外籍人士在台灣與南韓的生活滿意度比較 - 政大學術集成

全文

(1)1. 國立政治大學亞太研究英語碩士學位學程論文. How Satisfied are Expats Living in Taiwan and South Korea?. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. by. C hKevin Hutt U n i engchi 胡凱文. v. Advisor: Dr. Chou Hui-Min 碩士論文. A thesis submitted to the National Chengchi University in fulfilment of the requirements for the International Master’s Program in Asia-Pacific Studies (IMAS)..

(2) 2. Acknowledgements I would like to express my utmost gratitude to all the teachers, professors, family members, close friends, and classmates who have inspired me in my pursuit of education throughout my life. First, I would like to thank my advisor, Professor Chou Hui-Min. He has been very supportive and encouraging during the process. He has also been very flexible to take time out of his. 政治大 really thankful that he was open立 to listening to my viewpoints and discussing them to create. schedule to meet with me frequently and has been very reliable to stay in contact with. I am. ‧. ‧ 國. mine.. 學. even more great ideas. In addition to being a great advisor, he was also a former Professor of. Secondly, I would like to thank Professor David Kuan for taking time out of his schedule to be in. y. Nat. course Modernization and Development of Indigenous People.. al. er. io. sit. my committee and offer great insight. I have learned a lot of practical information in taking his. n. iv n C Thirdly, I would like to thank Dr. Kang for htaking e n gtime c houti ofUhis schedule to be part of my committee and for providing great feedback and advice. I would also like to thank Professor Kuan Yin-Ping, who showed me how to do the statistics and data analysis. Finally, I would like to thank the IMAS Program for providing me the opportunity to purse my Master’s Degree at the National Chengchi University and allowing me to cultivate and advance my knowledge of Asia-Pacific Studies..

(3) 3. Abstract The purpose of my thesis is to raise more in-depth awareness of what it is like to be an expat in Taiwan and South Korea. I did a comparative analysis between expats of South Korea and Taiwan, both quantitative and some qualitative analysis were used. The main research question in this thesis is “What are the factors that affect how well an expat is able to crossculturally adapt in Taiwan and South Korea? And What is the relationship between these factors and the overall level of satisfaction of expats in both Taiwan and South Korea?” There. 政治大 countries. I have lived as an Expat in Seoul, South Korea for 2 years; I was an exchange student 立 have been very few formal studies which focus on Expat Satisfaction Levels in these two. ‧ 國. 學. during my undergraduate studies for 1 year and an English Teacher in a public Elementary School for 1 year as well; I have lived in Taiwan for 2 years as a Master’s Degree student while. ‧. also teaching English part-time. During my time as an Expat I have seen that overall expat. Nat. sit. y. satisfaction levels can vary dramatically and these variations need to be revealed and not. n. al. er. io. ignored. This thesis will provide a thorough and well-rounded discussion on how Expats. i n U. v. perceive the quality of their lives in Taiwan and South Korea using both literature and statistical information.. Ch. engchi.

(4) 4. 中文摘要我的論文的目的是增加大家對於外國人在台灣與南韓生活之差異的認識。我對於在南韓與台灣的外國人做質性與量性的比較分析。這篇論文主要的研究問題是：什麼因素會影響南韓和台灣的外國人適應跨文化的生活？這些因素相互的關係，以及外國人對於南韓與台灣整體的滿意度。以往很少有針對兩國的外國人生活滿意度的正式研究。我本身在南韓首爾生活了兩年，我在大學時當過交換學生一年，並且在公立小學當了一年的英文老師；而我在台灣研讀碩士兩年，也. 治政大露，不應該被忽視。本篇論文將利用文獻以及統計資料，針對外國人如何看待他們在台灣與南韓立同時兼職教英文。作為一個外國人，我發現生活滿意度可以有很大的差異，這些差異應該被揭. 的生活做個完整的討論。. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v.

(5) 5. Table of Contents Acknowledgements________________________________________________2 Abstract_________________________________________________________3-4 Chapter 1 Introduction ____________________________________________6 1.1 Significance of Research____________________________________6 1.2 Background Information____________________________________7-8 1.3 Methodology_____________________________________________8-11 1.4 Limitations_______________________________________________12 1.5 Historical Background______________________________________13-18. 政治大. Chapter 2 Literature Review ________________________________________19-23. 立. Chapter 3 Expat Adjustment Process__________________________________23. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. 3.1 Cycle of Culture Shock_____________________________________23-25 3.2 Society and Cultural Differences_____________________________25-28 3.3 Expats Studying Abroad____________________________________28-29 Chapter 4 English Teachers in Taiwan and South Korea____________________29. y. Nat. sit. n. al. er. io. 4.1 English Teachers in Taiwan___________________________________29-30 4.2 English Teachers in South Korea_______________________________30-34 4.3 Private Hagwons in South Korea_______________________________34-36. Ch. i n U. v. Chapter 5 Hidden Racism and Xenophobia: _______________________________37. engchi. Chapter 6 Data Analysis__________________________________________________38-51 Chapter 7 Factors that Impact Expat Satisfaction______________________________52-58 Chapter 8 Conclusion_____________________________________________________59-62 References_____________________________________________________________63.

(6) 6. Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 Significance of Research It is important to highlight that the purpose of this comparative analysis is not to show which country is better for expat life, but it is to reveal the greater variety of experiences that expats go though in both countries. This research is useful for people who are considering working or studying abroad, it will give them an idea of what factors will affect quality of their experience living abroad. This research would also be useful for study abroad advisors in. 治政 universities. It is also useful for expats who are living abroad大 currently to be aware of how 立 ‧ 國. 學. satisfied other expats are living in South Korea and Taiwan. This research is also useful for local Taiwanese and South Korean people as well because locals of a country are not always aware of. ‧. what it is like to be a foreigner living in their home country. This will give locals an opportunity. sit. y. Nat. to not only walk in the shoes of various foreign expats but to reflect on how their own country. al. er. io. treats and perceives different expats. This thesis will compare and contrast various categories. v. n. of expat satisfaction levels for both Taiwan and South Korea using historical references, literature and data analysis.. Ch. engchi. i n U.

