Korean Cultural Experiences

[mtaylor]

Hey folks,
I am currently taking a social research methods course, and I thought I would look at some cultural experiences common to English teachers in Korea.
I have created a very short survey, and would greatly appreciate it if you took the time to help me out and answer a few questions about your experiences as a foreign teacher in Korea.

Here's the link to the survey:

http://app.fluidsurveys.com/surveys/matthew-9/sosc-366-survey/ 

All responses will remain strictly anonymous.

Thanks.

[Yegob]

why is your cultural experience survey limited to footwear?

anyone with a European background won't be surprised at the custom of taking off one's shoes before entering someone's home. Carpeting is a lot more common there as well, so this makes practical sense.

the Korean custom of taking one's shoes off in a restaurants is strange, until one considers that they sit on the floor.

re school, the moment I noticed that K teachers and students used their "indoor sandals' to go outside when for e.g going to a restaurants, etc i stopped taking all of that seriously.

[mtaylor]

This is just a short survey, so I am only looking at a couple aspects of life in Korea (that being the removal of footwear primarily).

I am from Canada and understand that it is normal for many people to remove their shoes before entering a home etc. However, at the school I work at half of the foreign teachers do not remove their footwear and I wanted to see what the reasons for this were. I just though it could reveal some interesting results.

[Yegob]

This is just a short survey, so I am only looking at a couple aspects of life in Korea (that being the removal of footwear primarily).

I am from Canada and understand that it is normal for many people to remove their shoes before entering a home etc. However, at the school I work at half of the foreign teachers do not remove their footwear and I wanted to see what the reasons for this were. I just though it could reveal some interesting results.

I'll give you my personal perspectve that you wouldn't be able to gleam from the simple survey questions.

at the beginning i completely adopted the korean sandal at school thing.. until my feet started freezing in the winter and until i noticed that most teachers and students wear their indoor school sandals when going outside.. which completely defeats any purpose much less logic behind the custom.  now, after a couple of years, i've gone back to NOT removing my footwear most of the time, slipped back into my 'comfort zone' if you will, though now when it gets hot outside and i find my socks getting sweaty inside my footwear, i find wearing korean slippers during the work day more comfortable. so now it's just about what's comfortable for me.

none of my k coworkers seem to care.

[Yegob]

btw OP, I thought I noticed this before, but today just took a good hard look around the school.

a significant percentage of my high school students are also wearing their outside sneakers INSIDE of the school. I don't know if that's simply cold/weather related, or whether the societal rule/expectation is breaking down.

[Frozencat99]

Interesting survey, OP.

This is just a short survey, so I am only looking at a couple aspects of life in Korea (that being the removal of footwear primarily).

I am from Canada and understand that it is normal for many people to remove their shoes before entering a home etc. However, at the school I work at half of the foreign teachers do not remove their footwear and I wanted to see what the reasons for this were. I just though it could reveal some interesting results.

I'll give you my personal perspectve that you wouldn't be able to gleam from the simple survey questions.

at the beginning i completely adopted the korean sandal at school thing.. until my feet started freezing in the winter and until i noticed that most teachers and students wear their indoor school sandals when going outside.. which completely defeats any purpose much less logic behind the custom.  now, after a couple of years, i've gone back to NOT removing my footwear most of the time, slipped back into my 'comfort zone' if you will, though now when it gets hot outside and i find my socks getting sweaty inside my footwear, i find wearing korean slippers during the work day more comfortable. so now it's just about what's comfortable for me.

none of my k coworkers seem to care.

Since he's doing this for a social research methods course and has chosen to do a survey, anything you'd be unable to glean from the questions is irrelevant.