tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3834422064338974422024-03-29T12:30:06.718+09:00The SawonUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383442206433897442.post-9654090184943857232016-06-08T15:27:00.000+09:002016-06-08T15:27:55.656+09:00Why Korea?<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Why Korea?</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPXKeZWdHrFV4vVhf20iFf20w72dHXosWHNYSYVL2eJnv0WFpNiEbj33QjO4gNX1ZGgjzNkR302T_0v5plPD76e_Wpi3qWd7b3_5KXgMjgN1pbtUVBUfMFlC-1vSrNT47dPLu_bD_ZEbQ/s1600/%25C2%25B2%25C3%2599%25C2%25B9%25C3%258C%25C2%25B1%25C3%25A2_8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPXKeZWdHrFV4vVhf20iFf20w72dHXosWHNYSYVL2eJnv0WFpNiEbj33QjO4gNX1ZGgjzNkR302T_0v5plPD76e_Wpi3qWd7b3_5KXgMjgN1pbtUVBUfMFlC-1vSrNT47dPLu_bD_ZEbQ/s320/%25C2%25B2%25C3%2599%25C2%25B9%25C3%258C%25C2%25B1%25C3%25A2_8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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It will probably surprise most that my journey with Korean
actually started out when I was on exchange in China. My university major was
Chinese and my second elective language was Indonesian, a choice I made because
of the proximity of Indonesia to Australia. Even in high school I studied
Japanese as an elective course for 2 years and had a passing fad with J-pop.</div>
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Up until 2007 I had no experience with Korean culture or any
interaction with it, embarrassingly I didn’t even know what Kimchi was, I had
never met a Korean person and the only time I had heard the Korean language was
by chance when I watched [My Sassy Girl] late night on Australian TV. I
remember distinctly at the time at how bizarre the film seemed to me. The
language sounded annoying, I didn’t understand why the main character [Jung
Jihyun] father in the film was always drunk or why the main character was
posing as a delivery man and carrying ‘chinese’ food in a giant metal lunchbox.
In hindsight there are so many things about that movie that make utterly no
sense unless you understand Korea; the language, the culture and the people.
I’ll admit that watching that movie now is far less entertaining than it was
when I didn’t understand.<br />
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It was in the summer of 2007 while on a year exchange program in China that I
met my first Korean person, almost all of my Chinese language learning peers
were Korean, so I quickly went from having never met a Korean to knowing around
50 of them in a matter of weeks. My exchange city was Dalian located on the Liaoning
peninsular, and I was enrolled in a Chinese program at the Dalian University of
Foreign Language (DUFL), roughly less than an hour flight from Incheon and a 15
Hour ferry from Mokpo. Because of its proximity to Korea the city and the
university was and still is dominated by Korean students and Korean families
who have moved to Dalian to work in Korean owned Chinese shipbuilding yards. To
give you a clear idea of the amount of Koreans I was surrounded by, one day my Chinese
language school posted a list of the entire student body at DUFL complete with
names and nationality. Of a total student body of 800 foreign students a
staggering 600 were Koreans! </div>
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To be honest I was initially a little avoidant of my Korean
classmates. I had come to China to learn Chinese and bond with Chinese people
but inevitably the attraction to my Korean classmates was too strong. Apart
from those students from Europe or with an English background I found that
Koreans were some of the easiest to befriend and share common interests. You
only had to step outside on a weeknight to see hordes of Korean students
drinking and eating barbecue meats – something that as an Australian I was
initially attracted too. The only difference being is that the next day my
Korean classmates would all be in Class at 9am on the dot, hangover and tired of
course but never late. In contrast I would always just skip school citing my
throbbing headache from the nights drinking as a fair excuse to miss school; I
would learn in later years that my Korean peers were simply preparing
themselves for the reality of corporate life. </div>
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I laugh about it now but at the time I must have looked so
lazy to the Koreans in my class; I rarely studied, I went out most of the time,
skipped class regularly when I was tired and I talked and joked in class even
with the teacher! I was on exchange for the experience not for the lessons and
it is an attitude that remains with me today. Even then it was evident to see
how fixated my Korean classmates were on getting high HSK scores to help them
with employment. Why were they so worried about getting a job when I didn’t
care - I tried constantly to change their thinking - “Don’t worry, everyone
gets a job, who cares about the stupid HSK” I would say. I had no idea of how
tough and competitive the Korean job market was; nor was I aware of the ideal
of a Chaebol and extreme lengths at which they go to filter potential
applicants for jobs.</div>
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Eventually my interest in my Korean classmates became so
strong that I decided to learn a few words. I would tutor one of my friends in
English while she tutored me in Korean. I think the only word I learnt at the
time was <span lang="KO" style="font-family: "malgun gothic" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial;">맛있다</span> [Delicious], <span lang="KO" style="font-family: "malgun gothic" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial;">춥다</span>[Cold], <span lang="KO" style="font-family: "malgun gothic" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial;">덥다</span>[Hot] and <span lang="KO" style="font-family: "malgun gothic" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial;">대박</span>[Awesome] but surprisingly
only understanding these few words helped me to understand through context many
Korean conversations. You wouldn’t believe how often a Korean person says “<span lang="KO" style="font-family: "malgun gothic" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial;">어</span><span lang="KO"> </span><span lang="KO" style="font-family: "malgun gothic" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial;">추워</span>[it's cold]’ ‘<span lang="KO" style="font-family: "malgun gothic" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial;">와</span>~<span lang="KO" style="font-family: "malgun gothic" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial;">맛있다</span>[It's Delicious]’ ‘<span lang="KO" style="font-family: "malgun gothic" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial;">너무</span><span lang="KO"> </span><span lang="KO" style="font-family: "malgun gothic" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial;">더워</span>[It's so hot]’ in one day. It’s one of
the interesting and sometimes insanely annoying aspects of the Korean language.
How easy it is to express ones feelings; communication is achieved easily but
you have to put up with someone saying they are cold 20 times in ten minutes. </div>
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My time in China was one of the best experiences in my life
and although I didn’t continue with learning Chinese it was what set me on the
path to learning Korean. The friendships and bonds I made in the short 1 year
period were incredibly strong and I am proud to say that I am still friends
with and remain in contact with many of those friends from 7 years ago. The day
I departed back to my home in Perth I remember around 10 friends came to escort
me to the airport. Roughly 8 of them were Korean and I just couldn’t control
myself and began crying. I am not a very emotional person but that feeling of never
seeing those friends again affected me to such an extent that once I boarded
the plane I had only one thought for the entire flight home – I WILL visit
Korea.</div>
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Back in Australia I still had 6 months of my degree to
finish. I didn’t have any aspirations to begin work straight after graduation
so I privately started planning my trip to Korea to study Korean. My initial
plan was to just spend a gap year to see my friends and relive the experience I
had in China. The only issue was that I had already invested 4 years and a
university degree into learning Chinese with the idea I would be working in
some capacity between Australia and China and I needed solid reasons to
essential jump across the yellow sea and justify a gap year in Korea (to have
fun) rather than returning to China.</div>
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In 2009 before leaving for Korea I did some research into the Korea-Australia
relationship. What I managed to find was a statistic that estimated the number
of students enrolled in tertiary Korean courses in Australia at below 100
nationwide....BELOW 100! Japanese is one of the most common languages
taught at high school in Australia and Chinese courses are arguably the most
popular of the Asian languages at University but Korean, however, at the time
was really struggling to attract students and still is today. My
university even shut down its Korean program after years of low enrolments such
was the lack of interest only for UWA to somewhat revive the program with
limited success. <br />
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In my mind at the time it was simple, Korea is Australia's 4th largest trading partner,
3rd largest export market and 3rd largest student enrolment market but
only a paltry 100 Australian students were investing time and money into
learning the language and culture. This was the evidence I needed to give up
what seemed as though the more lucrative Chinese market to pursue learning
Korean. I don’t believe the situation is unique to Australia either and a
similar lack of Interest from American, Canadian, British and European students
alike means that there are significant opportunities for any students from
those nationalities in Korea. The recent and popular <span lang="KO" style="font-family: "malgun gothic" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial;">비정상회담</span>[Non-Summit TV Show] is the perfect
example of this. There is nothing special about the foreign presenters on that
show, their careers or their intelligence. They are just everyday people who
made a very smart and deliberate choice to study Korean. <br />
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I like to think that my decision to study Korean was the smartest bet in my
life. Despite the rise in Korean culture awareness and rising popularity of
Korean TV shows, music, food and electronics abroad there still exists this
very large gap in the market for Korean speaking professionals. Despite the
popularity of Korean culture increasing there will always be the Chinese and
Japanese markets attracting away the majority of foreign talent interested in
Asia. I have been incredibly lucky since I started learning Korean but that
luck was brought about by being opportunistic.<br />
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Before travelling to Korea I actually decided to apply and was granted a Working
holiday visa. Most people know that thousands of Koreans go to Australia every
year on working holiday visa’s but very little know that the program is mutual;
that is Australians can also travel to Korea on a working holiday visa. Of
course getting a good paying part time job in Korea is impossible so the idea
of a ‘working holiday’ just isn’t possible. Do they really think tourists with
no Korean ability will be able to work and travel around Korea on 5000won/hour
wages? I would like to see them try. Clearly this program exists with Korea to
cash in on the booming Korean working holiday English market but
regardless I saw it as the perfect visa for what I wanted to achieve, that is,
study a bit, work a bit and just have fun.</div>
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In 2012 I was actually interviewed about my experience
on the working holiday visa by the Korea Herald. At the time I was one of 23
Australians on the visa in Korea, while a staggering 15,000 Koreans were in
Australia under the program. This figure probably best portrays to date
the current imbalance in the Australia - Korea relationship. The working
holiday visa restrictions in Korea certainly have some issues however - most
notably you can't teach English under a working holiday visa, the most obvious
part-time job for Australians. <br />
<br />
With my working holiday visa ready and cash saved up from my part-time job I
was all ready to travel to Korea. It was almost as an afterthought that I
researched and then received a scholarship to study Korean in Korea. Through a
new government foundation set up I was given $5000 AUD which I used towards my
school fees. In my first year in Korea I attended Yonsei Universities Korean
Language school and had what can only be described as an amazing year – I met
with all of my friends I met in China, I did a homestay program, I even
appeared on a few TV shows and Dramas! </div>
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However in 2010 after my visa expired and I had to return to
Australia I honestly thought that I wouldn’t be able to return to Korea. I had
a wonderful time but I was unable to find an internship or save enough money to
continue the Korean language program at Yonsei. The amazing trip was over and I
had to return home. It was actually a very scary time in my life, I wanted to
stay in Korea but I didn’t have the resources, I didn’t want to work in
Australia but I didn’t have a choice? With no other option I tried once again
and re-applied for a scholarship so that I could return to Korea. Amazingly I
was once again granted $5000 AUD from the Australia Korea foundation. It really
was significant because without this help I would not have been able to return
to Korea. With the funds and a little help from my family I returned to Seoul
and moved to the cheaper Seoul National university and lived in a tiny place in
Goshichon (Sillim-Dong); I couldn’t afford to live anymore in Sinchon and I was
determined to make my limited money stretch out for 6 months until I found an
internship opportunity.</div>
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I cold emailed and called almost every Australian business
and government agency in Seoul, and it was purely luck that one day at an
Australian Chamber of Commerce event that I was introduced to the trade
commissioner at the Australian embassy. He was from my hometown in Australia
(Perth) and he also attended the same university as me; while it might seem
common to run into other Australians in Seoul it is very uncommon to run into
someone from Perth, let alone from the same university. From this relationship
I managed to grab an internship position with the trade section of the
Australian embassy which after four months then lead me to a contract with Austrade
to work at the Yeosu World Expo. </div>
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Through the time I spent at Austrade I was able to develop
good contacts and networks and I was introduced to a CFO friend of my <span lang="KO" style="font-family: "malgun gothic" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial;">팀장님</span> (Team Leader) which eventually lead to
my employment as a <span lang="KO" style="font-family: "malgun gothic" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial;">신입사원</span> (Graduate) with a Korean
company. And in Essence, I have never looked back since....</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383442206433897442.post-64727838863719143502015-10-14T16:48:00.003+09:002016-01-26T13:52:34.089+09:00How To Drink Like a Korean – The Sawon’s Complete Guide to Drinking in Korea<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Going out for dinner and having drinks with co-workers on
a regular basis is a <b><u>must</u></b> in
Korean corporations. This kind of informal bonding with co-workers is
considered just as important as the work itself and is why Korean companies
will happily foot the bill for any staff related drinking. This type of staff
drinking also entails a variety of customs and etiquette. I have done my best
to compile all that I know about drinking in Korea and hopefully this guide can
be used by business travellers and foreigners alike. This is more than the just
a basic guide and I will cover some neat tricks and tips to ensure that at your
next Hoesik (<span lang="KO">회식</span> / Staff Drinks) you will
impress all of your Korean co-workers.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Drinks<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you are planning on going on your first trip to Korea
then you better acquaint yourself with the national drink - Soju. Soju is 16-20% liquor containing ethanol and water (Think watered down
vodka) and is the staple of any Korean workers diet. What is unique about soju
is that at 16-20% (new weaker varieties are 16%) alcohol it is strong enough to
get you drunk in a short period of time but weak enough to enjoy with a full
meal. Most likely, you and staff will go to a local Korean Barbecue joint after
work or your business meeting and will be immediately served Soju and Beer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Most companies start with a round of ‘SoMaek‘ literally Soju
and Beer (Or Soju Bombs) this is a small amount of beer with a Half shot of
Soju usually served in a regular sized glass. The regular sized glass would
look more like a typical water glass to foreigners. Korean beer is
traditionally weak, beer enthusiasts around the world will agree that Koreans
are yet to make a decent drop. It’s weakness in strength and flavour resulted
in office workers mixing it with soju to get the desired taste.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Rounds<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Korean staff dinners and going out in general is done in
what they call “-Cha / <span lang="KO">차</span>” or rounds. The first round
for example will be the first location of the night, typically the
aforementioned Korean barbecue restaurant. The first round is attended by all
members and will usually last between an hour to two hours. Koreans never like
to stay in one place long and by changing venues they not only refresh the
members and change the menu, it also gives a chance for other members to leave
quietly and make an exit. Typically at the end of the first round the group
will congregate at the front of the restaurant, those who plan to leave will
thank the senior members and then make their way to the closest subway / bus
stop. The remaining members will then move onto Ee-Cha (Second Round). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The second round is where the typical heavy drinking is
done. The first round was full of interruptions and group ‘Cheer’ ceremonies
but now you are at the second round you can be a little bit more relaxed and you
will no doubt be a whole lot of tipsy. Typically 2<sup>nd</sup> rounds will go
to a SoolJip <span lang="KO">술집</span> / Hof <span lang="KO">호프</span> these are the Korean equivalent to a bar that involves a
full menu of drinking snacks with large tables / booths to accommodate the
group.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The third/fourth round depending on the drinking ability of
the group will either be another bar or the final destination for the night – a
karaoke room (<span lang="KO">노래방</span>). Now these karaoke rooms
while not explicitly allowed to serve drinks will always have beer and soju on
hand. Usually they will serve you some beers with a fruit platter and some
other easy to prepare snacks. The common time for a karaoke room is 1 hour and
it is your chance to begin sobering up. This is the time to hit the water and
get up, sing, dance and enjoy yourself. Belting out some Bon Jovi does wonders
to getting the alcohol out of your system. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After Karoake is usually when most if not all the senior
members are completely drunk and they will either catch a taxi or call a proxy
driver (<span lang="KO">대리운전</span>)
a service in which a paid driver comes and drives you home in your own car. As
a junior member of the group you can expect for the drunk senior members to
give you some cash at this point in there drunken state. This cash is for you
to catch your own taxi home and ensure you didn’t have any cost incurred for
the night. This is also their way of looking after the ‘junior’ members who
earn less and have stayed until the end of the night as a show of loyalty and
perseverance. One time a drunk customer gave me $10 US, to which I replied “I’m
not American” to which he replied “It’s all the same just take it”.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Opening a Bottle<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If it’s your first office drinks then it’s unlikely you will
get a chance to open the soju bottle as it will already have been claimed by a
low ranking staff that has begun preparing the aforementioned SoMaek for the
group. However in cases that the opportunity to open the bottle arises then
this how to do it like a pro. Just be aware that this is for soju only, beer is
just opened the regular (boring) way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I like to call it the <b><i>Soju Swirl, Pop and Tap</i></b> – first grab
the bottle and proceed to <b>SWIRL</b> it
with some force. This will create a tornado effect in the centre of the bottle
– it looks pretty cool. This technique is done more by younger people. Older
generations who just want to get down to drinking will simply shake the bottle
a few times and begin to open it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now before opening you can hit the base of the soju bottle
with either the palm of your hand or with your elbow, this will create a <b>POP</b> sound, do it as many times as you
like to create the sound. After opening the bottle you can then proceed to <b>TAP</b> the neck of the bottle with your
fingers spread. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Don’t throw away the cap – we will need that for the Games
section below.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here is a great video that shows what I am talking about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/E7rH2voWgxM" width="560"></iframe></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pouring and
Receiving<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In short there are three acceptable ways to hold the bottle
when you pour. Firstly, if you’re pouring for your boss or an elder, you should
hold it with both hands. For someone who is of a similar status as you, you can
hold the bottle with your right hand and support your forearm with your left
hand. Lastly, you can hold the bottle just with your right hand if it’s someone
younger than you or a very close friend. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The same rules apply for holding your glass when someone is
pouring for you.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVkZDijC1xVcGWnqs05-62bcatffc6LChQBJ2z2Ey808Q60FqqO08Py4jKK7Yh29N0T9IA8GbNuOdMTaa5U25neFbRQeE21MAr72vwjX9pxs-efSWK5-mxv1eeylyb2py6A7g7wwG1sNU/s1600/soju.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVkZDijC1xVcGWnqs05-62bcatffc6LChQBJ2z2Ey808Q60FqqO08Py4jKK7Yh29N0T9IA8GbNuOdMTaa5U25neFbRQeE21MAr72vwjX9pxs-efSWK5-mxv1eeylyb2py6A7g7wwG1sNU/s1600/soju.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is your job to ensure the person sitting opposite you
always as a full glass but as is the case in most circumstances it gets to a
certain point in the night when some of the heavier drinkers will throw out
etiquette and simply pour themselves a drink. Now in these cases there are a
few options.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Quickly grab the bottle off the person before
they pour and then proceed to pour it for them with the above mentioned etiquette.