(7) 7. 1.2 Background Information Taiwan and South Korea are both ranked among the Asian Tiger States in the globe. As a result, these two nations have attracted more expats over time. As of 2015, according to the Korean Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs, the population of foreigners in South Korea is 1.8 million; which accounts for 3.4% of the population 1. According to statistics from the Taiwan National Immigration Agency, the population of foreign expats in Taiwan is about is around 650,000 (not including mainland Chinese citizens) 2. Both Taiwan and South. 政治大. Korea have been well known for providing good education, decent job security with good pay. 立. and inexpensive healthcare. Expats in these two nations have come as students, teachers, labor. ‧ 國. 學. workers, or even as company workers. English teaching is the most popular job for foreign. ‧. expats but there’s also other occupations that expats are involved in such as businesses, domestic work, restaurant ownership, etc. In South Korea, expats usually work in the public-. y. Nat. er. io. sit. school system or in a private cram school known as a hagwon. Whereas in Taiwan it is most common for English Teachers to work at a private cram school, known as a Buxiban and. al. n. iv n C working in the public school is rare. In South Korea public schools and hagwons will provide free hen gchi U housing and airfare for foreign English Teachers but these benefits are not included in Taiwan; however, Taiwan has a less expensive cost of living and housing fees.. 2015 Immigration Statistics Annual Report, Korea Immigration Service. Foreigner Policy Division. February 16, 2015 1. 2. Foreign Residents by Nationality, National Immigration Agency, Ministry of the Interior, 28 Dec. 2016.

(8) 8. 1.3 Methodology There was a quantitative approach used to conduct this analysis. 60 expats were surveyed all together through an online survey system; this included 30 expats in South Korea and 30 expats in Taiwan. The expats surveyed in both Taiwan and South Korea were representative of people of different nationalities and ethnicities, socio-economic status, and various occupations. The expats surveyed came from various regions of the world such as North America, South America, Europe, West Africa, South Africa, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and East. 政治大. Asia. In order to conduct the survey, it was crucial to define the variables used. The. 立. independent variables included many factors such as current financial situations, quality of. ‧ 國. 學. housing, language proficiency, lifestyle conditions back at home and marital status. The major. ‧. dependent variable in this case was overall level of satisfaction as an expat. The goal was to see how do these independent variables affect the dependent variable which is overall level of. y. Nat. er. io. sit. expat satisfaction and to see whether there was a correlation between these variables. Overall level of expat satisfaction was scaled from 1 to 3; 1 means a low level of overall satisfaction, 2. al. n. iv n C means a medium level of satisfaction and the highest level of overall expat h 3emeans ngchi U. satisfaction. Each question on the survey was also scaled from 1 to 3. For example, for the question of “how interested are you in the local culture?” the choices were as followed; 1) not interested, 2) somewhat interested and 3) very interested. I have listed the questions used in the survey. In order to determine the correlation between the independent and dependent variables I had to use a raw marginals frequency table and count and compute percentages. I will explain more about these frequency tables in the data analysis section of my paper..

(9) 9. Survey Questions 1) What is your overall level of proficiency in Chinese/ Korean? 1) Beginner 2) Intermediate and conversational 3) Advanced 2) What is your relationship status? 1) Single 2) Currently in a relationship 3) Married. 3). 政治大 How would you describe 立 your overall financial situations here? ‧. ‧ 國. 學. 1) not good 2) good enough to get by 3) great, very financially well-off here?. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. 1) Not satisfied 2) It’s ok, nothing special 3) Wonderful. sit. 4) How satisfied are you with your housing and living arrangements here?. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 5) How friendly do you think the local people are here? 1) Not friendly 2) Somewhat friendly 3) Very friendly. 6) How socially conservative do think the society is here? 1) Not conservative 2) Somewhat conservative 3) Very conservative.

(10) 10. 7) How adventurous are you? Do you always like to explore new things? 1) Not adventurous 2) Somewhat adventurous 3) Very adventurous. 8) How easy is it to become close friends with the locals here? 1) Not easy 2) Not easy but not too hard 3) Very easy. 9). 政治大 How easy is it to become close friends with other foreigners here? 立 ‧. ‧ 國. 學. 1) Not easy 2) Somewhat easy 3) Very easy. 10) How would you rate your level of interest in the local culture?. y. Nat. sit. n. al. er. io. 1) Not interested 2) Somewhat interested 3) Very interested. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 11) How satisfied are you with your job or studies here? 1) Not satisfied 2) Somewhat satisfied 3) Very satisfied. 12) How are lifestyle conditions back in your hometown? Including financial stability, safety, job opportunities, liveliness, relations with family and friends, convenience, safety, etc. 1) Not good 2) Good, but not necessarily amazing 3) Wonderful.

(11) 11. 13) What is your expected length of stay here? 1) I’ll be leaving very soon 2) Not sure yet, I’ll stay as long as I can. 3) I’m staying here forever.. 14) How satisfied are you overall with your life as an expat here? 1) Not satisfied 2) Somewhat satisfied 3) Highly satisfied. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v.

(12) 12. 1.4 Limitations Although I plan to do extensive research and analyze qualitative data there are some limitations. One of my limitations is that I am not able to interview expats from every region of the South Korea and Taiwan; most of the Expats that I will interview will be living in the capital cities of Taipei and Seoul. Although I will include Expats with different occupations most of the expats that I will interview will be students and English Teachers from the programs that I have participated in. The expats that were surveyed from South Korea were mostly English Teachers. 政治大. in the public-school system whereas most expats surveyed in Taiwan were students; however,. 立. many of the students also taught English in addition to study so they were able to relate to both. ‧ 國. 學. studying and working in Taiwan. Another limitation is that for some of my independent. ‧. variables I was not able to target an equal number of participants that fit under each category since the surveys were distributed randomly. However, despite my limitations I am confident. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. Taiwan and South Korea.. sit. that the results from my data analysis are well representative of the majority of expats in. Ch. engchi. i n U. v.

