better than I'd be paying for it in the US sans-insurance.
> 
> ...



That sounds brutally painful, man!  In a strange way, though, I feel that those kinds of experiences will make you like the place better... Kinda like you now have some memories that will make your ties with the place stronger, and will make you feel a bit more attached. That's how I'd interpret it anyway, instead of being pessimistic about it. Please do let us know how it turns out!


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## Loomer (Mar 14, 2012)

MF_Kitten said:


> i read "north", figured you were insane/an idiot. Re-read it, realized i was the idiot.



But still kind of disappointed, right!?

I know I was!


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## ZackP3750 (Mar 14, 2012)

I have a buddy who lived in South Korea for 2 years, and he's been miserable since he came back stateside. He said its absolutely amazing over there, and when he came back he said it made him realize how fucked up things are here in the US. He loves it up and down and misses it. He's told me "Dude, you can't get as drunk in America as you can in Korea. You get Korea drunk in Korea, its not even on the same level as being drunk in America". So have fun getting shitface-ted in Koreatown!!!


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## Grand Moff Tim (Mar 15, 2012)

Well, I'm apparently going to be holed up here in a Korean hospital for at least two weeks. My first of at least two surgeries is tomorrow morning, then I'll sit around and mope in the hospital for a few weeks, have the second surgery, and then it sounds like the doctors will be playing it by ear. The upside is that there's wifi here, the downside (besides knee surgery, lol) is that nobody here really speaks English.

Oh, and they might end up having to just remove the cartilage from my knee entirely if it's as busted up as the surgeon fears it might be. Fun!

EDIT: AND my rehab is supposed to take a fucking year.


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## signalgrey (Mar 15, 2012)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> Well, I'm apparently going to be holed up here in a Korean hospital for at least two weeks. My first of at least two surgeries is tomorrow morning, then I'll sit around and mope in the hospital for a few weeks, have the second surgery, and then it sounds like the doctors will be playing it by ear. The upside is that there's wifi here, the downside (besides knee surgery, lol) is that nobody here really speaks English.
> 
> Oh, and they might end up having to just remove the cartilage from my knee entirely if it's as busted up as the surgeon fears it might be. Fun!
> 
> EDIT: AND my rehab is supposed to take a fucking year.



Not to make it worse. But Korean hospitals are....frustrating. People are super inconsiderate unless you have your own room. When I was there, this dude had an IV bag and was eating box of fried chicken and smoking in the room. Brace yourself. Get some ear plugs or noise cancelling headphones you can sleep in. You'll thank me later. Also. Ask what exactly kind of pills you are taking. Korean doctors are famously getting a lot of flak for over medicating or unnecessarily medicating people, and creating liver and kidney issues and "Super Bugs. They prescribe medicine like its buckshot, shoot a whole bunch of shit at general area, and you will eventually hit something right? wrong. You'd be surprised. I was prescribed 5 pills and a syrup. Turned out one of the pills and the syrup were the same thing and taking that much made me really ill. Another time I was in the ER and they kept on changing my antibiotics and eventually my body was a wreck, turned out my digestive system was so fucked up from their medicine that for about a month I wasnt absorbing nutrients and I was shitting whole pieces of food and intestinal lining. In the ER they had to do the testing properly and take abdominal scans and they finally discovered how royally fucked up my system was. AND! lastly, if you go to a big hospital (never go to clinics...EVER) ask to see the specialist, not the GP. GP's will use the "buckshot" method while specialists will actually adress the situation at hand. i.e. the GP put me in the ER, the Gastroenterologist and Throat doctors got me home. I lost 14lbs in 3 weeks.

Just ask. Information is always good.

I also recommend you have someone in the states buy you Probiotics (and basic pharmacy stuff, Korea versions are sub par and have very little in terms of standards of quality). I say this because you are probably going to be nuked with Antibiotics that will also kill alot of you good bacteria. It will make digestion and ::ahem:: egestion an issue. I had serious stomach issues for the first two years I lived here and they have all but gone away thanks to daily Probiotics.

Also...if you want a seven string guitar, Id be willing to sell you my Shine 7 string. Its got the Crunchlab and Liquifire set and I have a bunch of extra sets of strings. Ill even look into shipping it to you. You can pay me when you have enough money and feel well enough. Think about it. 

Also. Feel better.


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## TheSixthWheel (Mar 15, 2012)

^ Not only are you offering free, excellent advice to someone who sounds like they'll need it, but you're willing to ship a fellow ss.org'er a 7 string. 
That's awesome.


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## signalgrey (Mar 15, 2012)

TheSixthWheel said:


> ^ Not only are you offering free, excellent advice to someone who sounds like they'll need it, but you're willing to ship a fellow ss.org'er a 7 string.
> That's awesome.


Helping others is always awesome.


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## rx (Mar 17, 2012)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> My fellow chatroom regulars already know the details, but I figured I'd start a thread here to let all the people who aren't awesome (or lame) enough to spend all of their free time on SSO Chat know what's up.
> 
> I got my BA last May and had been trying ever since then to get a position in SK teaching English as a second language. A few months ago I was finally able to find a position with the South Korean government to teach in public schools, _and_ (perhaps more importantly) I was able to jump through all the requisite bureaucratic hoops and red tape on time to secure that position.
> 
> ...



cool, man. I'm in Korea too, teaching english. 

i actually hate it here.


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## Grand Moff Tim (Mar 18, 2012)

signalgrey said:


> Not to make it worse. But Korean hospitals are....frustrating. People are super inconsiderate unless you have your own room. When I was there, this dude had an IV bag and was eating box of fried chicken and smoking in the room. Brace yourself. Get some ear plugs or noise cancelling headphones you can sleep in. You'll thank me later. Also. Ask what exactly kind of pills you are taking. Korean doctors are famously getting a lot of flak for over medicating or unnecessarily medicating people, and creating liver and kidney issues and "Super Bugs. They prescribe medicine like its buckshot, shoot a whole bunch of shit at general area, and you will eventually hit something right? wrong. You'd be surprised. I was prescribed 5 pills and a syrup. Turned out one of the pills and the syrup were the same thing and taking that much made me really ill. Another time I was in the ER and they kept on changing my antibiotics and eventually my body was a wreck, turned out my digestive system was so fucked up from their medicine that for about a month I wasnt absorbing nutrients and I was shitting whole pieces of food and intestinal lining. In the ER they had to do the testing properly and take abdominal scans and they finally discovered how royally fucked up my system was. AND! lastly, if you go to a big hospital (never go to clinics...EVER) ask to see the specialist, not the GP. GP's will use the "buckshot" method while specialists will actually adress the situation at hand. i.e. the GP put me in the ER, the Gastroenterologist and Throat doctors got me home. I lost 14lbs in 3 weeks.
> 
> Just ask. Information is always good.
> 
> ...


 
Yeah, I've definitely learned that Korean hospital stays are nothing like American hospital stays. Luckily for me, the two other guys in the room are really nice so far, and very helpful. I pretty much still can't get to the bathroom by myself yet, so one of my roommates (who doesn't speak a word of English) has been helping me just about every time, and I've gotten a fair bit of help from my other roommate's wife, oddly enough.