Don’t be shy, they want you to take the bottle from them and pour!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you can’t reach the bottle then grab the
glass and hold it for them while they pour.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you have completely missed it and they have
proceeded to pour their own drink then a cute way of saying sorry is to point
at the glass they have just poured and say ‘Toong! / Tung! (</span><span lang="KO" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">퉁</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">)’ I am not sure of the meaning but it’s used as a word
that appeases the mistake of letting someone pour their own drink.</span></li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When drinking with older Korean staff and even more so with
a more conservative style of company you can expect to be given an empty glass
by a superior. In this situation a co-worker of high status will offer you
their empty glass (not your own glass), in this case you should accept the
empty glass with two hands and then proceed to receive the shot of soju and
drink following the etiqueete explained below in the drinking section. Once you
have finished your shot you return the glass to the senior co-worker and then
proceed to pour him a shit following the etiquette outlined above. Sound
complicated? Don’t worry you will get the hang of it as you may be “offered” to
drink with various co-workers throughout the night (Hopefully you don’t care
about sharing soju glasses!) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Expert Tip –</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When pouring any drink, either Soju or beer make sure the
drink label is facing away from the person drinking and covered by your preferred
hand, so in the case of a right hander, your right hand will be covering the
label facing away from the person you are pouring for, your left hand should be
under the bottle at the base of the neck supporting as you pour. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before handing the soju glass back to your boss or someone of high hierarchy you might want to wash out the glass with some water to 'clean' off the section your drank from. (Probably something that happened more so during MERS!)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Making ‘SoMaek’<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On occasion you may want to make a round of ‘SoMaek’ for
your table. When making a round of
SoMaek you forgo the above mentioned formalities and proceed to pour drinks for
everyone. To get the measurements
correct there is an easy trick involved in pouring out a glass of Somaek. To measure out the right amount of soju
simply place one soju glass within another, then pour soju into the top glass
until it reaches the line created by the outer glass. Pour this into the beer
glass (which we described earlier as a smallish water glass), once the soju is
in you can then begin to pour the beer (or vice versa) some will say that it
has to be Beer then soju, others will say the opposite! Traditionally there is no head (Foam) at the top of a glass of SoMaek so make sure
you avoid creating too much froth! Simply fill the glass with beer until ¾’s
full, there should be roughly enough space to fit two thumbs between the beer
line and the top of the glass. Now that you have poured out the SoMaek you can
pass it around your table.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JL6oWNgAZNs" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now be aware that it
is customary to drink (skull) your first drink in “One shot”.</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cheers! And Drinking<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you are drinking with your boss or someone of a higher
social rank than you, it is polite to either turn away from the high ranking
person or put your hand up to cover your glass while taking a drink. If you are
surrounded by high ranking workers then motion to turn around and face away
from the table to take your drink. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When doing a “Cheers” and clinking your glasses with other
people try to do it a little lower than those around you if they are of higher status,
you will notice that younger people and those of lower status at companies will
make a B-line to have their glass at the bottom. It’s also not common to stare
into people’s eyes when doing cheers. Also remember at this time to keep one
hand underneath the glass holding forearm, similar to when you received a drink
to once again show respect when doing a ‘cheers’ clink of glasses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When doing a group cheers there are a range of different
expressions and phrases that you are likely to hear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>“…Wehaiyo / …</b><b><span lang="KO">위하여</span>”<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This phrase refers to toasting to a topic, for example
health, company success, a co workers promotion etc. In this Korean structure
the topic to be toasted is placed in front of the phrase ‘Wehaiyo’ for example
to toast to our health would he ‘Konkang Wehaiyo/ <span lang="KO">건강을</span><span lang="KO"> </span><span lang="KO">위하여</span>”
where Konkang means health. This structure is the most common used by Korean companies and the stock cheers
chant of many company worker in Korea is to simply place the Company name
before ‘Wehaiyo’, eg “Samsung Wehaiyo” or “To / For Samsung!”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Generally when you first sit down to a formal company
dinner there will be a senior staff member who after the drinks are prepared
(typically a round of somaek) will stand up and say a few words regarding the
reason for the gathering, for example let’s say the welcoming of a new staff
member. Throughout the night this process will continue and each staff member
will be expected at some point to stand up and say a few words, which will then
follow with a ‘Cheers’ ceremony. Now what is used for the cheers depends on the
toaster and their personal preference – it’s a chance to show some creativity
and or have a little fun with the topic. Most workers will stick with the
common formula of toasting towards their health, or the company. When the staff
member say they will do the cheers they will often give instructions on how to
respond, so they will say the topic of which they are toasting for example “Samsung:”
and they will then ask the other staff to respond with a rously “Wehaiyou” –
this kind of formula ensures all staff say Wehaiyou at the same time, in full
voice (Think of when you do a huddle break in sport). Now this can occur either
standing up or sitting down depending on the location, just follow the guide of
others at the time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Fighting / </b><b><span lang="KO">화이팅</span><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="KO"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Koreans use the word ‘fighting’ as literally “Come on” –
a sort of rousing support call and has nothing to do with actual fighting.
Chinese students will understand this as “JiaYou”. Now the same as above with
Weihayo applies, you place the topic which you will cheer too infront of the
word “Fighting” obviously this time there are some things that just won’t apply
– you couldn’t use the above health example because “Health Fighting” just
doesn’t make sense. Once again most workers will stick with the easy formula of
saying “(Company Name) FIGHTING” . They will follow the same pattern above in
Wehaiyou where the Toaster will say the Company Name and all staff will respond
with the word “Fighting” while moving in to clink their glasses together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Gunbae / </b><b><span lang="KO">건배</span><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="KO"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Is the stock standard call of cheers and is used on it’s own
in a variety of situations. Typically in large groups they will exclusively use
“Wehaiyou” or “Fighting” for large collective cheers while thjey will use
gunbae for more smaller groups and more reserved circumstances. You can expect your table to have a few
cheers of their own away from the entire staff dinner group. A member of the
group will simply just raise their glass and say “gunbae” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Zzan / </b><b><span lang="KO">짠</span><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="KO"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The least formal of the phrases, Zzan is the onomatopoeia
for the sound of glasses clinking together. This informal cheer is used only in
casual surroundings with small groups. Just to be safe you may want to just
save this phrase for when the group is really drunk and has shrunken in size or
when you are out drinking with friends / other younger co-workers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Expert Tip –</b> So you want to make a good impression, don’t
want to get too drunk and stay till the end of the drinking session? It can be
tough to maintain yourself when you are force fed shot after shot luckily there
are ways to avoid drinking without letting any of your co-workers know. It’s
often a virtue to be considered a ‘good drinker’ and the longer you stay at the
dinner/drinks the more chances you will have to bond, find out valuable
information about co-workers and the business, develop good relationships with
your boss and earn a good reputation. To ensure I was always there at the end
to help my boss into a taxi I used to secretly spit out drinks. Now almost
every Korean barbecue or soju-selling establishment in Korea will have the
traditional metallic cups for water; save this tactic for later in the night
but grab one of those cups and pour in a little water. Establish that you are
drinking water, now after having a shot of soju it’s common for Koreans to have
some Cider (Sprite) or water as a chaser. It’s simple, don’t swallow your shot
of soju, immediately grab the metallic water cup and proceed to spit the soju
into it while pretending to drink from it. Of course you will still have the
taste in your mouth and you will need another cup of water to help you begin sobering
up but I have never had any issues with this technique and it has saved me from
drinking an extra 5-7shots in a session.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Singing and Games<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are literally too many too list and to explain but
luckily the internet can provide the perfect resource to explain a handful (yes
10 is only a handful) of popular games you might encounter. Note that people in
the workplace or generally over the age of 30 are not likely to want to play
games or part-take in the songs that follow! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0f7d5VRhLls" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
Granted I'm not the biggest fan of this Youtube channel because they don't seem like they would know ALL of the games and have the greatest grasp on the language (ie - I probably know more and could explain better) but it's the best the internet has to offer until I become a complete flog and do more youtube!<br />
<div class="quietly-widget-list">
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Extra Tips<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Drinking “Fine”</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So you had an extra-long meeting and you have arrived at the
hoesik a little late? No problem but be ready to consume <span lang="KO">벌술</span> an abbreviation of <span lang="KO">벌금</span><span lang="KO"> </span><span lang="KO">술</span>; literally a ‘Drinking Fine’
– because you have arrived late and your co-workers have already been drinking
for a while so now you need to ‘catchup’, that is you need to quickly reach the
same level of tipsy-ness to ensure that everyone is on the same level. In my
experience this ‘Fine’ was usually 3 shots at once. Now a neat trick to serving
this is to place the soju glasses one on top of the other, using the flat metal
chopsticks surely to be on hand at any Korean restaurant to keep each soju
glass level. Once you have stacked them up one by one and they are all level
then you can begin pouring. As the top glass (3<sup>rd</sup> level) begins to
overflow it will fill up the glass below and then again for the bottom glass. Once
it’s complete it’s time for the three shots to be drunk by the ‘offending’ late
co-worker. If you are drinking with
friends or with co-workers this is a neat little trick to do and will definitely
earn you some expert knowledge points as well as a reputation as a ‘good’
drinker which in Korea is more important than being a good worker.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Black Knight and
Black Rose (</b><b><span lang="KO">흑기사</span> / </b><b><span lang="KO">흑장미</span>)<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In Korean <span lang="KO">흑기사</span> ("Black
Knight"), this word would mean someone (generally a guy) who volunteers to
take a drink for another person (generally a girl). For a man it<span lang="KO">’</span>s <span lang="KO">흑기사</span> (heuk-gi-sa, <span lang="KO">“</span>dark knight<span lang="KO">”</span>) or <span lang="KO">흑장미</span> (heuk-jang-mi, <span lang="KO">“</span>black rose<span lang="KO">”</span>) for women. One can ask someone to be their black
knight/rose, or someone can offer to do it, but once you’ve done it, you’re
theirs for the rest of the night. If you ask someone and they refuse, then you
have to take two drinks.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Paying the bill and
Going home<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Going-Dutch does not exist in Korea, If you are reading this
article then you are more than likely to be a guest at a company dinner /
meeting so relax, the bill will almost always be on the company. At the later
rounds as I spoke about above then it is likely that a senior manager or other
senior member will foot the bill for that round. If you are looking to
entertain some important business partners then be aware of this custom; a good
tip is to take care of the bill just before the announcement of moving place;
fein a trip to the toilet and on the way take care of the bill. This also applies
for social meetings as well with the older member of the social group likely to
pay for the first round and then another member of the group for subsequent
rounds. It’s all about paying it forward so don’t forget all the free meals and
drinks you enjoyed when you become the senior member of a group.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now if you are a junior member at a company then you will be
expected to stay until the end of the night and part of this expectation is
that you take care of your company ‘seniors’ who are likely to be blind drunk
in their endeavours to go home, this
involves helping them catch a taxi or calling up ‘<span lang="KO">대리운전</span>’ – proxy drivers for drunk people. Don’t despair
though, once you have helped your manager or other senior to get in a cab then
there is a chance they’ll put a 10,000won bill in your hand or pocket and tell
you to catch your own taxi home, so other than your time you are unlikely to
have any costs from a night out.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383442206433897442.post-28892879687767444262015-06-29T20:28:00.004+09:002017-02-24T12:27:51.799+09:00The Weird, Wonderful and Inappropriate World of Email Handles in Corporate Korea<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2sZvvVmZ3vc4rrs3Onqezv7eBjGAqMyDnT8pQgI9jaRVg7qTflQmeMZhuKFE-RZ2jt388nb2gebK-uX_7HhQyNmYVEYJwb9uCu9WbpvdUavOR3aefVvc50GLSwzK2OsThO2hosDqvcrs/s1600/parkdaegi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2sZvvVmZ3vc4rrs3Onqezv7eBjGAqMyDnT8pQgI9jaRVg7qTflQmeMZhuKFE-RZ2jt388nb2gebK-uX_7HhQyNmYVEYJwb9uCu9WbpvdUavOR3aefVvc50GLSwzK2OsThO2hosDqvcrs/s320/parkdaegi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
It's an epidemic!<br />
<br />
Ok maybe that language is a bit strong but it is certainly a trend that needs addressing. Korean workers are guilty of choosing very odd and sometimes inappropriate work email handles. Clearly Korean companies first mistake is that they give their workers a choice of email handle, but I am very appreciative that they have given workers the freedom to make their own mistakes.<br />
<br />
Those who have been involved with Korea before at a business or even academic level would have come across this<br />
<br />
What's more surprising is that Korean corporate culture is itself very structured and governed by a very formal set of perceived rules and etiquette, whether it be introductions, exchanging business cards or even having a drink together there is a raft of small but very important etiquette to be observed for Korean business people.<br />
<br />
Picture the scenario of exchanging a business card in a Korean business context- you bow and shake hands with your left hand under your right to show respect, you then receive a business card with both hands again to show respect and scan the card politely, in this instance you look down to the email and see something like "ilovemyself@company.com" (by the way that is a <b>REAL</b> example).<br />
<br />
I've come across a raft of bizarre email handles during my time working for and with Korean companies and I have compiled a list of common trends. Now this article has been compiled with the help of some of the expat community in Korea and the below email examples are all REAL and from major Korean companies, like Samsung, Hyundai, LG, Kogas, Major News outlets etc. used in real business situations and emails!<br />
<br />
<u>If you have your own example and you would like to share please do in the comments section below!</u><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>The Childhood Nickname</b><br />
"It's what my friends used to call me" is the inspiration behind this email handle and leads sometimes senior and respected business people to use the following with varying success!<br />
<br />
<i>Examples - </i><br />
17Monkey@Company.com (this is a university professor's handle)<br />
Mabari@Company.com (Naver says it's a 'pack horse' whatever that is!)<br />
GiraffeLin@Company.com<br />
Turtle1990@Company.com (I'm sensing an animal theme! and no it's not entourage inspired)<br />
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Thank god these people had animal nicknames as kids! If I applied the same logic to my email then you would get "k0ckd4wG69@company.com" or something cool like that.<br />
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<b>The Korean Name typed on a English Keyboard</b><br />
So this one is really just lazy but i guess in a sense practical. This occurs when Koreans simply type their name in Korean and just leave the roman characters. They better hope that people keep their business cards handy because good luck memorizing these!<br />
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<i>Examples -</i><br />
김지원 (Kim Jiwon) = rlawldnjs@company.com<br />
박재원 (Park Jaewon) = qkrwodnjs@company.com<br />
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<b>The Initials with Random Numbers or Sometimes Birthday</b>s<br />