(13) 13. 1.5 Historical Background When it comes to analyzing the satisfaction levels of expats in South Korea and Taiwan, it is critical to compare the history of these two nations. Understanding and analyzing the history of these two nations allows one to gain a deeper insight of contemporary society. The history of a nation has a great impact on the sense of national identity and the attitude towards foreigners. First, I will describe important historical facts in South Korea which is relevant to the country’s national identity and perception of foreigners. I will describe relevant points in history. 政治大. even before North and South Korea became divided. Unfortunately, most history within South. 立. Korea’s regarding foreigners is not a positive memory because the country experienced many. ‧ 國. 學. invasions from external forces. Korea has experienced 900 invasions throughout 2,000 years’. ‧. worth of history. Korea first had Mongolian invasion in 1231 until the early 14th century. Then In 1592, the Japanese warlord Toyotomi Hiyedoshi invaded Korea with the intention of taking. y. Nat. traumatized by war at that time 3.. al. er. io. sit. over China. China did eventually help Korea defeat Toyotomi Hiyedoshi but the country was still. n. iv n C One important event to highlighthineKorea’s is that throughout the 16 hi U n g chistory. th. and 17th. century Korea called the ‘hermit kingdom’ because it had closed all contact with foreign nations. During that period, it did not really conduct trade with the outside world, it chose to withdraw because it had been occupied by so many external forces. In addition to feeling that there was not much they could gain from foreign contact, they also hoped that this tactic would help ensure the country’s security. Even though Korea was the ‘Hermit Kingdom’ and closed of. Frank, Ruildiger, James E. Hoare, Patrick Koillner, and Susan Pares. Korea 2013: Politics, Economy and Society. Leiden: Brill, 2013. 3.

(14) 14. foreign contact, this eventually came to an end when Western countries and Japan came over and forcibly forced the country to open. Meanwhile, there was armed conflict with the Japanese, Chinese, and Russians and they dominated the Korean Peninsula 4. The Japanese ruled over Korea from 1910-1945 and of course their rule was regarded as harsh and oppressive. But even after the Japanese surrendered in 1945 and World War II had ended, the country was still in a lot of turmoil. The country was divided into zones by the USA and Soviet Union, which is basically communism fighting against capitalism. In 1948 two. 政治大. separate governments were established in the Korean Peninsula; the Republic of Korea in. 立. Seoul, in the American Zone, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in Pyongyang, in. ‧ 國. 學. the Soviet Zone. And then in 1950, North Korea invaded the South 5. The Korean War drew in. ‧. the Americans in support of South Korea and the Chinese in support of the North. So, what you see here is that Korea was going through constant invasions, even after the brutal Japanese. y. Nat. break from being invaded by armed forces throughout history.. al. iv n C U h the there was which began in the e nideology g c hofi nationalism. n. Starting in the late 19th. er. io. sit. occupation they had to deal with the Korean war as well; it is almost as if they didn’t have a. Korean Peninsula. This ideology was not just constructed from the original culture itself but it was sparked by the challenge of external forces invading the country. According to Scholar Lee Kwang-Rin of Korean Studies, “In response to confrontation with Japan and Western nations during the latter half of the 1800s, three prominent ideologies developed in Korea: the “ defend. 4. O'hanlon, Michael, and Mike Mochizuki. Crisis on the Korean peninsula. McGraw Hill Professional, 2003. 5 Stueck, William. The Korean War: an international history. Princeton University Press, 1997..

(15) 15. orthodoxy, ban heterodoxy (wijong choksa), enlightenment (kaehwa 開化), and Eastern learning (tonghak 東學) movements” 6. These purposes of these ideologies was to re-establish and distinguish Korean Identity as well as study the traditional values and teachings of Confucianism. These ideologies were part of the nation’s reaction to colonialism and provided a foundation for growing nationalism in the future. Koreans felt that they needed to clearly emphasize and protect their identity and make themselves distinct from foreigners. When Korea was colonized they also faced difficulties to seek independence against the. 政治大. imperial Japan, Russia and China. They Korean nationalist formed governments in exile, armies. 立. and secret groups to fight imperialism wherever they were. Over time, the Korean people have. ‧ 國. 學. developed a sense of national identity based on shared blood an ancestry. Korean people. ‧. established the concept of a “unitary nation” 單一民族 (tanil minjok), which means that their. y. Nat. society is ethnically homogenous and distinct from other nations7. One of main purposes of this. er. io. sit. concept was for the Korean people to portray their autonomy. The emphasized the importance of their ethnic blood for defining their nationally. In fact, this was especially important under. al. n. iv n C Japanese colonial rule, because the Japanese to assimilate the Korean people into their h e ntried gchi U. own empire; however, the were treated as inferior beings during this time. When the Japanese imposed assimilation they required the Korean people to use Japanese surnames and to speak and write Japanese in their daily lives. It is interesting that this was a similar situation in Taiwan,. 6. Kwang-rin, Lee. "The Rise of Nationalism in Korea." Korean Studies (1986): 1-12. Robinson, Michael Edson. Cultural nationalism in colonial Korea, 1920-1925. University of Washington Press, 2014.. 7.

(16) 16. when Taiwan was under Japanese colonization. But we will later that the response of Japanese Colonization was extremely different between Taiwan and South Korea in the long-run. After the country got independence from Japan in 1945, there was still a lot of confusion and turmoil, the people felt they needed to re-establish their identity again; but not only were they dealing with this, they also had to deal with the divided Koreas shortly afterwards. Even though the 2 Koreas became divided, they still enforced that their nation was ethnically homogenous. Nationalism even continues to serve as a key foundation in Korean. 政治大. politics and foreign relations. Starting in the 1960s South Korea had an authoritarian form of. 立. government under the dictator Park Chung Hee. President Park Chung-Hee emphasized the. ‧ 國. 學. ideology 單一民族 and racial purity to inspire the people during his ruling8. Meanwhile, this. ‧. concept transitioned into daily politics, culture and society. There is some controversy. y. Nat. nowadays that the emphasis on the purity of Korean blood has caused tensions in terms of. er. io. al. sit. multi-ethnicity and has even sparked some xenophobia.. v. n. Nationalism has been an important form of inspiration for the Korean people as they. Ch. engchi. i n U. went through the difficult times of colonialism, the Korean War, having an authoritarian regime and eventually modernizing. The effects of this history is present in modern South Korean Society, the people have made a phrase called “Korean Pride”; and when you travel to South Korea nowadays you can see that people emphasize this term as an important factor for their modern identity. In the Korean language, there is a term 우리 나라(我國) which means “our. Frank, Ruildiger, James E. Hoare, Patrick Koillner, and Susan Pares. Korea 2013: Politics, Economy and Society. Leiden: Brill, 2013. 8.