They do seem to be pumping me full of pills, and I regretfully admit that I haven't asked what any of them are. Of course none of the nurses here speak english anyways, so fat lot of good it would do me. I pretty much have to wait for a coworker who speaks english to come visit me and then have him/her relay questions to the staff. 

I'm not in a large hospital, but I'm not in a GP clinic, either. I started at a GP, but he just sent me for an MRI, and when he saw that, sent me to the knee & shoulder specialist clinic where I'm currently staying. I certainly hope there won't be any complications with anything at this point, because I hate hospitals with a passion and being stuck here for three weeks is going to be bad enough.

PM me some pics and a price on that Shine 7 and you might have yourself a deal. I could even avoid shipping altogether and just pick it up from you when I finally get around to taking a trip up to Seoul, but that won't be for about a month longer than I had thought it'd be, for obvious reasons .


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## wowspare (Mar 18, 2012)

I'm a Korean living in Singapore. I lived in Korea till I was 10, then moved to singapore, where i currently reside. I'm turning 18 this year.

Seriously, all this worrying about North korea isn't necessary, South koreans don't even think about it in their daily lives. Also, Koreans tend to be quite racist, so watch out for that (although this can work in your benefit, e.g trying to score some narrow-minded girls).

And also, the majority of Korean women get some form of plastic/cosmetic surgery. It has gotten so rampant to the point where it is now almost a rite of passage for every girl who graduates from high school to get double eyelid surgery. Then you have the usual chin/nose/cheek bone jobs....
Don't mean to portray my country in a bad light but I'm just telling you.


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## rx (Mar 18, 2012)

wowspare said:


> I'm a Korean living in Singapore. I lived in Korea till I was 10, then moved to singapore, where i currently reside. I'm turning 18 this year.
> 
> Seriously, all this worrying about North korea isn't necessary, South koreans don't even think about it in their daily lives. Also, Koreans tend to be quite racist, so watch out for that (although this can work in your benefit, e.g trying to score some narrow-minded girls).
> 
> ...



yeah, koreans are self-loathing 

i didn't notice it when i was little, but as an adult, i'm realizing how messed up korean society is.


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## Grand Moff Tim (Mar 21, 2012)

After sitting here in the hospital for almost a week with nothing to eat but Korean food, I've really been craving something Western. Don't get me wrong, I like Korean food well enough (some dishes MUCH more than others), but sometimes a fella just needs a taste of home.

Luckily my coworkers seemed to have been reading my mind, and they brought me a pizza when they came to visit this evening. It wasn't a full-on Western-style pizza, mind, since this is still Korea. The toppings (in addition to cheese and sauce) were bacon, potato, corn, and mayonaise. The combination sounds kinda weird, but it worked pretty well. I must admit, I was an instant fan of potato on pizza. It almost feels strange that I've never had it before. It was like trying something new while also having some comfort food to make me feel better.

Feeling better is a good thing, because let me tell you, sitting alone in a hospital where hardly anybody speaks more than three words of English for days and nights on end can make a guy feel pretty lonely. I'm pretty glad I've got SSO and you fellas to entertain me, cheesy as that sounds. I'd have probably jumped out the window by now if I didn't have wifi here to bide my time and protect my sanity.


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## rx (Mar 21, 2012)

lol potato on pizza

basically as soon as california pizza kitchen first landed in korea, all the other franchises ran with the idea with putting miscellaneous crap on pizza. now that's the only thing that sells 

hope you feel better


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## All_¥our_Bass (Mar 22, 2012)

Potato pizza... hmm... that actually sounds pretty damn good, potato goes with just about anything.

Hope you get better.


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## ilovefinnish (Mar 25, 2012)

pics or it didn't happen, just kidding, have fun!


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## Santuzzo (Apr 1, 2012)

Just saw this thread and read through it.

Very cool that you went to SK, but sorry to hear about the accident and you having to go to the hospital.
I wish you a quick and good recovery! Keep us posted!


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## ElRay (Apr 1, 2012)

Congrats! 'nuff said.

Ray


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## Grand Moff Tim (Apr 16, 2012)

Udate: I'm going in for my second surgery tomorrow. I then have to stay and recuperate until the 27th, which is as long as my insurance is willing to pay for me to be here. My doctor wants me to come back again for another stay so I can do some rehab/physio and heal properly, but it's looking like my insurance won't cover the treatment or another stay and I _sure_ as shit won't be able to afford it on my own, so... I guess my knee may just be shit out of luck and heal improperly?

Anyways, it's been a while since I've posted any pics, so here's a pic of the incision scar from the first operation:


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## CannibalKiller (Apr 21, 2012)

Asian women can't have ginger children, so no need to waste money on condoms.


----------



## MFB (Apr 21, 2012)

CannibalKiller said:


> Asian women can't have ginger children, so no need to waste money on condoms.



There's a first time for everything


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## Stealthdjentstic (Apr 21, 2012)

CannibalKiller said:


> Asian women can't have ginger children, so no need to waste money on condoms.



WTF 



That totally sucks you're stuck in the hoe-pital  


At the nurses are cute!


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## leandroab (Apr 21, 2012)

Sucks dude... I'm sending my good vibes to you!


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## skeels (Apr 26, 2012)

^ ditto man..


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## Vinchester (Apr 27, 2012)

Tim, armorgames.com can help your boredom  

I'm sure things are looking up for you.


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## Grand Moff Tim (Apr 27, 2012)

I wish I could play video games, man. About a week ago my laptop's power jack decided it's only going to work when it feels like it, so I've pretty much been stuck with my iPhone for entertainment purposes. As for things looking up for me, I was told today that blood tests shows inflammation in my knee in levels they don't like to see, so my original discharge date (tomorrow) has been cancelled and I'll be staying an additional four to seven days. Not only does that suck because I've already spent five of the last six weeks in the hospital, but also because it might put me over the limit of days I'm allowed to miss of work and void my contract, costing me my job. I have to keep my fingers crossed the the increased number of days doesn't exceed the number of vacation days I have left (awesome having to use my vacation days for this bullshit, incidentally).

Grumble grumble grumble. If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all.


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## Stealthdjentstic (Apr 27, 2012)

So long as it's not permanent or anything man, its cool you'll get through it


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## Grand Moff Tim (May 1, 2012)

Well, I'm out of the hospital. I still have to go back for physio at least three times a week, but at least I go back to my own bed at the end of the day.

My school had me come back to start teaching immediately, the very next day after being discharged. It's going well enough so far, but the week is young. I'm trying to be confident and cheerful about it, because if I can manage that then the battle's half-way won. As long as I'm confident and have a smile on my face, the kids seem more than happy to just repeat after me for huge chunks of time when I'm trying to run down the clock, haha.

Incidentally, my job seems safe for the time being, since my school insisted I leave the hospital when I did. I'm a bit worried about leaving early against my doctor's wishes, but if staying would've meant voiding my contract, I'll take my chances and hope the after work physio will be enough to help me heal. 

I also somehow have a little more money in my account than I thought I did, so I was able to pay off the two people who helped me pay off a couple hospital bills when I was having financial issues, so that feels good. I'm not completely done with bills yet, as the physio is going to set me back about $600 and I'll have to keep paying for meds for a bit, but I'm feeling pretty confident about being able to cover it at this point. I might even be able to get a new guitar here sooner than I thought I would, which would be awesome.

