The Korean Work Schedule Sucks, or Example Of Me Hating My Girlfriend's Schedule

There are a couple of stories in The Korea Times today concerning Koreans lack of sleep and overworking.

Check out the story about needing sleep here. There's not too much to say on that. I think it's pretty obvious that people in most countries don't get enough sleep, and it can be a danger to others as well as unhealthy to the individual.

It's certainly a well-known facet of Korean culture that workers will go out with their bosses for meat and Soju on a regular basis. The streets are packed at midnight on any given day of the week, and it's commonplace to see children in bars running around, wow mom and dad get plastered.

This is definitely a very social culture among people who have already met. I think that's a good thing. I don't see the going out as the main culprit behind Koreans' lack of sleep. The main culprit is the fact that they work too damn much.

With my only school-given vacation days ending, I think this is an appropriate topic. Now, I have 14 days per year to use. That number is inflated because it includes national holidays as well as any school holidays. But when all is said and done, I still have about 5 days to pick and choose for my own personal vacation.

With those days, I -- and other native speakers in my position -- definitely take full advantage and either plan a trip or simply take the time off to recharge our battery a bit.

But Koreans -- even though they have the option -- don't REALLY have the option. Check out the story here.

It uses a typical salaried worker as an example, but that model could be used with nearly all Koreans. My girlfriend works in the department store. During a regular work week, she will work anywhere from 40-50 hours, not including the extra 6-7 hours she's at work and on a break.

Contrast that with my schedule. I am at the office 40 hours per week, but teach only 24 hours worth of class. I also have to use my other hours as prep time. But in a given week, I don't usually work more than about 32 hours. The rest is time that I'm browsing the Internet, writing in my journal, studying, etc.

That's not because my job is easy, necessarily. But when I finish my work, be it teaching, preparing future lessons or doing administrative work, I simply have nothing else to do for the time being. I can't go home until that clock strikes 4:30 p.m., but I'm not just working for the sake of working, really. And don't forget, I'm only there Monday - Friday.

My girlfriend on the other hand, works at least 6 days a week in her normal week, and that ALMOST ALWAYS includes Saturday AND Sunday. She gets one day off per week, normally, and it's during the week. That sucks big time for hanging with her. Either way, one of us is going in quite tired on our work day, while the other gets to sleep in.

She usually has to be at work by 9:30 a.m. and works until about 8 or 8:30 p.m. Of course, sometimes on Saturday or Sunday, she'll get off by 7 p.m. Wow. Awesome. She also has about 45 minutes of lunch time that she doesn't get paid for, but has to take.

Her schedule can change here and there, but that's a pretty normal look at it, and that's terrible.

To make matters worse, her schedule is typical of most Koreans, and that isn't likely to change.

From the story:

'Lee is Korea’s typical salaried worker of today, working the longest hours and taking the fewest holidays among the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Koreans worked an average of 2,256 hours in 2008, down from 2,316 hours a year earlier. But it was still the highest among the 30 OECD members and far more than the OECD average of 1,764 hours.'

The story also list a few reasons people don't want to take the time off, including negative views from co-workers and superiors. That sucks. Because it means that even when they do take vacation, they probably feel guilty the whole time.

This is one huge cultural aspect I'd gladly change if I was World Czar. I wish I could get that chance for everyone here.