(17) 17. country” is used frequently to describe everything associated with their culture, however this type of terminology is not used in Taiwan. Taiwan has different history than Korea, which may justify the difference in terms of the attitude towards foreigners. Taiwan had a frontier mentality, people immigrated there as settlers from diverse backgrounds and Taiwan did not have a royal hierarchical structure that was based on an emperor like Korea did. Already when the Portuguese first arrived they named the Taiwan ‘Formosa’, the beautiful Island; and that term is still used to describe Taiwan. 政治大. today9. In fact, most Taiwanese people see themselves as guest to the Formosa island. Even. 立. though colonization is not usually regarded as a good thing, we can see here that the influence. ‧ 國. 學. of Colonization is quite different from the numerous invasions of Korea. Taiwan was regarding. ‧. as a strategic location for trading. The Dutch occupation in Taiwan brought scientific and technological advances and other trade developments. In terms of the aborigines, the Dutch. y. Nat. er. io. sit. even allowed them to live their lives freely but paying tax tributes. The Dutch also played roles in converting aboriginals to Christianity and Romanizing aboriginal languages 10. Taiwan was. al. n. iv n C never established as an independent country 2 Koreas were. National identity in Taiwan h e nlikegthe chi U is inherently more complex and diverse; often the terms ‘Chinese’ and ‘Taiwanese’ are used. interchangeably when talking about the culture, language, literature, history, etc. Taiwan also has aborigines who were the first settlers of the Island, and has been regarded as a linguistic center for Austronesian Languages. Taiwan also has a variety of languages such as Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka and even Indigenous Languages; so, it is naturally more multi-cultural. 9. Rubinstein, Murray A. Taiwan: A new history. Routledge, 2015. Jr, John E. "Taiwan Under the Dutch and the Cheng Regime." Taiwan: A new history (1999): 84-106.. 10 Wills.

(18) 18. linguistically, culturally and historically. There is no such thing as the concept of (tan-il minjok) in Taiwanese society. Taiwan seems to take slightly more appreciation for its diversity in society; they retained historical sites from Dutch East India and Spaniard colonizers such as Fort Santo Domingo (紅毛城) in Tamsui. In South Korea, you will never see a historical site like this because all the historical sites represent the pure Korean Society. So we can see that the historical background of South Korea and Taiwan is very different, understanding the history of different countries can really help to gain deeper understanding of modern cultural identity.. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v.

(19) 19. Chapter 2: Literature Review Since we have examined the history of both Korea and Taiwan we can understand the foundations of the culture and mentality of the society on a greater level. Now we can look at modern day literature and statistics which measures the levels of satisfaction among expats in South Korea and Taiwan; these statistics were conducted under a quantitative analysis approach and provide useful information. In terms of global ranking of Expat Satisfaction, one source that really inspired me was a world-renowned system called “InterNations; Expat. 政治大. Insider”, which is the largest expat survey system in the world. This survey system does a. 立. detailed analysis of expat life in more than 180 countries around the world and surveys more. ‧ 國. 學. than 15,000 people from different countries; usually they will do online survey sampling of. ‧. around 50-100 people per country. This system is measures factors such as quality of life, safety, cost of living, ease of settling in, Family life, work life to measure the level of happiness. y. Nat. er. io. sit. of expats. According to InterNations; Expats Insider, Taiwan has been ranked as the top place for Expats in 2016; More than 85% of Expats were satisfied with their living and financial. al. n. iv n C situations in Taiwan in comparison to the of 64%. Taiwan has ranked the highest h global e n gaverage chi U. in terms of the affordability of its healthcare and the low cost of living expenses. In terms of. Expats that work in Taiwan, Taiwan scored second place in the working abroad index category. Over one-third of expats in Taiwan (34%) are completely satisfied with their jobs, more than double the global average of 16%. Expats were very content about their work-life balance (30%) and job Security (34%). According to InterNations, the majority of Expats in Taiwan (64%) plan to stay there longer than three years; with more than half of these (36% in total) even.

(20) 20. considering staying there forever. Also in terms of friendliness of local residents towards foreigners, 9/10 people gave Taiwan a positive rating for that category11. However, in South Korea the statistics are quite different. In terms of Working Abroad Index, South Korea ranks #22 out of 67 countries in 2016. Also, when measuring the quality of job satisfaction, South Korea ranks in 37th place 12. South Korea does still have a similar system in Taiwan with affordable health care and convenient transportation systems though. It seems like the overall trend in South Korea is an “All work and no play” style of work life, many expats. 政治大. claiming that they work excessive amounts of hours and do not have a good work-life balance. I. 立. South Korea, especially ESL Teachers.. 學. ‧ 國. will discuss later on in the Literature Review about the working circumstances among Expats in. ‧. In 2003, there was a study conducted by scholars from the Netherlands on expat. sit. y. Nat. satisfaction in Taiwan and it was called “Study of Adjustment of Western Expatriates in Taiwan. al. er. io. ROC with the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire”. The Authors come from the University of Amsterdam and University of Groningen, and this article was published in the Asian Journal. n. iv n C of Social Psychology. In this study, thesehscholars e n gconducted c h i Ua survey among 102 Expats in Taiwan and they targeted specific employers which hired expats as well as the European. Chamber of Commerce in Taipei. This survey also asked expats their age, nationality, gender and time spent in Taiwan. The Expats in this study came from the countries of the Netherlands,. 11. Grossman, Vera, The Best & Worst Places for Expats in 2016. InterNations: Expat Insider July 4, 2016.. 12. Expatriates in South Korea, InterNations: Expat Insider 2016, July 4, 2016.