I'm also going to shoot the cute nurse whose number I got a message this afternoon to see if she wants to try to meet up some time this week. Here's hoping that ends well, too. I'd really like for this turnaround in luck to keep going towards the better.


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## skeels (May 1, 2012)

Hang in there man.
Keep in mind that life is like an automatic door.

Whatever that means....


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## Hollowway (May 1, 2012)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> I'm also going to shoot the cute nurse whose number I got a message this afternoon to see if she wants to try to meet up some time this week. Here's hoping that ends well, too. I'd really like for this turnaround in luck to keep going towards the better.



Keep us posted on this development! No pressure, but how awesome of a, "dad, tell us again now you met mom!" story would that be?!


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## Grand Moff Tim (May 1, 2012)

Hollowway said:


> Keep us posted on this development! No pressure, but how awesome of a, "dad, tell us again now you met mom!" story would that be?!


 
"Well son, I first noticed dat ass while in the hospital with a torn ACL..."


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## Santuzzo (May 1, 2012)

Good to hear things are getting better for you.

Wishing you the best of luck with your job, the healing of your knee and with the cute nurse


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## SamSam (May 1, 2012)

Soooo. Been to any Girl's Generation concerts yet?????


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## signalgrey (May 1, 2012)

I have AND I met two of them through a friend (Sunny and Yoona for those who care)


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## flexkill (May 2, 2012)

Is it real tight ass over there or what? I love to travel so just curious. I mean like how are the people?


----------



## MiPwnYew (May 3, 2012)

Have you seen Taeyang or any of Big Bang followed by a huge group of screaming girls yet?


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## ElRay (May 3, 2012)

Hollowway said:


> Keep us posted on this development! No pressure, but how awesome of a, "dad, tell us again now you met mom!" story would that be?!


QFT! 

Ray


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## marked (May 3, 2012)

I'm not gonna lie, i kinda wanna move to a far distant country and have my own adventure!
so jelous!

Subscribed for sure!


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## Grand Moff Tim (May 3, 2012)

flexkill said:


> Is it real tight ass over there or what? I love to travel so just curious. I mean like how are the people?


 
So far what I think I've picked up on is that for the most part they seem kindof cold if they're just random people on the street, ie not alot of smiling or greeting strangers you pass on the street, and they can even seem brusque and oblivious to others when it comes to queues or right-of-way situations. However, in situations that call for hospitality, they're _very_ generous and welcoming, and if you're friends they seem to go to fairly great lengths to try to help you if you need it.

Also, the women are SMOKING hot.


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## Grand Moff Tim (May 3, 2012)

And regarding situation with the hot nurse, she isn't responding to my messages, so I think that's a wash. Bummer.


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## Swyse (May 3, 2012)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> And regarding situation with the hot nurse, she isn't responding to my messages, so I think that's a wash. Bummer.



You try spitting your game in korean? that might be the problem. l made a good line for you on google translate.

&#45817;&#49888;&#51008; &#48120;&#44397;&#51012;&#50948;&#54620; &#53360; &#49324;&#46988; &#49548;&#49884;&#51648;


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## ElRay (May 3, 2012)

Swyse said:


> &#45817;&#49888;&#51008; &#48120;&#44397;&#51012;&#50948;&#54620; &#53360; &#49324;&#46988; &#49548;&#49884;&#51648;


Funny, I tried "Grand Moff Tim" and got:
&#48120;&#44397;&#50640;&#49436; &#45208;&#45716; &#51089;&#51008; &#54644;&#50836;,&#54616;&#51648;&#47564; &#50668;&#44592;&#49436; &#45208;&#45716; &#45929;&#52824;&#44032; &#44144;&#45824;&#54616;&#45796;&#44256;​
Ray


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## Razzy (May 4, 2012)

ElRay said:


> Funny, I tried "Grand Moff Tim" and got:&#48120;&#44397;&#50640;&#49436; &#45208;&#45716; &#51089;&#51008; &#54644;&#50836;,&#54616;&#51648;&#47564; &#50668;&#44592;&#49436; &#45208;&#45716; &#45929;&#52824;&#44032; &#44144;&#45824;&#54616;&#45796;&#44256;​Ray



&#45212; &#45817;&#49888;&#51060; &#50504;&#51901; &#51228;&#44032; &#46308;&#50612;&#44040; &#49688;&#51080;&#45716; &#48169;&#48277;&#50640; &#47566;&#51008; &#44163;&#51012;&#48372;&#44256; &#49910;&#49845;&#45768;&#45796;.


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## Grand Moff Tim (May 4, 2012)

Fellas, I come to SSO to get _away_ from seeing Korean everywhere.


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## Grand Moff Tim (May 6, 2012)

Nurse finally returned my message. Looks like the game is back on.


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## rx (May 7, 2012)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> So far what I think I've picked up on is that for the most part they seem kindof cold if they're just random people on the street, ie not alot of smiling or greeting strangers you pass on the street, and they can even seem brusque and oblivious to others when it comes to queues or right-of-way situations. However, in situations that call for hospitality, they're _very_ generous and welcoming, and if you're friends they seem to go to fairly great lengths to try to help you if you need it.
> 
> Also, the women are SMOKING hot.



yeah, they're not fat like the american ones. the girls here crave foreigners too. but many people at the same time hate seeing interracial dating


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## rx (May 7, 2012)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> Nurse finally returned my message. Looks like the game is back on.



wait, you're trying to get in the nurse's pants?

...lol


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## -42- (May 7, 2012)

rx said:


> wait, you're trying to get in the nurse's pants?


Can you blame him?


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## Grand Moff Tim (May 7, 2012)

rx said:


> wait, you're trying to get in the nurse's pants?
> 
> ...lol


 
I was stuck in a hospital for five weeks. I had to hit on _someone_.


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## Grand Moff Tim (Jun 26, 2012)

Bump, because lol:


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## Grand Moff Tim (Jun 26, 2012)

Also: Finally ordered a guitar to play while I'm here. Expect an NGD soon.


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## tacotiklah (Jun 26, 2012)

Those hot Korean nurses won't stand a chance with you around Tim.  


And HNGD!


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## Grand Moff Tim (Aug 24, 2012)

Bump, because L O Fucking L:


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## Xaios (Aug 24, 2012)

What the fuuuuuuu...?


----------



## flexkill (Aug 24, 2012)




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## ROAR (Aug 24, 2012)

How much of Psy's music have you heard over there?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0


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## signalgrey (Aug 30, 2012)

if someone posts fucking "Gangnam Style" im gonna go fucking Serbian Style on them in response.


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## soundgardener75 (Aug 30, 2012)

My wife taught herself how to speak Korean, she loves the culture and she had gotten me into watching their popular tv mini-series. 

As far as favorite food? Chajangmyun with pan fried dumplings FTMFW!


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## Grand Moff Tim (Aug 30, 2012)

JJajangmyeon is pretty good, yeah, but it highlights an interesting discovery I've made: Most of my favorite foods I eat here _aren't_ Korean in origin: Jjajangmyeon is Chinese, the curry my cafeteria makes is Japanese, and so is the Tonkatsu I've had at a few restaurants. In fairness to original Korean cuisine, though, bulgogi, galbi, and bibimbap are pretty great.

