Common for Korean teachers to hit on you?

[Blian]

I don't speak to many teachers at my school, because I don't speak Korean, and many don't speak great English. One teacher speaks decent English and likes to say "I'm smart" and give me playful hits in the arm.

In Korea, is this common at schools? Is it just someone trying to improve their chances of practicing their English, or is it actual flirting?

[bossyaggi]

Sounds like Middle School flirting to me!

[Pin]

I don't know if this is flirting... my coworkers give compliments and playful nudges all the time. 

The only time I've ever seen flirting in the office was when one of my NET colleagues smelled a Korean teacher's coat and bought her breakfast every day.  It was creepy.

[wafflebunny]

The principal, vice-principal at my other school and a male teacher have gone on and on and on about how "beautiful" they think I am and carp on it. Yes, I am flattered but now it's just getting creepy. I know how these ajosshi men can be when it come to younger women.  ???

[Craash]

I get the "You are so handsome" everyday from both teachers and students.

I don't take it seriously though, as often they are referring to a persons behavior, not just the looks.

[Gunpojohnny]

I get the most bizzare compliments here. I don't take it as flirting but if someone back home told me I was handsome everyday I would think it was weird. Also, they are really impressed by my blue eyes.. which has never been a big deal back home. I love the "wow, I'm jealous of your small face!" I always say I'm jealous of their big face but I don't think they get it. My jokes don't work in Korea :(

[Seknumllits]

Yeah, I love the small face/head compliments! They make me crack up! I never took any of the "you are beautiful" comments seriously until one of the Korean teachers (who always seemed to be complimenting me) told me about how if he was younger he would want to marry me and all sorts of creepy stuff. He was a really funny guy but certainly started to get a bit creepy, however he moved to a different school, so  no more marriage talk from him! :)

[woman-king]

The principal, vice-principal at my other school and a male teacher have gone on and on and on about how "beautiful" they think I am and carp on it. Yes, I am flattered but now it's just getting creepy. I know how these ajosshi men can be when it come to younger women.  ???

Ajosshis should always be kept at a politely aloof distance--no exceptions!

OP: I get the feeling you're interested.   ;)  I think there's a thread on Waygook somewhere about the pros and cons of dating a co-teacher...

[atmosphere]

I get a lot of pats on the back/shoulder from male teachers and they like to shake my hand a lot. I didn't/don't really think anything of it beyond them being friendly.

[confusedsafferinkorea]

I never have that problem because I am ugly....   :) :) :)

[soupisgoodfood]

I get told i'm handsome, but i think it's just because they only know a little English. And they want to be nice.

[gmosborn]

confusedsaffer  and I have a lot in common....but the kids are really fascinated with my blue eyes

[Koreak]

I just got my health check results back from the hospital.  Gave it to my secretary at the school who was compiling all of the paper work.  So at lunch yesterday I heard this from 5 other teachers while waiting in the lunch line.... oh teacher... (X number of kilo) bad.... but face handsome. 

Guess my medical records are not too confidential!

[strawberry]

I get the creepiest comments from one of my (old!!) co-teachers!! I used to think it was just that he didn't have the "english vocab" or that it's just strange because of the translation... But lately he's been asking LOADS of questions about me and my boyfriend and he's just... creepy...  A few freaky ones were ...

"I want to see your summer style.  I think you wear short skirt". 
"I want to take a picture of your beautiful face and smile" (while we were on a school field trip)
Coming back from the same field trip, the car was packed, and mister creepy asked ME if I wanted to listen to music.  I said I don't mind and he put on the "radio" which was actually a  "<3 mp3" (that's what it was named!) and ALL of the songs were love songs my STUDENTS listen too - some of it even too noisy for me!  And this guy is like 60!  To top it off, my main co teacher was very sick after the trip so Creepy offered to drive me home.   

I can always spot Creepy a MILE away in the teachers office, because I can see he's staring at me and trying his BEST to strike up a conversation, so he'll hang around my desk talking to other teachers until he can find something to talk about. 

The more I type this the more creepy he becomes... lol

[wafflebunny]

The principal, vice-principal at my other school and a male teacher have gone on and on and on about how "beautiful" they think I am and carp on it. Yes, I am flattered but now it's just getting creepy. I know how these ajosshi men can be when it come to younger women.  ???

Ajosshis should always be kept at a politely aloof distance--no exceptions!

OP: I get the feeling you're interested.   ;)  I think there's a thread on Waygook somewhere about the pros and cons of dating a co-teacher...

Um, OMG! ew! That is disgusting! They are married men! They are just horny! LOL!!!! I don't want any of them.

[Thomas Mc]

The vast majority of Korean teachers at elementary and middle school are females so I think most of the "hitting" will come from male NETS on female KTs.

[twitch]

it's totally common.  it's a tricky situation because if you come outright and spurn (is that a word?)  their advances, they could get bitter (save face?) but if you don't....well you have to put up with their obnoxious behaviour. 

avoid being around this person if at all possible.  i've been through this situation at BOTH schools i've worked at.  ughhhh.  it really sucks.  for me, when the female teachers at my school caught on that the older man teacher was hitting on me....somehow i started getting treated like the "loose" foreigner.  it was gross. 

these days if i see an older male teacher in the hallways i always find a way to look busy/say hi to a student, whatever, just to avoid even saying hi.  i'd rather have him think i'm unfriendly. 

[tryanuvic]

This is definitely a common thing for me. I work in a staff room with 20+ females and no other males, so the flirting comes from all sorts of angles. Although there are a few teachers that simply refuse to look at me. I think that they just treat the notion of difference with a different, more enthusiastic attitude than most of us are used to seeing in western culture. I've only been here for 3 weeks and I still get the "handsome" and "beautiful" comments every day, but they do seem to be happening less often now, which makes a little more sense. I see flirting as a natural way to deal with an unfamiliar foreign teacher, and until something overtly suggestive happens, I'm not really going to bother thinking about it too much.

[Rita.Kolan]

There's one male teacher who always comes to my Teacher English class, but all he wants to do is talk about my life.  If I'm dating anyone, who I've dated in the past, why I'm single now, etc.  I thought at first he was just being friendly, but after three weeks of this it's getting frustrating!  I know the other teachers are getting annoyed with him, because we can't really do any of the lessons and conversations I've planned because he keeps interrupting and going off-topic.  I am hoping someone will talk to him soon, because I don't want to have to call him out in front of the other teachers for not following the lesson.  :'(

[icn]

They always give compliments. It's normal.