The Ins and Outs of Korean Society

I once had a friend who describe being a foreigner in Korea this way: "In Korean culture, you are either in the circle or out. People in the circle of family and friends are very important, and the people outside the circle don't matter at all. As a foreigner, you can never be in the circle."

I didn't know that when I first arrived in Korea three years ago. I didn't understand why no one talked to me at work for two months. I felt like I was being hazed and had to get through the test in order to be accepted. Once people opened up to me, I felt like I had Korean friends, but it was all an illusion because the moment they should have shown loyalty, they sided against me. They pushed me out even though it was obvious that I had done everything I could to do my job well and be loyal to them. They sided with a person who had stabbed them all in the back repeatedly because that person was Korean and I was not. I gave my life to my boss at the last job, made her a lot of money, increased her enrollment by 50%, helped her daughter get into the finest high school, and paid for their new house, and she cheated and lied to me. Yes, I'm upset and bitter about it.

I'm in limbo at my new school. The teachers at Ho Gye were nice to me from the moment I came. Everyone worked hard to help me adjust to the area and provide for me. I do what I can to help as many students as possible. Still, there is no chat in the English teachers' room. Although I am willing to help on a lot of subjects, especially things like grammar explanation or proofreading, I'm not given any of those tasks. The circle of teachers would rather debate among themselves whether something is correct than ask me.

So I have free time. Lots of it. I try to keep myself busy by working on my books, but I worry that they think I am not working hard enough. If I knew how I could help them, I would.