Hi everybody,
Sorry for the yet another long delay in this series, but to be honest I've been very busy, and I've been spending my free playing catch up on other things. However tonight I'm sitting down to finish this Don't Be a Sucker In South Korea series. The series that establishes the foundation for what you need to know about this place by looking at the weaknesses that go with your status here in this country. So with that in mind lets get on with it.
U.S. Contractors, GS and to a degree soldiers are in a similar boat. They all come from America, they all are associated with having $, except for poor Army Privates, and they for the most are open for exploitation.
So here's the deal with Contractors and GS. Most of them, just like soldiers, don't know the culture or language, therefore they miss out on a lot of good things that happen here, or when the local are plotting against them. To be honest, it really isn't a national conspiracy against American people here, but there are more than a few businesses, AND WOMEN here that look at you as a possible sucker. The work around to that is to at least learn some of the language, along with building a relationship with the locals. That way they start thinking of you more as a person than a possible sucker. Also, if you are married to a Korean then that also scores a lot of points.
To hear an example of an exploitation story that some women did to a local Contractor follow this link and go to 16:25
Now another way you can be exploited, is on the realty market. Contractors, GS and Soldiers all have different rates for the places they want to live. GS will automatically have the most expensive rates because they have the most generous housing allowance, followed by Soldiers, Contractors, and Normal Residents. So Bob the GS guy wil automatically pay $36,000 a year for his house, while Bob the Soldier might pay $26,000, Bob the Contractor wil pay whatever he can afford for it, but yet still more than the typical resident.
BTW if you are GS or a Soldier you can actually use your OHA/LQA to buy a house here. Follow this link for more info: https://www.facebook.com/myjcrealty/?hc_ref=ARTGy0ga5zo-uPVhS7ppYs_8-XupbPcK5IJXmam_R9bG4-7gxsCIr7r_W2TvxNcIvRU&fref=nf&xts[0]=68.ARAzSBcZm-UvRPCA-hmnpdxwm1KBUtVQoN0rCk2Vi_43HS_5xzC4DLq6Obrnvo8sxFfbuppZac6AVL16RAHnhkxGToaV7vAtF-Gi3BpguHSauPUAzPdOoMOjK1bfRM2-WnP5OOnyhIwjC6yuEYyP0GNWHtl9zsYuEwrCo9uVtR2qBN41cF_V&tn=kC-R
Ok another way they get exploited is because, similar to soldiers, is ego and money. Since Contractors are associated with money, and GS with stability and big benefits like a tax payer funded Government Mansion of their choice, these guys know they are a valuable catch and they sometimes let this get in the way of their better judgement and find themselves in trouble with a Filipino Village Bicycle or a Korean Village Bicycle. This happens a lot among the single men, but sometime married too, especially ones away from their families.
Although to be fair, in my experience the GS tended to be more level headed, then many Contractors. This seems to be because GS are held to a higher standards are have more obligations. On the other hand if you are typical Contractor, like me in the security business, then you have a job, and you can always bounce to a new one someplace else on short notice.
Well that's all for now. I don't mean to sound like a downer, but to thrive here you have to know what landmines are here, especially the ones the guys are laying for themselves. Next we're going to look at how to prosper in South Korea.
Until next time...