(21) 21. USA, France and the U.K. This study mentions that when discussing expat satisfaction levels in Taiwan it is important to highlight the adjustment process that expatriates go through and that includes sociocultural adjustment, personal adjustment and professional adjustment. Personal adjustment is about internal and psychological factors such as mental health and personal satisfaction. Personal adjustment is defined in terms of satisfaction with life, physical health, and psychological health. Sociocultural adjustment refers to “external psychological outcomes that link individuals to their new context such as the ability to deal with daily problems,. 政治大. particularly in the areas of family life and work” (Mol, 4). Social adjustment was measured by. 立. social support by peers in the host country. Professional adjustment means the amount of. ‧ 國. 學. satisfaction with the new work environment in the host country. This study claims that the other most important factors for measuring Expat Satisfaction include Cultural empathy, open-. ‧. mindedness, social initiative, emotional stability and flexibility. Cultural Empathy has the same. y. Nat. sit. meaning of ‘Cultural Sensitivity’ in this case. This term refers to the ability to be sensitive to the. n. al. er. io. feelings, thoughts, and behaviors of people from different cultural backgrounds. In theory, high. i n U. v. levels of cultural empathy will imply higher levels of expat satisfaction compared to those with. Ch. engchi. low levels of cultural empathy. The second factor, open-mindedness refers to the ability to have an open and unprejudiced attitude towards others with different cultural norms and values. The levels of open-mindedness is crucial for being able to adjust to different customs and lifestyle conditions. Usually expats with high levels of open-mindedness usually find different customs and values to be exciting and interesting. Third, social-initiative, is defined as a tendency to approach social situations in an active way and to take initiatives. Many scholars have emphasized the importance of the ability to establish and maintain contacts with people.

(22) 22. from the host country and of making friends among the locals. This factor might imply that the more socially outgoing an Expat is the more likely they are to be satisfied with their lives abroad. The factor of emotional stability means the tendency to remain calm in stressful situations compared to showing strong emotional reactions under stressful situations. It especially takes a lot of emotional stability to endure living abroad in a culture that is completely different from your own, many expats may find that their levels of emotional stability and gratitude becomes higher after living abroad. Flexibility is also extremely important. 政治大. because when you are working and living abroad as an Expat you need to be able to adjust. 立. easily from one strategy to another, because the familiar ways of handling things will not. ‧ 國. 學. necessarily work in a new cultural environment. In all three aspects, emotional stability appeared most consistently as predictor of adjustment. Social initiative was an additional. ‧. strong predictor of psychological well-being, and so was cultural empathy of satisfaction with. y. Nat. sit. life and of the amount of social support in the host country. Flexibility was a predictor of job. n. al. er. io. satisfaction and social support. The main idea of this study was that expatriates with high levels. i n U. v. of cultural empathy, open-mindedness, social initiative, emotional stability, and flexibility. Ch. engchi. would be more suitable to adapt in a foreign environment. The correlation between openmindedness and cultural empathy was the highest among the adjustment process. This article also claimed that marital status has an important impact of expat adjustment. Married expatriates showed higher levels psychological and physical health than expatriates who were single. This study also revealed that in terms of age, older expatriates tended to more satisfied.

(23) 23. with their work than younger expatriates and that those who were not satisfied with their jobs were more likely to leave the country 13.. Chapter 3: The Expat Adjustment Process 3.1 Cycle of Culture Shock Now what have had an overview some statistical information and literature regarding. 政治大. Expat satisfaction it important to highlight the theories of what an Expat is and what they go. 立. through. Most Expats that come to work or study in Taiwan and South Korea, come from a. ‧ 國. 學. different cultural background where they speak different languages and have strong cultural differences. Even an Expat coming from a different region of Asia such as Southeast or South. ‧. Asia may encounter some cultural differences that they need to adjust to living in Taiwan or. y. Nat. io. sit. South Korea. The term expat is defined as a person who is temporarily or permanently residing,. n. al. er. as an immigrant, in a foreign country. When an expat comes to Taiwan or South Korea to. Ch. i n U. v. reside, depending on where they are originally from, they will naturally experience some. engchi. cultural adjustment phases. For westerners, this cultural adjustment is based on some general principles of cross-cultural differences. One thing that most expats usually experience while living abroad in a different culture is culture shock; however, the extent or level of culture shock varies drastically from person to person. For some people, culture shock may just simply the language barrier and some small cultural differences, so it doesn’t really concern them that. Mol, Stefan Thomas, and Jan Oudenhoven. A Study of the Adjustment of Western Expatriates in Taiwan ROC with the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ); Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 2003 13.

(24) 24. much. However, for other people culture shock might be as severe as not feeling like you belong in the society, feeling like you can’t relate to the mainstream society’s ways of thinking, having tensions with work or personal relationships. Overall, culture shock has about 4 phases or stages of experience. The first stage of culture shock is called the “Honeymoon Stage”, this is the stage in which it’s the persons’ first time to visit the new country so everything is new. Usually tourist and travelers experience this phase, which is why they usually take several pictures and try several new things. When you are in the honeymoon stage, you are motivated. 政治大. to make the most out of your short time in the new country, so you often don’t have time to. 立. feel culture shock.. ‧ 國. 學. The next stage of culture shock is called the “frustration stage”, this is a stage that every. ‧. expat has experienced living in a totally different culture, even if they don’t admit it directly. Frustration stage means that you feel a little fatigued dealing with language barriers, not being. y. Nat. er. io. sit. able to communicate your thoughts fully, and dealing with customs and ways of thinking which is different from your own culture 14. Small things such as misunderstandings, different rules. al. n. iv n C and policies, being stared at and singledhout as a foreigner U e n g c h i may trigger some frustration. During the frustration stage, the culture is no longer brand new and the culture just becomes part of ordinary and everyday life. Usually the honeymoon stage tends to last longer for individuals who have never studied the language or been exposed to the culture before arriving. In my personal experience, I had grown up in a Taiwanese and Korean community back in America and had studied those languages for several years before I arrived for the first time in South. 14. Ward, Colleen, Stephen Bochner, and Adrian Furnham. The psychology of culture shock. Routledge, 2005..

