Moving to a new country and being a foreigner can be daunting. After culture shock comes homesickness and sometimes outright rejection--not everyone who travels to Korea stays. One of the best ways to make a home in a new area is to get connected. Also, making connections is what makes people thrive. And luckily it's easy to do in Korea.
Some people meet their best friends while abroad. Others meet their spouses and partners. There is a group in Korea to cater to almost every single one of an individual's likes and needs, with each group having its own conventions and specialized language (subcultures and sub-communities of the larger expat whole). More about the value of meeting new people and joining organizations in Korea can be found in Learn. A list of some of the most active types of organizations (with links to some of the groups most familiar to the website's author) that can facilitate meaningful connections in Korea are below:
Some people meet their best friends while abroad. Others meet their spouses and partners. There is a group in Korea to cater to almost every single one of an individual's likes and needs, with each group having its own conventions and specialized language (subcultures and sub-communities of the larger expat whole). More about the value of meeting new people and joining organizations in Korea can be found in Learn. A list of some of the most active types of organizations (with links to some of the groups most familiar to the website's author) that can facilitate meaningful connections in Korea are below:
- Sports leagues (soccer, rugby, field hockey, roller hockey, basketball, baseball, cricket, tennis, squash)
- Running, hiking, rock climbing, and camping groups
- Martial arts centers (fact: taekwondo is Korean)
- Drinking, brewing, and bar trivia teams
- Babysitting groups and groups for mothers and fathers
- Language exchanges (besides Korean, of course, there are active German, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, and Hindi communities)
- Travel groups inside of Korea (some good ones: Adventure Korea, When In Korea (WINK)
- Travel groups outside of Korea
- Dance and theater troupes (for children and adults) and choirs
- Swing, salsa, and tango dancing (the swing scene is especially large in Seoul)
- Eating and foodie clubs
- Boating and fishing clubs
- Volunteer organizations (orphanage work, North Korean aide, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and youth mentoring programs)
- Tech groups
- Litter patrols
- Photography clubs
- Geocaching
- Toastmasters
- Board game and video game societies
- And many more. The USO puts on monthly tours that anyone can join to places such as the DMZ and rivers for rafting. Facebook is a good way to get connected with people, and meetup.com is even better. Last I checked it even had meetups for hipsters, bitcoin enthusiasts, coffee drinkers, and science fiction writers. Korea is also chock full of bars, clubs, and cafes where friends are just a conversation (or a dance move) away.
Additionally, one concern many foreigners coming to Korea have is that their religious needs will not be met. Luckily for them, Korea is home to many different religions, with areas like Itaewon especially being known for their religious diversity. Catholic, protestant, Unitarian, Muslim, Hindu, Bahá'í, Buddhism, Judaism--you can find almost all of it there. And if you aren't religious, there are plenty of atheist and free thinking groups as well.
The Korean expat community has a lot of "go-getters," or "Type A" personalities. People start new groups constantly, and are always looking for help. An expat new to Korea might only be around for a few months before they are asked to take a leadership position in one organization or another. It can be a lot of work leading your friends on a camping trip, or figuring out the running route through the city, but it can also be rewarding. And it's just another way to add value back to the things that make life abroad fun.
The Korean expat community has a lot of "go-getters," or "Type A" personalities. People start new groups constantly, and are always looking for help. An expat new to Korea might only be around for a few months before they are asked to take a leadership position in one organization or another. It can be a lot of work leading your friends on a camping trip, or figuring out the running route through the city, but it can also be rewarding. And it's just another way to add value back to the things that make life abroad fun.
The picture above is of Korean runners and "waygookin" runners. What is a "waygookin?" Well, the word is Korean for "foreigner," and it's how Koreans will probably refer to you if you visit their country. Foreigners use it a lot too, though they usually add an "s" on the end to pluralize it (or shorten it to "waygook," which I might have done in a few places on this site). Anyway, adding an "s" isn't the proper way of pluralizing any word in Korean, but it is a good example of the language the expat community uses.