The BIG Question: Korea or China?

Should you go to Korea or China to teach? It’s a tough question that depends on your priorities and circumstances.

To give you some background about me: I’ve taught in Korea for nearly five years, and I’m currently doing my second year in China. I started out teaching at language academies in Korea, then took a job teaching subjects (Science, Social Studies, English Language Arts, Math) at an elementary school whilst pursuing certification. Once I finished that, I ended up heading to China from Korea. China was *not* on my radar at all but a good opportunity came up—so I took it!

I’ve noticed that a lot of misinformation gets tossed around about both places, so I wanted to spell out many of the differences that I’ve noticed.

I’ll write about Korea and China in general as much as I can, but in essence I’m comparing Seoul to Shanghai. I spent most of my time in Korea either in or around Seoul. Even when I didn’t live in Seoul, my entire social life was there. I’ve traveled around China a bit, but I live in Shanghai. I do talk to people who don’t live in Shanghai regularly.

I’ve taught EFL and I’ve taught at an international school.  I’ll try to cover both—although I haven’t taught EFL here in China. Again, I am regularly interacting with people who do.

Question: Going Back to the U.S. After Ferguson?

Plenty has been happening while I've been on vacation in Spain

I'm a political and news junkie, and most weeknights you would find me on my bed, reading and watching the news. I'm almost always listening to political commentary whenever I get the chance. Even while vacationing in Spain, I'm still finding out what's going on via my cell phone and trusty tablet PC.

For the last week or so, I've heard the news about yet another black man killed by a police officer inappropriately. Since I've been paying attention, I realize that this is something that happens all the time. I see that black Americans are stopped by police, harassed, arrested for malicious reasons and often killed when they really shouldn't have been.  

However, this particular case has been all over the news, it looks like the people of Ferguson are rallying against it, and the happenings have been posted all over my Facebook feed. Political pundits on all sides are commenting on this story.

In light of all the coverage, I ran into a question posted in a Facebook group. Does the current state of affairs concerning police brutality against black people in the United States affect my decision on whether to go back?

I thought this was a good question to ask myself, especially as an expat that has been living in South Korea for almost four years now. I first moved abroad over four years ago, and I recently have thought about moving back.  

From a Hagwon to a Private School ... A New School Year with a New Job!

Recently, I finished my contract with a language academy in Gyeonggi-do. My next stop is to make my move to Seoul for a new position in a private elementary school! I only applied to three positions, without needing to use any recruiter. I'm pretty excited about it. 

A new school year came in March!

So what is this new job about? It's definitely different from what I'm used to. First, it's a private school, and not a public school or a hagwon (academy/cram-school). I'll be a 2nd grade homeroom teacher. Instead of strictly teaching the English language, I'll be responsible for teaching the school subjects too, aside from Korean and specials (such as art, music or gym).

This school is a bilingual, and my 2nd grade class will have about 30 students in it. At almost any given time, half the students will be with me and the other half will be with the Korean homeroom teacher.

I have my own classroom

I'm psyched for a few reasons. This seems like a great school, and I got really good vibes from all of the teachers and supervisors I met there while interviewing. I haven't met everyone though, since the school has quite a few native teachers working there. I also like the idea of finally getting my own class of students. That way, I can concentrate on the same group of kids. At a hagwon, for example, it's difficult to address learning or behavioral issues with individual students because I'm teaching so many different ones who are coming and going. Finally, this is what I've been studying and it's great to be at a school where I can utilize my new skills.

Adding to that, it'll be nice to be living in Seoul for the first time. While most of my social life takes place in Seoul, I've spent an unreal amount of time and energy traveling back and forth. It sucks having to decline invitations when places are too far, or traveling for about 2+ hours in general to meet up with buddies. It looks like those days will be coming to an end!

Finally, Gay Pride in Seoul 2013

A parade float

Last weekend, there was a gay pride march in Hongdae, the area near Hongik University in Seoul.

