I know it's been a long time since I made a post on my blog. Since last we met, I have moved back to America from South Korea, went on a short vacation in London, drove to California with my dad, and moved in with my sister (Dad flew back to Chicago).
These days I'm trying to get started as a freelance copywriter, and I'm learning as I'm going.
Readjusting back to life in America isn't a bowl of cherries, but it hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be. People around here in Cali are actually quite friendly and open-minded, and greatly appreciate borrowing your ear to hear them speak.
Although, I do miss my dear friends back in Korea, and Evan is one of them. Evan is a first-rate man living in Korea who dabbles in photography, and is also a writer, like me. Today, on my blog, he will be a guest writer, and will share with you the top ten reasons why you should move to Korea. So take it away, Evan!
Thank you very much, Brandon!
J
With the last recession fading away in the rear-view mirror
things seem to be returning to a state of quasi-normalcy in the West.
Unemployment rates are inching downwards and home prices are increasing. People
are returning to work and Western nations are beginning to look ahead to new
challenges.
But while key metrics seem to point to a much improved
situation, not all is sunshine and lollipops. Official stats – even if they’re
not deliberately doctored by the state – have a nasty tendency to ignore soft
facts, those inconvenient little quality of life truths that often matter a lot
more than economic trends.
When I returned to the West in 2010, what I saw was tragic:
middle aged men working in 7-11s, the cost of basic necessities –milk, bread,
beer – eating through more of a typical pay check, and people desperately
clinging on to the part time jobs they’ve struggled to find. More than that,
though, life in my sleepy little city of Vancouver seemed to have been stuck in
perpetual boredom. The same old sights and the same old restaurants as always,
the same friends doing the same things... it all made it pretty clear that I
would have to leave again sooner or later.
A lot of people are happy with their life in the West,
working their stable job and living their routine life. There’s nothing wrong
with that. If you’re like me, though, you want something a little bit more; and
if you’re like millions of others who have barely survived the financial
meltdown that little bit more seems oh-so elusive. If you’re sick of the
treatment your new Dominos Pizza manager is giving you, it may be time for you
to think outside the box…
Let’s get this underway. What follows are the top ten reasons
you should move to Korea.
10. Finding a job is as easy as making a phone call.
Koreans are crazy for English, so crazy in fact that they’ll
hire pretty much anyone that has a degree. Do you have a pulse? Is your body
warm? Good enough! That’s pretty much all there are for job standards, which is
obviously a way better situation than you’re facing back home. The best part is
that you don’t even have to search for jobs, they have people over here that do
that for you. Just upload your resume and a headshot then let the recruiters
find you a position. Sit back in a café, can their emails, and accept or reject
positions all day long.
9. Become a celebrity without the need for talent.
Korea is a country made for Koreans by Koreans. In their
recent history, aside from foreign soldiers, there really haven’t been many
foreigners in their country. In fact, even today the expat community is thin at
best. What that means is that around half of the population has never talked to
a non-Korean, so whenever they see one, they’re insanely interested in you.
Every so often some brave Korean builds up the courage to ask you who you are,
and why you came to Korea. At school, kids swarm you, hugging you, and peek
through windows to see what you’re doing. I’ve never had so many kids so amazed
by me eating an apple before.
8. You get paid an average Western wage for doing far less
work than you would imagine.
Teaching English in Korea is great. If you get on at a decent
school, which is definitely doable, you have the chance to earn what you would
have back home while enjoying a month of holiday, school holidays, days where
your classes are cancelled for no real reason, and about 18 hours a week of
free time. That’s right, free time that you can spend progressing through
Farmville or looking up ways to get out of paying your debts without declaring
bankruptcy.
7. The oldest building
in your city is only 150 years old.
150 years old? …please. Asia has some of the oldest known
civilizations in the world. Korean historical sites go back hundreds and
hundreds of years. One of my favourites is Hwaesong Fortress (http://evanbleker.com/must-see-suwon-hwaseong-fortress/) a mighty
fortress built in anticipation of moving the capital of Korea from Seoul to
Suwon in the 1700s. You can climb the stone steps up the mountain to overlook a
city of over a million people – try doing that in your hometown.
6. It’s the 8th straight year that you’ve watched
the civil war re-enactment.
…and the re-enactors are getting a little old, a little
tired. Nobody can really remember how the battle actually ended, so every year
the battle takes a bit of a twist as the two sides jockey for position.
Sometimes someone sprains an ankle.