I can relate to this email handle, my first ever email was "mike99012@hotmail.com" and I had a legitimate reason, when i typed in mike@hotmail.com in the 90s it was taken and I was given the above number as a suggestion, I was also <b>12 YEARS OLD! </b>That said in Korea there are a raft of names that are popular and are fairly homogeneous so that does pose a legitimate problem for many in major corporations which share thousands of employees under the one domain name. In this instance there isn't much other option but I would still want to see a name.lastname(number) variety than the examples below.<br />
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<i>Examples - </i><br />
ljw_1940@company.com (She is '87 baby so I'm not sure what 1940 represents!)<br />
rej0912@company.com<br />
kim090483@company.com<br />
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<b>The direct translation of Korean name into English, or their own (self-assigned) English name.</b><br />
This link says it all really - <a href="http://cokcok.tistory.com/1452">http://cokcok.tistory.com/1452</a><br />
It's basically what happens when Koreans google translate their name into English or give themselves a hilarious English name<br />
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<i>Examples -</i><br />
Silver@company.com<br />
Waiting@company.com<br />
Evolution@company.com<br />
SupportPark@company.com<br />
GloryKim@company.com<br />
PowerCho@company.com<br />
IamLegend@company.com (Not a Will Smith fan, his English name is 'Legend')<br />
Legolas@company.com (See above, replace Will Smith with Orlando Bloom)<br />
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<b>The "WTF"</b><br />
There is no rational explanation, it happened and now it's on their business card forever! I just hope they don't meet too many English natives, I just wish I could remember more of the examples!<br />
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<i>Example -</i><br />
ilovemyself@company.com<br />
penismight@company.com (Thanks go to @walter_foreman)<br />
marryme07@company.com<br />
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<b>Leave your suggestions in the comments below and I will add to the article!</b><br />
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<b><u>The List</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">k2d2100@ </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">lionking@ </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">plasma88@ </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">tigermask@ </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">eastman@ </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">happy@ </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">Breeze@ </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">comekgc@ </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">ditto@ </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">kss0923@ </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">ahn12321@ </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">ock3509@ </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">faholo@ </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">inflames@</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">fatbear@<br />princessteacup@<br />dragone@<br />jintonic@<br />frogtown@</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">whiskey-jar@<br />enlightened1@<br />starrykiss@<br />fromage90@<br />super5249@</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383442206433897442.post-83999110916572233972015-04-14T19:36:00.001+09:002017-02-24T12:21:48.982+09:00나한테 회식이란 업무보다 더 스트레스를 받는 일이다.“밥 먹으러 나갑시다” 팀장님이 선언했다.<br />
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지금부터 내 업무 시작.<br />
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회사 근처에 있는 고기집 도착한 순간부터 눈치게임이 시작된다.<br />
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일단 나는 사원으로서 어디서 앉을건지 기다리고 있었다. 외국인이지만 그나마 한국문화 잘 알기 때문에 누구나 상관 없이 돌아가서 마음대로 앉을수가 없었다. 우리 팀원들이 이사님이나 다른 상사들보다 먼저 와있는데 합리적으로 중간에 앉지않고 테이블 제일 끝에 한심하게 앉았다. 이럴때마다 뭔가 웃기다. 다들 와 있는데 한참 동안 앉는 사람이 없다. 다들 서로 보면서 ‘어디서 앉을까’ 고민하고있다. 하루종일 했던 업무보다 벌써 더 고민하게 된 일이다. 나중에 내가 운좋게 회사 임원이 되면 이런 상황 신경 쓸까? 제발 그렇게 되지마라.<br />
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드디어 누가 자리를 잡았고, 그 후 우리팀은 자리잡아 앉았다. 그리고나선 사원들이 술부터 시켰다. 몇명이 있는지 빨리 파악한 후 맥주 몇병 소주몇병 이렇게 이모한테 주문한다. '맥스' 드릴까요? '카스' 드릴까요? '참이슬' 드릴까요? '처음처럼' 드릴까요?. '다 똑같은 맛이니.. 아무거나 주세요' 라고 하고싶지만 상사들이 선호하는 소주이랑 맥주 시켜야된다. 그게 무엇인지 모른다면 문제이다. 이모가 술을 찾으러 가고나면 맥주잔이랑 소주잔들이 내 자리앞에 모이고, 나는 정리하고 있다. 첫잔이라 '소맥' 만들어야되고, '맛있게' 만들어야된다. 소맥 잘 만든다는 칭찬을 받기위해서 다들 겁나 신경쓰고있다. 생각해보면 바보 같은 자랑거리이다. 나는 일 하면서 좋은 아이디어, 보고, 발표 등 하고, 잘 되고있다는 칭찬은 없고, 소주이랑 맥주 잘 따라 주는 칭찬만을 받기 위해서 열심히 하고있다. <br />
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첫잔 나누면서 상사들의 “귀중”한 말 기다리고 있다. 매번 똑같은 의미없는 별 중요하지않은 말들이다. 뭐 뭐 어쩌 어쩌 ‘화이팅!” “위하여”, 한번만 했으면 말씀을 집중하겠지만 회식동안 열번이나 하고 일주일에 회식몇번이나 하기 때문에 상사들의 말을 무시하게 되버렸다. 그 사람들도 이렇게 하는거 싫어할까? <br />
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내가 열심히 만드는 소맥 그대로 들고 마시면 안되고 두손으로 다른 직원들 하고 ‘짠’ 해야한다. 사원이라 다른 직원들의 술잔보다 제일 밑으로 부딪치며 내 잔을 ‘짠’했다. 그후에도 그대로 마시면 안된다. 앞; 양면 어디봐도 나보다 더 높은 직급의 동료들이라 나는 몸 어렵게 돌려서 이 고기집의 안 이쁜 벽지 보면서 한잔을 했다. 첫 몇잔을 원샷하고 난 후 이제 고기 나왔다. <br />
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에휴, 또 다른 내 할 일이 생겼다. 이미 소맥 잘 만든다고 칭찬을 받았지만, 이제 나는 고기 맛있게 굽는다고 칭찬을 받아야된다. 고기 잘 굽는다는 소리 그것도 참 웃기다. 고기 굽는게 무슨 기술적인 어려운일이야? 주변에 사람들이랑 대화하기 피하고 싶어서 고기만 오버하게 잘 보고 신경쓰는척했다. 이렇게 하면서 또 다시 소맥 만들고 있었다. 10분이나 지났으나 또 다른 상사들이 의미 없는 말 할 시간이 되었다. “위하여!” 하고나선 고기 짜르는 시간이 되었다. 크게 짜를까? 작게 짜를까? 제대로 안하면 내옆에 있는 대리선배 내 가위 훔칠까봐 잘 해야된다. <br />
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벌써 소맥 몇잔이나 했는데 이대로 가면 한시간안에 말 못하도록 취하게 되버릴것이다. 그렇게 하고 집에 갈 수 있으면 좋겠지만 나는 사원이라 그것은 안된다. 그럼 이제 전략적인 술마시기 시작이다. 소주만 마신다고 내가 말하자마자 주변 동료들이 매번 똑같은 반응이다.<br />
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‘우~~ 역시 마이클 한국사람이다” 등 내게 말한다 - 그거 좋은말인지 잘 모르겠다. <br />
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누구나 아는 술 마시는 방법인데, 소주 그대로 마신척하고 삼기지않고 물잔에다가 몰래 뱉는다. 이렇게까지 하는 이유는 바로 나는 사원이라 회식 끝까지 있어야된다. 이제 이 자리 지겨워지는 분위기다. 내가 선배한테 조용하게 법인카드 달라고 하고, 조용히 계산하러 일어난다. 내일 비용처리위해 영수증 잘 챙기고 2차로 갈 것 기다린다.<br />
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1차 고기집에서 업무 끝난 후 또 다른 술집에 가서 똑같은 업무 반복이 된다. 배경이랑 술만 바뀌고 그 술집 도착할때도 앞에 있는 웃긴 ‘자리 눈치 게임’ 한다. 2차 끝난후 노래방에 가서 업무 더 해야된다. 편의점에 가서 술을 가지고; 노래방에서 얼마나 시간 필요한지 정하고, 내가 매번에 열심히 불렀던 ‘18번곡’ 부르는거까지 내 업무이다. <br />
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드디어 이 회식이 끝나면 상사들의 택시이나 대리운전까지 챙기는 업무해야된다. 취하고 피곤하고 정신이 없는데 집에가서 몇시간 자다가 다시 회사에 가고 내 책상에 시체처럼 9시부터 앉고있다. 피곤하다고 내가 회사에서 뭘 할 수 없겠지만 그것은 괜찮다. 어차피 9시부터 7-8시까지 내가 월급받는 업무 중요하지않고 내가 그후에 하는 ‘업무’ 더 신경 쓰고있고, 더 스트레스를 받는다.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383442206433897442.post-15117196369885378312015-02-20T14:22:00.001+09:002015-02-20T14:23:26.871+09:00외국인들이 지내는 한국의 설날연휴 – 나의 가장 좋은 추억<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ulxpEG3KZXYGmZ_1mzfa6PLlpzfgcwMdIQ5jNlE8jeit3UnE2hkes8Fq-dMShVUA53S9t9uLyT6VNMmKpqhAVJzgaEIW3d0JCe2mJcB2cqY9SOjrwjwh8Jqg1b8AzaIE7kvV3xw3eEY/s1600/10399783_157821842094_1754060_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ulxpEG3KZXYGmZ_1mzfa6PLlpzfgcwMdIQ5jNlE8jeit3UnE2hkes8Fq-dMShVUA53S9t9uLyT6VNMmKpqhAVJzgaEIW3d0JCe2mJcB2cqY9SOjrwjwh8Jqg1b8AzaIE7kvV3xw3eEY/s1600/10399783_157821842094_1754060_n.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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“마이클은 설날때 계획이 있나요?”<span id="goog_980846824"></span><br />
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추석이나 설날때마다 많은 한국인 친구들이 나에게 물어보는 질문이다. 많은 한국인들이 이런 연휴기간에 아마 가장 많이 주변에 있는 외국인 친구들에게 물어보는 질문일것이다. 내가 한국에서 설날을 5번이나 지냈는데 매년마다 다른 경험이였다. 한국인들이 다 가족들에게 가니까 사실 외국인들 할 것 많이 없긴 하다.<br />
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외국인으로서 설날이라는 명절은 나한테 그렇게 큰 의미아니지만 한국 공휴일 중에 제일 좋아했다. 왜냐하면 설날때마다 사람들이 서울을 떠나서 지방으로 내려가는데, 그때마다 갑작스럽게 서울은 외국인의 원더랜드 되는 것이다 – 모든 가게문닫고 버스도 줄고, 택시도 없고. 보통 바쁘고 정신없는 서울거리가 갑자기 평화로워지는 것이다; 좀 재미없지만 나는 뭔가 좋아했었다.<br />
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설날에 한번은 외국인 친구들이랑 모여서 한강에서 보냈고; 한번 식중독 걸렸는데 주변에 병원들이 다 문을 닫아서, 혼자 ‘사랑의 병원’까지 걸어서 (택시/버스 없어서) 혼자 병원안에 아주 우울하게 보내본 적도 있다. 이 중에도 내가 한국에 살았을때 제일 좋은 추억 중에 하나 있다.<br />
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한국의 ‘정’ 처음으로 느꼈다.<br />
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헐.<br />
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그래 알았어. 나도안다고. 한국의 정에 대해 쓸때마다 왠지 가식적인 멘트하는 것 같은 느낌이 든다, 물론이번에도 썼으니까 악플도 있겠다. 그렇지만 이번에는 진심이다. <br />
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한국 처음왔을 때는 2009년 여름/가을이였다. 연세한국어학당 다니면서 좀 비싼편인 신촌역 근처 (그랜드마트뒤쪽)오피스텔에 거주하고 있었다. 서투른 한국말으로 인해 집주인이랑 별로 대화를 하지못했다. 온지 약 6개월 밖에 안되었는데 설날은 도대체 어떤 명절인지도 모르는 나에게 어느날 아침에 전화가 왔다. 영어가 조금 가능한 집주인의 아들이였다. 그는 “알 유 비지”물었다. 아침 7시이였나 8시이였나 기억이 안나는데 어쨌든 홍대 라이프 스타일을 즐겼던 나에게는 (전날 취했다는뜻이지) 일어나기 힘든 아침일찍인 시간이였다. 아무튼 나는 “노” 답장했다.<br />
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그랬더니 “컴 다운 스테어즈. 레츠 헤브어 브레크패스트”. 좀 이상하게 생각했지만 뭐 그냥 예의상으로 밥먹으러 내려가봤다. 집주인은 오피스텔 밑에 가족과 함께 살고있었다. 나는 샤워도 안하고 그냥 집옷 대충입고 부스스한 머리와 술냄새랑 함께 내려갔다. 집주인의 집문을 열자마자 내얼굴은 빨개졌고 당황했었다. 집주인의 가족 (3명)뿐만 아니라, 약 15명 정도 바닥에 앉아서 나를 쳐다봤다.<br />
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부끄러워서 냉큼 앉아서 조용히 있었다. 그때는 주변에 무슨 이야기했는지, 나에 대한 어떤 생각하고 있었는지 모르겠지만 나는 그냥 처먹고 있었다. 앞에 있는 밥보면서 “나는 왜 여기 있지” 멍때리고 있었다. 생각해보면 밥 빨리 먹고 나갔을때도 나는 그 분에게 고마운 마음을 전달하지못했다. 나는 그당시 어려서 그 분이 나에게 정을 베풀었지만 고맙게 생각도 못한채 그냥 부끄럽고 졸리고, 약간 귀찮게 생각했던 것 같다.<br />
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아무튼 지금 이 추억을 생각하면 나는 ‘한국정’이라는 것이 진심인것 그때 처음으로 직접적으로 느꼈다 (그 후로는 없었다는 뜻은 아니다 ㅋ). <br />
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그땐 한국이라는 나라 어떤 나라인지 잘 몰랐고, 호주에선 낮선사람에게 그렇게 신경쓰고 집초대까지 잘 안한다. 설날은 가족과 함께 보내는 명절인데, 외국인으로서 혼자있는 나를 신경써서 설날 아침식사 같이 하자고 나를 부른 집주인 아저씨. 그 집주인 아저씨와 가족에게 얼마나 고마왔는지 서투른 한국말 탓에 표현 못 했지만 혹시나 지금 읽는다면 한번 마음 깊게 감사 드리고 싶다.<br />
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독자 여러분에게 일년동안 내 블로그 글을 지원해주셔서 감사하고요<br />
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새해 복 많이 받으시고 청양해에는 소망하시는 일들이 모두 이루어지길 기원합니다.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383442206433897442.post-45665885886030304812015-01-05T12:09:00.000+09:002015-01-09T10:22:48.773+09:00Lexis Korea - Korean Language Program Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Lexis Korea (<a href="http://www.lexiskorea.com/">www.lexiskorea.com</a></b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">)</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the only Korean language providers located in the heart of Gangnam and one of the few programs hosted outside of a university as a result Lexis Korea has a lot more flexibility when it comes to schedule, price and course options</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>What foreigners say:</b> Those who have attended this academy have all given good testimonials. It provides more flexibility, you can join and leave courses when you want and you can pay weekly. The running times favour more the professional worker / english teacher as does the location in the heart of Gangnam.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cost:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> One of the only locations where you can pay weekly and also do not need to commit to any long term study.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Intensive Korean Course (Full-time) KRW 295,000 per week</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Intensive Korean Course (Part-time) KRW 200,000 per week</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Evening Korean Course (Beginner) (M/W/F) KRW 150,000 per week</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Evening Korean Course (Advanced) (T/T) KRW 100,000 / per week</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The evening course at 150,000 per week is the best value and perfect for any Korean language student working in Gangnam or in the area who does not have the time to attend a full time university Korean program.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Living:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Located in the heart of Gangnam, the well known entertainment district means that living near lexis Korea does come at a premium. Student living in the direct area is hard to come by and also very costly. Studio apartments near gangnam station will demand usually a 10,000,000 KRW Key Money and around 700,000 KRW monthly rent (or more). Gangnam has a plethora of restaurants, bars and nightclubs and is jam packed everyday of the week with a mix of office workers, students (attending English academies) and tourists. There is also plenty of local and nearby shopping with CoEx mall only a short trip away. The famous food street Garosugil is also nearby as are many other attractions located in the most expensive district in Seoul.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If Gangnam is too pricey to live in then there are plenty of housing options further along line 2 subway such as Bongchon and SNU station, a short 15 - 20minute subway ride and at a much more affordable price <a href="http://thesawon.blogspot.com.au/2014/10/seoul-national-university-snu-korean.html" target="_blank">check another review to find out more about the area.</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.lexiskorea.com/" target="_blank">Lexis Korea also provides a housing service</a> to help students find housing to fit there budget. They can provide relatively cheap housing in nearby study apartments which although small will be the most economical way to live near the campus.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Student Body:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Very diverse, the flexibility in times, fees and location has given the school a very diverse student body and a larger proportion of European / American learners. There is also a strong presence of office workers and english teachers which will provide good networking opportunities and information to nearby jobs.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Atmosphere:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Lexis is housed in a commercial building and run like an english academy so it does not have the university feel. No real campus and no real identity, however many students are not there for long and are very keen to go around and explore Seoul, combine this with the office workers and it's a weird mix of business / fun.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Culture / Job Opportunities:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Lexis arguably provide the best out of school excursions and cultural experience. Using there knowledge of the English market they have wisely combined classes to include travel excursions all around Korea. They also provide cooking classes, classes based on drama and a wide range of different opportunities. The school has a large professional / English teacher population and this should provide opportunities to find work - if not lexis runs it's own study and work program for prospective intern students looking to get work experience during their short stay in Korea,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Sawons Rating:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4 / 5 Sojus</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is good to see that Korean language is becoming more accessible outside of the university monopoly. Schools like Lexis have positioned themselves to provide the whole experience - developing travel programs, interesting classes, extra curricular activities and good support services including housing and work-study programs. For the long term learner it might not be the best choice but for a professional working in Korea, and english teacher or a summer student with a limited time budget then it's hard to go past <a href="http://www.lexiskorea.com/" target="_blank">Lexis Korea</a> - the flexibility comes at a slight cost but it is providing such a range of options that other university courses just don't supply.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please add your own reviews in the comment section addressing the following criteria<br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383442206433897442.post-57140120243904202352014-12-29T09:07:00.002+09:002015-01-07T16:03:15.522+09:00Korean Air "Nutrage" and Nepotism in Korea<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The recent Korean Air scandal in which Heather Cho, a vice-president of the airline and daughter of its chairman, lambasted a crew member for incorrectly serving macadamia nuts not according to manual and then had the crew member removed from the flight has put the spotlight back on nepotism in Corporate South Korea.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The farce has come under heavy scrutiny and public outcry in Korea. Since news first broke the young Vice President has rightly stepped down from her position – there really was no other option. <a href="http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2999105&cloc=joongangdaily|home|top">The scandal has now progressed and a arrest warrant is being sought by prosecutors after Korean Air executives and Heather Cho allegedly sought to intimidate staff and delete evidence regarding the incident.</a> With this all in hindsight the question must be asked – should she (or her other siblings) have even been in a position of such power within the company in the first place? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The simple answer is no.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Regardless of the title it is likely that as the daughter of the Chairman she would have untouchable status within the company. There are no such things as outrageous demands when concerning the offspring of the Chairman. One can only speculate as to what Korean Air staff had encountered before the Macadamia incident. The argument could be made that despite the publicity stunt of resigning it will not affect her ‘power’ to influence staff in the future. After all, the title of Vice President could have been anything – from Staff or Senior Manager to simply just a passenger; she would still have the power to have made the exact same decisions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Korean Chaebols dominate the local corporate landscape and account for a large slice of the country’s GDP pie. These major Chaebols, despite being 'publicly' listed companies are largely family controlled. Samsung, the most well-known and largest of these Chaebols is currently preparing for the transfer of power to the 45 year old son of current Chairman Lee Kun-Hee as he battles health issues.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My former company was also a family controlled medium sized Chaebol, although publicly listed the majority shareholders were all family members. I was privy to experience nepotism directly during my time at the company as I worked on the same floor and next to the team run by the 30 something, American educated son of the chairman. At the time he was in the midst of a promotion from Team Leader (BuJang) to a VP position in which he would be given responsibility of an overseas subsidiary (New Zealand). This process and quick promotion is quite extraordinary to me given the very rigid way in which Korean corporations usually promote staff and <a href="http://thesawon.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/korean-company-salary-structure-and.html">control salary</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The majority of Korean companies use a years of service / age based remuneration and promotion system. <a href="http://www.asiaoptions.org/korean-company-heirarchy-structure-business-titles/">Workers start out in their late 20s as ‘Sawon’ (Staff) and are slowly but surely promoted up the chain, after around 12 to 15 years they can expect to be in a position of Team Leader</a>, there is no climbing or ‘hopping’ up the corporate ladder in Korea, simply put if you do the time you get the reward. