a smorgasbord of stuff...
So lately, i've had the wonderful experience of listening to hoards of foreigners complain about working in Korea. I say that with complete sarcasm, because in all fact, i'm starting to get quite tired of hearing whiners complain. (a little background).
A short little while ago, Korea experienced a pretty big scandal that captivated the country for quite a while. Basically, what appeared to be a small problem of a University professor having fake credentials (from a respected US school) turned into a national scandal when it was discovered that she was having an affair with a high-level (former) presidential-aide. (more details can be found here) Now, past that scandal, how is that connected to the foreigners whining and acting like little children? Good question - and here's the connection. This brought back to reality for Koreans the realization that its quite easy to forge education documents with some practice (an all too familiar issue with Koreans - see here for one example of many).
As can be expected, Koreans have become somewhat skeptical of foreigners coming in and just teaching their children English. As a result, in the two and a half years I've lived here in Korea, I've been asked to verify my education certificates and degree four times; and I'm a certified Education teacher, with a degree in middle-school and high school English and History. To me, its a price you pay for making the big bucks in Korea (the average salary for teaching English in Korea is roughly 2million Won, or 2,125.00Cad - and that includes free housing and travel too and from Korea). My main frustration has been that when teachers generally are treated so well, they become accustomed to the royal treatment, that when something like this happens (provide verification of degree/graduation) they rebel and start screaming bloody-murder.
Needless to say, most of the whiners sincerely think that they are doing Korea a favour by gracing their country with their English wisdom and beauty...which couldn't be further from the truth...
Okay, so enough ranting.
One of the things that constantly surprises me is how much you can miss on the internet if you don't stop and smell the "roses", so to speak. I was recently stuck somewhere on the internet trying to find an article, and (thanks to google's oppressing ad's everywhere) I found an amazing website that allows you to order IKEA goods online from a (somewhat) English written online-shopping mall.
I'll add a disclaimer that I've never ordered anything from the site, however, as foreigners cannot get a Korean credit card (not that I know of) this site is nice because you can pay by bank-transfer, which makes the payment very simple and instantaneous. Go ahead and enjoy. Use at your own discretion.
The other thing that I really enjoy reading now is the wiki-page of Galbijim. I've found a host of different restaurants to try, many that are right in my neighbourhood, and I had no idea that they were there. Another reason that its quite nice is because its written by a host of people, so there's always something being updated, modified, or corrected. So if you're here, I'd encourage you to try it out.
Well, I hope that all is going well with those who stop-by to read. Don't work too hard, and
God bless,
A short little while ago, Korea experienced a pretty big scandal that captivated the country for quite a while. Basically, what appeared to be a small problem of a University professor having fake credentials (from a respected US school) turned into a national scandal when it was discovered that she was having an affair with a high-level (former) presidential-aide. (more details can be found here) Now, past that scandal, how is that connected to the foreigners whining and acting like little children? Good question - and here's the connection. This brought back to reality for Koreans the realization that its quite easy to forge education documents with some practice (an all too familiar issue with Koreans - see here for one example of many).
As can be expected, Koreans have become somewhat skeptical of foreigners coming in and just teaching their children English. As a result, in the two and a half years I've lived here in Korea, I've been asked to verify my education certificates and degree four times; and I'm a certified Education teacher, with a degree in middle-school and high school English and History. To me, its a price you pay for making the big bucks in Korea (the average salary for teaching English in Korea is roughly 2million Won, or 2,125.00Cad - and that includes free housing and travel too and from Korea). My main frustration has been that when teachers generally are treated so well, they become accustomed to the royal treatment, that when something like this happens (provide verification of degree/graduation) they rebel and start screaming bloody-murder.
Needless to say, most of the whiners sincerely think that they are doing Korea a favour by gracing their country with their English wisdom and beauty...which couldn't be further from the truth...
Okay, so enough ranting.
One of the things that constantly surprises me is how much you can miss on the internet if you don't stop and smell the "roses", so to speak. I was recently stuck somewhere on the internet trying to find an article, and (thanks to google's oppressing ad's everywhere) I found an amazing website that allows you to order IKEA goods online from a (somewhat) English written online-shopping mall.
I'll add a disclaimer that I've never ordered anything from the site, however, as foreigners cannot get a Korean credit card (not that I know of) this site is nice because you can pay by bank-transfer, which makes the payment very simple and instantaneous. Go ahead and enjoy. Use at your own discretion.
The other thing that I really enjoy reading now is the wiki-page of Galbijim. I've found a host of different restaurants to try, many that are right in my neighbourhood, and I had no idea that they were there. Another reason that its quite nice is because its written by a host of people, so there's always something being updated, modified, or corrected. So if you're here, I'd encourage you to try it out.
Well, I hope that all is going well with those who stop-by to read. Don't work too hard, and
God bless,