I've definitely had my fill of chili paste flavored _every fucking thing_, though.


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## signalgrey (Aug 31, 2012)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> JJajangmyeon is pretty good, yeah, but it highlights an interesting discovery I've made: Most of my favorite foods I eat here _aren't_ Korean in origin: Jjajangmyeon is Chinese, the curry my cafeteria makes is Japanese, and so is the Tonkatsu I've had at a few restaurants. In fairness to original Korean cuisine, though, bulgogi, galbi, and bibimbap are pretty great.
> 
> I've definitely had my fill of chili paste flavored _every fucking thing_, though.


The curry stuff is from a japanese trend that migrated over here.

Tonkatsu = japanese
Donkasu = korean (there is a difference in how they make it, and what goes on it)

Jjajangmyeon is from Incheon actually, but made by the Chinese who immigrated here years and years ago. Many Koreans consider it Korean, but a product born of a cultural exchange. There is a Chinese Jjajangmyeon but it doesnt look, taste or even really look similar.

Teung Su Yuk - is Chinese but the Koreans make it their way and really doesnt resemble the Chinese version that much. Again, while it has a chinese name its basically Korean

source: 3 years of dating 2 Korean gals (not at the same time btw) and being constantly corrected and ever so gently "informed" that I was mistaken.


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## morrowcosom (Aug 31, 2012)

I went down to South Korea and broke out with Gonorrhea.


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## ElRay (Sep 1, 2012)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> ... bulgogi, galbi, and bibimbap ...



+1 (x3).

You really can't go wrong with many of the soups either. 

One of my housemates as a undergrad used to make this dish that was chicken, potatoes and this chili/red bean paste that was really good too. Either it, or the bean paste was called something like Go-Choo-Chon  I haven't been able to duplicate it because I haven't been able to find the bean paste. I've found some Chinese and Vietnamese equivalents, but they're not quite close enough.

Ray


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## Grand Moff Tim (Sep 1, 2012)

signalgrey said:


> Jjajangmyeon is from Incheon actually, but made by the Chinese who immigrated here years and years ago. Many Koreans consider it Korean, but a product born of a cultural exchange. There is a Chinese Jjajangmyeon but it doesnt look, taste or even really look similar.


 
Yeah, I realize that. It's similar to "Chinese food" in America, and Mexican food in many parts of the country, too, for that matter. It's run through enough of a localized paletal filter that it doesn't really resemble the original too closely, but still "chinese." Whatever anyone calls it, I'm glad there's at least ONE popular dish here that they haven't ruined with chili paste.


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## soundgardener75 (Sep 2, 2012)

Sweet, I got some cultural education of my favorite Korean foods! Yeah, I had no idea that Jjajangmyeon's Chinese based until I went to a Korean restaurant to ask if they have it, and the host said "We don't serve Chinese food". 

We'd go to any Korean places to try their dishes as much as we can!


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## Grand Moff Tim (Feb 24, 2013)

Random update bump:

I'm starting at a new school and moving to a new apartment in a small suburb this week. Hopefully this coming year will be a little less... trying than the past one was.

I need to get around to creating an online album of some of the pictures I've taken since I've been here, both to show to you fellas and to my family back home, but I don't really know any good online photo album sites. Any recommendations? I already have a photobucket account, but I'd just as soon have it separate from the stuff I'm going to share publicly.


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## wowspare (Feb 25, 2013)

Why not post them in this thread?


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## Xaios (Feb 25, 2013)

Or making a second Photobucket account?


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## flexkill (Feb 25, 2013)

You can create individual photo albums on photobucket and set each one to private or public.


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## rx (Mar 5, 2013)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> JJajangmyeon is pretty good, yeah, but it highlights an interesting discovery I've made: Most of my favorite foods I eat here _aren't_ Korean in origin: Jjajangmyeon is Chinese, the curry my cafeteria makes is Japanese, and so is the Tonkatsu I've had at a few restaurants. In fairness to original Korean cuisine, though, bulgogi, galbi, and bibimbap are pretty great.
> 
> I've definitely had my fill of chili paste flavored _every fucking thing_, though.



it's common knowledge in korea that jjajangmyun is chinese food. i mean, you find it in chinese restaurants, that should say something

HOWEVER........ it is NOT really chinese - it's korean. it's like chinese fusion. but it's invented in korea.

so yes, your initial thought is right. it is korean.

edit: oh it's been answered already.


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## Grand Moff Tim (Nov 20, 2013)

Alright. Haven't updated in here for about a year, so I it's about time I did. I think I'll even include some pictures this time.


Situational update first: I just submitted my paperwork to remain for one more year. I won't be transferring to a different school this time, though, so next year I'll be with the same group of kids I've already been teaching for a year. That should be nice, and will hopefully make things a little easier on my end, since I won't have to get to know a bunch of students and their individual strong points and weaknesses from scratch.

Since I last updated, the main major development is that I was diagnosed with gout in April. The main result of that is that I have to avoid meat and alcohol, which... kinda sucks . There's not much else to do socially in Korea other than drink and eat bbq, so I haven't really been getting out and doing much socializing at all over the last six months. Plus side: Money not spent on booze and nights out was spent on several pieces of gear (Epi LPC, Ibby UV70P and BTB5 Premium).

Also on the health front, I had to do my annual physical exam as part of my reapplication process, and the results turned up a potential problem with my Liver (they showed elevated ALT levels, if that means anything to anyone here). Apparently the results could indicate any number of things, so I have to go in for more testing later this week. Fingers crossed it's nothing serious. I'm just about sick of having health problems in this country .

On the ladies front: Still single. I went out with the nurse a couple more times and we still text with some regularity, but it's in no danger of going anywhere anytime soon. I'm meeting with some Korean women once a week or so so I can help them with their English and they can help me with my Korean, so I hope to at least improve my Korean enough to make meeting Korean women easier out of the process. None of the chicks in the group itself are viable options, sadly.



Okay. Picture dump. Some are older than others.


Above the door to the English classroom at my first school last year 






Took a fancy pic of some peppers someone had left out to dry:





Found a random Tanuki in a Korean restaurant. I don't know if they knew how very Japanese it is, but suspect they don't, given the animosity Koreans have towards Japan:






Saw this statue on a work outing, and it definitely required some explanation from a coworker, after I was done laughing:






Apparently it used to be tradition for a child who wet the bet to be sent from house to house in the neighborhood, asking to borrow a cup of salt. That was supposed to shame them into insuring it never happened again, or some shit. I don't quite remember. I was too busy chuckling.

One of the main reasons I'm choosing to stay is my students. They aren't always well behaved (kids will be kids), but damned if they aren't adorable, and often hilarious.

Here are a few practicing for a violin concert in the park:





I sometimes do fill in the blank exercises to practice phonics. The students don't always get it right:

"Duck."






"Six."






My lessons and activities aren't always as interesting as they could be, it seems:










Sometimes, though, the students' clothes are much more interesting than they should be:


----------



## flexkill (Nov 20, 2013)

LMAO That hat!!!!! WTF?????


