Why we should be thankful for Koreans

May 22, 2007 in Opinion

Koreans make life “so cheap” that people can work here for years and just save and save and save.  I know many people who have paid of college loans, built up a little bit of savings so they can take it home to create a business or start a new life, people who have paid back debts they’ve accumulated in other countries, etc.  We have to thank all those Ajumas who work for pennies on the dollar or should I say “ship wons” on the “chun won” bills.  We have to thank all those Ajushis who will work for what we equate to pennies to just make enough to eat on a daily basis.  Koreans haven’t escalated the prices of most consumer goods…so there haven’t been greedy people making it impossible to make a living.  Simply, Koreans have created a society that makes it so much easier to save.

For example, many people come to teach in Korea vs. Japan or elsewhere in Asia because they can’t save elsewhere.  However, due to the really low cost of living, people are truly exporting lots of money out the country because Koreans have made it so cheap for them to live in their country. It’s something a lot of foreigners truly don’t think about, nor care…

Nevertheless, I wanted to say “thank you” to all those people who make literally nothing while we, as English teaching professionals make 2X’s, 3X’s or sometimes as much as 10X’s or more than most Koreans and honestly don’t give a rip about the country we spend only a few years in. People should literally be more thankful while living here in Korea.