About Me
Welcome to the site. My name is Chris. I arrived in Korea in 1996, after nearly a decade of work and travel in Europe, Australasia, Central and North America. Like most arrivals to Korea, I came to teach English, make some money, have some fun, and move on. I’d taught in Greece and Mexico already, but none of my experiences prepared me for the culture shock of living in Korea.
I’ve lived in Korea for ten of the last thirteen years. In that time, I’ve taught in all the major language education franchises in the country: private institutes, public schools, universities, and multinational corporations. These days, I’m employed by one of Korea’s largest companies as an English language and Business instructor, and life is good.
I am happy to answer questions about Korea on this site and privately. You can leave a comment here or I can be contacted via email with enquiries about writing, consulting, or speaking engagements. Or just to say hi. I’m a friendly sorta guy.
I’ve spent most of the last decade-and-more striving to figure out this country and its people, and even though a decade is a hell of a long time, I’ve got a hell of a lot more to learn. You peel back a layer only to find a new one, and I’m only starting to understand that it’s the work of a lifetime to peel them all back, only to find, as they say, that the onion is all layers.
I love a challenge.
Like most expatriates in Korea, I’m driven in turns from an abiding love for the country and its people to anger, dismay and eye-rolling eyebrow-arching disbelief at some of the realities of daily life here. But I remain a steadfast Korea-booster. This place is a great place to live, if you’ve got a good attitude towards it all. And it’s only by looking straight-on at what seems wrong that there is any hope in helping to set it right. Some of the opinions I express on this site may seem unfair or excessively negative, but I write them out of love, and out of the certainty that the ‘Korean miracle’ will continue, and that the headlong rush into the future — which has had consequences good and bad and mostly unexpected — will continue to bring a better life for the Korean people and those who love them. You know, people like me.
Hi!
Hi!
My name is Andrew Dunkle and I wanted to quickly say that I enjoyed reading your blog, you really have a wonderful site setup here. I am contacting you in regards to a link exchange. I represent Reach To Teach, a recruiting company that provides job placement services for English teachers across Asia.
I enjoyed your blog and I think that other people who are interested in living in Korea but what to learn more would like it too. Please come by and explore our site at http://www.reachtoteachrecruiting.com.
You can contact me directly at andrew@reachtoteachrecruiting.com
Thanks and happy blogging!
Andrew Dunkle
Reach To Teach
please write more and comment broad and deep on anything you have come to have knowledge of. i come back here over and over looking for more because you see what i cannot. i am in the usa and want to come to korea to see it with my own eyes.
Can i contact you thru email ?
Thanks
TK
Glad you are doing well. I taught a little on the side in 1999.
Some say that was when you couldnt get rich teaching anymore, only enough to make a living. I got 21 per hour then. Now as nurse here in the US I do much better. Later I saw the influx of those from South Africa and Australia who would take less. Prices even then were more than in the USA. 10 bucks for a watermelon, 4 dollars for a gallon of gasoline. Eventually we have caught up a bit. I looked to maybe working in the international area near the new Seoul airport someday.
I married in 1999 in Cheju, she came to study english for only
one year and now she has been with me since.I dont get enough
to Korea, but have taken notice how Cheju has changed, good and bad, sure some have prospered but it has lost some of that hidden charm.
I havent made a very long term commitment to Korean, partly because languages dont come easy to me. I can follow some Spanish but Korean is tough. Even though I have watched those two popular foreigns made famous on TV because they could speak Korean didnt motivate me. Thanks for posting your mp3. I have the course but only on audio. For the record my wife says its North Korean dialect.