----------



## rx (Nov 20, 2013)

All the way in Cheongju? you're like three hours away from where I live. 

you seem to be having fun here


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## CyborgSlunk (Nov 20, 2013)

Im really wondering from which direction I have to look at the sentence "Dangerous boy & girl ....ing friends" to understand what he is trying to tell me. Is it his gang?


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## Rick (Nov 20, 2013)

Wow.


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## The Reverend (Nov 20, 2013)

Please shower us with more photos! I love seeing bits and pieces of different cultures, especially when they're presented by someone who doesn't have a strictly informational agenda, if that makes any sense. I feel like you get closer to the real thing, I guess. I don't know.

But yeah, give us more pics, Tim. I'll love you forever.


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## Cloudy (Nov 20, 2013)

I want that hat.


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## MetalBuddah (Nov 21, 2013)

Oh god, that shirt and hat are priceless


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## Alberto7 (Nov 21, 2013)

That post was both inspiring and outrageously hilarious.  I love this thread, and I hope you keep posting here, Tim. You do an awesome job at telling your experiences quickly and efficiently. That kid's hat and the writing of "dick" on the board instead of "duck" brought me to tears of sheer laughter.


----------



## Leveebreaks (Nov 23, 2013)

Ah this thread is so win...but that hat........





I love the ritual abuse of mistranslated languages, but that is just too good. More pics Tim!!!


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## vilk (Nov 23, 2013)

It's not a _mistake_ in translation per say. People who don't use the roman alphabet just think it looks cool, and people don't really understand the meaning or nuance so they just write on there for stylistic purposes. I'm sure you've been to a shop and seen all sorts of random chinese characters on a shirt, or seen dudes who get tattoos of them and stuff. It's just as funny to asian people to see that. I dunno about Korea so much, but at least in Japan there's no real concept of "bad words", so words like f*ck etc don't really carry the offensiveness that they do in English speaking countries. I mean, maybe some knowledgable people get that it's a bad word to say in English, but the idea that just some word can inherently be offensive probably is going over their head to some extent. So some guy walks around with a shirt that says something totally ridiculous, and probably the designer had some idea what he was writing, but really they just think "English" looks cool.


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## Grand Moff Tim (Nov 23, 2013)

baron samedi said:


> It's not a _mistake_ in translation per say. People who don't use the roman alphabet just think it looks cool, and people don't really understand the meaning or nuance so they just write on there for stylistic purposes. I'm sure you've been to a shop and seen all sorts of random chinese characters on a shirt, or seen dudes who get tattoos of them and stuff. It's just as funny to asian people to see that. I dunno about Korea so much, but at least in Japan there's no real concept of "bad words", so words like f*ck etc don't really carry the offensiveness that they do in English speaking countries. I mean, maybe some knowledgable people get that it's a bad word to say in English, but the idea that just some word can inherently be offensive probably is going over their head to some extent. So some guy walks around with a shirt that says something totally ridiculous, and probably the designer had some idea what he was writing, but really they just think "English" looks cool.




Oh, there are _definitely_ some bad words in Korean . I can say some stuff that'd probably get me fired, haha. I'd say in most cases here, the people wearing the clothes have no idea what they say, and the people who made them either had no idea because they used Google translate (well, Naver translate, here), or they know the word is bad, but not _how_ bad.

One of my coworkers speaks English really well, and she didn't understand why I was laughing so hard at the "Vote Mike Hunt for President" shirt. That made for an interesting explanation, hahaha.


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## rx (Nov 23, 2013)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> Oh, there are _definitely_ some bad words in Korean . I can say some stuff that'd probably get me fired, haha. *I'd say in most cases here, the people wearing the clothes have no idea what they say, *and the people who made them either had no idea because they used Google translate (well, Naver translate, here), or they know the word is bad, but not _how_ bad.
> 
> One of my coworkers speaks English really well, and she didn't understand why I was laughing so hard at the "Vote Mike Hunt for President" shirt. That made for an interesting explanation, hahaha.



that's only because you (and they) don't live in seoul. 

south korea is a weird place. seoul is like a different country.


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## Grand Moff Tim (Nov 25, 2013)

Seoul is the only part of Korea that matters, if the travel literature is any indication.

Fastest internet in the world!

....in Seoul.

A tasty variety of international cuisine!

....in Seoul.

A stunning mixture of modern architecture and classic buildings!

....in Seoul.

All the conveniences of modern technology!

...in Seoul.

Basically all the positives anyone ever tells people about Korea tend to only be true in Seoul, haha.


Some Koreans I know up in Seoul reacted like I'm living out in the sticks surrounded by rice paddies and pig farmers when I said I'll be living in Cheongju. I'm thinking "Shit, 700k people is plenty big to me," haha.


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## rx (Nov 25, 2013)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> Seoul is the only part of Korea that matters, if the travel literature is any indication.
> 
> Fastest internet in the world!
> 
> ...



yeah it's pretty hilarious. my friends (back in the states) think that Seoul is the only city in South Korea because when asked where they are from, Koreans never say they're from a city other than Seoul. 

contrary to what many people think, I don't think the positives are only in Seoul. Many parts of Seoul is very superficial (and very scripted/rushed to only APPEAR nice). I live in Gangnam (not the district, but the general area south of the Han River) and it still amazes how douchey these parts can get. and I've been living here for over three years. Born and partly raised here as a child, but back then I was oblivious to everything because children aren't really considered right-bearing people here.....


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## Grand Moff Tim (Nov 25, 2013)

rx said:


> contrary to what many people think, I don't think the positives are only in Seoul.



Oh, I don't either. I just think all the stuff that got hyped up about Korea at my job orientation isn't really true all across the country, and only really is relevant in Seoul. I think I'd prefer to live down here in Cheongju, actually, since it's much less crowded, but still large enough to have almost anything I could need, and centrally located so I can easily get almost anywhere else in the country in just a couple hours by bus. I'm just fine with being able to visit Seoul when I feel the urge, rather than actually living there .


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## wowspare (Nov 26, 2013)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> Oh, I don't either. I just think all the stuff that got hyped up about Korea at my job orientation isn't really true all across the country, and only really is relevant in Seoul. I think I'd prefer to live down here in Cheongju, actually, since it's much less crowded, but still large enough to have almost anything I could need, and centrally located so I can easily get almost anywhere else in the country in just a couple hours by bus. I'm just fine with being able to visit Seoul when I feel the urge, rather than actually living there .



You ever been to Suwon? If so, how similar is it to Seoul?


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## Grand Moff Tim (Nov 26, 2013)

Never been, but it's only like 30km south of Seoul itself, and is connected to it by train, bus, and even the Subway, I think. At those distances in the US it'd essentially just be considered a suburb of Seoul, or part of the Seoul greater metropolitan area. I don't know if that's how they look at it here, especially since it's the provincial capital of Gyeonggi-do, but with its size (just over 1 million people) and proximity to Seoul, it won't matter too much if it has its differences. You'd just be able to hop on a bus and be in Seoul in half an hour anyways, haha.


