by Lee Kyoung Yeon, Kim Na Yeon, and Yeom Bo Gyeong
Most of the EIE professors have lived in Korea more than 5 years. This article is about their impressions of Korea and experiences in Korea as foreigners. We interviewed the 4th class professors to know what foreign professors think about Korea and Koreans. It was very interesting.
Most of the EIE professors have lived in Korea more than 5 years. This article is about their impressions of Korea and experiences in Korea as foreigners. We interviewed the 4th class professors to know what foreign professors think about Korea and Koreans. It was very interesting.
Greg Skwarok
Q: How
many years have you been in Korea?
A: I’ve
been Korea for about 16 years.
Q: Why
did you come to Korea?
A: I was a tourist
when I came to Korea in 1988 right before the Olympics in Korea. Then, I came
back to Korea in 1993 to change my career since I was not satisfied with my
previous job. I wanted to work in another country, and also wanted to be a
teacher. As a result, I learned TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other
Languages) to be an English teacher in Korea. I chose Korea because of its standard of living and teaching freedom.
Q: Is
there any unique place that you enjoy going to in Korea?
A: Yes, there are many places I like to go since I love traveling.
Especially, I like visiting ocean places. I like the 경주 most, for I have been there 12~14 times. It’s a really special place that I introduce to many foreigners who
come to Korea.
Q: What
is the first image that comes to your mind when you think of Korea?
A: I was surprised about all the neon lights on the streets, stores,
and cars at night. There was excitement and much energy everywhere. And also it
was very noisy and energetic even though it was late at night.
Q: What
do you think is special about Ewha students or general Korean students?
A: Ewha students are hard
workers, talented, and competitive. Moreover, they are bright, ambitious, and
also smart.
Chris Weagle
Q: How
many years have you been in Korea?
A: I
arrived in 2000, and have been here for 10 years in total.
Q: Why
did you come to Korea?
A: I came to Korea
when traveling the world and to have a good job. Since I was interested in
Asia, Korea seemed to be a logical place to find out more about Asia, and I
ended up liking it. I had a job and I liked the Koreans.
Q: Is
there any unique place that you enjoy going to in Korea?
A: I used to go to 청계천 because I like
the stream and it’s so beautiful. Also, I
like 경주, because it has a wonderful history, and also it’s a very peaceful city.
Q: What
is the first image that comes to your mind when you think of Korea?
A: I
think the shape of the Korean flag, the Taegeuk pattern. And I remember at the 2002
world cup, Koreans wore red t-shirts with ‘Be the reds’ written on it
everywhere and people getting together at the square cheering. It was very
interesting.
Q: What
do you think is special about Ewha students or general Korean students?
A: Though I have
been here for 5 months, I can see that they are extremely intelligent, very
kind and very hard working.
David Hamilton
Q:
How many years have you been in Korea?
A:
I have lived in Korea for five years.
Q:
Why did you come to Korea?
A:
I used to teach students in Scotland. Then I wanted to try something new and
looked for some countries like Taiwan, China, and Korea to move to. I chose
Korea because it seemed to be an ideal place to live in.
Q:
Is there any unique place that you enjoy going to in Korea?
A:
I like to go to the Ahyun neighborhood near Ewha because I think there are
examples of both the new and the old and it is interesting. And other places I
enjoy going to are Insadong, Cityhall, and Namdaemoon Market.
Q:
What was your first experience of culture shock in Korea?
A:
The first experience of culture shock was of a dealer screaming. When I lived
in Mansoodong, in Incheon, several years old, I woke up in the morning because a vegetable dealer screamed to notify people to buy
vegetables. In England, there were ice-cream sellers recording their voices,
but I had never heard of a seller who screams.
Q:
What is the first image that comes to your mind when you think of Korea?
A:
When I think of Korea, I think of a woman wearing a HanBok and serving various
side dishes. I think it is a unique Korean custom.
Q:
What do you think is special about Ewha students or general Korean students?
A:
Good! Ewha students are very enthusiastic, hardworking, and polite.
Brian Ridgeway
Q:
How many years have you been in Korea?
