Full Version: See how Stafford is enjoying the good life in Nonsan South Korea

See how Stafford is enjoying the good life in Nonsan South Korea

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Stafford, who teaches English in the South Korean city of Nonsan, is full of enthusiasm for the Korean way of life. Living there is amazingly affordable; technology is advanced and readily available; the people are friendly and respectful. No wonder Stafford urges everyone to “hurry up and get here already!”
  
Stafford Lumsden



July 4 2006

-Where were you born?
I was born in Melbourne, Australia; I (proudly) carry a New Zealand passport.

-Are you living alone or with your family?
Just me. I thought I would get a pet, maybe a goldfish...?

-In which city and country are you living now?
Nonsan, South Korea

-How long have you been living in South Korea?
2 Years, 4 Months

-What is your age?
I am 27

-When did you come up with the idea of living in Korea?
I finished University and managed to find quite a good job, but three months into it I was going crazy with boredom, and after a somewhat messy end to a long-term relationship, I was looking for a new start. So on a whim I decided to find a job teaching English somewhere in Asia and was offered a position in Korea.

-Was it hard to get a visa or a working permit?
Initially, it wasn’t. Over the last two years, however, visa regulations in Korea have been tightened. In my case, on a recent trip home to renew my visa, I had to make an unscheduled trip to Korea's *embassy* rather than its consulate to be issued with a new visa. Other than that, as long as you have the correct paperwork, it's not a problem!

-How do you make your living in Korea? Do you have any type of income generated?
I teach English, mainly to Elementary and Middle school students, in an after-school English Academy.


-Do you speak Korean and do you think it's important to speak the local language?
I arrived in Korea with only a basic "hello" under my belt. In two years I have picked up enough Korean to get around: catching the bus, ordering a beer and so on. I can even order take out over the phone these days! The alphabet, despite looking terribly difficult, is quite easy to learn, and I can read Korean with a pretty good accent, but I often have no idea what I'm saying!

I wish I had more time (and motivation!) to study more. Because I live in a small country town, it is difficult to find formal lessons. But friends and co-workers help me out. I think it is pretty important to learn the "language of the land" as it were, if only to be able to feed and clothe yourself. Moreover, people here in Korea really seem to appreciate it when you make the effort to study their language. (After all, a great number of them are making the effort to learn my language!)

Also, unlike languages like French, Korean seems to freely adapt English terms and phrases as necessary, even if the meaning is slightly different from the original meaning.

-Do you miss home and family sometimes?
I don't think I have had too much of a hard time when it comes to homesickness. My family is only a phone call away (calls are very cheap here). And if I am feeling down, there is always a bit of retail therapy to distract me.

Korea also has quite a large number of hills and small mountains. A popular pastime is to go hiking. Koreans - ever enthusiastic - dress up for the occasion in hiking boots and camping gear often to "climb" very small hills. The countryside is very beautiful, especially in Fall when the trees turn all number of yellow and red colors, and also in Spring when rice is planted and everything turns a bold green.

Korea also has amazingly fast Internet access, meaning one can play online games, surf the Internet and maintain a homepage - a common hobby among many Koreans.

Korea is also the home of Taekwondo and there are a huge number of Taekwondo schools in every city.

-Do you have other plans for the future?
I will probably stay here in Korea for at least another year. After that I would like to go overland from Seoul to London via China, Tibet, "The Stans" Iran, Turkey, Eastern Europe and Western Europe.

-What about housing, have you bought, or are you renting a home? How much do you pay for it?
My apartment is part of my employment contract. So I have no idea what it costs. This is a common deal if you are teaching English in Korea, although sometimes teachers are asked for a sizable deposit or they have it deducted from their salary.

-What is the cost of living there?
It’s very cheap. One could easily live on less than $10.00 a day. You can have a sizable meal for around $4.00 if you like Korean food (which is delicious!). Western style food is a little more expensive. As I've mentioned, phone calls are cheap, everyone here has a mobile phone; I pay about $20.00 a month for what seems an endless number of calls and messages. By way of example, my last gas bill was $7.00 for a month, I pay $2.00 a month for cable TV and the management fee for my apartment (including electricity) is about $40.00 for the month. My largest expense is internet. I pay about $50.00 a month for a 100mb/s connection - ultra fast!

Public transport is quick and efficient and equally as well-priced. You can get anywhere in Korea by Intercity bus or Train, and most main centers are connected by bullet train (which is a little more expensive, but faster and more comfortable than the bus.)

-What do you think about the Korean people?
Living in a relatively small country town there are only a few foreigners around. While the adults are accommodating and in my experience, always friendly, smaller children often stare at me in amazement, which is quite funny and cute! While conversation is short, my neighbors always say hello, and I have found a number of friends who have just come up to me on the street to say hi!

The Koreans are very respectful. Apart from remembering to use formal language when speaking to your elders, the thing I've noticed the most is the giving and receiving of things with two hands. As a matter of respect one offers something, say your business card, in both hands and it is received by the other person the same way. When doing things in even semi-formal situations always use both hands! It has taken a while to get used to but I think it is a really nice and respectful way of going about things.

-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in South Korea?
Top 3 Positives:
Cheap cost of living
The people are friendly
Advanced technology (phones, Internet, etc.)

Some Negatives:
Winter is very cold (snow and a temperature of about -7C).
Summer is very hot and humid (often hazy and dusty - 40C with 90% humidity).

-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in that country?
Hurry up and get here already!

-Do you have any favorite Korean Web sites or blogs?
Obviously, my blog: The Chosun Bimbo ([url]http://www.stafford.net.nz/bimbo.html)[/url] which I have been writing for over a year now. It includes (mostly) stuff connected with my time in Korea and links to my Flickr Account with hundreds of photos from Korea.

Elsewhere, both The Marmot's Hole ([url]http://www.rjkoehler.com/)[/url] and The Lost Nomad ([url]http://www.lostnomad.org/)[/url] give a pretty good analysis of current affairs, and other things in Korea.

If you are looking to teach in Korea you can choose to go through an agency like I did. I used Teach Korea NZ ([url]http://www.teachkoreanz.com/)[/url] who by all accounts is a reputable agency. The three previous teachers at my school all came through them.