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## rx (Nov 26, 2013)

Suwon/Suji/Yongin is mostly considered to be part of the greater metropolitan area. many people live in Suwon, Suji, and Yongin and commute to Seoul for work. The new yongin-seoul highway makes commute even faster. there isn't much to do though. since it's close enough to seoul to commute, most businesses still spring up in seoul and although suwon-suji-yongin has its share of the service businesses, it's nowhere near seoul. I used to commute almost everyday to a recording studio in Suji.


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## Steinmetzify (Nov 26, 2013)

This thread delivers, dude. Need pics of hot Korean women to complete it though. Glad your knee healed up (right?) and that you're still digging it.


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## ShadowAMD (Nov 27, 2013)

I'm intrigued Tim, why SK? Why not somewhere like the UK where you get paid a shed load for being a teacher and hospital treatment is free? Also if you live in London, yes you probably won't live very long but there's a metric ton of beautiful women around that area.

Even the north isn't a bad place to be and we all speak English, albeit that doesn't mean you can understand what we all say ..


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## Grand Moff Tim (Nov 27, 2013)

ShadowAMD said:


> I'm intrigued Tim, why SK? Why not somewhere like the UK where you get paid a shed load for being a teacher and hospital treatment is free? Also if you live in London, yes you probably won't live very long but there's a metric ton of beautiful women around that area.
> 
> Even the north isn't a bad place to be and we all speak English, albeit that doesn't mean you can understand what we all say ..



A few reasons:

1) It's hard for people from non-EU countries to get teaching jobs (or jobs in general) in EU countries. The UK is EU, the US isn't, so it's just easier to get a job in a country that goes out of its way to find foreign teachers, like SK.

2) I teach English as a second language. Most people in the UK already speak English . For those that don't, there's no shortage of English speakers already living there to teach them. There's no need to import English teachers like there is in Korea.

And...

3) I may not be rolling in money here, but my pay includes a free furnished apartment on top of my monthly check. That means that though may pay is "only" about $2300 a month, after taxes, bills, food, and insurance, I can fairly easily pocket at least $1300 of that every month. That won't make me a rich man any time soon, but I certainly can't complain about my financial situation.

But hey, if you know where an American can find a job teaching English in the UK that will not only hire non-EU residents but will also allow me $1000 or more to play around with every month, I'm open to suggestions .


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## ShadowAMD (Nov 28, 2013)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> A few reasons:
> 
> 1) It's hard for people from non-EU countries to get teaching jobs (or jobs in general) in EU countries. The UK is EU, the US isn't, so it's just easier to get a job in a country that goes out of its way to find foreign teachers, like SK.
> 
> ...



They are always looking for teachers over here (as my wife was looking into it), I think at some point the gov were setting people up and paying for a PGCE cert. 

It all depends on how qualified you are really, if you have a recognisable degree (or above) and a PGCE you will be able to teach up to degree level from the word go. As a teacher you'd be on the high skill emigration path, especially being a native English speaker.

Pay on average is around $4500.00 a month.

Whilst I recognise you like the place, sounds like you're having a bit of a tough time as well.


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## Grand Moff Tim (Sep 29, 2014)

Bump, because I spotted one of my students wearing this gem today:


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## Alberto7 (Sep 30, 2014)

HAHAHA  I could not look at that girl straight in the face while teaching.


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## tacotiklah (Oct 1, 2014)

Tim, since when did you start teaching honey badgers English?


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## _MonSTeR_ (Oct 2, 2014)

ShadowAMD said:


> They are always looking for teachers over here (as my wife was looking into it), I think at some point the gov were setting people up and paying for a PGCE cert.
> 
> It all depends on how qualified you are really, if you have a recognisable degree (or above) and a PGCE you will be able to teach up to degree level from the word go. As a teacher you'd be on the high skill emigration path, especially being a native English speaker.
> 
> ...


 
The pay is nowhere near that much as an "average" teacher. The payscale can be found here...
http://www.nasuwt.org.uk/consum/gro...ions/documents/nas_download/nasuwt_012874.pdf

As an NQT, a Newly Qualified Teacher (a recognised degree in teaching or a Bachelor's degree and a post graduate teaching qualification) a teacher earns just over 22K GBP a year which is just under $3000 USD per month before taxes.

In the UK you've got to see teaching as a calling or a vocation, not a vacation


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## JeffFromMtl (Aug 30, 2015)

Hey man, I'm just bumping this because I'm a few days from finishing my TEFL qualification. I also have my BA in English Lit. plus a minor, so I'm not too worried about finding a job, but S. Korea is at the top of my list as far as locations go. I'd like to get that sorted out as soon as possible so I can start learning the native language of wherever I end up going as soon as I've got my job landed.

So I have a few questions. How did you find your job? I'm assuming since it's not in Seoul or Busan and it's in a public school, it was through EPIK? Regardless, I'm curious about the route you took in finding/getting your job.

I'm also curious - why SK, specifically? For me, they seem to offer the best jobs outside of the Middle East and China (but I don't think living in a Muslim country is for me and the Chinese gov't sketches me out). Free apartment, good pay relative to the rest of the ESL jobs available, lower cost of living than Japan, etc. Quite honestly, I don't know much about the culture and I only recently realized that Korean is pretty much the only East Asian cuisine I've never really tried. Were the determining factors the same for you? Which other countries did you consider before going with SK?

Have you been to Seoul or Busan? I've lived in a big city my entire life and don't really imagine myself living anywhere smaller than Montreal for the time being, so if you have been to either place, I'm interested in what you think of both cities, ie: which is a more attractive city visually, what the atmosphere is like, what the people are like and all of that.

It'd also be cool to get an update on how things are going out there. Hope all's good!


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## Grand Moff Tim (Aug 31, 2015)

JeffFromMtl said:


> Hey man, I'm just bumping this because I'm a few days from finishing my TEFL qualification. I also have my BA in English Lit. plus a minor, so I'm not too worried about finding a job, but S. Korea is at the top of my list as far as locations go. I'd like to get that sorted out as soon as possible so I can start learning the native language of wherever I end up going as soon as I've got my job landed.
> 
> So I have a few questions. How did you find your job? I'm assuming since it's not in Seoul or Busan and it's in a public school, it was through EPIK? Regardless, I'm curious about the route you took in finding/getting your job.



Yeah, I work in public schools and went through EPIK. I actually applied directly to EPIK using the instructions on the EPIK website rather than using a recruiter, and EPIK has stated that they actually prefer that people apply to them directly. A recruiter can cast a wider net for you, if you don't mind working at private academies (though if you can avoid that, I would. Google "hagwon" sometime and look for horror stories).

The process is different for some provinces and/or cities, like Seoul or some of the larger metropolitan districts. There's more info about that on the EPIK site, or on other various recruiter sites.

What TEFL cert are you doing? If it's all online, then it might not help you too much here. The recently changed the requirements so new teachers need a TEFL with 20 hours or so of in-class instruction. If you did it at a uni in person, you should be alright. I'm not sure if your degree lets you bypass the TEFL requirement anyway, but that's also a possibility.

Another thing to consider, is it's possible that they'll ask you to provide proof that the grade schools you attended were primarily taught in English, since you seem to be from Quebec. I've heard some people say they were asked to, and others that weren't. It isn't a huge deal, it's just more paperwork to track down. Incidentally, get started on all the necessary paperwork NOW. You don't want to end up waiting forever and missing a deadline because a background check didn't get back to you in time.