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was surprised not only by the openly unfair process and selection regarding the Chairman’s son but that Korean staff seemed relatively content with the selection. It soon became apparent that nepotism was an accepted (albeit begrudgingly) part of Korean corporate culture </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Chairman’s son in my former company was promoted to team leader roughly 10 years ahead of his peers and a further 15 years ahead of his peers in the position of VP. This type of corporate ladder climbing might be somewhat comprehensible under a role-based remuneration system common in western societies in which outstanding performers are promoted or plucky entrepreneurs run start-ups but is not achievable for the average white collar Korean worker. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His appointment to a VP position of the New Zealand subsidiary was particularly uncomfortable for the workers and management of that particular company. At the time I was responsible for liaising with their office on all HR matters. Staff in New Zealand were naturally concerned - suddenly their new Company Director was the 30 something son of a Chairman, what process did he go through to attain such a position? What experience does he have? What does this mean for our company? Was it a sign of how important the chairmen felt about the New Zealand business or was he giving his son a play thing to experiment on as he is being groomed for the big job?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Upon his appointment the new VP began making changes to management and retrenching staff. Regardless of whether these decisions or any future actions were good or bad for business would be irrelevant for non-Korean staff because of the unethical way in which the position was appointed. For Korean Chaebols operating in foreign markets and dealing with foreign talent the issue of nepotism will continue to create conflict with staff, foreign shareholders and non-Korean company directors. The New Zealand managing director who formerly reported to a Korean director who was of a similar age and had over 20 years’ experience was now being forced to work under the young and untested son of the owner. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In some respects as a family run business they are of course entitled to do as they please and appoint their family members to positions of power to ensure their families grip on the immense wealth that it brings but the Korean Air saga has exposed how nepotism can hurt the reputation of the company and of Korea in international markets and media. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If top management is chosen not by merit but from Family connections then International consumers will rightly begin to question the service, safety and standards of Korean companies and by extension that of Korea,</span><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383442206433897442.post-83458490121436831262014-12-14T12:54:00.001+09:002014-12-14T12:54:41.648+09:00Getting Hired in Korea - A foreigners -perspective<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I got my first job in South Korea I was lucky to be exempt from the highly competitive and pressurised recruitment process that is the norm for young Korean graduates. Like them, I filled in an application and sat a personality test (what for I still don’t know). But I had no competition and there were no nerve racking group interviews.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was also able to skip sections in the application form that ask personal questions about family and other things. I sympathise with young Koreans who are required to give such personal information with no protection against discrimination. Really, what business is it to a Korean company what your father and mother do for a living?<br /><br />At my second interview I learned that the company was also selecting Korean candidates for their graduate program at the same time. It was intriguing to see the stark contrast in our approaches to the interview. The Koreans in the waiting room were pacing up and down, sweating, nervous and trying to memorise interview answers. They were being coached on how to say hello to the CEO in the correct and polite manner by an overbearing and unpleasant human resources officer. She had good intentions but she was clearly making the candidates more nervous.<br /><br />I was calm and just happy to have the opportunity. But because of the atmosphere outside of the meeting room my expectations were raised and I eventually began to stress about the formality of the interview and also the questions they would ask. I needn’t have because as is the case with so many job interviews at Korean companies the line of questioning was typically irrelevant.<br /><br />“Do you like drinking?” “How many bottles of Soju can you drink?” “Do you like Kimchi?” “Where do you live?” “How old are you?” “Do you have a girlfriend?” My job interview may as well been held in the backseat of a taxi because these are the questions I would get anytime I travelled in a Seoul taxi for more than 20 minutes. Actually you could say I should thank the taxi drivers of Seoul for preparing me so well for my job interview questions because I got the job! I knew how to answer those questions in a way in which a middle-aged Korean man wants to hear.<br /><br />I should have realised then that my high expectations for a meaningful job position in the company wear unrealistic. I was a novelty. Something ‘global.’ Somebody that looked good as an image. I fell into the typical token non-Korean work role. My team leader struggled with how to deal with me and what work to assign to me. The company wasn’t prepared for a non-Korean worker. All they knew is that they wanted to reflect a global image and I would fulfil that requirement.<br /><br />Korean companies are doing the right thing in trying to diversify their workforce and seek out global talent for certain positions. But all too often the entire recruitment process and subsequent job role are treated like a novelty. In order to see the potential returns and benefits of employing non-Koreans the job roles and power placed in these candidates needs to reflect the same respect and scrutiny that is placed on Koreans.<br /><br />If my former company was truly sincere in its efforts to globalise their workforce then the process I went through would have been completely different. And although it pains me to admit this, I probably wouldn’t have gotten the job because a more qualified candidate would have been chosen.<br /><br />Finally, a word on how Korean graduates are selected. Companies use a variety of tools to filter them and if you consider that the biggest companies receive over 100,000 applicants a year then it is understandable. But the filtering systems are boxing talent into a mould that doesn’t cover enough areas. Young workers are entering the workforce with a history of academic credentials and test scores but very little in the way of real life or work experience.<br /><br />Those that have chosen to forgo academic study and instead learn from experience are then largely overlooked for jobs due to a lack of credentials. This is another area that Korean companies should look at when assessing the effectiveness of their hiring programs.</span><br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383442206433897442.post-14165643795167686182014-12-14T12:48:00.000+09:002015-01-24T10:33:43.474+09:00“나는 낙하산 입사 하게 되였다" - 한국기업에 취업한 외국인의 입사 이야기.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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'미생' 보면서 '낙하산'이라는 단어를 처음으로 들었다. 온라인 영-한 사전을 검색했고 나는 '약간 나쁜 의미ㅡ 인맥으로 취직하는'걸로 이해했다. 솔직히 말하면 나는 한국에서 첫 직장을 잡았을 때 운 좋게 인맥으로 들어갔다. 다른 한국인들과 마찬가지로 지원서를 작성하고 인적성 검사를 받기는 했지만, 경쟁자도 없었고 누구나 싫어하는 하루종일 진행하는 그룹인터뷰이나 채용팀이 있어보이려고 하는 불필요한 그룹발표 등도 없었다. 그땐 그냥 나는 외국인이라서 다른 방법으로 취직하는거라고 생각했었다. 어차피 대부분 한국에서 취직하는 외국인들은 네트워킹으로 일자리 잡는거다. 그런데 미생 보고 알게 되었다 - 나는 낙하산으로 입사 하게 되었다.<br />
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나는 신입으로 들어갔지만 호주 대사관에서 2년정도 직장을 다닌 경험이 있다; 그래서 나는 이력서랑 자기소개서만 보내면 된다고 생각했는데 , 한국조직에 있는 인사팀 채용직원이 한국식 지원서를 주면서 작성해 달라고 요청했다. 그 회사의 지원서는 한국식 이력서와 비슷했지만 내가 상상하지 못했던 부분이 좀 있었다. '가족사항', '건강상태' 등 이런 부분들이 였고, 나는 일부러 무시한채 이력서를 작성했었다. 나는 그 상황에서 '나의 아버지 대학교 어딘지, 현재 무슨일 하고 있는지 등이 내가 이 회사에 지원하는 것과 무슨 상관이야?' 이런 생각을 했었다. 이런 정보를 가지고 차별을 받을 수 있을 거라고, 나는 외국인이라 무시해도 되겠다는 생각이 들었다. 그럼에도 불구하고 이런 개인적인 정보를 제공해야 하는 한국 젊은이들에 대해 연민을 느낀다. 그런 부분으로부터 채용 차별을 받을 수 있는건데, 만약의 상황에 대해 지원자들을 보호하는 채용 차별 법 등이 있을까?<br />
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내 입장에서 보고 불필요한 부분들은 넘기고 지원서를 대충 작성하고 보냈다. 그리고 바로 몇일뒤 면접보러 오라고 연락이 왔다. 1차 면접이 나는 마지막 면접인 줄 알았었다. 보통 호주에서 경험직이라면 이력서를 보낸 후 면접보고 끝이다 (너무 간단한건가?). 그때 인사팀의 이사님과 일대일로 그냥 편안하게 이야기를 했다. 인맥으로 내 이력서를 받았으니까 제대로 된 면접보다 커피한잔 하고 수다 떠는 듯한 진행을 했었다. 하지만 이 면접이 끝나고 나서 다시 연락이 왔다. 2차 면접이 있다고....2차 면접에서 나는 이 회사가 한국인 신입사원 채용 면접도 동시에 진행하고 있다는 사실을 알게 됐다. 지금까지 나는 혼자서 '외국인' 경험직으로 채용하는 줄 알았지만 사실은 나는 다른 한국 젊은이들과 같이 채용하는 것이였다. 나와 한국인 지원자들과의 면접을 대하는 태도가 매우 대조적이어서 흥미진진했다.<br />
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차례를 기다리며 대기실에 있던 한국인 지원자들은 왔다갔다 하면서 긴장된 모습으로 면접 질문에 대한 대답을 외우려고 애쓰고 있었다. 회사 회장은 무슨 왕인가 싶은 정도로 한국인 지원자들이 그만큼 긴장하고 있었다. 회장 회의실 문 앞에서, 나는 나보다 나이가 있는 지원자와 함께 기다리고 있었다. 나는 웃으면서 말했다 - 걱정마라 이 면접은 의미없다 마지막 면접은 그냥 확인하는 거라고 알려줬다. 하지만 그 형은 내 말을 듣지않았다. 어쩌면 당연하다. 나는 사실 이 면접 기회를 얻은 것이 기쁠 뿐이였다. 한국에서 살고있는 외국인으로 많지 않은 기회인데 참석만해도 좋은 경험이라고 생각했다. <br />
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처음에는 편하게 하려다가 밖에 있는 분위기 탓에 나도 갑자기 긴장되며 기대가 높아지면서 면접에 어떤 질문 나올건지 회장님이 어떤 생각할건지 스트레스를 받기 시작했다. 그렇지만 면접 시작하자마 걱정 안 해도 된다는것을 깨달았다. 회장님의 첫 질문은 바로 "마이클이 한국이 좋아요?"이였기 때문이다.<br />
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“술 좋아하세요?”, “소주 몇 병까지 마실 수 있나요?”, “어디 사세요?”, “몇 살이세요?”, "김치 먹을 수 있나요?" , “여자친구 있나요?” 등등. 내 마음속에선 크게 웃고 있었다. 이거 진심이야? 이 면접은 택시 뒷좌석에서 봐도 될 정도였다. 생각 해보면 나는 서울택시 아저씨들에게 감사하다는 말 전해 드리고 싶다. 3년동안 매번 택시를 탈때마다 나에게 이런 똑같은 질문들을 물어본 덕분에 나는 면접을 완전히 잘 봤다. 회장님과 택시기사님은 큰 연봉차이 있지만, 똑같은 한국인 아저씨였다 - 그분들이 듣고 싶은 말을 알고있어서, 나는 그 질문에 대해 완벽하게 답장을 했다. 당연히 술 잘 마신다고, 김치를 엄청 사랑한다고 등등 했었죠.<br />
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그런데 그때부터 나는 알아야 했을 것이다. 회사에서 의미있는 업무를 담당하는 것에 대한, 내 높은 기대가 비현실적이라는 것을. 나는 신기하고 다른 존재였다. 뭔가 ‘글로벌’한 사람이 었다. 겉보기에 그럴듯한 ‘대외 이미지용’ 인물이었다.<br />
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팀장은 나를 어떻게 대해야 할지, 그리고 나에게 어떤 업무를 맡겨야 할지를 몰랐었다. 그런 부분들 나는 이해했다. 외국에 경험이 없는 한국아저씨 팀장, 사실 밑에 있는 외국인직원에게 어떻게 해야할까 많이 고민했었을거야, 좀 불쌍하면서도 서로 답답했었을거야; 나는 한국 신입처럼 "네"보다 "왜" 계속 했었다. 팀장님은 나에게 화를 낸적이 없었지만 아마도 머리속에 몇번이나 욕하고 있었을거야 - 이 외국인놈아 내가 시킨대로 왜 안하냐? 왜 나한테 반대하냐? 등. 이 회사는 외국인 직원을 받아들일 준비가 되있지 않았다. 글로벌 이미지를 키우고싶은 편에서 나를 뽑았지만 글로벌 비즈니스; 방식 등 원하지 않았었다.<br />
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한국 기업의 구성원 다양화 노력, 그리고 특정 포지션에 맞는 글로벌 인재를 채용하려는 시도는 좋으나, 외국인 직원 채용 절차와 그 절차를 통해 채용된 직원에게 주어지는 역할이 다르고 예외적인 것으로 취급되는 경우가 빈번하다.<br />
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외국인 직원을 고용해 회사의 이득과 혜택을 얻고 싶다면, 그들의 역할과 권한에 대해 한국인 직원과 똑같이 상세히 검토할 필요가 있다.<br />
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나의 전 직장이 진지하게 인력 글로벌화 노력을 기울였더라면 채용 절차가 100% 달라졌을 것이다. 인정하기는 싫지만, 그랬었더라면 나는 그 일자리를 잡지 못했을지도 모른다. 나보다 더 능력이 뛰어난 인재가 채용됐을 수도 있었기 때문이다.<br />
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미생에 외국인이도 나왔으면 얼마나 재미있었을까.... ?</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383442206433897442.post-28024825908622290372014-12-03T12:23:00.001+09:002014-12-03T12:27:27.284+09:00나도 담배를 펴야되나요? 남자신입사원의 고민.<div style="background-color: white;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0OVsn2P71SLbWUmyHEl58IJCUpk4QcHF7q5F_S8RqBVSXZSzbnxw_CpLgyYrl2BoWUQQEWalTTi_JTeTjVj6uIjR5Fnp_-PHSqZIIl9eQtCE6BxL87YOHF1KO6Bi_gyKt8CiDYxq_PJI/s1600/201409121452205710_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0OVsn2P71SLbWUmyHEl58IJCUpk4QcHF7q5F_S8RqBVSXZSzbnxw_CpLgyYrl2BoWUQQEWalTTi_JTeTjVj6uIjR5Fnp_-PHSqZIIl9eQtCE6BxL87YOHF1KO6Bi_gyKt8CiDYxq_PJI/s1600/201409121452205710_h.jpg" height="180" title="나도 담배를 펴야되나요? 남자신입사원의 고민." width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">중요한 거래처와 2시간 동안 미팅을 했다.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />중요한 미팅이라서 우리 팀원분들 총 5명이 모두 다 참석했다. 미팅이 끝난 후 나는 회의실 나가자마자 이 중요한 회의에 관련된 내용을 따로 팀원들과 이야기 나누고 싶었다. 그래서 바로 부서 쪽으로 가서 이야기를 나누려고 했지만, 한국인 팀원들의 발걸음은 부서 쪽으로 향하지 않았다.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">팀장님은 나에게 “담배 피고 올께, 마이클” 이렇게 말을 건내고 나가셨고, 나는 그 순간에 갈까 말까 고민하다가 “알겠다”고 대답한 후 혼자서 돌아갔다. 괜찮다고 생각하고 싶어도, 마음속에서는 어쩔수없이 계속 고민하고 있었다. '나도 갔을걸 그랬나?' 라는.. 나는 팀원들이 나를 싫어하는게 아니라는걸 알지만, 괜히 그때 순간 만큼은 나를 버렸다는 느낌이 들었다.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />'그래, 나도 같이 갈수있었지만, 내가 안갔으니까 그건 나의 문제야.' 라고 다시 생각했고, 사실은 나도 다른 사람들의 담배 연기를 마시면서 중요한 이야기 하고싶지 않았다. 내가 담배 피우지 않으니까, 당연히 팀원들이 이제 나에게 같이 나가자고 초대도 하지않는다. 하지만 '담배 피우러 가자'라고 하는 말은 단순한 스트레스 해소용 흡연이 아닌 또 다른 의미 있다고 생각한다. “밖에 나가서 이야기 하자”라는 의미도 가지고 있다.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />“좀 있다가 다들 돌아와서 이야기하면 되겠다”라고 생각 했는데, 20분~30분정도 지난 후 드디어 팀원들이 돌아왔다. 당연히 그동안 그 회의에 대한 서로의 의견을 나누고, 앞으로 이 거래처와 어떻게 할건지 결정도 나왔을 것이다. 나도 그 자리에서 팀원들과 같이 의견도 나누고, 그 분들과의 비공식적인 생각과 정보를 듣고 싶었었다.<br />그렇지만 나는 그 댐배놈때문에 그 회의보다 더 중요한 “팀원들의 담배 회의”에 빠져있었다. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />어떻게 보면 나는 담배 안피우니까 팀원분들과 사이 조금 다르게 키우고있다. 그 사람들이 담배피우면서 더 편안한 분위기로 사무실에서 할 수 없는 개인적인 대화도 하고 사무실에 생기는 가십이나 소식에 대한 많은 이야기도 한다. 나도 내 팀이랑 친해지려면 담배피워야되나? 다른 방법이 없나? 나는 담배피우면 뭐 어때? 내 진실성과 자주 그렇게 싸웠다. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />담배 안 피우니까 어떨때는 어쩔수없지만 가능한 만큼 나도 몇번이나 회사 건물 앞에 있는 “담배 카페”로 같이 나갔다. 비타500 사가지고 할 수 있는 만큼 간접 흡연 피하면서 대화했다. 지금 생각해보니까 나는 한국조직 다니면서 일주일에 3-4번이나 남들의 담배연기 마시는 적이 있었다. 근무시간 아니라도 회식에 가서 마신 적도 많다. 회식자리에 항상 나오는 말이 있었다 - “마이클 나 여기서 담배펴도되?” 물어보는 팀장에게 내가 어떻게 거절해?<br />“그럼! 나는 문제 없지”라고 거짓말을 할 수밖에 없었다. 팀장님이 예의가 있어서 물어보는건데 나도 눈치때문에 거절하기 힘들었었다. 왜냐하면 내가 거절했으면 그 자리에 있는 흡연자들이 다들 같이 일어나서 밖으로 나갔으면 난 또 다시 그 비공식 모임에 빠질수가 있다 . 마음속에 “미안해요; 폐암 걸리고 싶지않아서 밖으로 나가주세요” 라고 했었다.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />다행히 나는 회식에서 술 조금 먹을 수 있으니까 팀원들이랑 더 친한 사이 만들 수 있었는데 많은 한국남자 신입사원들이 그 담배문화에 빠지게 되면 부담되고 앞으로 힘들수가 있기 때문에 나처럼 계속 거절 할 수 없는 것이 사실이다. 여자 직원들도 더욱 더 힘들겠다고 생각한다. 여자 직원들이 팀원들과 같이 내려가서 담배 피우면 안 좋은 이미지 갖게된다. 이걸 말도안되는 이중 잣대이지만 불편한 진실 인 것 같다. 술까지 못하면 거의 다른 팀원들과 커뮤니케이션 기회가 없을거다. 사무실에 눈치보이니까 많은 이야기 못하고 모르는 업무에 대해서도 부끄러워서 물어볼수가 없다. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />회사도 담배 문화 때문에 손해 받는 점이 있다. 그건 바로 시간 낭비이다. 담배 피우는 직원들이 한 시간에 한 번 정도 흡연 때문에 밖에 나간다. 한 번 담배를 필 때 10분정도의, 하루에 6~7번 정도의 흡연 타임을 을 가진다고 가정하면, 흡연자들은 한 시간정도 밖에서 지낸다. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />그래서 나는 한국대기업들이 이 담배문화를 바뀌려고 노력 더 했으면 한다. 사무실 건물 앞에 금연지역 시킨 던지 인사팀통해서 프로그램들을 만드던지; 지금까지 비흡연자들만 피해자 되었다. </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383442206433897442.post-1133316644164718242014-11-24T11:57:00.003+09:002014-11-24T15:18:37.277+09:00Four Weddings, a Funeral and a Baby Shower - A look at coworker events in the Korean workplace<h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Michael, you should tell the staff” Said the Korean managing director as I handed in my application for leave. “About what? My leave?” I enquired. “No, about your brother’s wedding!” I smiled and politely replied “No we don’t really do that in Australia”. One of the interesting facets of Korean culture and particularly in the corporate world whether dictated by “noonchi” a Korean concept similar to an invisible set of etiquette which should be maintained by staff or out of good manners is the practice of officially announcing and informally inviting other staff members to significant, but very personal, life events.<br /><br />Korean company intranet freeboards are often filled to the brim with notices of weddings, childbirths and deaths from throughout the company – sometimes involving members who push the boundary of the concept of family relative (like cousins). It is not unusual to log onto a Korean companies intranet and see a stream of notices such as “Jiwon Kim's Father from the Development Team has passed away”, “Assistant Manager Seo from Marketing will be getting Married this Saturday - Congratulations ”, “Kim Ji Yeon Manager from Sales is celebrating her baby’s first birthday this Sunday”. Within these notices are then informal invites with full details of the location and time as those other staff members who are in close relation – maybe from the same team or department will be expected to not only attend the event but also contribute money.<br /><br />The title of my article is not just a play on the famous movie starring Hugh Grant but an accurate record of the number of events that I attended in my first year as a new graduate working in a medium sized Korean company. Of those 6 events there was only two weddings where I had a direct link to the worker and was genuine in my congratulations / commiserations. The remainder of the events were dictated by the above mentioned noonchi and my duty (burden) as a member of the company to attend the events in a show of support for my fellow co-worker.<br /><br />I often speak about this practise when I am required to do presentations of cultural difference between Australia and Korea. In particular the attendance of a funeral of a family member of a co-worker while interpreted as good manners from a Korean is likely to be considered rude and insincere from an Australian point of view. <br /><br />In my own experience it was the father of our HR director who passed away. As a HR team member I was expected to not only attend the event but to also work at the funeral. I was placed at the front of the Korean funeral house where I organised shoes for guests. For background; this funeral house was held in a Korean ondal style building and all guests were required to take their shoes off before entering. When you have a 100 plus people coming and going in a few hours then sorting of the shoes into shoe lockers and then finding them again is a bit like working in a more pungent version of a car valet. <br /><br />To speak honestly of the experience I wasn’t too happy I was required to work at this event let alone be there. I had only one previous interaction with the HR director and that was during my job interview. Beyond that I never once had a conversation with him but here I was giving my condolences to his family and friends. Now I don’t consider myself a horrible person for saying this (maybe you will) but let’s be honest - I didn’t really care that his father had died. I barely knew the HR director and certainly did not know his father and I felt very conflicted in being at the funeral. In my own heart my presence there seemed very shallow and this fake display of sorrow is something that as an Australian was difficult.<br /><br />What’s worse is that after I finished my job sorting and handing out shoes for roughly 2 hours I then sat down with staff in the dining area for dinner and genuinely had a good time. Yes, <b>I had fun at a Funeral,</b> but I was just following the lead of my seniors and co-workers who were soon turning the funeral into an all-night drink-a-thon. Maybe it’s what the deceased would have wanted? Maybe he would have hated it? Who knows because neither I nor the some 30 odd co-workers who came that night had ever met the deceased.