Should I Stay in Korea or Not?
This is a question I have been asking myself. "Should I stay in Korea or not?". I love Korea a lot, yet I have been having my doubts about staying here. I love the friends and acquaintances I have made here. There are still many places I want to see that I haven't seen yet. I have my favourite haunts. I like the dojang I attend.
Yet, I also feel that I want to move on. I only have a degree in English, just a simple bachelor's degree. It isn't worth much at all. I love books and I am greatful for many things I learned while getting the degree, yet I wish I studied something else. A degree in English can get someone a teaching job as long as they have teaching certification, which I don't have. I don't want a career as a middle or high school teacher anyways. A master's degree or higher can get someone a job as an editor or a professor. I have neither of those degrees.
I also am dissatisfied with the jobs I have had in Korea. My first job involved teaching both adults and children. I liked the job itself. My problem was that I had a certain coordinator that was very cruel to me. She offered me no help and constantly badmouthed me. I would only hear about issues with my teaching after the head directors of the company would tell me about them. It wasn't fair.
The next job I had was at a hagwon (kid's school) I had for six months. I hated it. I hated, hated, hated, hated it. I never hated doing a job so much. I hated every minute of it. I have vowed to never work with children again when I have to be with them by myself.
My current job is at a high school. The other teachers here are very nice to me. I can see that they care about me. I just have a lot of trouble keeping the students motivated. No matter what I do, I can't seem to keep most of them interested in the class. I am frustrated most of the time. I have been very depressed with the whole situation. I shouldn't take it to heart, students rarely want to learn.
I do feel that I should go back to school and study something else. There are study options on Sundays at the nearby Seventh-day Adventist university. I did sign up for religion but dropped out after a few weeks because I found one of the lecturers to be extremely boring. I didn't want to spend my Sundays indoors listening to him when I could be outside either hiking or touring Seoul.
There is another graduate programme that's available in Public Health. I find it to be interesting, but I have worried that the degree may be worthless for me. I am an American citizen, and if I choose to ever go back to the USA to live, it may not be able to get me a job. The degree is supposed to be useful for a test that can be taken in the USA, yet I am still skeptical. I know that the USA is an arrogant country and deems many foreign degrees to be useless. And again, I don't think I want to spend my Sundays indoors when I could be outside taking photos, visiting museums, and hanging out with friends.
This all brings me to realise my first love: the great outdoors. Ever since I was a small child I have been fascinated with plants (especially flowers), animals, biomes, geography, and just anything that has to do with biology. When I was in primary school I would spend time in the meadows and woods and could identify many wildflowers. I picked up salamanders, rocks with mica, caught tadpoles, and ate edible plants. I poured over books on flowers, birds, rocks, and fungi. Later in life I have backpacked on the Appalachian Trail, gone to Korean flower festivals, and visited botanical gardens and flower shows worldwide.
So, I now ask myself, why not try to study what I really love? Why not just go back to university and study Biology? My main interests would be in Botany and Environmental Science. If I can spend my life studying and preserving what I love the most, I know I will be very happy.
Truly, such things are offered in Korea, but I would have to learn enough Korean to study those things first. It would be much easier to go to an English-speaking country for study. I have been looking at Andrews University, where I used to attend from 1999-2001. Yet, going back to an old place may not be a good idea, as things won't be the same as before.
I am going to be 30 years old in less than two weeks, and I do need to be thinking about my future. Staying in Korea can let me spend more time with my friends here, I can spend more time in the dojang and go to next year's tournament in North Korea, and I can save more money. It is all something to think and pray about.
Yet, I also feel that I want to move on. I only have a degree in English, just a simple bachelor's degree. It isn't worth much at all. I love books and I am greatful for many things I learned while getting the degree, yet I wish I studied something else. A degree in English can get someone a teaching job as long as they have teaching certification, which I don't have. I don't want a career as a middle or high school teacher anyways. A master's degree or higher can get someone a job as an editor or a professor. I have neither of those degrees.
I also am dissatisfied with the jobs I have had in Korea. My first job involved teaching both adults and children. I liked the job itself. My problem was that I had a certain coordinator that was very cruel to me. She offered me no help and constantly badmouthed me. I would only hear about issues with my teaching after the head directors of the company would tell me about them. It wasn't fair.
The next job I had was at a hagwon (kid's school) I had for six months. I hated it. I hated, hated, hated, hated it. I never hated doing a job so much. I hated every minute of it. I have vowed to never work with children again when I have to be with them by myself.
My current job is at a high school. The other teachers here are very nice to me. I can see that they care about me. I just have a lot of trouble keeping the students motivated. No matter what I do, I can't seem to keep most of them interested in the class. I am frustrated most of the time. I have been very depressed with the whole situation. I shouldn't take it to heart, students rarely want to learn.
I do feel that I should go back to school and study something else. There are study options on Sundays at the nearby Seventh-day Adventist university. I did sign up for religion but dropped out after a few weeks because I found one of the lecturers to be extremely boring. I didn't want to spend my Sundays indoors listening to him when I could be outside either hiking or touring Seoul.
There is another graduate programme that's available in Public Health. I find it to be interesting, but I have worried that the degree may be worthless for me. I am an American citizen, and if I choose to ever go back to the USA to live, it may not be able to get me a job. The degree is supposed to be useful for a test that can be taken in the USA, yet I am still skeptical. I know that the USA is an arrogant country and deems many foreign degrees to be useless. And again, I don't think I want to spend my Sundays indoors when I could be outside taking photos, visiting museums, and hanging out with friends.
This all brings me to realise my first love: the great outdoors. Ever since I was a small child I have been fascinated with plants (especially flowers), animals, biomes, geography, and just anything that has to do with biology. When I was in primary school I would spend time in the meadows and woods and could identify many wildflowers. I picked up salamanders, rocks with mica, caught tadpoles, and ate edible plants. I poured over books on flowers, birds, rocks, and fungi. Later in life I have backpacked on the Appalachian Trail, gone to Korean flower festivals, and visited botanical gardens and flower shows worldwide.
So, I now ask myself, why not try to study what I really love? Why not just go back to university and study Biology? My main interests would be in Botany and Environmental Science. If I can spend my life studying and preserving what I love the most, I know I will be very happy.
Truly, such things are offered in Korea, but I would have to learn enough Korean to study those things first. It would be much easier to go to an English-speaking country for study. I have been looking at Andrews University, where I used to attend from 1999-2001. Yet, going back to an old place may not be a good idea, as things won't be the same as before.
I am going to be 30 years old in less than two weeks, and I do need to be thinking about my future. Staying in Korea can let me spend more time with my friends here, I can spend more time in the dojang and go to next year's tournament in North Korea, and I can save more money. It is all something to think and pray about.
Comments
Although you mention the USA's prejudice, do see if you cannot find a good school in another country -- in so doing you can get to experience a new culture at the same time. I'm sure you'll find a nice dojang somewhere else too.