Culture Shock When Teaching English In Korea (+3 Tips To Handle It)
Hey people of the world! Today’s video and article are on the inevitable experience of culture shock when teaching English in Korea – that initial period when you arrive and everything is daunting and overwhelming. The good news is that this experience is not only something that you can get through but seeing a new country and culture for the first time and the feelings that come with it are a unique experience you can’t replicate.
So here’s the video where I go into this in detail and give you a few tips on how to get through that period of culture shock and how to make the most of it:
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Culture Shock When Teaching English In Korea
It’s not surprising that when you arrive in a new country, with a new language and different people acting in different ways you’ll probably feel a little shell shocked. Here are the suggestions for dealing with this feeling that I mentioned in the video:
1) Try Enjoy The Feeling As A Unique Experience
While a lot of people may be put off by the feeling of culture shock to begin with, a lot of other people LIVE for that feeling. Why do you think people get addicted to travel? It’s because that initial feeling of arriving in a new country and seeing it through fresh eyes is absolutely incredible.
It pushes you into the moment because you can no longer afford to be drudging through life barely paying attention to whats going on around you like you can at home. No, because everything is so new and interesting you become keenly aware of your surroundings and you own experience of them.
I’d urge you to really just embrace this feeling of culture shock when teaching in Korea, as it’s one of the best feelings out there!
2) Ignore The Thoughts Of Doubt About Your Decision To Move Here
It’s also a given that at some point during your arrival you’re likely to wonder if you made a terrible mistake up and leaving your life and come to KOREA of all places. Well, this feeling it is totally normal and I’m pretty sure everyone feels it at some point during the days or weeks after arriving.
The key here is realizing that this is just a reactive response of your brain because of all the novel experiences you’re being bombarded with. On a survival level your brain is telling you “AHHH DANGER!” and promptly tells you that you should return to where it’s safe. Of course you aren’t actually in danger and so the correct response is to totally ignore it and trust those thoughts will go away eventually. Which brings me to my last point.
3) It Doesn’t Last Forever!
Both the initial feeling of being overwhelmed and the doubts about your decision to come here will dissipate over time. This may take only a few days, a few weeks or maybe even a month or two. But eventually everything around you will normalize and you’ll be back to feeling normal and mostly likely thinking you made the best decision of your life!
So make sure to enjoy that initial experience, ignore the doubts and trust that things will even out after a little time.
Good luck with coming over! And don’t forget to contact me if you want to find out how to get started teaching 🙂