Korea, on the other hand, has technically been at war for
over 50 years! Not that there’s been much fighting during that time, but the
Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is one of the most heavily fortified boarders in the
world. You can even take a trip up to the DMZ with the American army and watch
the soldiers do their thing. Stand at one of the many lookouts and you might
even see Kim Jong Un dancing to Gangnam style.
5. It costs you $500 to fly from Milwaukie to Cleveland.
South Korea is a tiny peninsula buffered by some of the
largest countries in the world: China, Japan, Russia, they’re all within a few
hours flight from Seoul. In the time it takes you to fly from one boring side
of America or Canada to the next, you could have dropped down into any number
of exotic countries. I’ve taken a few short trips to China, and have even
motorcycled around the Philippines for two weeks. What did you do during your
last vacation?
Not only do you get to travel to these incredible countries
quickly and easily, but you can also do it for cheap. Airfare from one part of
East Asia to another is very inexpensive, and you don’t lay down much more cash
when you hit the ground, either. Everything is just very cheap which ensures
that you’re fat salary goes even further than you would have imagined.
4. You haven’t thrown mud since you were 6 years because
you’re afraid of getting grounded.
Of course there’s nothing wrong with spending time in Korea –
I recommend it. Along with all the historic sites, Korea has a vibrant party
scene – one of the best in Asia. There are festivals year-round, including the
Boryeong mud festival, where foreigners of all stripes get together to splash
around in filthy water and throw mud at photographers. There are week-long rock
‘n roll festivals, along with amazing fire and lightshows if you want something
more subdued.
The nightlife here is fantastic. South Korea has one of the
best club scenes in the world, and the bars are pretty fantastic, too. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Tuesday, or
Christmas… if you want to go out to dance then Seoul has what you’re looking
for. Don’t worry about drinking and driving, either – cabs are insanely
inexpensive and Seoul has one of the best subway systems of any country I have
ever visited.
3. You enjoy sexy women dancing on stage to catchy music with
lyrics you don’t understand.
Gangnam Style (http://evanbleker.com/gangnam-style-goes-viral-mocks-korea-sparks-deadly-gang-violence/)
may
have gone global, but there are a lot of other great beats that Western
audiences always seem to miss-out on. Not only are these beats catchy, though,
they also have sexy Korean women dancing seductively for the camera, as if some
female army drill went horribly horribly… right.
Last Month Gangnam Style’s Psy put on a free concert in the
middle of Seoul that was attended by over 80,000 people, and other female bands
have done the same thing. Bottom line is that if you want to see sexy Korean
women skimpily dressed and seductively dancing in unison to catchy tunes you have
to come to Korea.
2. You can’t eat enough bacon.
“But, what about the strange food? I haven’t heard of
anything Korean.”
Korea is a carnivore’s paradise. As you might expect, they
eat their share of sushi, but Korean food really comes into its own when it
comes to BBQ. I’m not talking about your regular North American or Australian
style BBQ, I’m talking about Korean BBQ. (http://evanbleker.com/korean-food-the-top-10-dishes-you-should-try-while-living-in-seoul-korea/)Take thick slices
of pork, slap them over a flame grill then serve it alongside spicy pepper
sauce called gochujang, and a specially crafted salt & pepper combo, and
you’ll understand just how good life can be.
Sure, beef is a little expensive here, but when Koreans do
beef they do beef right. Think Korean BBQ, but a bit better. If you’re not up
for beef or pork, you can always visit Aladdin’s Lamb, which serves the best
Korean BBQ in Seoul.
1. Your girlfriend or boyfriend has put on a few (hundred)
extra pounds.
Let’s face facts here. You and your partner
are likely from the West, and you know what that means: guts. Americans have a
reputation for being overly... jolly… while Canadians, Australians, and UKers are
not far behind. With so much roundness throughout the West, it’s easy to forget
just what sexy means.
Enter the Korean woman. Propped up on
heels, clothes put together like a Gucci store mannequin, fit with long flowing
hair, perfect olive skin, a smile that shines like the early morning sun… What’s
not to like about Korean women? If you’re looking for a little more substance,
they often have fantastic personalities as well, and know enough English to
have a deep meaningful relationship… with you.
If you’re a woman, Korean guys can be just
as sexy (or so I’ve heard). Forget the lazy, jogging suit wearing, channel
flipping guys you’re used to. Korean guys are also supposed to have some great
–hairless- bodies, and use those bodies to take a dominant, highly masculine,
role in your relationship.
Well, that’s it from me. If you’re sick of
life in the West, or you’re just reaching for that little more, you’d be well
served buying a plane ticket to South Korea. If you’re on the fence, on the
other hand, check back in at ExpatEvan.com (http://evanbleker.com/) for more on life in
Korea.
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