A:
I have been in Korea for seven and a half years
Q:
Why did you come to Korea?
A:
I first came to Korea for a job at Konkuk University for one year.
Q:
Is there any unique place that you enjoy going to in Korea?
A:
The places that I like to go to the most are Busan, especially Heaundea,
Seomyoen and Nampodong. I enjoy hanging out there because I think the food
there is really good, people are very friendly and I find the way that girls speak
in dialect is cute. I also like the Chungpyeong, Gapyeong and Chuncheon areas.
Q:
What was your first experience of culture shock in Korea?
A:
My first experience of culture shock was when I smelled the ‘beondegi’ scent for the first time.
Q:
What is the first image that comes to your mind when you think of Korea?
A:
The first thing that flashes upon my mind about Korea is the Korean custom
where workers dine together on Friday nights. Through this unique custom I
found out that it is how Korea was able to develop so fast. Though Koreans work harder than people from any other countries and for many hours, they
still manage to enjoy each other’s company.
And
in American culture, it is not usual for team members in a company to dine out
together because Americans would not want others to know about their personal
lives afterwards.
Q:
What do you think is special about Ewha students or general Korean students?
A:
Korean students are polite for the most part and are diligent. They are very
competitive.
Bruce Barnes
Q:
Why did you come to Korea? How many years have you been in Korea?
A:
I came here in 1996 for vacation at first. Then, while I was here, I was
offered a teaching job and discovered that I really enjoyed teaching adults, so I decided to teach
English and in 2002 I came here again.
Q:
Is there any unique place that you enjoy going to in Korea?
A:
I really enjoy going to the ChunCheon area frequently, especially CheongPyeong and Namisom. I
really like the atmosphere. That’s because its nature is good and I like
streams and waters.
Q:
What was your first experience of culture shock in Korea?
A:
My first experience of culture shock was the number of people and also people
bumping me. In Australia, crowds are not common.
Q:
What is the first image that comes to your mind when you think of Korea?
A:
First is the HanBok. It is very beautiful. Second, Korean traditional house is
very impressive. And Koreans are very friendly.
Q:
What do you think is special about Ewha students or general Korean students?
A:
I like working at Ewha. Ewha students are very hard working
Annie Cho
Q:
How many years have you been in Korea?
A:
I have been in Korea for 2 years.
Q:
Why did you come to Korea?
A:
Originally I came to Korea because I was tired of working and wanted to take a
break for six months. However, I decided to stay.
Q:
Is there any unique place that you enjoy going to in Korea?
A:
I like to go to HapJeong where I live because I like all the restaurants and
small cafes and feel the atmosphere is nice. Recently, I went to Gang Reung and
Jeon Ju. What I like about Korea when I go traveling around Korea is the
scenery. The first time I came to Korea, I thought that it was only mountains.
However as time went I found that the farms are really beautiful and there’s a
lot of nature.
Q:
What was your first experience of culture shock in Korea?
A:
One thing is that the girls like to wear really short shorts but then they
cover their shoulders. For me that was interesting because in the United
States, girls’ shorts are not very short but they wear tank tops, so it’s the
other way around.
Also,
I see a lot of Korean students on the street after 10P.M. In America, we don’t
usually see teenagers on the street at night. This happens, I guess, because
many teenagers have to go to educational institutes. I’m also worried that the
foods they usually eat are street foods that are not good for their health.
Q:
What is the first image that comes to your mind when you think of Korea?
A:
I think of streets with lots of well-dressed people looking busy and hectic.
Everyone looks really nice with a lot of make-up. I think even the men have
more style than in other countries.
Q:
What do you think is special about Ewha students or general Korean students?
A:
Ewha students are, for the most part, pretty hardworking and competitive.
To conclude, there are some
customs and places that attract foreigners such as getting together well among
co-workers, beautiful scenery, and traditional foods and clothes. However there
are some customs that we should improve, like saying sorry when we bump into
people or step on other people’s feet on a crowded subway. From this interview,
we realized we might not know exactly what Korean culture is because we are
used to it. And it was really interesting to know about different views of
Korean culture.