Foreigners living in Korea surveyed on pros and cons of the country

Article: 1.6 million foreigners living in Korea surveyed on their views of Korea "Koreans of all income brackets work too much"

Source: Kyunghyang via Naver

Pros of Koreans
1. Hard working 21.5
2. Courteous 16.7
3. Patriotic 13.3

Cons of Koreans
1. No freetime 15.6
2. Strong pride 14.3
3. Closed-minded 12.3

Pros of Korean society
1. Courteous service 16.4
2. Strong sense of unity 15.4
3. Dynamic 13.5

Cons of Korean society
1. Excessive competition 30.2
2. Sense of Korean superiority 27.5
3. Fast with everything 20.2

Difficulties foreigners faced in Korea
1. Balancing work and life
2. Language
3. Corporate culture
4. Finding a place to live
5. Food accessibility
6. Communication within the workplace
7. Work advancements
8. Discrimination
9. Education for offspring
10. Co-workers
11. Rules of social relationships
12. Work in general
13. Skill accessibility
14. Compensation

Other points of discussion
1. Difficulty in understanding the drinking culture + senior and junior social relationships
2. The concept of 'attachment' that can often feel like a breach of privacy
3. Respect for seniors, like no smoking in front of adults
4. Not being able to eat by yourself (social stigma)

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1. [+4,085, -107] I hate the senior/junior social culture too.

2. [+3,335, -66] I also hear foreigners talk about how Koreans put in a lot of work hours but aren't actually working but killing time...

3. [+543, -13] Culturally, Koreans tend to group very well but that doesn't necessarily mean we're also good at unifying.

4. [+503, -10] Korea's drinking culture is basically ruining ourselves. In order to advance or stay in business, you have to go out every night drinking and going to seedy places, take drinks even if you don't want to, even when you're sick. It just doesn't make sense. Any man who refuses to drink and instead wants to go home in a timely manner to his wife and kids is alienated at the work place.
Another problem with Korea is that people care way too much about other people. It's none of your business whether that woman's divorced or if another woman is at an age to be married or if that kid is from a divorced family or if this kid doesn't have a mom or dad. People care too much about other families and private lives that have nothing to do with them.
The third problem is the social culture of senior and junior relationships. It prohibits the proper exchange of opinions and communication and just adds tension and stress to a relationship.

5. [+496, -4] I'm fine with all of these aspects of our culture but not where it's forced. Why force someone to drink, to get married, to believe in a certain religion...

6. [+331, -10] There are a lot of countries who make less than us who live better lives than the average Korean. They get off work in a timely manner and spend their nights at home with their families. Meanwhile Korean parents work late into the night, the only 'free time' being spent on drinking... This isn't right and needs to be fixed.

7. [+292, -4] I heard in countries like France, employees don't need to know the contact information of their seniors. Just do your job and get off work when it's time. That's it. No one cares.

8. [+231, -13] Let me add another con. Koreans have completely different egos when on the internet and when in real life.

9. [+193, -2] Another thing is when Koreans judge others and talk behind their backs without knowing anything about a person. Everyone thinks they're a judge or a critic.

10. [+163, -9] I agree about the Korean superiority part. We have nothing to feel superior about but we're always talking about we're the first or the best at certain things. Foreigners know us so well ㅋㅋㅋ

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