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South Korea

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Method of Madness:
Thanks, everyone!  I'll keep you guys updated as I find out more (like where in the country I'll be).

Is it cold in here?:
Have a bug-out plan. Living next to the DPRK is like living next to a volcano. It hasn't gone off in sixty years but the magma pressure hasn't gone away either.

Akima:

--- Quote from: Method of Madness on 05 Feb 2012, 13:12 ---Anyone here from/ever been to South Korea?
--- End quote ---
I have been there for work several times, but I mostly got to see offices, factories and the inside of hotel rooms. Koreans work hard and expect it from everyone else. Korean guys have no concept as effeminate as machismo. You don't say where you'll be working, but if it one of the major cities, and especially Seoul, expect people to be in a hurry; a New York minute is an eternity compared to a Seoul minute. As in all East Asian cities outside Japan, be careful crossing the street until you have got a feel for the aggressive traffic.

South Koreans are proud of their "high-tech" society, but a surprising number of services (using WiFi at a café for example) can be a pain to use if you don't have a Korean citizen registration number. I only ever made shortish trips to Korea, while you'll be staying longer, so I don't know what documentation you will need. Your employer should be able to guide you. Speaking of employers, Korean society is much more hierarchical than you're probably used to. People like factory managers, and I'm guessing school principals, tend to run their domains as personal fiefs.

I'm assuming that you're not going to live in Korea without having some idea of the complex relationships, and difficult history, between the countries of East Asia. The Japanese occupation is still a sore point in Korea, as it is in China, and Koreans love to beat Japan at anything. Relations with North Korea is a tricky area best avoided, or glossed over with "it is a difficult situation" or something. South Koreans do tend to be damn proud of their country, with good reason, but claims of their nationalism should be taken with a pinch of salt, because "nationalism" is typically no more than the name given to the patriotism of people who live in other countries (because everyone knows that our country is really the best, right?), and it is the extremists that make the news.

Method of Madness:
I don't know where in the country I'll be yet, but I do know it will be a city, and hopefully Seoul.  Also, I'll be there at least a year, and I'll have an Alien Registration Card, so hopefully that helps out with things like wifi.

Is it cold in here?:
A US serviceman committed a PDA with his Korean wife once. It touched off a riot and a diplomatic incident. Beyond the respect you would show South Korean women automatically because you are a decent human being, do nothing that could be misinterpreted.

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