<br /><br />Korean funeral houses often have an area for mourning and paying your respects while adjacent or on a separate floor is a dining hall where guests gather to eat and drink and talk with old friends and family. Despite it being a funeral it was actually enjoyable (ok I am a horrible person) to sit down and drink with my co-workers, throughout the night other team members and friends from other departments dropped by and joined us. I was at the funeral from 7pm to 3am drinking and having fun.<br /><br />It’s something that my Korean friends always chastise me for but the truth is that I enjoyed the atmosphere of the funeral more than I had any Korean wedding – I recognise that it was a funeral of someone who I had no emotional attachment too but still compared to the majority of weddings I had attended it was by far a much better ‘event’. I also spent more time at the funeral which often is held overnight with guests coming and going over a 24 hour period. It seemed much more appropriate for a celebration rather than a funeral and had many aspects which are seriously lacking in the shotgun style; get-in and get-out buffet line Korean wedding hall.<br /><br />In my current job working for a Korean company I certainly don’t object to the idea of letting the majority Korean staff know that my brother is going to get married soon but I didn’t want to burden them with it. I didn’t want them to feel obliged or pushed into congratulating my brother or worse offering me money to give to my brother, which if an official notice was made by the managing director then some staff might have felt obliged to do. <br /><br />I wonder sometimes if many Koreans feel the same way themselves in companies – the social and financial burden of these events can sometimes outweigh the positives when it involves someone who they do not have a personal relationship with. There is also the pressure and stress of being placed into those situations with the many watching eyes of the company surely to scrutinize over every single action. The hardest things for me to understand is even if my Korean co-workers held the same view as I did about attending these events, sure enough when it was their turn they also placed notices on the freeboard – maybe out of obligation, or to receive money or because it’s good matters.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Attending co-worker events has both positives and negatives but it would make sense to ensure that, particularly for younger company employees, these events and the burden that comes along with them does not get out of control.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383442206433897442.post-48904852225496281872014-11-19T08:10:00.000+09:002014-11-25T07:56:23.200+09:00나는 영어원어민인데 IELTS시험에 만점 받지못했다.<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">나는 영어원어민인데 IELTS시험에 만점 받지못했다.<br /><br />최근에 수능 영어 32번 문제 풀어본 미국인의 반응이라는 영상이 한국에서 주목을 받고있다. 나도 이 수능 영어 질문을 읽으면서 당황했다. 한마디로 말하자면 그 질문은 완전 개소리였다. 이 분와 같이 비슷한 경험이 있는 한국에서 거주하는 외국인들이 많을거라고 생각한다. 고등학생들이 보는 수능이였지만 수많은 한국의 젊은이들이 TOEIC이나 IELTS 시험을 치는 거 만큼 그 수준이 다름이 별로 없다.<br /><br />언제나 내 주변에 영어 배우고 싶은 한국친구들 굉장히 많았었다. 나는 영어원어민으로 가끔식 이 친구들을 도와주려고 했었지만 시간이 지날수록 알게 되었다. 나는 이 친구들의 공부에 도와줄 수 있는 부분이 별로 없다는 거다. 왜냐하면 나에게도 어려운 질문들이기 때문이다. 이 문법 규칙 어떻게 되는거냐; 왜 이 단어 쓰는거냐 ; 왜 이런식으로 말하는거냐 등 같은 질문에 나의 답변은 항상 똑같았었다 – “나도 모르지 그냥 그렇게 하는거야” . 영어원어민이라도 기본적으로 어떤 영어문법이나 규칙은 언어전문 전공아니면 배우지 않는 부분들이 있다.<br /><br />주변에 TOEIC이나 IELTS때문에 스트레스 받는 친구도 언제나 많았었다. 처음에는 이 친구들이 그냥 오버스럽게 불평하는 거인줄 알았다. 어느날 한번은 한국친구에게 말실수를 했었다. “뭐가 그렇게 어려워? 그냥 니가 공부 열심히 안하는거겠지”. 물론 이 말 한마디 때문에 그 친구와 사이가 순간 안좋아졌지만, 그때 이 친구가 나에게 도전을 냈다. “그럼 너도 한번해봐”. 승부욕이 강한 나는 당연히 이 도전을 거절하지 않았다. 그래서 나도 한번 IELTS쳐봤었다.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">시험등록해서 제대로 본게 아니였지만 ‘읽기’부분에 나랑 내친구가 같이 제대로 해봤다. 혼자 도서관에서 IELTS 시험을 40분동안 봤다. 머리 아팠었다. 질문마다 위에 32번 수능 질문처럼 정확하게 설명되어있지 않고, 복잡하게 말하다가 어떻게 보면 시험보는 사람을 속이는 점도 있는 것 같았었다. 입장마다 이해가 다르기 때문에 몇 질문에 딱 하나 맞는 답변이 있는 경우도 몇개 없었다. A도되고 B도되는데; B이나 C이나 할 수 있는데; 이 질문에 A,B,C,D 다 아닌것같은데 – 나도 40분동안 스트레스 받으면서 고민을 많이 했었다. 나는 내 영어실력이 그렇게 쓰레기인가 싶었다. 시험이 끝나자마자 친구한테 했던 말은 “미안하다."였다.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">나는 IELTS시험에 만점은 커녕 80프로 점수를 기록했다.<br /><br />개인적인 생각인데 IELTS이나 TOEIC의 목적은 영어 커뮤니케이션이 아니다. 영어 커뮤니케이선 (시험점수 아닌) 잘하고싶다면 팁을 하나 알려드릴게요 - 미드이나 외국영화; 음악; 음식; 문화 등 집중해라. 시험 준비하는 학생들보다 더 자연스러운 영어실력이 다져질 것이 확실하다. 그렇게 공부하다보면 문화도 접하기 때문에 영어 원어민들과 문화적으로 서로 이해하게 되면서 자연스럽게 말거리도 생기게 된다. 유머코드도 배우면서 같이 농담을 칠 수있고, 그렇게 되면서 친구를 사귀고 더 연습하게 된다. 이런 프로세스가 되면서 영어 커뮤니케이션에 문제가 없어지는거다. 그래야 이런 개소리 같은 시험들도 무시할수 있을거다. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383442206433897442.post-75324695635787235872014-11-16T15:03:00.001+09:002014-12-31T14:14:15.807+09:00Korea University Korean Language Program Review<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Korea University (<a href="http://klcc.korea.ac.kr/about/about01_eng.html">http://klcc.korea.ac.kr/about/about01_eng.html</a>)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Korea University is one of the top 3 universities in Korea; Part of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SKY_(universities)">SKY universities</a>. It is the Red half of the famous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korea_University%E2%80%93Yonsei_University_rivalry">Yonsei Korea Games</a> and is based in North Seoul</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>What foreigners say:</b> Korea University due to it's location has it's own very strong community. Korea university has many exchange programs for regular courses so there is a good international vibe (estimated at 2000 students) on campus and a slight air of superiority.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cost:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Regular program during the mornings is 1,580,000 KRW/Term (200 hour course) roughly 100,000KRW cheaper than Yonsei / Sogang</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Afternoon class times are available for 1,220,000KRW which is the cheapest of the big three schools (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SKY_(universities)">SKY</a>)</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Living:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <b>(Requires Student Review Input)</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The university is located in the area of Anam Dong which is the base of the CJ international house; because of the large amount of exchange programs and international proffessors at Korea University they have a purpose built dormitory to help house these students.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are one rooms and goshiwons available in anam-dong but no where near the amount of options available to students in the Sinchon area. In terms of nightlife the closest hot spot area is Jonggak to the south or Konkuk University Station towards the east.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One rooms around Korea University Station are on the expensive side (10,000,000 KRW Key money and 600,000 KRW rent - <a href="http://seoul.craigslist.co.kr/apa/4762236995.html">http://seoul.craigslist.co.kr/apa/4762236995.html</a>) around the station is the usual amount of bars and restaurants catering to the student population which will be exclusively used by the university students in the area.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Student Body:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> As mentioned above outside of the Korean language program there are a lot of exchange students who will also take Korean lessons at times. This makes for a much more international student body than other schools. You should expect a good international feel at the campus and there should be more opportunities to network outside of the Korean language program.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Atmosphere:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The prestigious nature of the university means there is a strong academic atmosphere at the university. The Korean language program is not well known but as I have stated because of the large amounts of exchange students and proffessors the campus is more international. The area is large and grand and there is great facilities for sport and other clubs. There is an air of exclusivity to the campus and many of the international students readily adopt the university - in general the passion of Korea university students during the Korea vs Yonsei games is much more intense. This is probably due to the fact that Yonsei pumps through a huge amount of language students who do not recognise themselves as 'Yonsei" students while at Korea university international students are very much adopted into the university culture.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Culture / Job Opportunities:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Still can't compare to the opportunities that exist at Yonsei; the language program is not well known and is not often targeted by the TV shows and other companies that have opportunities for foreign students. <a href="http://klcc.korea.ac.kr/about/school.schoolBoardList.action?strCode=007">The jobs board</a> is pretty sparse in comparison. That said there is a lot of networking opportunities with students who are on exchange and also with foreign professors who are also on exchange.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Sawons Rating:</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivz87oiR45okzzSWXCxb6cIaDA5RhKa9Ar3cZnzDXcUZqwCvDFcjGbBmk9SVBLK9RZmCrhd_UnRqDc9ZVZ_QnwfYyOly2JFT3wRQ7kdVjl9iSimgk7bfOcmA-BJrcokdq_TDJrooRmGuI/s1600/3sojus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivz87oiR45okzzSWXCxb6cIaDA5RhKa9Ar3cZnzDXcUZqwCvDFcjGbBmk9SVBLK9RZmCrhd_UnRqDc9ZVZ_QnwfYyOly2JFT3wRQ7kdVjl9iSimgk7bfOcmA-BJrcokdq_TDJrooRmGuI/s1600/3sojus.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3 / 5 Sojus</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have given Korea University 3 sojus. I think if you are sent here via a university exchange then you are in for a great time and will enjoy the campus and community. However if you are going just for Korean language then I think there are better options. What puts me off about Korea University is the lack of value in housing around the area and the inconvenience to connect up with the other major party areas/subway/attractions. I think overall for a Korean language student then Yonsei or SNU would be the better option.<br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">User Reviews:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please add your own reviews in the comment section addressing the following criteria<br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Soju Rating.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383442206433897442.post-9209994355430519492014-11-11T16:43:00.001+09:002015-01-18T12:11:41.772+09:00동료들의 결혼식, 돌잔치 그리고 장례식 – 눈치 때문에 갔었다. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Mp_F74bNqd6yFJxb077RZJU6SX73rtabgUD6RpAfSRK1h2H1UKYbbcq4QLvhitZhc62WylCyJR29OEB-KQmGprHgjp2h_u2_8zQnSuI-lbzVdS2PA89Anbe2Qr2NR9plq7XaDhObmE8/s1600/DSC09886.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Mp_F74bNqd6yFJxb077RZJU6SX73rtabgUD6RpAfSRK1h2H1UKYbbcq4QLvhitZhc62WylCyJR29OEB-KQmGprHgjp2h_u2_8zQnSuI-lbzVdS2PA89Anbe2Qr2NR9plq7XaDhObmE8/s1600/DSC09886.jpg" height="240" title="동료들의 결혼식, 돌잔치 그리고 장례식 – 눈치 때문에 갔었다.- 마이클 코켄" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
"마이클, 팀원들에게 알리는 게 어때?" 팀장님이 말했다. <br />
"네? 제 휴가 말씀이세요? " 내가 물었다.<br />
"아니, 동생 결혼식 말이야, 팀원들 에게 알리는 게 어때?" <br />
"아니요 괜찮아요, 호주에선 그러지 않아요.”<br />
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한국 조직에서 일하면서 특별한 조직문화 중 하나이다. 동료들의 개인적인 중요한 이벤트들에 참석 해야 한다는 점이다. 사내 직원 포탈의 게시판을 보면 조직제도 관련 안내보다 동료들의 이벤트에 대한 글이 더 많다. 언제든지 쉽게 찾아 볼 수 있는 결혼식, 돌잔치 그리고 장례식 안내와 초대들. " ~ 팀, 김과장 결혼합니다" , “ ~ 팀의 이대리의 공주 지연이의 돌잔치에 초대합니다." 나랑 똑같은 부서; 팀이나 임원이면 나는 어쩔 수없이 가야 했었다. 신입사원의 많지 않은 급여로, 부조와 조의까지 하기에 부담스러운 건 어쩔 수 없었다. <br />
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회사생활 하면서 한 두번 친한 동기들의 결혼식 가긴 했었지만, 한국 회사 다니면서 가고 싶어서 갔던 행사들은 별로 없었다. 가고 싶지 않아서 선배님의 돌잔치 거짓말로 피한적이 도 있다. 나도 한국동료들처럼 눈치와 부담 때문에 많은 행사들에 갔었다. 회사 생활을 위해, 더 원만한 대인관계를 위해서 원치 않는 행사에 참여해야 하는 경우들을 이해하지만 어떤 행사 참석하기는 좀 그렇다.<br />
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제일 마음에 걸렸던 행사는 바로 직속 이사님 아버지의 장례식이였다. 나는 이사님과, 면접 외 에는 대화 해 본적이 없었는데, 물론 그분의 아버지의 얼굴; 성함; 아무것도 몰랐다. - 그렇지만 나의 부서 이사님이셔서 꼭 가야 하는거였다. 신입사원인 나는 그 장례식장에서 잠깐 도와주기도 했다. 외국인으로서 그때 얼마나 불편했는지 설명하기가 어렵다. 이사님의 아버지랑 모르는 사이인데 나는 이 장례식장에서 그 아버지를 사랑하는 가족들이나 친구들에게 인사하면서 신발 정리 하고 있었다. 그분들 얼마나 이상하다고 생각이 했을까? "이 외국인이 왜 여기 있어" 바로 오시는 손님들의 얼굴에 써있었다. “나도 몰라” 나는 눈으로 대답 하고 있었다.<br />
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나는 나쁜 사람 아니라고 믿고 있지만 (어떤분들 반대하겠지) 솔직하게 말하자면 나는 이사님의 아버지가 돌아가셔서 별로 상관이 없었다. 슬픈 감정 하나도 찾고 싶었는데 결국 못 찾았었다. 나는 이사님이랑 이사님의 아버지에게 가식적인 예의로 그 자리에 있었다는 진실 아직도 기억이 든다. <br />
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더욱더 미안했던건 신발정리 하다가 나는 그 장례식장 자리에서 동료들이랑 밥과 술을 재미있게 행복하게 먹었다. 물론 그걸 한국문화에서는 보통행동이지만 나는 이렇게 모르는 분의 장례식장에서 놀아도되나 생각이 들었다. 나는 그때 예의로 어떻게 해야하는지 몰라서 선배들의 예의를 따라 했다. 갑자기 이 장례식이 회식으로 변경이 되버렸다. 몇시간동안 온돌방에 앉으면서 전통적인 한국음식을 먹고 소맥 원샷해가지고 우리 회사에 많은 직원들이랑 대화했다. 이사님의 아버지가 우리 그렇게 시끄럽게 웃으면서 놀고 있는걸 싫어했을까? 아니면 좋아했을까? 알수가 없었다 - 왜냐하면 돌아가셨던 그 아버지를 만나본 동료가 없었기 때문이다. <br />
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내 친구들의 말로는 나는 이런 말하면 안된다는데 내가 가본 행사중에 이 장례식처럼 재미있는 자리가 없었다 (진짜로). 생각해보면 나는 이 장례식에서 친구결혼식보다 더 오래 시간을 보내고 술도 더 잘 챙겼고 과연 나왔던 밥도 더 맛있었다. 물론 맛있는 웨딩홀이나 호텔부페도 있지, 그런데 아무리 맛이 있다고해도 저런식으로 30분안에 먹고 가버리니까 제대로 즐기지 못했다. 장례식들이 24시간 동안 하면서 많은 가족들과 멀리에서 오는 친구들 다 모여서 새벽까지 추억들 나누고 밥이랑 술도 먹는다. 어떤면에서 슬픈일보다 즐겨운일 생길때 하는 행사 같았었다.<br />
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아무튼 만약에 팀장이 다른 직원들에게 내 동생 결혼하는 좋은 소식 안내한다면 나는 싫어하지않을거다. 그런데 나는 안내하지마라는 이유는 다른 직원들에게 부담 주고싶지 않았기 때문이다. 내 동생이랑 사이 없는 분들인데 나에게 축하메시지나 돈까지 주면 서로 부담을 줄까봐 거절했다. <br />
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나는 한가지 확신한다. - 나는 결혼 하게 되면, 나에게 중요하고 의미있는 사람들만 초대 할 것이다.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383442206433897442.post-68596191117549583522014-11-07T16:29:00.000+09:002014-11-07T16:38:00.608+09:00My Experience with Korean Overtime<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s 6:30pm
on a weekday and as a graduate employee I have finished my work for the day and
decided to go home. “Team Leader, I’ll see you tomorrow” I announce in Korean
and turn to leave the office. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a
foreigner in Korea I know that I am not required to meet all the forms of
corporate etiquette but as good manners I have adjusted to formally announcing
my departure to my boss daily. However every day I get the same passing comment
from my boss - “Already? You’re going home now?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now my Korean
boss is not a horrible man, nor does he truly in his heart want me to stay
longer at the office. Maybe it is out of habit or out of <i>noonchi</i><i> </i>but every day at 6:30pm it is the same routine “Where are you
going so soon” – is there a hidden meaning to his words, does he want me to
stay? Is he jealous I can go home? Does he hate me? Does he think I’m lazy –
such a simple and ambiguous statement could be and often is interpreted in many
ways particular by Korean staff. However as I stated, I’m a foreigner in a
Korean office and I don’t have to and am knowingly ignoring the snide remark
and make a B-line for the door. If I was a Korean in this situation what would
I do, or rather what would I feel I have to do? I don’t think I would have the
bravery to act the way I have and this leads me to write about the Korean
concepts of overtime and Kaltui (Knife time - <span lang="KO">칼퇴</span>) the term used to refer
to leaving work at 5 o’clock on the dot (like cutting time with a knife)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First let me
start by saying that me leaving at 6:30 is by no means “Leaving on the dot”. My
official work hours signed in my contract are from 9am to 6pm and staying to
6:30 needs to be recognised as staying (or rather working) overtime for
30minutes. Korean workers have developed a bad habit of referring to 7pm or 8pm
finishes as the above mentioned<i> “knife
time”; 9pm</i> is now the regular finish time and 11 or later is finally
considered as overtime.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some will say that it’s just a word but when the situation
is repeated and widely accepted by companies and workers across Korea it can be
viewed as so much more than just a word. The word and the Idea of “knife time” need
to be replaced and Korean society needs to start adopting the idea of finishing
work on time as just that, leaving work on time. Rarely will you see a friend
say to another “I worked overtime until 7pm tonight” – a likely response to
that statement will be “7pm!? That’s not overtime that’s <i>knife time</i>!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you can see I have struggled to translate this concept
of “knife time” into English. There is no word for it and it’s because in most English
speaking cultures the idea of leaving work on time is normal and overtime is
the abnormality. If you look the word up in a modern Korean dictionary than it
will simple state that it refers to leaving work on time “like a knife cutting
time” but when the term is used in discussions between workers and friends it
can be interpreted in so many much more negative ways.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“You left early and abandoned us”; “you don’t work as hard
as I do”; “you don’t sacrifice for the company”; “You don’t care about our
results”; “I am jealous of you” – there are multiple sub-layers of meaning to
the concept of knife time. As a result the ideal of finishing your work
effectively and on time is then packaged as a negative concept while overtime is positively
reinforced and workers are effectively stuck in their seats to late hours of
the night in a bid to be perceived as hardworking, sacrificing, loyal
employees.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Young
Korean graduates have had enough and there are signs of change amongst the big
Chaebols – who by in large dictate the corporate culture of the entire Korean
economy. These major Korean companies and ambitious HR teams are certainly
trying to change this culture – with varying success. Some companies though
have simply got it all wrong. Samsung and CJ both have programs called “Smart
Day” and “Family Day” respectively. These programs aim to give workers more
time to spend with their families and to work “smarter” by forcing them to go
home at a set time. Good intentions that are being executed poorly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
issue with these programs is that staffs are leaving work on time; that is at
the time stated on their original contracts. They are not leaving ‘early’ or
even taking a half day but simply leaving work at the otherwise normal agreed
time (usually 6pm). The fatal flaw is these programs are only reinforcing the
ideal of “knife time” by packaging what should be the norm into a type of
reward. Companies are effectively telling staff that to leave work on time is
something special, a gift, a reward and other than that day they are expected to
work the industry “Normal” hours which is essentially overtime work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s now time both companies and workers took a new
approach to the problem. The voices against mandatory and pointless overtime
are growing as a generational change occurs in upper management but more needs
to be done from both companies and society in general to push this agenda.
