Tag: living in South Korea

Talk to just about anyone involved in South Korean education, and you quickly learn that the pupils of this rising Asian nation are tired. Not only because of the daily school grind, the fatigue also comes from the invasion of continued academics into what little break they have.

The Hanok Village near our host’s house shows the traditional peaked roofs and swooping eaves of pre-modern Korea, but this one looks somehow different. Its straight lines and clean roofs belie its recent renovations. Similarly, Jeonju presents a deep cultural heritage just beneath a surface of tourism and modernity.

The education system in South Korea is changing, and the thing about change is that it takes time to perfect. I learned this the hard way and it’s greatly impacted my year as an English teacher in The Land of The Morning Calm in many positive (and sometimes not so positive) ways.

For women who want to experience the beauty and diverse cultures of Asia but weren’t able to convince another gal pal to take the plunge with you, don’t fret. There’s no need to write off your dreams of travel just because you might have to fly and trek solo.

For fear of scaring off any new readers or first-timers in Asia, let me clarify the possibly startling title. I love Asia. I love it so much that when the time comes to go back home, getting used to the swing of things is going to be more difficult than I anticipated.

Last week you saw the first installment of this two-part series which aims to guide teachers in the right direction during your time in Korea. there are many ways that you can go wrong with your experience in Korea, but there are also many ways you can go right. Here is the second part to making your time in Korea count.

If there’s anything I’ve learned from the things life has thrown at me, it’s that people have their own reasons for making the choices they make. Moving to Korea as a foreign language teacher is no different; we’re all here for our own reasons, at varying stages in life, and with diverse intentions.

I have to be very honest: I wasn’t very joyful during my first few weeks living in Daegu, South Korea. In fact, I was upset, frustrated, and annoyed more often than I was happy. While all my friends were experiencing their ‘honey moon’ phase, I was feeling defeated. There were three things that helped me get out of my funk and start enjoying my time here, two fold.