A lot of negative views...?

Question

I am interested in Korea and will visit Korea one day. I've noticed that there are a lot of negative opinions about Korea in this section, so I was just wondering if Korea is that bad. Positive opinions tend to surpass negative opinions in other sections but this section seems exceptional, so it made me think that Korea is not really liked by people.

Answer 1

I'm a foreigner working in Korea. In this section I try to balance the good and the bad to objectively answer questions based on my experiences here. Sometimes I may mention more negative views to people who are considering working in Korea because employers and recruiters are going to be telling only positive points. Making a move to a foreign country is a big decision and I don't think the drawbacks should be sugarcoated.

Last weekend I went out with a group of Korean and foreign friends. Started at a galbi restaurant, then to a bar, then another bar, and finally a norebang (for the last round --- you have to be in Korea to know this expression). This was a time span from about 8pm to 4:30am. In a travel guide, it would read the nightlife is great in Korea, there is delicious food, bars, hofs, and norebangs on every street easily within walking distance. That's true.

Things excluded from the travel guide would be the small, cheap plastic chairs that you sit on in many galbi restaurants, the table of drunk businessmen "konbae -ing" at the top of their lungs a few feet away from you and most people still in jackets because of the one portable heater not doing an adequate job. But the food and drinks were great and everybody had a fun time.

We usually go to western style bars so we don't need to order an anju and there is a pool table and darts. Nothing out of the ordinary happens in either of these bars; the service is incredible considering nobody tips and there are pretty girls all over. Anyway, after the boozing in the bars a perfect nightcap is a norebang with a group of friends. So walking out to catch a cab, oooh there's a drunk Korean guy "making Korean pizza" (for people outside of Korea, vomiting) and his buddy is nearby urinating on a building wall. There are cabs everywhere in Korea, so getting home is no problem. What a great evening and now it's time to go home. If I told only the negatives, this would sound like a terribly evening and if I told only the positives it would sound more wonderful than it was. To me a balanced answer tells the people outside of Korea what's really up and the people living in Korea already know.

For every Korean guy that not so discreetly stares at my package in the gym showers there's another guy that separates from his girlfriend eating ramyon in a Family Mart and leads my drunk ass 15 minutes to my hotel.

I won't even mention how great Korean women are. Well, yes I will---they're the best.

I have met a few people who couldn't stand Korea, but they're people that I don't think would be capable of living in any other foreign country. I think Korea has some kind of appeal that gradually becomes an addiction. I love it here and I think you should visit someday!

Answer 2

Everyone always has something negative to say about all countries. And the negativity always seems so contagious. People love to just joooiiin in on it and saaaay something. But Ignore all of the negative talk about Korea. It's a very interesting country to visit. You just have to see for yourself. I've been living here for two years, trust me. And if you like spicy food and lots of veggies, it'll make your trip all the better! =)

Answer 3

There is a bloke named Michael Breen that wrote an awesome book called 'The Koreans' (ISBN 0-312-24211-5) which deals with many facets of Korean Society from the western perspective. I highly recommend it.
There is one part in that book where he talks about giving a standing ovation to the Korean team at the '88 Olympics Opening Ceremony. He is an English journalist and a harsh critic of Korea, yet he and his other harsh critic journalist friends were all on their feet for the Korean team.
There is something about this land that you cannot explain, but it gets into your blood.
I am different than most of the people in this forum. Most of them came to Korea by choice. I was first brought here under duress. I remember tears actually rolling down my cheeks as I read my orders in the fall of '98. But something happened in my first year and I love it here. I loved it so much that I learned the language and came back.
Now I am an old salt. I have been here so long that I have seen Soldiers rotate back through and then leave while I am still here.
I gripe and complain about Korea almost constantly at work. The sardonic comments you see from me on here are highly self censored because too many people would not see the under lying love in the joke.
Yet, when an FNG rolls in and starts complaining about Korea I get upset. I set them straight in a hurry. Why? Because I outrank them and I can? Well... maybe. But more so because they do not have the close relationship and the intimate knowledge required to be truly wry.
So while some punk kid fresh off the plane can say that ajima's are annoying, it takes the likes of v-man or Dawn V to tell you about her lip smacking squid eating on the subway so vividly that you can smell the ocean wafting out of her vacuum sealed bag.
We rag on Korea the way one picks on their kid brother. It is fine for me to do it, I know and love him; but let someone outside of the family try...
Korea is awesome. For all the annoyances (don't ask me to name them, this is already too long) I would not change a thing about the place. It is great here.
Try reading the comments from the expats while visualizing a smirk on our faces. For me, at least, that is how I write them.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