Workers need to start thinking that even 30 minutes past the regular work time
is overtime and the concept and Korean word “knife time” needs to be deleted all
together. Leaving on time needs to be recognised as a positive; not only in
terms of work-life balance of employees but in the ability and efficiency of
workers to finish their work in the allotted time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It won’t be easy to change but I definitely believe that
with the generational change occurring that there is a chance for the next line
of Korean managers to make a significant and ultimately beneficial cultural change
for the entire nation.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383442206433897442.post-34851778594482751462014-11-07T13:07:00.003+09:002015-01-07T16:00:49.184+09:00Why do Koreans work so late? - An in-depth look at Korean Overtime Culture<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Why do Koreans work so late?</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is probably the question that most foreigners working or studying in Korea love to discuss and outsiders often ask or have heard rumors about. It's true, Koreans have <a href="http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DatasetCode=ANHRS" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">some of the worst working hours in the OECD</a> in fact according to 2012 statistics they were ranked 2nd in the OECD for <span style="background-color: white;"><i>Average annual hours actually worked per worker </i></span>and while most of your Korean coworkers and friends will have you believe that they are genuinely that busy that they need to work overtime (which in some cases is true) there are also some interesting and unique cultural forces in play which are causing Koreans to stay later at the office than they need to.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">I will try to cover all of the different reasons as to why Korean <i>white collar workers</i> in corporate positions are working so late and also touch on how Korean companies are trying but in some cases failing to change this overtime corporate culture.</span><br />
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The culture of working long hours in Korean companies are a result of a variety of influences - the epic rise from poverty to middle class power; top - bottom hierarchy structures, constant reporting, micro management, perception, loyalty, face and <i>Noonchi</i> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Noonchi</i></b></span><br />
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The ideal of <b><i>noonchi</i></b> (눈치) can have a variety of meanings. It often refers to how one can perceive the emotions and atmosphere of others by observing them without any communication which can also apply to the business setting. However I prefer to refer to <i>Noonchi</i> as a silent set of expectations and rules placed on workers. Often in the Koreean corporate world people will refer to what they call the <i>Noonchi</i> pyramid - that is the Junior members are watching the mid managers. the mid managers are watching the managers, the managers are watching the department heads and the department heads are watching the directors and finally the directors are watching the family owners. When I say watching I am referring to <i>noonchi</i> and how each level of hierarchy is concerned of how their superiors above them perceive their actions and through <i>noonchi</i> they can determine the subliminal demands of their managers. This is sort of like how a junior worker for fear of appearing stupid will not ask "why or how" when given some work rather they will simply say "yes" and sit quietly with no idea of how to complete their work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What holds most Koreans back so late is this <i>noonchi</i> and the belief that they can't leave on time because that's what the boss wants. The bosses can't leave early either because he believes that's what their superiors want and so on and so forth. The only person who is leaving on time in this scenario is the person at the top of the <i>noonchi</i> pyramid. Koreans will often sit in their office chairs from 7pm to 11pm or later with no specific work but out of <i>noonchi</i>. From that time at night there are probably millions of Koreans on social media talking about how they can't go home because "눈치 보여" (<i>noonchi</i>)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Perception and Old School Management</b></span><br />
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Being busy in Korea is viewed as a positive rather than a negative, even in social settings. Think of all the times you have messaged your Korean friend to see how they are only to get a reply days later and the mandatory sorry message of "I was so busy out of my mind" (너무 바빠서 정신이 없었다). In most cases this is just a cop-out so that they could ignore you but when I think about it now I can never recall a situation where a Korean friend or colleague said to me "I'm not busy at all" or "I have nothing to do at work". There is a lack of honesty here but it's because in Korea not being busy can so easily and often is interpreted as being <b>lazy</b>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finishing all your work and going home on time is not viewed as hard working but quite the opposite - you either don't have enough work and your position is not important or you are not working hard enough. If the office takes this view then what advantage is there for Koreans to finish their work and leave on time? Nobody in the corporate world wants to appear as if their job is easy, or that they don't have enough work because that would be admitting that they are easily replaceable, not adding value to the company and not working hard enough - and in a incredibly tight and competitive job market it is the safe play to give off the impression that your job and by association you yourself are integral to the operation of the company.</span><br />
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The general rule in a Korean company is to not leave until your direct team leader has left which would be fine if not for the team leader also believing that they can't leave until a certain time because they also want to give off the impression of working hard. Perception reigns supreme in a Korean office and giving off the impression of working hard by staying late is something all Koreans will do. In fact although your contract will state working hours from 9am - 6pm but working until 8-9pm or later (and then there is Dinner drinks) will be the norm.</span><br />
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So who is demanding that these laws of <i>noonchi </i>and perception are being enforced? Many believe that a lot of these negatives of Korean corporate culture are a result of the old school management principles of the company Directors. These directors have grown up and worked through one of the greatest economy turn-arounds in modern history. They are from the school of hard work - long hours, personal sacrifice for the good of the company. I definitely felt that in my experience working at Korean companies that the mid managers often in their 40s are not horrible, sadistic people who like to see young people suffer just as they did and for that matter nor are the directors but there is a difference in how they view the working hours. Company directors are not thinking to themselves "You guys need to suffer like I did" they simply expect the same commitment and work ethic that they contributed to build the company.The important issue now is that the next generation of Directors begin to recognize the changing values and demands of young Koreans - long hours and sacrifice are not going to produce the same results as they did in the past and there is definitely hope that the next generation begin to see the value in promoting better work-life balance.</span><br />
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<b><i>Hierarchy Chains and Bottom lines</i></b></span><br />
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All of these factors are intertwining which makes it hard to accurately sub-head sections. One aspect which often does not come up in many discussion on Korean overtime is that there are actually some workers, departments and companies that are genuinely THAT busy. </span><br />
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Some departments and companies are very understaffed; if a person is working 80 hour weeks a company doesn't think to itself that it needs to hire extra staff to share the workload, simply they think that an 80 hour work week is what is expected. Companies have a lot to answer for in this respect and they have a keen eye on there bottom line - they never needed extra staff to do the position before so why should they now? which means inevitably there will be staff doing the work of two or even three people for the sake of company profits.</span><br />
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The other issue Is that of Hierarchy chains and demands. This has some links to the military history of Korean leadership and also the 2 years of military service that young Korean men have to undertake. When demands come from the top they are required to be attended to first. This means real work that is contributing value to the company is ignored as staff are forced to supply the top management with their demands. This is a vicious cycle of ad-hoc reporting, I like to describe it as a fire department, teams move from fire to fire doing adhoc reporting on issues that the management have suddenly taken an interest in. It is unavoidable to not stay late when you and your team are forced to prepare reports to the standard a CEO expects on topics and issues which are not your expertise nor are directly related to your work. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If the CEO wants a report tomorrow on the Australian HR system and it's difference to Korea than you really have no choice but to spend the night preparing the report. It would be like if you had a very inconsiderate and irrational teacher at school or university who does pop-style 20 page assignments which are due the following day. What can you do? if you don't do the work your position is on the line, and if you do do the work then you are going to sacrifice your personal time and health. Because it is the CEO or another director demands you can not simply give a verbal report either - you want to be perceived as if you have done a good job which usually means a simple 10 minute ad-hoc briefing on a topic is turned into a 1 hour; 40 slide power point filled with graphs and models which essentially mean nothing.</span><br />
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<b><i>Loyalty and Sacrifice</i></b></span><br />
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Korea as we know is a largely Collective society. Personal gains are sacrificed for the group, or in a workers perspective - personal time and well-being is sacrificed for the better of the company (and by large the economy). It has always been interesting to me that this style of thinking is common place when clearly the elite families who run the major Korean chaebols (Samsung; LG; Hanhwa; CJ) got into that position by not sacrificing for the group rather they have had others sacrifice for their own personal gain. </span><br />
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In the case of staying late - if we again look at the aforementioned pyramid model; young workers will look to stay as late as their mid-managers and so on. This is to display that they are "all-in" they are willing to sacrifice just as their managers, it is a show of loyalty and of caring. If we suffer then we suffer together and this is a admiral trait if but for the fact that nobody really has to suffer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sacrifice is glorified and expected. Of course there are those who simply prefer to stay at the office and are avoiding their home lives (possibly another subheading) but the majority are definitely sacrificing personal time, health and mental well-being. In a society where individuals are expected to tow the line as part of the group it becomes increasingly difficult for workers to avoid the 'sacrifice' of staying late - for fear of being ostracized or made an example. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>"Smart Days" and "Family Days"</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Without a doubt modern Korean society has had enough of the pointless overtime and there are signs of change among the big
Chaebols – who by in large dictate the corporate culture of the entire Korean
economy. These major Korean companies and ambitious HR teams are certainly
trying to change this culture – with varying success. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some companies though
have simply got it all wrong. Samsung and CJ both have programs called “Smart
Day” and “Family Day” respectively. These programs aim to give workers more
time to spend with their families and to work “smarter” by forcing them to go
home at a set time. Good intentions that are being executed poorly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
issue with these programs is that staffs are leaving work on time; that is at
the time stated on their original contracts. They are not leaving ‘early’ or
even taking a half day but simply leaving work at the otherwise normal agreed
time (usually 6pm). The fatal flaw is these programs are packaging what should be the norm into a type of
reward. Companies are effectively telling staff that to leave work on time is
something special, a abnormality, a reward and other than that day they are expected to
work the industry “Normal” hours which is essentially overtime work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>I hope I have been able to give you some insight into the complexity of Korean corporate culture and overtime and I will continuously add to this article as I am sure others who have experienced it also have valid opinions and points as to why Korean workers simply can't leave the office on time.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383442206433897442.post-35426478019699746262014-10-16T09:03:00.000+09:002014-10-16T09:03:58.614+09:00외국직원들 싫어하는 네이버; 업무 생산성 저하시킨다<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDy3sfPPFlZS41KEWSp5-R8n9cBi-ZXoNzlH2Qc3FBe5dbKJfHBZYFnIvNj_59SH-weTaRZEP4qdj2M8VAaJHGdWJYkUbC3qRIhcyteOSUFULd6WVxfGsI75vZ8CYz-zxtvic-w5aADOM/s1600/BN-CW630_naver_G_20140520220356.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDy3sfPPFlZS41KEWSp5-R8n9cBi-ZXoNzlH2Qc3FBe5dbKJfHBZYFnIvNj_59SH-weTaRZEP4qdj2M8VAaJHGdWJYkUbC3qRIhcyteOSUFULd6WVxfGsI75vZ8CYz-zxtvic-w5aADOM/s1600/BN-CW630_naver_G_20140520220356.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">한국은 눈부신 인터넷 속도와 유비쿼터스 연결성으로 유명하다. 이런 한국에서 대다수 사람들이 처음 인터넷을 접할 때 빼놓을 수 없는 것이 바로 점유율 70% 정도를 자랑하는 ‘네이버’ 검색포털이다. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">네이버가 한국에서 이렇게 인기를 끄는 이유는 여러가지가 있으나 비즈니스적인 맥락에서 볼 때 필자는 네이버의 검색엔진 모델이 비효율적이고 생산성을 크게 저하시킨다고 본다. 네이버 시스템이 지닌 영리함은 네이버가 콘텐츠 생산과 서비스를 모두 담당한다는 데 있다. 이로 인해 검색결과가 네이버가 생산한 콘텐츠와, 혹은 네이버가 호스트하는 사이트 상에 부합해 거의 전적으로 내부 트래픽 증가를 촉진하는 시스템을 만들수 있었다. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">네이버 홈페이지는 각종 정보와 헤드라인으로 가득해, 구글 홈페이지와는 완전히 딴판이다. 독특한 점은 네이버 홈페이지에 실린 많은 링크와 헤드라인들이 네이버가 개발했거나 블로깅 플랫폼 등 자체 사이트 중 하나에 호스트된 페이지로 연결된다는 것이다. 검색 선호도와 관련해 구글 이용자들은 자신이 무엇을 검색할지 이미 알고 있는 반면, 한국인들은 무엇을 검색할지 알기 위해 네이버를 방문한다는 얘기까지 있다. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">현재 한국 기업들이 직면한 문제는 대학을 나온 여러 세대의 지식인들이 온라인 검색은 네이버에 크게 의존하고 있고, 검색결과와 정보는 네이버의 블로그와 지식인과 같은 페이지에서 얻는다는 것이다. 네이버에서 한국어로 ‘한국 경제 전망’을 치면 네이버 카페, 네이버 블로그, 네이버 뉴스, 외부 사이트 등의 결과가 뜬다. 이 중에서 정부 공식 사이트는 하나도 없다. 반면 구글에서 한국어로 ‘한국 경제 전망’을 치면 한국 기획재정부가 발표한 공식 보고서와 국영 싱크탱크인 한국개발연구원(KDI) 등이 뜬다. 같은 검색어를 영어로 치면 국제통화기금(IMF)과 OECD, KDI, 금융기관들의 보고서가 뜬다. 이는 네이버에서는 한국 정부, 싱크탱크, 국제기구 같은 공식 소스에서 나온 정보를 찾기 어렵다는 뜻이다. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">사무실 근로자라면 전문가가 준비하고 작성한 보고서, 사례연구, 통계, 리서치 자료 등을 놓칠 수도 있다는 얘기다. 누구나 무료로 접근할 수 있는 정보인데 말이다. 여기에 부족한 영어 독해능력까지 더해져 리서치 스킬도 형편없고 정보 소스도 없는 인력이 만들어진다. 한국 기업이 하지 못하고 있는 것은 직원들을 대상으로 업무와 관련해 영어 자료를 읽고 쓰는 능력을 교육하는 일이다. 마지막으로 랜딩페이지(검색엔진, 광고 등을 경유하여 접속하는 유저가 최초로 보게 되는 웹페이지)로서 네이버는 결국 근로자의 관심을 현재 일어나고 있는 사건과 “유행하는 것들”로 돌려버릴 것이다. 물론 네이버는 강점도 있다. 크라우드소싱 방식의 정보 접근 덕분에 식당 등 화제가 되는 명소를 찾는 데는 그만이다. 하지만 업무용 검색엔진으로서는 생산성을 고갈시킬 뿐이다.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383442206433897442.post-25924492602409763162014-10-14T16:20:00.002+09:002014-10-14T16:21:20.597+09:00Old New Recruits and Young Retirees a Complex Issue for Corporate Korea<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20140915000556">Korea’s fast aging population</a> and subsequent risk to their economy
and pension funds is a recurring and well documented issue in South Korea. With
an official retirement age much lower than its western counterparts at 60;
Korean workers despite their <a href="http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/korea/">notoriously long hours</a> actually work less than the average
worker in other developed countries. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However the
aging workforce issue won’t simply be resolved by increasing the retirement
age, although it is likely to form a significant part of a nationwide strategy
that will also include increased employment of mothers returning to the
workforce, Korea also has to deal with a continual increasing average age of
first year workers</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have
documented this in my previous articles but a recent survey conducted by <span style="background: white;">Dong-A Ilbo and recruitment website Incruit.com, found
that the average age of new office workers in Korea was a staggering 33.2 years
of age for men (up from 27.3 in 2008) and 28.6 years of age for females.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This trend has yet to show signs of change and is caused by a range of
issues unique to the Korean employment market. Many young Koreans are highly
educated with an estimated 70 per cent enrolling in tertiary education. The
catch is that the majority of the 70 percent have sought tertiary education in
order to win jobs with major corporations which contribute to around 80% to Korea’s
GDP but only make up about 10 per cent of jobs available. Samsung Group for
example regular record some 100,000 applicants every job season for entry level
jobs such is the competition for what are widely considered as the prestigious
jobs with prestigious companies in Korea.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Failure to secure a decorated job means many young people are postponing
their entrance in to the work force to pursue extra education such as language
certificates, going on overseas exchanges or working holidays and dedicating
gap years to extended study for notoriously tough company and public
institution entrance exams. Not only contributing to the aging workforce
equation but also investing thousands of family savings in the process.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">South Korea’s men are also required to do a minimum of around two years
of military service unless exempted for medical and other reasons. This
effectively stops new university graduates from entering the workforce if they
have yet to complete their service as many companies will require new recruits
to have completed their service before entering a company. This is just one way
Korean companies are discriminating during their recruiting process.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white;">While there is a need for a monumental change in Korean society views
towards skilled labour and “blue collar” jobs I also believe that major Korean
corporations which set the tone for the entire industry have a role to play in
combating the growing age of recruits. This could entail a variety of policies
such as a reduction in the filtering techniques used to identify “suitable”
candidates, A change in perception around military service and unpaid leave or even
scrapping </span><a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2014/07/09/south-koreas-costly-obsession-with-english/"><span style="background: white;">English language test
requirements</span></a><span style="background: white;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white;">The rising age of recruits is also a problem for Korean companies
operating in the global market. Korean Companies with overseas offices in
countries such as in Australia are likely to encounter distrust and factions
amongst the workforce around the sensitivity of status and pay. Korean society
and companies place a large importance on age and hierarchy in the
workforce. With new graduates entering
at the age of 30 most will not be in mid-management roles until their 40s.
