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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.

Is teaching English in China, Korea, Taiwan or Japan for you?

  1. 13 Reasons Teaching English in Japan is for You
  2. 19 Reasons Teaching English in Taiwan is for You
  3. 21 Reasons Teaching English in Korea is for You
  4. 11 Reasons Teaching English in China is for You
  5. 15 Reasons teaching English abroad is NOT for you