This is Part 4 of the series "Where should I teach? China, Korea, Taiwan or Japan?". This one is just a short clip. I originally thought that this would be the last one, but I later added a few more. In this one I continue my talk and I start of by talking about "brands" and my students infatuation with brands. And it's not just the students. I have found people to be pretty brand conscious in Asia.
In China you'll find the fakes and knock-offs. Some sellers will even be honest with you and tell you that it is. Anyways, so here I go into which place may be the most laid back and how the countries compare a bit.
Here is a transcription of the video:
People are really infatuated with name brands. In Korea, I am thinking of Korea now. Like my students will be like what is the brand name of your clothes and stuff like that. So I think it's kind of the mindset. You know these cultures there are different levels of culture. Japan is a really developed country. China is less developed. And some of the less developed cultures are really focused on products and stuff. Some Korean girl that I met on the street said to me, "I have an iPhone, iPhone." Materialism, yeah I am thinking of Korea, but it exists in other places too. Materialism is kind of a world wide thing.
Where should I teach? Yeah really study the culture - where you are thinking of going. I think Korea is kind of uptight, depends a bit on where you are the kind of city and such. People say Taiwan is pretty laid back. It was my first Asian country that I had been too. At first I didn't think it was very laid back. People still work really long hours, like 6 days a week. In Taiwan, you might work like 6 days. Teachers in private schools (buxibans) often work Saturdays for a few hours.
Korea, I thought for teaching was a little bit better. Most people work Monday to Friday. But you may be working longer hours though. It just depends.
For right now that's all I can think of. Feel free to ask questions if there is something you want to know about a place or my experience in these places.
Where should I teach English: China, Korea, Japan or Taiwan? Watch the rest of the series.