(25) 25. Korea and Taiwan; thus, the honeymoon phase was much shorter for me compared to other expats who have never been exposed to Taiwanese and Korean culture before. The next stage of culture shock is called the ‘Adjustment Stage’ in which you become more familiar with the language, culture and the customs and the new environment. Usually during the adjustment stage expats try to take language courses so they can practice speaking the language in everyday life, they also tend to make more connections with locals and other expats; these connections makes them feel more comfortable abroad. The final stage of culture shock is. 政治大. called the ‘acceptance stage’, and this does not necessarily mean that you totally understand. 立. and accept the new culture. The acceptance stage is the stage in which you form your own view. ‧ 國. 學. as to whether or not the country or culture is suitable for you personally. Once you’ve reached the acceptance stage you’ve already had plenty of experiences to know the locals, the local. ‧. customs and the ways of thinking. From this point on expats make the decision of whether they. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. country.. sit. want to continue to immerse themselves in the different culture or even continue to stay in the. 3.2 Society and Cultural DifferencesC h. engchi. i n U. v. Taiwan and South Korea can both be classified as Confucian Societies which have cultures based on the general principles of Confucianism. My theory is that every Expat who doesn’t come from a society based on Confucian values will experience some degree of culture shock in Taiwan and South Korea. Countries which particularly have Confucian values include East Asian nations such as Japan, Hong Kong, China, Macau; As well as some Southeast Asian countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia and perhaps even Vietnam to some extent. Through my experiences of being an Expat in both Taiwan and South Korea I have discovered that Expats.

(26) 26. from these countries, which share similar Confucian values, were less likely to experience culture shock compared to other Expats not from these regions. In fact, while I was living in South Korea and Taiwan I even heard locals from both countries say that they share many of the same cultural values and ways of thinking; just do a different degree. One of the main culture differences between Western societies and Taiwanese/Korean Society is the type of communication. Korea and Taiwan are considered high-context cultures, in which communication is based on interpreting the context of a situation and is often indirect.. 政治大. Western Societies are considered low-context cultures, which means that communication is. 立. often conducted in a direct way with verbal language. For example, with Eastern European. ‧ 國. 學. countries such as Russia and Serbia the way of communication is totally the opposite; in their. ‧. culture people are very direct and it is common to openly speak however you feel in many situations. However, if that person comes to South Korea or Taiwan and applies the same style. y. Nat. er. io. sit. of communication they are more likely to experience culture shock; they may even be perceived as rude by some local South Koreans or Taiwanese if they are too direct. Earlier I. al. n. iv n C talked about Korea’s history and how nationalism pride became an important motivation h e n g and chi U for establishing their national identity and culture. After living in South Korea for 2 years, I discovered that because of this the locals are especially very sensitive to receiving direct criticism about their country or culture; you have to be extra careful about what you say or you could get a really bad reaction. Another significant cross-culture difference is that Taiwan and South Korea are collectivist/group think societies, whereas many western countries are individualistic societies. Actually to some extent the individualistic nature of some expats suits them well living abroad because they don’t mind figuring out how to adjust to the society by.

(27) 27. themselves and being independent. But I will explain how one might experience culture shock in this situation. In a group-think society, what happens is the decisions that one person makes may not only depend on them but in may depend on a group or someone of higher authority. In a Confucian society individual’s decision-making is especially influenced by their family. For example, it is not uncommon for someone to suddenly cancel plans with a friend because of family affairs came up unexpectedly15. However, from the eyes of a westerner this would be perceived as rude unless it is an important situation and the friend promises to make it up later.. 政治大. A westerner might think that think that this person does not take them seriously and is. 立. inconsiderate if they just cancel at the last minute and don’t make up for it later. Although. ‧ 國. 學. westerners do also believe that family comes first, because of the ideology of individualism we will try not to let family affairs interfere or conflict with individual priorities. Another key thing. ‧. to note about a group-think society that is very homogeneous it may be difficult for some. y. Nat. sit. foreigners to feel like they are fully accepted into the society; this can make it difficult to make. n. al. er. io. close connections with the locals. For example, if a foreigner encounters a local Taiwanese or. i n U. v. South Korean person that doesn’t speak English well and isn’t used to being around foreigners. Ch. engchi. they may find it difficult to relate; this is not only because of the language barrier but also strong cultural differences in terms of ways of thinking. A local Taiwanese or South Korean may feel reluctant to become close friends with a foreign expat and prefer to stick with their own native group of people instead. If an expat is put in environment where these are the only. 15. Pedersen, Paul. Five Stages of Culture Shock, The: Critical Incidents Around the World: Critical Incidents Around the World. ABC-CLIO, 1994..

(28) 28. kinds of locals he meets, then he will probably not indicate that the local people are ‘friendly’ when doing an evaluation for expat satisfaction. Thus, the way of thinking and mentality of these cultures can differ significantly. Even though these may seem like general cultural differences, the extent to which an expat can deal with these cross-cultural difference affects their level of satisfaction as an expat. Being an expat is significantly different from being a tourist, because a tourist only needs to travel leisurely in the country for a short period; but an expat must learn to adjust and make a foreign society. 政治大. their home while they are there. The longer an expat stays in a foreign country, the more they. 立. understand the culture in detail and they are better able to form their own perspective of expat. ‧ 國. 學. life in the country.. ‧. 3.3 Expats Studying Abroad. Nat. sit. y. Since we have highlighted important principles of cross-cultural differences, we can. n. al. er. io. briefly talk about how this applies to Academic environments, because many expats come to. i n U. v. Taiwan and South Korea as both degree and exchange students. Many students who come to. Ch. engchi. Taiwan or South Korea for studying nowadays have the privilege of taking classes in English with other International Students; this helps them to feel much more comfortable. University students may undergo some minor adaptation processes for adjusting to student life abroad. They must learn to adapt in a new environment, to live independently, and work with new and unfamiliar people. Not only are they students in an academic environment but they also need to figure out how to adjust to the mainstream society, especially on a social level. This process of adjusting can be both a positive or negative experience for students. international students.

