I went to a global career forum the other day and the advice they gave foreigners in Korea looking for a (non-English teaching) job was - learn a decent level of business Korean first.
Otherwise, they said, you will not be able to utilize your skills in any manner or form, even if you are so lucky as to a) get a job and b) fool immigration into getting you a visa.
The odds of defeating both a and b as a “spouse of an expat”? Slim to nil.
But hey – I’ve conquered the dragon 3x now (I got offered 3 jobs this month YAY!!! One of which I turned down already. No regrets, it was as a Journalist for a Teen Newspaper @ $24k a year, full-time, overtime, and no fringes. Kill me plz).
But saving the princess (aka getting the visa) is a damn pain in the ass.
Let’s just say now that
I HATE KOREAN IMMIGRATION.
Why is it that just because I am a spouse, I am not worthy to get a work visa for this country? According to a friend, immigration here is a joke. The people that work there are lazy and unethical, and it’s completely up to their discretion whether they pass an application or not. If you know someone there, you’ll get a visa. If you don’t, then pray that your visa guy just got laid for the first time in 5 years or won the lottery the night before. Otherwise, good luck to you.
PLUS… if an application has failed the first time, then there is very little chance it will go through on any subsequent attempts – no one wants to put it through cos they’re scared of getting grilled about why they are putting through an application that was rejected the first time.
In short, the Korean Immigration Visa Department’s sole goal is
not to grant you a visa, but to
screen you out.
That Princess is hard to get... which is not to say that I don't stand a chance. But I’m just speculating, cos my experience is that nothing ever goes right for a married woman in Korea…
Allow me to explain. See, a lot of women here don’t work anymore after getting married. Granted, the exception is now slowing becoming the rule with younger couples, but the general mindset of the Korean people is that the man should bring home the bacon. OINK.
Being a wife, therefore, renders me unworthy of a job and - according to the old farts that work in the visa department - an unnecessary sponger of their country’s money - dough that should really be given to Korean locals. Another reason why there is only one foreigner in this whole place that I’m working at now. She was probably dating a visa guy at the time.
DIES DIES DIES
Which brings me to my conclusion: I’m having another quarter-life crisis at the moment cos I don’t know which company to go with and - when I do – whether they will even be able save the goddam Princess for me. On the one hand, YAY I have choices! But on the other, a huge feat as it may seem, it is really nothing in the corporate world. Regardless of what I choose, I will still only have a part-time job because not knowing any Korean means that there is
just not enough for me to do. And I will always be an outsider. Period.
That's the thing over here. Every time you think you've slayed the dragon, saved the princess, passed the stage... there's another pipe waiting for you just around the corner...
Oh, I’m also saddened at having to postpone baby plans, but have made a firm decision that work comes first. Blerghhhhhhhhhh…
Meanwhile, recent lusting after the Bottega Veneta Intrecciato bag has swayed me to get one. I really love how the leather is interweaved in the signature BV “intrecciato” way (which also means “to have a love affair” in Italian, as I found on Wiktionery). Their leathers are so soft and the suede lining so luxurious, that every time you reach in to get something you’ll be tickled by the sensual interior and feel a little happy inside… mmmmm, frisky!
Plus, the best part is that hardly anyone owns one over here cos they think it’s dumb to pay that much for a bag without a logo. Losers! Don’t they know that a classic bag like this transcends such frivolities…?
Right now I’m torn between the Maxi Veneta Hobo or the Shoulder Bag, and also whether I should get it in a classic or seasonal colour:
I’m thinking a bright shade. I’ve been so into buying bright teals lately, it’s become an obsession… totally loving this new teal Juicy tracksuit and bright teal Vivienne Westwood belt to death. I digress.
So anyway, lately I’ve been starting to think that maybe I should stop spending so much money on clothes and save it for something nice, like a Giorgio Armani suit for my husband or something. He has no clothes. And the maid put his only cashmere cardigan in the wash. FUUUUUUU!!!!!!!! I have a great hubby - he always says it’s not worth it to buy expensive outfits for himself, and that he prefers to just save the money and give it to me. What a dear. Perhaps I should return the favour? Oooooh… I’ll think about it.
Oh oh oh my goodness, I got a
Kindle!!! I’m so excited. I stayed up til 3am last night researching skins and covers and other accessories for it. I totally wanted to get this set:
...but then, as I was thinking of my husband and how little he has, I decided to go for this instead:
Then we can both use it, and plus the
Cole Haan cover is much better quality and more timeless than the cheapo pink combo. They don’t ship to Korea so I am eagerly waiting the package that will be meeting me at my Sydney home when I return next month :D
Oh, meanwhile I had a skinny day yesterday. Now how often do you hear that? It was super!! I went with my friend Terry to a new Hot Yoga studio that opened near my place and I think it worked! *BEAMS* *dances**squeals*
It was so funny, cos we didn’t realize we had walked into a “Beat Yoga” class instead of the regular hot yoga. There was funny Indian music playing and we had to do all these silly dance-like yoga moves in the heat to an instructor that was so loud I thought she was going to chew my ear off. To top it off, she kept going “HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…..” in a really deranged way every time she was breathing out. I started getting worried she would pass out from all the screaming. It was so exciting. I’m going back.
xxoo
