Who I'm Writing For

  • Any foreign English teacher in Korea
  • Anyone interested in Korea
  • any foreigner working in Korea in any field
  • Koreans who would like to understand life for foreigners
  • Korean parents whose children are being taught by foreign teachers
  • Koreans who employ foreign teachers
  • Koreans who work with foreign teachers
  • Recruiters who find foreign teachers to work in Korea
  • Government officials who determine guidelines for visas, contracts, etc. for foreign teachers and also for their employers
  • Anyone else who is interested in reading my blog

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Problem with Coffee Machines, Subway Ticket Machines

This afternoon didn't have 200 won change for a coffee from the machine so took a 1000 bill, like a Korean version of the $1 bill, which I thought seemed new and crisp enough. This has happened enough times but today I was surprised when the machine wouldn't take the bill. Tried it one way, then another. Held it and smoothed it a few times, tried again, and again, then smoothed it a few more times  (did this first two fingers of right hand, one finger on each side, holding one end of bill in other hand, kind of pulling it with two fingers.) Then put in again, came out. I then thought to just keeping trying and after another 1-2 times it worked. So total was close to 10 times I tried putting it in before I had success. This really was a new-looking bill that hadn't been in my wallet for more than a day or think since someone gave it to me as change. One time in the subway the ticket machine was spitting my bill out over and over. I was thinking to just kee...
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Shutting Metal Apartment Doors at Night

This isn't nice but I'm going to go ahead and write it anyway. I did write about this before. I'd give anything if Koreans of all ages could shut their apartment doors quietly, not necessary really quietly, but normally, just making a little noise. The door to my current apartment and others I've had is made of metal. The one I have now is all gray metal, a little thick. When someone in my apartment building shuts their door it makes quite a noise. When someone near me does it it's impossible not to hear it. Sometimes there's a vibration in my apartment. Last night I woke up around 1am likely due to some noise outside my apartment. It could've been a door shutting loudly but I can't say. While I was awake I heard someone walk up the steps by my apartment to a higher floor. I could hear it but it wasn't really too loud. I heard them go up to the 2nd floor or maybe a little past and then didn't hear anything. About two minutes later though I hear...
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Map Showing Maternity Leave Around the World Including South Korea

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