Koreans Expats sent to work in overseas offices will as a consequence encounter
workers of the same age but of significantly higher status and pay compared to
themselves. This unique issue is particularly troublesome when 30-35 year old
foreign managers are dealing with 45 year old Korean co-workers who refuse to treat
their ideas and opinions with the appropriate respect because of the age gap –
something I have encountered first hand in my role consulting to Australia –
Korean businesses.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whatever the policy, Korean corporations need to recognise that they are
part of the cause but can be part of the solution. In modern Korea, Chaebols are
at the center of Korean society and culture and a shift in attitude from them
will trickle down to a shift in society’s perspective. It’s simple to see that
more must be done to promote young Koreans to enter into the workforce at a
younger age and Korean Chaebols will have a large role to play.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383442206433897442.post-88314116017199390612014-10-02T16:05:00.000+09:002014-10-02T16:05:13.146+09:00Seoul National University (SNU) Korean Language Program Review<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Seoul National University (<a href="http://lei.snu.ac.kr/site/en/klec/main/main.jsp">http://lei.snu.ac.kr/site/en/klec/main/main.jsp</a></b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">)</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQZ5CCHewYSbBK9JsSsiJJ-Bv4dgH6mllsLkxPkWKPNzcdb_Pd136P5oel533-91gSaY6BQrFQEbK2Fj-33ldFdHh9HEiv-wD5Ta3Gxn7sMlMKKMiAc-XT-Q07obCSd24-hcz0iDICPlk/s1600/snu.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQZ5CCHewYSbBK9JsSsiJJ-Bv4dgH6mllsLkxPkWKPNzcdb_Pd136P5oel533-91gSaY6BQrFQEbK2Fj-33ldFdHh9HEiv-wD5Ta3Gxn7sMlMKKMiAc-XT-Q07obCSd24-hcz0iDICPlk/s1600/snu.png" height="320" title="Seoul National University Korean Review" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Arguably the most prestigious school in Korea and set
against the backdrop of gwanak-san the Korean language program at Seoul
National University is in comparison much smaller than at Yonsei or Sogang but
does provide a much different experience<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>What foreigners say:</b> Really
isn’t much said about this program. Those who have attended it would say that
it’s more for the long term learner. This assumption is based on the fact that
many in the course are there as a requirement to enter into a university course
and or masters course at the university; So you are more likely to find people
who are looking to build careers in Korea rather than just have a gap year soju
bender.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cost:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Regular program during
the mornings is 1,580,000 KRW/Term (200 hour course) roughly 100,000KRW cheaper
than Yonsei / Sogang but the unpopular afternoon class times are available for 1,420,000KRW
which seems like a bargain.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Living:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> From my very biased
opinion the living area is the real selling point for SNU. Surrounded by Gwanak
Mountain there are multiple areas with easy access to the university which also
provide competitively priced officetels and quick access to local nightspots
either at Sillim, or further down the train line with Gangnam and hongdae both
20 minute trips either way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The main area for students is in Sillim-2dong, a little valley “town” of Gwanak Mountain which is colloquially known by most as “Goshichon” (</span><span lang="KO" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">고시촌</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">) or “Nokdugori” (</span><span lang="KO" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">녹두거리</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">). The first nickname is derived from the fact that the area is home to many well-known law hagwons (Academies) and study rooms (</span><span lang="KO" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">독서실</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">) which are filled with aspiring lawyers who are preparing for the Korean equivalent to the BAR exam. There are the 3 famous tests in Korea, the Law exam, the government servant exam and the foreign diplomat exam; all with ridiculously tough entrance requirements and even harder competition rates. Students preparing for these tests are known to go own self-imposed sabbaticals in which they live in Goshichon for 2-3years to focus on their studies. Add in the SNU students and also students for nearby Soongshil and Chungang and basically it’s a little town for nerds with track suit pants combined with sandals the fashion of choice. Despite the large population of students there is not much of a party scene because most are so concerned with their studies but there are plenty of bars for stressed students to unwind and more than enough places to eat on the cheap! Local coffee shops charge around 1,000 – 2,000 KRW and there are a selection of “Student” restaurants which will be a slightly cheaper version of Kimbab Cheonguk. Living in the area you are only a 5 minute bus trip away from Sillim Station which is a poor man’s substitute for Hongdae/Gangnam but none the less serves just fine as an alternative area to go out for drinks with friends. Beyond that you will be around 20-30 minute walk from the SNU campus and around the corner from the entrance to Gwanak Mountain, one of the easier and hence more popular mountain climbing trails in Seoul. Prices in this area vary but I have stayed here and friend have also stayed here for 2,000,000KRW Key money or less; paying around 200,000 – 400,000 KRW / Month rent. So it’s a good option for someone without key money and for those brave enough has tiny spaces (literally just a bed) available for practically nothing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beyond this area you also have the option of living in the areas surrounding Seoul National University Station (Bongcheondong; Nakseongdae) both are excellent options and provide a slight upgrade to living in Goshichon. I have previously lived in Bongcheon for 5,000,000 KRW / 450,000 KRW month rent in a nice one bedroom officetel. These areas provide something a little different to Goshichon and are a mix of apartment buildings and small officetels / jutaeks. In and around these areas are lots of little marts, dry cleaners and local pizza / chicken shops so they are great areas for anyone looking for a bit more of an authentic community feel in a less well known area. But just keep in mind that most of the students will be in Goshichon or nearby and so you will sometimes get annoyed at always having to take that 10 minute bus up and down the hill to get to the “Chon” (Goshichon)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is also shared rooms available in the SNU dormitory but it’s location at the top of the campus hill makes it a bit of a nuisance for late night drinking down in Goshichon. Also there was a suicide there a few years back so that would put me off recommending staying there.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Student Body:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Surprisingly a
lot more mixed than at other universities. There is always a strong Chinese
presence but as I have stated it also acts as a stream for non-Koreans to enter
into SNU courses. Expect a good representation from Mongolia, a few Americans, Europeans
and a token Aussie or Kiwi. Not as many Japanese/Russians as other places. It
should also be noted that during my time there were almost no Korean Gyopo’s -
a stark contrast to Yonsei.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Atmosphere:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> A lot more focused
towards studying with a strong community feel. With the majority of students
all living in Goshichon you get a good chance to create strong bonds over
drinks. Definitely for the types that prefer the low-key style of fun – quiet barbecues,
pool, darts etc. If I was to compare it to Yonsei/Sogang I would say that Yonsei
is like going to a new party every night while SNU is like going to your mates
to play video games. Because most students are set to be in Korea for 4-5 or
more years it allows everyone to get to know each other without the feeling
that each term will be a brand new party with brand new people.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Culture / Job Opportunities:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Very
limited. Don’t expect the same amount of opportunities as Yonsei to appear on
TV shows or find English tutoring. That said there is still a few part time
opportunities posted on the SNU notice boards. Teachers are not really well
connected either for significant job opportunities. Most of the students are
preparing to go into university so there is a lack of networking opportunities
for the slightly older business professional. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Sawons Rating:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie06CBrJOjLVr2fYv9DmqJv9991a1i-EQanl4uD33-18QkDnqK0ECyWP4TFaG_KOHy_MS4TFZWAICcjtsNY2MPLLQQ5kHiySlc_dpbfGIzRfHLDD-IY8MqQqUbCfrkH33h-VcA-nUwc_U/s1600/4sojus.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie06CBrJOjLVr2fYv9DmqJv9991a1i-EQanl4uD33-18QkDnqK0ECyWP4TFaG_KOHy_MS4TFZWAICcjtsNY2MPLLQQ5kHiySlc_dpbfGIzRfHLDD-IY8MqQqUbCfrkH33h-VcA-nUwc_U/s1600/4sojus.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4 / 5 Sojus</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I really wanted to give it 5, but the lack of networking and
job opportunities meant I drunk the 5<sup>th</sup> Soju. SNU strong points lie
in its surroundings and for those that are sick of the heavily urbanised feel
of Seoul living in a valley of Gwanak Mountain can provide a nice break. I
certainly recommend this university for any students about to go into levels 3
or beyond and for those who considered themselves a more focused student. If
you are after the party life then SNU is probably not for you; but if you like
going out at midnight for a quick drink and a bite to eat with your mates in
your pajamas then SNU is your best options. <br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">User Reviews:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please add your own reviews in the comment section
addressing the following criteria<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Living<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Student Body<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Curriculum<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Atmosphere<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Opportunities<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Soju Rating.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383442206433897442.post-62453043316389709392014-10-01T12:13:00.002+09:002014-10-01T12:16:37.712+09:00Chung-Ang University (CAU) Korean Language Program Review<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Chung-Ang University (CAU) (<a href="http://caugsenglish.cau.ac.kr/" target="_blank">http://caugsenglish.cau.ac.kr</a>)</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIyylMb1yHBpeg4cDofngPdF9KUcowfKG8BDenThePIJ-hlmsnGH73J1N-2U1MHN7vxO8z1a0Ru0sYoX-Ls2tXnz0PMXSw6KzZo9JnkVDI94MHHj8WKi9-He_UdNZIWhtjZG3sLAotgG4/s1600/20090703171727828565.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIyylMb1yHBpeg4cDofngPdF9KUcowfKG8BDenThePIJ-hlmsnGH73J1N-2U1MHN7vxO8z1a0Ru0sYoX-Ls2tXnz0PMXSw6KzZo9JnkVDI94MHHj8WKi9-He_UdNZIWhtjZG3sLAotgG4/s1600/20090703171727828565.jpg" height="229" title="Chung ang university Korean language program" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps not as popular as the Korean Language Courses on
offer from the universities in Sinchon, Chung-Ang University’s Korean Language
Course offers a structured and thorough learning program for a cheaper price,
with good exposure to various Korean cultural activities throughout the
semester.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Located in Heukseok, a neighbourhood of Dongjak, CAU is within 5 minutes
walking distance from Heukseok Station on Line 9. Notable landmarks include
Soongshil University to the south, and the Seoul National Cemetery to the east.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>What foreigners say:</b>
The curriculum places more of an emphasis on grammar and writing than speaking,
but there are so many opportunities to speak outside of class and the
university also encourages student participation in various university groups
or clubs (<span lang="KO" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">동아리</span>).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>
Cost: </b>1,300,000 KRW per semester (textbooks not included).
Classes are held in the mornings (9am to 1pm) for Levels 1-2, with afternoon
classes (1pm to 5pm) for Levels 3 and above.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Living:</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Living in Heukseok-dong close to CAU is a popular option for
students, however the shortage of accommodation in the area surrounding the
university means you would need to get in quick weeks before the semester
begins. However, the surrounding areas such as Noryangjin, Sangdo and Nodeul
are a good alternative and have a large amount of buses that service CAU.
(There is even a free shuttle bus exclusively for CAU students that runs to and
from Noryangjin Station to CAU campus via Sangdo every 10 minutes).<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bongcheon-dong and other areas surround Seoul National University Station (서울대역) also provides a convenient living alternative.(See SNU Review)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heukseok is by no means party central and although there are many restaurants
and cafes around the uni, there are only a few bars which means that you won’t
have to put up with loud, thumping music or drunken partygoers when you’re
trying to sleep. However the area is notorious for its traffic congestion
(especially in the morning) and is often a common complaint among students and
residents.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Property around Heukseok is mainly limited to villas or one-room accommodation
with prices averaging around 500,000KRW/Month with 5,000,000 Key money.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Living on campus dormitories was until recently offered only to students
attending the university itself, but this has now opened to included students
who are only taking the Korean language program. Dormitory fees are about
2,600,000KRW per year, however during semester breaks you will be required to
pay an additional fee. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Student Body: </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The great thing about studying at Chung-Ang was the fact that I was practically
the only western student not just in my class, but within the entire Korean
language program. (There was one French student in my class). This meant I was a bit of a novelty on campus and provided me with many opportunities to network and create friends with the Korean students.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">CAU Language Program primarily caters to Chinese students and I would say at
least 90% of students in the language program were Chinese. The course
textbooks have a Chinese translation and explanations, however the English
version has to be obtained on request from the International Education office.
In my class of about 20 students, there were 16 Chinese, 1 French, 1 Mongolian,
1 Japanese and 1 Australian (myself). </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
Atmosphere: </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The campus is designed to fit in well with its natural surrounding and offers
many places to sit under a tree with your friends after class (There is even a
small man-made lake with a dragon water fountain) </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The atmosphere is what you’d expect for a university, if you’re looking for a
party atmosphere you’d be better off going to Hongdae Uni or Yonsei. Staff are
professional and very helpful and will go to extra lengths to help you
assimilate into university life, even offering a buddy program that partners
you up with a Korean student at the university, which is a great opportunity to
make new friends and practice your speaking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Culture / Job Opportunities:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In terms of networking, the university really pushes the<span lang="KO" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">동아리</span> clubs and societies and by joining up to a few of
these you will no doubt make a large amount of Korean friends and networks. CAU
is renowned for its drama, media and film faculties and there are always
students looking for foreigners to act as an extra or model for their photo
shoots.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>My Verdict:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b> 4/5 Sojus</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie06CBrJOjLVr2fYv9DmqJv9991a1i-EQanl4uD33-18QkDnqK0ECyWP4TFaG_KOHy_MS4TFZWAICcjtsNY2MPLLQQ5kHiySlc_dpbfGIzRfHLDD-IY8MqQqUbCfrkH33h-VcA-nUwc_U/s1600/4sojus.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie06CBrJOjLVr2fYv9DmqJv9991a1i-EQanl4uD33-18QkDnqK0ECyWP4TFaG_KOHy_MS4TFZWAICcjtsNY2MPLLQQ5kHiySlc_dpbfGIzRfHLDD-IY8MqQqUbCfrkH33h-VcA-nUwc_U/s1600/4sojus.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The language course itself is pretty standard compared to
other universities, however the extra-curricular cultural activities are a
great way to balance the content with culture. The lack of English speaking
students means you will be put in the deep-end and made to speak Korean with
other students, but if you want to learn the language it really is the best way
to do it. This will also open up more opportunities to network and participate
in activities that in other universities you may not have the chance to do.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I said before if you’re looking for a university with a big party scene
you’d be better off looking in Sinchon. However, if your goal is to focus on
learning Korean, Chung-Ang University is a great choice. The fact that is some 300,000 KRW cheaper and provides a more unique experience I have bumped it up from 3 to 4 sojus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383442206433897442.post-55560362425619165752014-09-23T13:01:00.000+09:002014-10-08T12:10:07.662+09:00Military culture and it's influence on corporate Korea<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9NxeVSJD5XcXMDmtPlEQ2JVHM9wZaBTLWUfgUlqtr21Z7iDb5f66BLVdv074_0Okwy9ONLapm8kcuytsGzV9Dy-LYil61p4qfRktMdUqliIe9CD_8powuy_QNtJTUpdYInB9hVq2wbY/s1600/South-Korea-military-service-07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9NxeVSJD5XcXMDmtPlEQ2JVHM9wZaBTLWUfgUlqtr21Z7iDb5f66BLVdv074_0Okwy9ONLapm8kcuytsGzV9Dy-LYil61p4qfRktMdUqliIe9CD_8powuy_QNtJTUpdYInB9hVq2wbY/s1600/South-Korea-military-service-07.jpg" height="303" title="Hazing and bullying in the Korean military" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In recent months, long held concerns of relentless hazing
and bullying in the Korean army for young men doing there mandatory army service
has come to a head. Details of a <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-28684964">death of a 22 year old conscript in April</a>
after being subjected to lengthy daily beatings, sleep deprivation and constant
humiliation came to light after an investigation into the circumstances of the death in August and have prompted nationwide outcry and human rights organisations calling for reform of the damaging culture military service is having on young men.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">M</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">ilitary training</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> is compulsory for men
in Korea and lasts for roughly 2 years which they must complete before the age of 30. Many who have yet to complete their
service are overlooked for jobs while those that have been excused from service
due to various illnesses and injuries often face discrimination during
recruitment and ostracizing once recruited into a company. During these</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> young men</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">’s formative years they are subjected to the realities of a boot
camp life; following orders, constant training, small living conditions, sleep
deprivation, verbal and physical abuse, even restricted access to see or even talk to family and friends.
During this period many are learning how to build relationships with other men around
the idea of strong hierarchy and following orders. Once service is completed these facets
of military culture naturally transition into corporate life for new male
graduates and could be identified as a major influence and cause of some of the major criticisms against modern day Korean
corporate culture.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Juniors in companies are effectively pre-trained "yes" men,
literally having been drilled into following orders and never
questioning hierarchy, to do as such could bring about retaliation. Along with
some of the other less desirable side effects of military culture on
corporations such as strict company structures, hierarchy demands, adhoc reporting, <a href="http://thesawon.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/korean-company-rookie-training.html">boot camp training sessions</a> and “men’s clubs” creating glass ceilings; the
growing issue of hazing and bullying of new “recruits” was very much present
during my period as a rookie recruit at a Korean company. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Michael, this is like the army” My fellow co-workers
and close friends would regularly joke. But behind this joke was a very sincere criticism. They would tell me of the Korean saying
“<i>il(1)pyong-ee(2)pyong</i>” which refers to when 2<sup>nd</sup> year conscripts take out
past frustrations on the “fresh meat” of first year recruits; literally a hazing of "freshers". They seem to have
short memories of their own hardships and it is almost a 2<sup>nd</sup> year recruits duty to carry
out the same hazing and humiliation to the new recruits. This is sometimes pressured by other seniors but psychologically packaged as a reward for the year of mistreatment
they themselves were forced to endure.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">This hazing culture is most prevalent in male
dominated industries and company functions. I myself had witnessed various
tactics employed to psychologically and physically abuse new male rookie
workers particularly in sales teams where a “boys club” was very much formed. There
was the time a senior manager blasted a friend co-worker who he spotted
laughing in the office – “you </span><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">didn't</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> come here for fun, you came here to work”;
Then there was the 2</span><sup style="line-height: 115%;">nd</sup><span style="line-height: 115%;"> year worker telling me to not look him in the
eyes, something many of my friends would joke about over drinks but in this
instance my </span><i style="line-height: 115%;">Sunbae</i><span style="line-height: 115%;"> (senior) was very
much serious. Then there was the odd occurrence of my fellow rookie workers
being told not to </span><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">fraternize</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> with me after spotting us in the lunch room, “It </span><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">doesn't</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> look good for you to be so friendly with the foreigner; the team leader
won’t like it” - an odd mix of bullying and racism rolled into one.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Hazing and peer pressure are most involved in
the well documented Korean company culture of </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">hoesik</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> (regular dinner drinks). New graduate employees are force
fed shot after shot of <i>soju</i> (a 20% liquor) to prove not only there
“masculinity” but their commitment to the company and work team.