Now, I have been attending gay pride events since I was a teenager, starting with NYC. They're always high energy family events where everyone seemingly has a spectacular time. I've attended pride events in New York City, Washington DC, Philadelphia and Buenos Aires.

Standing next to a sign

They have been having an annual queer festival in Seoul for about 13 years now, and they've obviously held them in the time I was here. However, gay pride, or the Korea Queer Cultural Festival as it is known locally, isn't a widely known event. Most people have no idea it even exists. As a result, I have always tended to not get wind of the festival happening. This explains why I missed it both times the first two years I was here. In 2010 and 2011, I heard about the event after it was held, which was unfortunate.

Last Friday, the day before, I heard of this year's event from a small post on facebook. I knew I was going to attend this time!

Being L, G, B or T is quite taboo in Korea in general (and yes, it's taboo in much of the USA as well). In the years that I have been here, I feel like I've seen the dialogue at least being started, which is an improvement. People, the young in particular, are more open minded to the existence and tolerance of LGBT folks.

This year, the event was held in Hongdae. I wanted to see the parade in particular, so I used this map as a reference. I went to the neighborhood, ate lunch and studied with a friend. We then walked outside at about 4:30 pm to look for the parade.

So ... What Is Going On with North Korea?

Kim Jong Un and North Korea have kept themselves in the headlines lately

While reading the news, I've noticed that Kim Jong Un and North Korea have been stepping up their ridiculous rhetoric over the past few weeks. As a result, North Korea has been dominating the news, occupying the top story spot for most of the past two weeks.

As a result, people all over the world have been wondering what is going to happen next. After all, I and everyone else would rather have peace on the Korean Peninsula. 

As an expat here in Korea, I've known quite a few folks to be receiving phone calls, e-mails and even facebook messages from worried friends and family members. No one in my family has contacted me personally, but that's because they probably haven't been paying attention (they tend to get their news locally on TV, and my family's not known for following international conflicts).

In related news, I'm staying relatively close to the Osan Air Base.  Just about every morning I hear different planes wizzing over my apartment building.

The truth is that life has been continuing as usual. Locals and expats alike are still going to work and heading home. They still find their way to the bars to get drunk. They still eat out at restaurants, and so on. There isn't any sort of widespread panic or chaos, and on average, expats are more "worried" than the locals, who have been hearing flaming rhetoric from their northern neighbors their entire lives. People are calm because threats of total destruction are normal for the south. So they continue to do what they normally do.

That said, it doesn't mean that nothing will happen. North Korea could still torpedo another ship or shell another island. They could even shoot rockets or invade. However, it appears to be unlikely that a full-scale war will happen, since Kim Jong Un would have nothing to gain and everything to lose after such a move. At the same time, we still have to be alert -- which is what people are. All Koreans know what is going on and are paying close attention. They just don't let it disrupt their lives.

As for me, I'm ok. All I can do is sit and wait to see what happens next. Let's hope for the best, shall we?

A Crime Post

While last weekend has been active for me, I've still been sitting around the house for quite a bit. Keep in mind that I don't have access to a car and there isn't much to do around here, so I've been engaging in other activities!

And "other activities" have been mostly watching TV and surfing the internet. I haven't thought about it this way, but sticking around without much to do has had some negative effects on me. I basically been feeling more depressed and afraid than usual.

I have managed to upset myself by reading about depressing subjects on the internet. I was seriously in a state of grief for a couple of days.

On the other hand, I've been watching plenty of TV, and I'm usually not a TV-watcher. We've got lots of channels, but there aren't a lot of options! Daytime and late night TV has been pretty bad. I'm always running into those talk shows about the same subjects ("Who's my baby's daddy???" & "So-and-so has been cheating on me!!"). So, I've been watching mainly the news and scripted shows.

My area has a LOT of crime. Hell, the United States has a lot of crime. Everyone seems to be killing each other.