And you'll want to get your paperwork in as close to the hiring window opens if you want public school, because the jobs are generally first-come first-serve, and there are far fewer available positions now than there were in recent memory. Budget cuts have drastically slashed the English education budgets in many provinces (mine was cut in half, many people lost their jobs), so you don't want to wait around. Get your paperwork ready as soon as you can, and send everything in as soon as you're allowed.



JeffFromMtl said:


> I'm also curious - why SK, specifically? For me, they seem to offer the best jobs outside of the Middle East and China (but I don't think living in a Muslim country is for me and the Chinese gov't sketches me out). Free apartment, good pay relative to the rest of the ESL jobs available, lower cost of living than Japan, etc. Quite honestly, I don't know much about the culture and I only recently realized that Korean is pretty much the only East Asian cuisine I've never really tried. Were the determining factors the same for you? Which other countries did you consider before going with SK?



You pretty much covered the reasons I came here, haha. The money's better than China, and the cost of living is lower than Japan. I think you need an MA or at least several years of experience to bag a decent job pretty much anywhere else. I looked into Spain or Latin America (my BA is in Spanish), but the pay in Latin America is dog.... and it's hard to get a teaching job in Spain if you aren't an EU citizen. That just left Asia, and apart from SK and Japan, the pay just isn't very good in most of Asia. It CAN be good in China if you have the right qualifications and find the right school, but it seems like luck of the draw, and yeah, the gov't doesn't quite sit well with me.



JeffFromMtl said:


> Have you been to Seoul or Busan? I've lived in a big city my entire life and don't really imagine myself living anywhere smaller than Montreal for the time being, so if you have been to either place, I'm interested in what you think of both cities, ie: which is a more attractive city visually, what the atmosphere is like, what the people are like and all of that.



I haven't been to Busan, so I can't comment on that. I've been to Seoul a couple times, and it seems alright, I suppose. I'm not a big city kind of guy. The city closest to me has about 700k people, and that's more than big enough for me. Seoul is huge. It has super efficient and cheap public transportation, though, so it's easy to get around, and it's where you need to go to get certain things if you have western cravings. Its attractiveness seems to depend on the neighborhood, and I haven't been around enough to comment too much on that. I know Seoul is where you have to go to find music, and though it doesn't have much of a metal scene yet, it's got a growing punk/hardcore scene.




JeffFromMtl said:


> It'd also be cool to get an update on how things are going out there. Hope all's good!




At the beginning of this school year (March, here in Korea) I had to change to 4 new schools (public school teachers often teach at multiple schools, thanks to the budget cuts), and then at the end of the semester I had to change schools AGAIN. I've never done a change in the middle of the year before, and i was super frustrated and irritated when I was told I'd have to, but we'll see how that works out. I've taught at elementary schools for three and a half years, and they just moved me up to middle schools. I'm also going from tiny little country schools with 60 or 70 students, to a large town school with around 600. I'm tentatively optimistic based on the four days I've been at this school so far, but much can change in a very short time here in Korea.

Speaking of, I have class to teach in about three minutes, so I'd better wrap this up . I'll come back with more if I think of anything later, or if you've got more questions.


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## Grand Moff Tim (Aug 31, 2015)

Also, it just occurred to me, but are your many and various tattoos concealable with longsleeve shirts? Tattoos are still pretty frowned upon here, especially for people like teachers. There's even a question about it on the EPIK application. It's odd to say, but it might be a strike against you and limit your chances at a public school gig a little. I'd still say try anyway, just know that it could be a factor. 

If you can get a public school job, you'll probably have to wear long sleeves all year round. That's fine in the winter, when they don't turn the heat on until the weather is consistently below freezing so you'll be wearing a winter coat indoors anyway (everyone does), but it might get tiresome in the humid-as-f*ck summers when your school won't turn on the AC until the earth is about to collide with the sun.


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## JeffFromMtl (Sep 2, 2015)

Ok, so from the sound of things, I might have a leg up if I can find some work here teaching ESL in Montreal for a few months before I take off. I'm going to look into what I can do about that, but I know there are definitely language institutes I could look into since it is, after all, a predominantly french-speaking city.

About the tattoos, I do have a lot, but none that can't be covered up with long sleeves and pants. I made sure when I got them done, to have my sleeves end an inch or two above the wrist for exactly that reason. I not generally a very compromising person when it comes to these sorts of choices, but I figure it'd be better to err on the side of caution and get more done if/when I end up with a job where it doesn't matter.

I did get to check out a Korean restaurant a couple of nights ago. There was even a tree stump with 3 dicks carved in it. What even is with Asia and dick carvings? . Anyway, from what I tried, "bibimbap, japchae, kimchi and two other cold/spicy vegetable things, I don't imagine the food will be much of a culture shock factor. I could easily eat that stuff every day, although I do know there will be much weirder .... available.


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## vilk (Sep 3, 2015)

bimbimbap is what I get at Korean restaurants always lol

I also like their chive pancake things. Chijimi in Japanese but I got no idea in Korean.


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## Chokey Chicken (Sep 3, 2015)

I regret that I hadn't seen this thread before, not that it was really all that relevant until a couple months ago. Our new (well, not really new anymore) bassist is a Korean girl and it's had me looking into the language/culture/whatever a bit. I knew you were living in Korea and that it was for your job, but I didn't quite know the extent of it. It's pretty interesting seeing your experiences there. We're all considering going there at some point just so she can show us around, but I want to learn some basic Korean before I do in case I'm ever alone/need help.

So far all I can do is ask for (really simple) directions, order food, and say hello/goodbye. Being able to order beer isn't going to help me if I break a leg or something.


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## vilk (Sep 3, 2015)

^I am definitely going to be needing some beers if I ever break my leg.


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## Grand Moff Tim (Sep 3, 2015)

vilk said:


> I also like their chive pancake things. Chijimi in Japanese but I got no idea in Korean.



Pajeon (Pah-junn). Great with Korean rice wine.


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## JeffFromMtl (Oct 31, 2015)

I've got my preliminary interviews with recruiters coming up. I'm not too worried about these since from what I hear, recruiters pretty much just want to make sure you've got a good head on your shoulders and that you're actually serious about being a teacher, rather than just looking for a way to fund your travels. I didn't apply directly to EPIK because it seems that the whole process can take as long as 6 months if I go directly through them. I applied to two recruiters and heard back from one, but still no word from the other. I'm aiming for the February EPIK intake, but if I don't luck out and find a public school job by then, I may just go for a Hagwon. I've got a friend working for one now and from what she tells me, it's be a lot better than you often read on the internet but YMMV, of course.

Once all that's out of the way, I should have my background check ready in less than a week and a half, then I'll have all of my paperwork in order and ready to talk directly to schools about a teaching position. So fingers crossed that it goes smoothly and quickly, and I end being one of the lucky ones who gets to work in a public school in Seoul or Busan.


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## Grand Moff Tim (Nov 1, 2015)

Good luck with all that. If you do get stuck with a Hagwon, I hope you get a good one. I've heard way to many sh!tshow stories to ever want to take that chance, but I do understand why others would.