(29) 29. who have good connections with people from their home country or other international students tend to be the happiest 16. One of the reasons for this is that many international students feel they don’t always have full support from their university or from local students. Many international students mentioned that because universities don’t always reach out to them directly, they rely on each other for support and advice for things such as accommodation and navigating university resources. Chapter 4: English Teachers in Taiwan and South Korea 4.1 English Teachers in Taiwan. 立. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. In Taiwan, there are 3 main systems for expats to teach English. The first system is in a cram school which is known as a buxiban, which is the most common form of teaching in. ‧. Taiwan. Buxibans in Taiwan have gotten mixed reviews from expats, especially with cram. Nat. sit. y. schools like HESS; some expats claimed that they were overworked and didn’t have much free. n. al. er. io. time, while others were pleased with having a well-balanced work life. The second form is in a. i n U. v. public school, and this is rare in Taiwan; in Taiwan native English teachers that teach in a public. Ch. engchi. school are usually required to have a teaching license or some type of exceptional qualification. The third system is very new, but it is teaching English online for companies such as Tutor4u and TutorABC 17. This system is becoming more popular because it offers flexible hours and is. 16. Chapdelaine, Raquel Faria, and Louise R. Alexitch. "Social skills difficulty: Model of culture shock for international graduate students." Journal of College Student Development 45.2 (2004): 167-184. 17. Cheng, Hsing-Fu, and Zoltán Dörnyei. "The use of motivational strategies in language instruction: The case of EFL teaching in Taiwan." International Journal of Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching 1.1 (2007): 153-174..

(30) 30. very flexible with teaching styles. In my own experience of working with these companies, I must say that it was amazing. With this online English learning program you work with Taiwanese locals from all over Taiwan and even overseas and the company provides you with the lesson plan already. The teacher has a lot of flexibility to teach the lesson however they desire, as long as the customer is satisfied. These companies have gotten excellent reviews amongst the expat community because they offer both part time and full time positions with good pay. Public school teachers in Taiwan have been very pleased with their work experience;. 政治大. their job is stable and they feel as though they are treated on an equal level with other Native. 立. Taiwanese teachers. Native English teachers in the Taiwanese schools have mentioned that. ‧ 國. 學. they do have a Co-Teacher in their classroom while they are teaching, but they Co-Teacher looks up to the Native English teacher and feels that having them is a luxury for them. From an. ‧. economic perspective on of main difference of English teaching in Taiwan versus South Korea is. y. Nat. sit. that in Taiwan accommodation and airfare is not included in the teaching contract. But the. n. al. er. io. housing and living expenses in Taiwan are famous for being cheap.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 4.2 English Teachers in Korea Most expats in South Korea are English teachers. There are mostly 2 forms of English teaching in South Korea, which including teaching at a public school or a private institution. With the public-school system, there are 2 main systems which allow foreign expats to teach; these include EPIK (English Program in Korea) and TALK (Teach and Learn in Korea), EPIK is for the metropolitan cities and TALK is for the countryside locations. These systems are all.

(31) 31. sponsored by the Korean government and the Ministry of Education in each district. These systems all recruit English teachers from the English-Speaking countries of Canada, USA, U.K, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. These systems have great benefits such as free housing, free healthcare, paid airfare, and 22 days of vacation per year; the pay is 2 million Korean won per month, which is about $2,000 USD. These public-school systems currently have a policy that an English teacher can stay at a school for a maximum of 2 years, after that they must be relocated to another school if they want to stay in these programs 18. Most expats claim. 政治大. that the public-school system of teaching is more reliable and stable than teaching in a private. 立. school system; under the public-school contract all the teachers have protected rights which. ‧ 國. 學. can’t be guaranteed in a private institution.. ‧. ESL Teachers in South Korea are not required to have a teaching license, they are just required to get a teaching certificate called TEFL, from an online teaching course. However,. y. Nat. er. io. sit. studies have shown that teachers who have teaching-licenses or teaching degrees tend to be more successful and satisfied with their job than those who don’t. One of the reasons for this is. al. n. iv n C that expats who had a teaching degree h were more comfortable e n g c h i U with the principles of teaching. ESL and how to manage a classroom, since they studied this in their undergraduate or graduate program. Also, the school that they were placed in showed more respect for them and saw them as dedicated and skilled teachers. I would like to discuss some of the challenges that English teachers in the Public-School system face in South Korea. First, English teachers in South Korean Public Schools are labeled as. 18. Chin, Cheongsook. "Native English-speaking teachers’ perceptions of learning and teaching EFL in Korea." English Teaching 57.2 (2002): 113-135..

(32) 32. ‘guest native-teachers’ which means that they don’t have the same status as a Korean native teacher in the public schools; one of the reasons is because they are not licensed under the Korean Ministry of Education and they are teaching temporarily at the school under a shortterm contract. Guest Native Teachers are placed with what is called a “Co-Teacher” who is a native Korean teacher that works with them in the classroom; technically speaking, all Guest Native Teachers are required to have a Co-Teacher always. Guest Native-Teachers are required to attend an orientation, which is 1 week long,. 政治大. before they begin teaching; this is an opportunity to learn about the principles of teaching and. 立. to network with other English teachers. In my own experience as a teacher with the EPIK. ‧ 國. 學. program, I have seen that at the orientation they describe the Co-Teacher as someone who. ‧. helps you to translate and manage the behavior of the classroom. They present this idea to seem like the guest native teacher and the co-teacher will be working together as equal. y. Nat. er. io. sit. partners, but after the orientation many guest native teachers discovered that this was not always the case. In fact, the true reality is that the Co-Teacher is your boss and has complete. al. n. iv n C authority of the classroom. So, your experience in the public schools is entirely based h e n gteaching chi U on your Co-Teacher, and every Co-Teacher has a different personality. Some Co-Teachers are. very meticulous and require the guest native teacher to do things their way, while others will let the guest native teacher teach independently without having any disagreements. However, one important thing that has not been mentioned at orientations is that the Co-Teacher has complete authority of the classroom; so, if there is ever a disagreement, the guest native teacher does not have any authority in the end. In the Korean and East Asian general work culture, there is a strong emphasis on hierarchy in the work environment. People pay very.