I'm Korean, but having never lived here before, I hated it. I heard that the people were really mean, the teachers were awful, the environment was icky, etc... I seriously dreaded coming here. But now, it just sorta breaks my heart when I leave. Actually, I just like the people. But still, it is definitely not what I expected =D and I really hope you visit Korea soon. Hope I've helped.

Answer 6

Hey! I just got to Korea about 2 weeks ago my husband is in the military and is doing a 2 year tour here....I honestly thought before I came that it would be dirty and scary and not alot of buisnesses and just not like home at all but I was soooooo wrong my husband kept telling me before I got here that once I saw it I would be surprised and I sure was I mean there are highways everywhere and everyone and everyplace is really clean and the people are soooo nice here!

Answer 7

It really depends on what you are looking for.
Korea has many things that many other countries cannot offer, but it also lacks in many areas.
One unique thing about Korea is that it is not as "extreme" as its surrounding powerful nations (USA, Japan, China). This can be good or bad.

In my opinion never trust anything that is too one-sided. However, when it comes to snacks Korea is superb.

Answer 8

there are always good and bad in everything
yin and yang. moon and sun. night and day. dark and light.
that's what's called in dualism.

there are so many wonderful things about korea.
but it doesn't mean that korea is a perfect country.
there are good things as well as there are also less good things.
i love korea for every single thing in it :)
what's life without some colors in it? ;D

some example on korea's dualism.
korean people have a high sense of nationalism, so proud about being korean.
yet, more than half the korean population (especially the rich) want to go to the US and get a green card; some people even go the US just to give birth so the baby could have dual citizenship.
what about that? isn't that so opposite to each other?

another one, korean people really treat foreigners with great sincerity, even over the sincerity they show to fellow koreans.
yet, some people also have such a very high sense of nationalism that they are anti-foreigner.
nah, that's just a two types of society ;p
you can find it everywhere in the entire earth

anyways, there's always two sides of everything.

i think, most people in this forum are:

a. critical so we debate about every single little small thing; you don't debate about beauty hon, you debate problems ;p

b. some are expats who face quite some difficulties in korea (korean system is really complicated for foreigners, especially because you have to do everything using the citizen's card --- and even if you have one, there's always limitation to it. e.g. korean can have as many cellphones as he/she wants, while foreigners only one. but yeah, how many cellphones do you need? LoL anyway, that's just an example)

c. honest, be objective

** btw, i've never find that this section shows a negative view toward korea,
but it's just funny that there's almost no one who come here to ask about travel in korea (since it's korea travel section ;D)

Answer 9

I'm glad you're interested in Korea and will visit the country one day. Well, you might get responses like.. 'What kind of negative views are you talking about?' and then 'Most of them are just honest opinions from people (like expats) who have lived in Korea for quite a while.' as well as 'People (Koreans) who live outside of Korea won't understand as much and they tend to get too offended.' Part of the idea here is that you don't always have to be a Korean in order to give concise answers. I feel that is partially true, and I have come to the understanding that people enjoy giving thorough honest answers and I respect that. Those negative opinions are sometimes insults directed to Korean Americans (like me, or am I not? - that's how I identify myself sometimes.) I didn't want to get off topic here, but I would really like to point out that just being 'Korean' (of Korean descent..blood etc.), whether one was raised inside Korea or not, does make a significant difference from foreigners who live in Korea. Numerous Koreans in the states are born into Korean families and communities, and grow up with a taste of both American and Korean ideals. I'm not saying opinions from one side is any better than the other; what I'm trying to say is that people have to learn to be at least civil to one another here (i.e. constant insults are unecessary and it truly lacks class.) In a way, we're both Koreans, so one side saying that the other is not and his answers are invalid, is really offensive and rude as well.
Anyway, I don't think it's that Korea is not really liked by people; it's just that this section is filled with honest opinions from people who know much about Korea.