An update on my current situation: It turns out the move to my two new schools was an improvement over my previous workplaces in nearly every conceivable way. I have more freedom as a teacher, I have more English-speaking coworkers, I never need to rely on any coworkers to get me to or from work, I have higher-level students than I'm used to working with, and the schools actually give me advanced notice of (most) scheduling and schedule changes. The only thing that isn't an improvement is that I don't have any hot coworkers this time around. 

I just sent out my application to renew for another year, but I don't know how that's going to work out. We were told by the provincial office of education that we need to be flexible about placement if we want to renew, but I'm honestly not sure how flexible I actually am. I really enjoy my workplaces for once, and I don't think I want to change yet again. Nine school in four years feels like quite enough for me, and if they tell me I have to change again, I might just withdraw my renewal application. I marked on the application that I want to stay where I am, but I'm not completely inflexible, depending on the circumstances. We'll see, I guess.


To lighten the mood, here's a picture of a mural I snapped in town last weekend:


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## rx (Nov 1, 2015)

Foreigners getting screwed in Korean educational institutions - a tale as old as time.


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## Coldsnow (Nov 3, 2015)

Greetings, all~

Just discovered this thread! cool!

10 years in South Korea, and 2 years 7-string guitar player.
I'm in Daejeon, and my original band will start playing gigs very soon.
Love to chat with any other 7 string people in Korea!
May have a very sweet 1527 up for sale soon...


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## Veldar (Nov 6, 2015)

Hey guys I'm actually in Seoul for a couple of days so I need some help with musical shops, I went to the big mega store today and there wasn't much in the way of ERG/ERB & I couldn't find any places selling used pedals, just new ones (that worked out to be the same price as Aus...)

Cheers for any help, Sam.


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## Grand Moff Tim (Nov 6, 2015)

You won't find much in the way of ERG/ERBs in Korea, period. Seven strings are a rarity, let alone 8 strings. There isn't really any sort of music scene that would involve their use, so there isn't really a market for them. Sometimes internet dealers get something in stock, but even that's rare. I got a TAM10 that was actually signed by Tosin, and it was the only 8 the shop had in stock, and they only ordered one for him to sign, because they didn't anticipate selling more than one. Hell, they didn't even anticipate selling that one they had too quickly, from what they said when I had a Korean friend call to ask about availability.

Korea's not really a good place to go shopping for gear of any sort. Most import stuff costs MSRP _or more_ in the first place, so used prices aren't even all that good. Unless you're after something that's cheaper in Korea than elsewhere, like Moollon stuff, then you're better off saving your money for your next trip to Japan or the US.


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## Veldar (Nov 7, 2015)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> You won't find much in the way of ERG/ERBs in Korea, period. Seven strings are a rarity, let alone 8 strings. There isn't really any sort of music scene that would involve their use, so there isn't really a market for them. Sometimes internet dealers get something in stock, but even that's rare. I got a TAM10 that was actually signed by Tosin, and it was the only 8 the shop had in stock, and they only ordered one for him to sign, because they didn't anticipate selling more than one. Hell, they didn't even anticipate selling that one they had too quickly, from what they said when I had a Korean friend call to ask about availability.
> 
> Korea's not really a good place to go shopping for gear of any sort. Most import stuff costs MSRP _or more_ in the first place, so used prices aren't even all that good. Unless you're after something that's cheaper in Korea than elsewhere, like Moollon stuff, then you're better off saving your money for your next trip to Japan or the US.



Aww danm, I'm going to the Philippines in a couple of days and then manila after, I found most of the prices here to be the same as Australian when converted, oh well, thanks anyway man.


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## rx (Nov 8, 2015)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> You won't find much in the way of ERG/ERBs in Korea, period. Seven strings are a rarity, let alone 8 strings. There isn't really any sort of music scene that would involve their use, so there isn't really a market for them. Sometimes internet dealers get something in stock, but even that's rare. I got a TAM10 that was actually signed by Tosin, and it was the only 8 the shop had in stock, and they only ordered one for him to sign, because they didn't anticipate selling more than one. Hell, they didn't even anticipate selling that one they had too quickly, from what they said when I had a Korean friend call to ask about availability.
> 
> Korea's not really a good place to go shopping for gear of any sort. Most import stuff costs MSRP _or more_ in the first place, so used prices aren't even all that good. Unless you're after something that's cheaper in Korea than elsewhere, like Moollon stuff, then you're better off saving your money for your next trip to Japan or the US.



There are a couple places around Nakwon and a place in Hongdae that cater to extended range guitarists


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## rx (Nov 8, 2015)

Also, I am selling my Schecter 7 if anyone wants it. It's a C-7 Blackjack ATX.


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## Grand Moff Tim (Nov 8, 2015)

"Cater to" or "have one or two in stock?"

Also, please don't turn my thread into a For Sale thread.


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## rx (Nov 9, 2015)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> "Cater to" or "have one or two in stock?"
> 
> Also, please don't turn my thread into a For Sale thread.



"cater to" 

They also have 8-string string sets in stock regularly. 

And I'm sorry.


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## JeffFromMtl (Nov 9, 2015)

I've gotten through the screening processes for two recruiters. I've got a deadline coming up in two days for some document submissions. I have almost everything together, and I'm just waiting on my reference letters right now. But the big thing I'm stressing over on my EPIK application is the sample lesson plan. I've never done it before, and it's the one thing I knew would be the biggest challenge about starting this job with no experience. I've been scouring the internet for examples, templates, advice, etc. but still, I don't really even know where I should start. I feel like my online course hasn't prepared me for this at all.

Anyway, I plan on powering through the rest of this application and lesson plan tonight, and sending everything off in the A.M. provided I get my letters in time. I guess it's mostly just fingers crossed from hereon out.


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## Grand Moff Tim (Nov 11, 2015)

If your online course had any mock lesson plans, just take the info from one of those plans and adapt it to the template on the EPIK application (there is a template there, isn't there? I forget). Use lots of buzzwords and add plenty of detail. It doesn't have to be the best lesson plan in the world, it just has to look like you know what you're doing to a reasonable degree. Depending on where you get placed, you may never have to do another lesson plan again after starting work.

EDIT:

I realize now I'm like three days late and you've probably already done it and turned it in. 
Hope it went well.


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## JeffFromMtl (Nov 12, 2015)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> If your online course had any mock lesson plans, just take the info from one of those plans and adapt it to the template on the EPIK application (there is a template there, isn't there? I forget). Use lots of buzzwords and add plenty of detail. It doesn't have to be the best lesson plan in the world, it just has to look like you know what you're doing to a reasonable degree. Depending on where you get placed, you may never have to do another lesson plan again after starting work.
> 
> EDIT:
> 
> ...



 yeah, thanks man. That's kind of what I did. Buzzwords are key.

I sent everything in except my 2nd letter of reference which I still haven't received... I'm really annoyed about it actually. I was getting one from an old University prof and I sent him a message the day before the deadline reminding him and haven't heard back. I messaged him again today and still nothing. My best alternative would be my supervisor at my current job, but she's on vacation outside of the country until next week.


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