Has anyone taught English

I'm in South Korea at the moment, and it's all right... I'm kind of stuck in the middle of nowhere, but I'm close to a big city (Busan)... so everyone tends to go there on the weekend. I'm teaching kids only... but it's actually a lot of fun, because the kids are great!

There's a kind of love/hate relationship between Koreans and foreigners here... I suppose it was the same when I was in Japan. Some Koreans can be total jerks to foreigners, and other times they are extremely gracious. Just don't expect to fit in-- in fact, not having any expectations really helps...

One thing to make sure of before you leave is that you're going to be making at least 2 million won per month... and I've heard some terrible stories about split-shifts (which I don't have and would never do!) that mean you start at seven a.m., teach until eight, wait around a few hours, then go back in for one, and teach until seven p.m. I also know of people in schools where the Koreans are hostile to the foreign teachers (but the guys in that situation are totally culture shocked jerks, so that could explain it)... I've also heard of people being crammed into miniature apartments, and being abused by their bosses (in some places, it's commonplace for bosses to actually physically abuse their subordinates)... or being fired just before they qualify for their bonuses...

It can also be hard for women... my English friend is constantly being mistaken for a Russian, which of course means that she is also a prostitute, and has random drunken Korean men stopping by her apartment from time to time... and sometimes even approaching her and asking for sex...

Also, I should say that most of the women here are sexually frustrated. That might sound crude, but I think it's true... there are a lot of one-night stands going on, and not so many relationship prospects, I guess because everyone plans on leaving one day... so transient affairs are pretty much the norm...

The driving is really aggressive-- so much that at times you feel like the whole point is to intimidate you into staying out of the way... there's a lot of public drunkenness/public urination, people will always be talking to you in English (mostly men), there's a lot of touching... the kids will touch you, the adults will touch you... I've had conjunctivitis three times!

Anyway, it's still kind of cool being a novelty... you will be exotic, which is exciting for them, I think. Kind of like that exchange student in high school was cool because they had an accent and were interested in the things around them.

I'm quite comfortable here personally... but I have been living outside my home country for three years now, so I suppose I'm kind of used to it.

But hey... good luck in Seoul!!!!