The negative health effects of binge drinking are well documented and for many recruits
having to do 10 shots in as many minutes is a reality that they cannot avoid. Even as grown adults with families they will still be expected to sacrifice time spent at home with there children in </span><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">favour</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> of keeping up </span><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">appearances</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> at company dinners. To excuse yourself from such functions could not only result in the worker being ostracized from the entire team but increased peer pressure to toe the line and join in like everybody else. </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">In extreme circumstances new graduates may be forced into sexual acts with
prostitutes as the night moves from barbecue joint - to bar - to karaoke - to room salon and other "hidden" forms of prostitution.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My experiences directly with such hazing and
bullying were limited as I was of course a foreigner in a Korean company but
the experiences shared with me by my fellow rookie co-workers surely only
scratches the surface of a larger and more destructive corporate culture. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383442206433897442.post-7376443431215497932014-09-22T15:58:00.001+09:002014-09-24T13:44:22.535+09:00Seven Cultural Issues for Korean Companies operating in the international market<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Despite the years of exposure to foreign markets and slow trickle of foreign talent many major Korean companies are still struggling to create “global” corporations that find a balance between their Korean values which made them so successful and the demands of a multicultural marketplace. The following are the major cultural battlegrounds which Korean companies will need to address in order to develop a more balanced business culture.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Many of these themes and issues are excellently covered in a book written by Peter Underwood called </span></span><a href="http://book.naver.com/bookdb/book_detail.nhn?bid=6860806" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">'first mover'</a><br />
<br /></div>
<ol style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Innovation vs. Improvement</span></span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Korean economy has thrived since the end of the Korean war, known colloquially as the 'Miracle on the Han' the backbone of Korean economic growth has been from industries in which it was the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">'follower'</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Ship Building, Electronics, Car Manufacturing, Smart Phones - Korean companies are experts in taking an innovative idea and refining it, improving it, packing it with features and producing it at a lower cost. However now the time has come for Korean companies to become the industry leaders and the innovators but this will require a giant shift in their business culture and education system. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/sep/26/analysis-why-samsungs-smartwatch-is-doomed-to-fail" style="text-decoration: none;">Samsung's struggle with the gear is a good example.</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">The effects of this mentality are much more profound at Korean companies than one might think. Successful companies such as Samsung or Hyundai are seen as the perfect company model by other fledgling Korean companies aspiring for global success and as such many companies look to these Chaebols for 'best practice' approaches for their own companies. It's not exactly the worst strategy but what it does do is stifle innovation, arguably the most important facet for future economic growth. Despite many a Korean company claiming innovation as one of their 'Core Values' this adherence to be “like” a Samsung or a Hyundai is on the contrary restricting their ability to innovate.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ol start="2" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Direct vs Indirect</span></span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Koreans are naturally indirect in their communication. Respect to their elders and hierarchy as well as a 2 year plus exposure to military services dictates that “Yes” is the reply of choice instead of “Why?”, Koreans are very unlikely to give back direct, honest feedback to those of senior status. This failure to be open with one another means crucial criticism is not delivered sometimes resulting in the action of bad and unproductive practices. Many global companies strive to develop flatter organisations to allow for direct and honest communication between all levels of employees and Korea too must now begin to look into such practices in their workplace if they are to succeed in a global work environment with a multicultural workforce.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<ol start="3" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Age vs. Talent</span></span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A major aspect of Korean companies that usually draws negative attention from western partners is the Korean system of rewarding and trusting functions of their companies to workers who have shown loyalty and long service over those who have shown the aptitude and talent but are yet of a certain age or status. Role based remuneration just doesn't work in Korea and trials by some major Chaebols to change to a "pay for what you do" system have failed. Thus creating the odd situation where graduate accountants, sales persons, HR officers or engineers are paid the same wages (Despite the obvious difference in job difficulty and importance).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nationwide companies promotion systems are primarily based on age and years of service - You start at the bottom and work your way up. There is no jumping of levels or climbing the corporate ladder. You sit and wait patiently for your day to come. Despite some of the perceived benefits of such a system it’s negative is that it has now placed a generation of Koreans into leadership positions for departments and business units for which they may not necessarily be adequate! Years of service and loyalty does not always equal a good leader or manager and although such status demands respect in Korea it is unlikely to do the same when it comes to overseas operations. Global partners will look to these leaders and expect to see the talent, experience and qualities that demand their respect.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ol start="4" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Education vs. Experience</span></span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From time to time you hear stories in America of the Macdonalds manager who started out as a cashier and now is a VP or the receptionist who is now the head of marketing. For many western markets there is a balance between experience and academic qualifications with most often than not a slight bias towards work experience. Koreans competition for office jobs are at a high and while Korea boasts some of the best test scores in the world, a 95% high school graduation rate (Over 80% of which go to university) and record annual spending on extra tuition (over $2,000USD annually per student). It's this emphasis on education in Korean society which has resulted in Korean companies rewarding and actively recruiting those with academic talents over practical work experience. Rookie recruits are on average aged over 27 but won't have a single day of real working experience and as we all know good students don't always equal good workers. Korean companies usually automatically promote workers with master degrees and such practices will need to change to not create conflict with markets that do not place such a high regard on academic talents. More importantly this bias for education could mean that Korean companies are missing out on some truly innovative and remarkable talent like the next Bill Gates or Steve Jobs</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<ol start="5" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Conservatism vs. Forward Thinkers</span></span></div>
</li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The year was 2008 and I was in China on exchange. I had the privilege and pleasure of befriended a group of Koreans of whom I am still close friends with today. At the end of this exchange program we vowed to keep in touch and I asked if they had facebook - What's facebook they said? So I was forced to create a profile on the Korean equivalent called Cyworld (Which ridiculously required me to send in a copy of my passport). Anyway come 2009 and I arrive in Korea and still my Korean friends have yet to adopt facebook "it's too confusing" "I don't like the layout" "it's too hard to use" every excuse they could think of not to adopt the social media platform! fast forward to 2014 and Facebook is now the number one social media platform, instagram is huge and twitter numbers are also strong (outside of messaging clients like Kakotalk). Cyworld on the other hand is practically extinct! So what's the point of this story? Whether it was Facebook, bubble tea, Mexican food, imported beer (or more recently craft beer), in the beginning all of these </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NEW</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and foreign concepts and products were instantly rejected without trial only to be so widely accepted later that their own 'Korean' versions are extinct (Watch out for domestic Korean beer brands to continue to lose market share) - This for me is the perfect example of Korean conservatism.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Imported beer sales grow year on year despite originally being dismissed because Koreans like to drink beer with soju and hence like a “lighter taste”.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nepotism vs. Fair Employment Practices</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Virtually unavoidable when the countries major conglomerates are run by rich and powerful families. Unfortunately in Korea nepotism is a part of life and it is an obvious conflict when it comes to relations with overseas sites and partners. Let's face it; when the chairman places his young 30 something offspring into positions of power looking after overseas sites it's always going to create a conflict with a society of workers which view nepotism in the workplace as a crime. Unfortunately it doesn't just stop at nepotism - Korea is still yet to adapt a range of fair employment practices. Potential recruits are required to list their age, provide a photo, provide sensitive health information, list family details and list their army training status leaving potential candidates open and unprotected against a whole list of unfair and discriminatory employment practices. These practices can be a big issue when and if the Korean headquarters decide to implement some of their recruitment policies to their overseas operations.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">South Korea vs North Korea</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I probably have confused some with this title but what I am alluding to is the ridiculous question many Koreans are asked by other internationals all over the world 'Are you from North or South Korea?'. This point is completely out of South Korea's control but in order for Korean companies to become truly global they will need a little help from the international community. The recent rise in soft power commodities such as Korean Dramas, Pop music and food have helped to alleviate the situation but the rest of the world needs to step up it's game and start taking an interest in Korean culture.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">I believe this process of creating globally minded Korean companies must be mutual with the international community and global companies looking to Korea for investment, to do business or partake in joint venture opportunities need to do their part in understanding the rich culture and people of Korea in order to make these ventures successful. It is undoubtedly an issue affecting Korean companies because most global business partners are starting from a zero knowledge base (about Korea) making it just that little bit more difficult for Korean companies to be able to export some of their company culture and core values to overseas markets.</span></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383442206433897442.post-9070977218785698302014-09-19T16:06:00.003+09:002014-09-19T16:23:22.936+09:00Sogang University Korean Language Program Review<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Sogang University (<a href="https://klec.sogang.ac.kr/">https://klec.sogang.ac.kr</a>)</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sogang is also a very well reputed Korean language course
located in the Sinchon area, literally a 15 minute walk from the Yonsei front
gates.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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What foreigners say:</b> Known and recommended by all as the university with
the best program for those who want to learn how to "speak" the
language. Courses slightly more emphasized towards speaking and practicing
during classes. It has become a favourite for American soldiers who are required
to take classes. But as I've stated previously you shouldn't be relying on a
language program for your Korean language practice!</span><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cost: </b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quoted as 1,620,000 KRW/Term for the regular classes in the
morning for 2014 (200 hour course over 10weeks)</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Living:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">: </span><a href="http://thesawon.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/yonsei-university-korean-language.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See the explanation for Yonsei.</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> They are both located in the
Sinchon / Hongdae area.</span><br />
<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 23.7999992370605px;"><br /></i>
<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 23.7999992370605px;">located in the Sinchon / Hongdae area in Eastern Seoul. famous for it's lively night life and array of interesting coffee shops, bars, restaurants and shopping. The epicenter of youth life in the city and a great place for those who want to party as much as they study and expose themselves to the infamous night life of Korea. That said while it may be fun to visit these areas occasionally, living in them isn't for everybody. That means walking home and passing bar after bar and the occasional drunk. Also means there will be occasional couples fighting or general drunk loudness nearby your officetel / hasukjip or dormitory. It also means that you will be sharing your experience with a large proportion of other foreign students (something I know some people would rather avoid). Living in this area is also on the more expensive side especially for a one room studio. Expect to get a lot less for more with average one room prices around 500,000KRW/Month with a 5,000,000KRW Key Money or More. Hauskjips and Dormitories will cost less but provide fairly small rooms with communal services (Not great if you plan on entertaining!!)</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Student Body:</b> Is known to have more Americans and Europeans because of
it's emphasis on speaking however current students studying at Sogang have said
70 - 80 % of students are Japanese / Chinese.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Atmosphere: </b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Similar vibe and atmosphere to Yonsei in the general area / suburb but as it is not as
large as the Yonsei program it loses a bit of that excitement. Smaller class sizes and smaller student body make it a more of a community - you are bound to recognize everyone after 6 months.</span><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Culture / Job Opportunities:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Not as well informed when it comes to job
opportunities or cultural activities but it is good for networking with other
students because of the smaller community approach.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My Verdict:</b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <b> 4/5 Sojus</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie06CBrJOjLVr2fYv9DmqJv9991a1i-EQanl4uD33-18QkDnqK0ECyWP4TFaG_KOHy_MS4TFZWAICcjtsNY2MPLLQQ5kHiySlc_dpbfGIzRfHLDD-IY8MqQqUbCfrkH33h-VcA-nUwc_U/s1600/4sojus.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie06CBrJOjLVr2fYv9DmqJv9991a1i-EQanl4uD33-18QkDnqK0ECyWP4TFaG_KOHy_MS4TFZWAICcjtsNY2MPLLQQ5kHiySlc_dpbfGIzRfHLDD-IY8MqQqUbCfrkH33h-VcA-nUwc_U/s1600/4sojus.png" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am skeptical of the benefits of a program that is known for
its emphasis on speaking. I feel as all programs are more or the less the same
and considering this is in the same region as Yonsei you may as well pay a few
more bucks to be exposed to a greater amount of students and networks. That
said, If you do feel that speaking will be a weak point for yourself and you
might not have the confidence to go out and make friends then this program
would be the better choice. If you are an older professional that needs basic
Korean skills in a short time then Sogang is a good option to avoid the "part time" for fun learner crowd.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">User Reviews:</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please add your own reviews in the comment section addressing the following criteria</span><br />
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<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Living</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Student Body</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Curriculum</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Atmosphere</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Opportunities</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Soju Rating.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks!</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="background-color: transparent;">Yonsei Korean Language Institute</b><b style="background-color: transparent;"> (<a href="https://www.yskli.com/default.asp">https://www.yskli.com/</a>)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The largest program in
Korea with a massive foreign student body the Korean language school at Yonsei
is well known within Korea and abroad.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>What foreigners say: </b>Believed to be to heavily focused on grammar,
catering more to prospective university students who are doing a language
bridging course and where non-serious learners go for a term just to party.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>Cost:</b> Is at the most expensive end for language courses at
1,680,000 KRW/Term (200 hour course)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>Living: </b>located in the Sinchon / Hongdae area in Eastern Seoul.
famous for it's lively night life and array of interesting coffee shops, bars,
restaurants and shopping. The epicenter of youth life in the city and a great
place for those who want to party as much as they study and expose themselves
to the infamous night life of Korea. That said while it may be fun to visit
these areas occasionally, living in them isn't for everybody. That means
walking home and passing bar after bar and the occasional drunk. Also means
there will be occasional couples fighting or general drunk loudness nearby your
officetel / hasukjip or dormitory. It also means that you will be sharing your
experience with a large proportion of other foreign students (something I know
some people would rather avoid). Living in this area is also on the more
expensive side especially for a one room studio. Expect to get a lot less for
more with average one room prices around 500,000KRW/Month with a 5,000,000KRW
Key Money or More. Hauskjips and Dormitories will cost less but provide fairly
small rooms with communal services (Not great if you plan on entertaining!!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>Student Body:</b> A large foreign student body does not mean a diverse
one. Classes will be dominated by Japanese and Chinese learners and then
American students in the summer. Expect your class demographic to be 80%
Japanese / Chinese.<b><br /></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Atmosphere:</b> Great atmosphere particularly in the summer. A real
party / college town feel. A lot of mingling outside and during classes. Large
foreign student population means less staring and more English menus and signs.
Yonsei is also one of the more prestigious universities in Korea and you can
share in the honor (all be it by association!) this also means you will be able
to attend the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yonsei%E2%80%93Korea_rivalry"><span style="color: blue;">Yonsei v Korea university games</span></a>!<b><br /></b></span><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Culture / Job Opportunities:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> As the largest Korean language program
in Korea most companies and TV networks advertise positions and part time
opportunities through Yonsei. TV networks and model agencies can be spotted on
campus scouting for talent or conducting interviews from time to time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Sawons Rating:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b> 4 / 5 Sojus</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7LlQ6woXFYO8fNLLVT_FxDd1QdarFCKVZu_yyEReos4abytYHq0n8A0h_I57ABeOdCYnMFnxBDxicWEd39U1edWYaurhtqUVxv57B9SAgcyIm2lnWWbhMiLWpgBNigzKu3hTKuYvop1g/s1600/4sojus.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7LlQ6woXFYO8fNLLVT_FxDd1QdarFCKVZu_yyEReos4abytYHq0n8A0h_I57ABeOdCYnMFnxBDxicWEd39U1edWYaurhtqUVxv57B9SAgcyIm2lnWWbhMiLWpgBNigzKu3hTKuYvop1g/s1600/4sojus.png" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An excellent option for a beginner to Korea who is on
the younger side and wants to Party hard and study hard. Also a great option
for someone with an interest in Japan or China and wants to practice
those languages while also learning Korean. However it is probably the most
expensive for fees, accommodation and cost of living! If you're budget is tight
then choose elsewhere.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>User Reviews:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please add your own reviews in the comment section addressing the following criteria</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Living</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Student Body</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Curriculum</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Atmosphere</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Opportunities</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Soju Rating.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks!</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383442206433897442.post-67704629255101354702014-09-17T12:56:00.001+09:002015-01-09T22:28:50.538+09:00Korean Company Salary Structure and Average Wages<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKIQLuu8vYtglJHcKs3gTvXgkwVsPV_0_XZR9JtJ_NZ8TV07Tyv9kRhPuM9tTq8sDWJzqlK156c1W5gfx36SvOO4487mjNu8_oKRILtUmOmj6nu_62HecC4-rzay8dRkU8tHdNVB31LP8/s1600/4Flebr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKIQLuu8vYtglJHcKs3gTvXgkwVsPV_0_XZR9JtJ_NZ8TV07Tyv9kRhPuM9tTq8sDWJzqlK156c1W5gfx36SvOO4487mjNu8_oKRILtUmOmj6nu_62HecC4-rzay8dRkU8tHdNVB31LP8/s1600/4Flebr.jpg" height="263" title="Korean Salary and Korean Wage" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The structure of the salary system at Korean companies is vastly different than what many westerners will be accustomed to. I can only speak for Australian/English companies which are based on a job role remuneration system - that is you get paid for the unique job role. Under this system an accountant, engineer, marketer, administration, lawyer etc will all have varying levels over a varying amount of experience levels and industries.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span>
In Korea, however, most companies do not employ a job-role remuneration system - instead a large majority of companies including the major chaebols use a length of service type remuneration model. Pay is based on your level in the company; These levels I have <a href="http://thesawon.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/korean-corporate-hierarchy-structure.html">previously outlined in this article</a>.</span><br />
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What is unique about this system is that it is amazingly homogeneous (much like the population) across multiple companies, industries and professions. A new HR graduate recruit at a company will be on the same pay level as a new graduate engineer at the same company despite the obvious difference in importance in Job roles. As an Australian my future pay is determined largely by the profession I have chosen to pursue and on market availability but in Korea this is not the case.</span><br />
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Although Koreans and particularly HR teams believe pay packets are a industry secret on the contrary there is a large amount of ready available statistics in Korean which outline the average wages for each level at various sized companies. Making the ideal of confidentiality a little bit over the top considering that pay across multiple industries and companies will be largely similar. I have chosen these <a href="http://www.newswire.co.kr/newsRead.php?no=748101">stats as my market average</a> in the below table.</span><br />
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I have compared these stats to my own experience working for a md-large Korean multinational in the HR department (Yes, I looked at everyone's pay!). My initial pay as a graduate was set at 36,000,000 KRW annually which I would say is a good figure and around the level that most new workers going into the major companies can expect; Companies like LG, Samsung, Hyundai, Dongbu, Hanhwa, Gumho, Doosan, SK etc will be paying 35,000,000 KRW or above for new recruits.</span><br />
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Now as I have stated above all new graduates regardless of profession or job role were on the same amount at my company which is standard in the Korean market. As employees progress throughout their careers they will of course see pay increases at varying rates due to either good or bad performance reviews but regardless they are always going to fall within a similar range.</span><br />
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<i>1,000 KRW = $1 (Roughly)</i></span><br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 602px;">
<colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 7058; mso-width-source: userset; width: 145pt;" width="193"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 4022; mso-width-source: userset; width: 83pt;" width="110"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 5449; mso-width-source: userset; width: 112pt;" width="149"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 5485; mso-width-source: userset; width: 113pt;" width="150"></col>
</colgroup><tbody>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="background: black; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 0.5pt; border-style: solid none none solid; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 0.5pt; color: white; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; height: 15pt; text-underline-style: none; width: 145pt;" width="193"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Level</span></td>
<td style="background: black; border-style: solid none none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 0.5pt; color: white; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; text-underline-style: none; width: 83pt;" width="110"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Years Working</span></td>
<td style="background: black; border-style: solid none none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 0.5pt; color: white; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; text-underline-style: none; width: 112pt;" width="149"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Market Average Pay
(Yearly)</span></td>
<td style="background: black; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 0.5pt; border-style: solid solid none none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 0.5pt; color: white; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; text-underline-style: none; width: 113pt;" width="150"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mid-
Large Chaebols Pay (Yearly)</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 0.5pt; border-style: solid none none solid; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 0.5pt; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; text-underline-style: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">사원 (Sawon)</span></td>
<td class="xl64" style="border-style: solid none none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 0.5pt; font-size: 11pt; text-underline-style: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">0 to 3 Years</span></td>
<td class="xl63" style="border-style: solid none none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 0.5pt; font-size: 11pt; text-underline-style: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">26,000,000 KRW</span></td>
<td style="border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 0.5pt; border-style: solid solid none none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 0.5pt; font-size: 11pt; text-underline-style: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">35,000,000+ KRW</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 0.5pt; border-style: solid none none solid; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 0.5pt; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; text-underline-style: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">대리 (Daeri)</span></td>
<td style="border-style: solid none none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 0.5pt; font-size: 11pt; text-underline-style: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 to 7 Years</span></td>
<td style="border-style: solid none none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 0.5pt; font-size: 11pt; text-underline-style: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">36,000,000 KRW</span></td>
<td style="border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 0.5pt; border-style: solid solid none none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 0.5pt; font-size: 11pt; text-underline-style: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">40,000,000+ KRW</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 0.5pt; border-style: solid none none solid; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 0.5pt; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; text-underline-style: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">과장 (KwaJang)</span></td>
<td style="border-style: solid none none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 0.5pt; font-size: 11pt; text-underline-style: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7 to 12 Years</span></td>
<td style="border-style: solid none none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 0.5pt; font-size: 11pt; text-underline-style: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">46,000,000 KRW</span></td>
<td style="border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 0.5pt; border-style: solid solid none none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 0.5pt; font-size: 11pt; text-underline-style: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">50,000,000+ KRW</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 0.5pt; border-style: solid none none solid; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 0.5pt; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; text-underline-style: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">차장/부장 (Chajang / Bujang)</span></td>
<td style="border-style: solid none none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 0.5pt; font-size: 11pt; text-underline-style: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">15+ Years</span></td>
<td style="border-style: solid none none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 0.5pt; font-size: 11pt; text-underline-style: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">53 ~ 59,000,000 KRW</span></td>
<td style="border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 0.5pt; border-style: solid solid none none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 0.5pt; font-size: 11pt; text-underline-style: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">60,000,000+ KRW</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 0.5pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 0.5pt; border-style: solid none solid solid; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 0.5pt; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; text-underline-style: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">임원 (Company Directors)</span></td>
<td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 0.5pt; border-style: solid none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 0.5pt; font-size: 11pt; text-underline-style: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">20+ Years</span></td>
<td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 0.5pt; border-style: solid none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 0.5pt; font-size: 11pt; text-underline-style: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">65,000,000 +++</span></td>
<td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 0.5pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 0.5pt; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 0.5pt; font-size: 11pt; text-underline-style: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">100,000,000* + KRW</span></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you can see in the table above market salary in Korea even at the major companies is a lot less than in the current Australian; British; American markets. In Australia I could expect to earn around $65 - 70,000 with my experience of around 3 - 5 years which when compared to the chart above would have me on the same salary level as a Chajang/Bujang which is effectively a team leader / senior manager status in Korea. Then there is also the issue of industry and profession! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can see instantly how this can create issues with Korean companies operating overseas and why they generally hold conservative attitudes with regards to setting pay scales. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What also needs to be noted is that within the levels are effectively steps. So a Sawon has a level 1,2,3 at the end of which point they then move up to a Daeri position. How much your pay increases within those levels is set by a band and your own performance review. Whether I have performed well or not I can still expect to get the Daeri pay rate after my 3-4 years at the company. This is also true for the director level - their are effectively junior (이사) through to senior directors (사장/회장) and pay at this level can vary from anywhere between $100,000 a year to Monopoly man* (Huge Salaries!).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This creates it's own unique issue that rewards complacency and loyalty over work performance. Many of those today in director positions at Korean companies have simply benefited from staying in the company for over 20 years, which in reflection is a massive achievement given Korean working hours and drinking culture, but it isn't always a true reflection of their business and managerial acumen. Koreas aging population is putting pressure on bottom lines and forcing corporate "restructuring" in order to lay-off those who are set to become a director and avoid the high salaries and potentially massive pension payouts (Retirement age is 60 and larger companies have private pension funds for employees)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is often overlooked and important to remember for both Korean companies operating overseas and for foreigners working in Korea is that Korean company salary packages are specifically tailored to the "employment for life" model in which low salary bases are supplemented by a raft of benefits - If you need a reminder of some of the benefits then read <a href="http://thesawon.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/7-benefits-of-working-for-korean-company.html">my previous article</a>. From full health insurance, education costs for dependent children, gym memberships, Daily meal provisions or stipends, training funds, mobile/petrol reimbursement, housing support, pension funds. All of these benefits are structured to reward employees who stay at the company for long periods. .</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As an example, my previous company would pay for dependent children's education fees after 5 years of service; after 7 years of service this was then extended to cover university fees for said children. So if you had timed it right you could be essentially receiving an extra $20-30,000 per year for your children university fees! not a bad deal considering that base salary is likely to be under 60,000,000 KRW.</span></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The above chart is just a guide and should not be interpreted as an exact reflection of the Korean market but I hope it does provide some insight into the Korean salary system. </span></b></i></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></i></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you would like to know more, please contact me via social media</span></b></i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7