(33) 33. strong attention to your job position, level of experience and who has the ultimate authority and power. One critique that many guest native teachers have made is that ‘Co-teaching’ confuses the students because they are not always clear on which teacher has the highest level of authority; there have been situations where the Co-Teacher disagreed with a guest native teacher directly in front of the class, and suddenly changed everything. Overall, teachers in the public-school system of South Korea have had mixed feelings about their experience as teachers. Some guest native teachers felt like their Co-Teachers were totally supportive of them. 政治大. and that they were equal partners, while others felt that their Co-Teacher dominated the. 立. classroom and just gave them orders of how to manage everything. Earlier we discussed about. ‧ 國. 學. some major cultural differences between Eastern and Western cultures, and in this experience, there are 2 differences which are crucial to note. One of them is the type of communication,. ‧. East Asian cultures tend to be very indirect and this was evident in aspects such as job. y. Nat. sit. expectations and job hierarchy. When I first attended an orientation with EPIK, I noticed that. n. al. er. io. they were very indirect when talking about job hierarchy; they didn’t want to tell the guest. i n U. v. native teachers directly that the Co-Teacher has the ultimate authority in the end. Another. Ch. engchi. culture difference which many guest native teachers mentioned is with teaching, in East Asia the teacher places a stronger emphasis on the textbook than in western societies. So, if the guest native teacher wants to do a lesson plan which slightly deviates from the textbook they have a high chance having encountering disagreement from their Co-teacher. An important thing to note about ESL in Korean public school systems is that the government is starting to do budget cuts and is gradually reducing the number of guest native teachers; it has also been.

(34) 34. shown that native Korean Co-teachers feel that guest native teachers are not as needed for accomplishing their Academic goals. 4.3 Private Hagwons in South Korea The other system of teaching English in South Korea is at a private language institute, this is called a Hagwon in the Korean language. Many expats who work at a Hagwon also get similar benefits in the public schools such as the same pay (sometimes even higher), free accommodation and airfare. Most teachers who work at a hagwon start in the afternoon and. 治政大overtime. People who work at end in the late evening (2pm-9pm), sometimes they must work 立 ‧ 國. 學. Hagwons have shorter vacation time, usually around 11 days per year; although this may vary depending on the company. The biggest difference between teaching in the public schools. ‧. versus a Hagwon is that a Hagwon is a private business, so the Korean government does not. sit. y. Nat. have control on their policies of how they manage things. The ultimate goal for people who run. al. er. io. hagwons is to please the customer, whereas in public schools it is to teach the educational goal. n. regardless of how the students feel 19.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Studies have shown that the hagwon industry in South Korea as experienced many problems. It has been shown that many hagwons have discriminatory hiring practices which is based on race, nationality, gender, looks, and not only level of experiences 20. It was not uncommon for some hagwons to mention in their advertisements that they were only looking for a Caucasian teacher. Many hagwon companies claimed that hiring people of color or of. 19. Chin, Cheongsook. "Native English-speaking teachers’ perceptions of learning and teaching EFL in Korea." English Teaching 57.2 (2002): 113-135. 20 Henry, Meagan J. "Hagwons, Future Careers in TESL? A Qualitative Study about the Career Choices of the Multiple Year Private School English Teachers in South Korea." (2016)..

(35) 35. other ethnicities would cause some dissatisfaction from parents who send their kids to Hagwons. Parents who send their kids to hagwons invest in a lot of money, and some of them are very particular about what they want. As a result, the expectations of English Teachers are very high and the work is very demanding. Other issues with Hagwons were that it was not always guaranteed that the employer would follow their contract completely, sometimes an English Teacher’s pay would be delayed or they didn’t receive all the compensations they were supposed to receive. In this situation, the Korean government can’t really intervene to deal with any issues of instability.. 立. 政治大. Here are some statistics from a survey in 2015 which show what are the main. ‧ 國. 學. reasons why expats came to South Korea to teach English in Hagwons. Of all the expats that. ‧. teach English in South Korea, 27% of them came for the opportunity to get international travel, while 25% of them came the experience to teach English as a second language, 36% came for. y. Nat. er. io. sit. the job benefits and because they couldn’t find adequate work in their home country, and the remaining 12% came because of relationship reasons or a recommendation from a friend. This. al. n. iv n C shows that most expats who come to teach don’t plan to stay in ESL permanently. h eEnglish ngchi U Expats who came specifically for teaching ESL generally had better teaching experiences, because they had more training and confidence with teaching21.. Some teachers had very good experiences at hagwons, they had great relationships with their bosses and students. Also, students at Hagwons tend to be more advanced in English 21. Alpaugh, Michael Craig. "Native English speaking teachers at Hagwons in South Korea: an investigation into their expectations, motivations, beliefs, and realities”. University of Birmingham, United Kingdom 2015..

(36) 36. than those who don’t attend hagwons in public schools; therefore, they are highly motivated and dedicated. Some teachers also like that a Hagwon gives them a chance to work in a smaller class setting where they can give more individual attention to the students. One important fact to note with ESL teaching in Korean Hagwons is that the duration of stay for teachings varied dramatically. According to a survey in 2015, 60% of the expat teachers that worked in hagwons planned to leave that hagwon after 2 years. While 22.2% of the teachers surveyed had mentioned that they planned to stay in South Korea for 5 years or more,. 政治大. the remaining 10% were unsure about their duration of stay. This shows that majority of expat. 立. teachers working for private hagwons do not plan to pursue this as a long-term career. 22.. ‧ 國. 學. Overall, we can see that expats faced a lot of challenges with working in the private. ‧. hagwon industry. Some of the common struggles included dealing with a management system. sit. y. Nat. which was based on business, working under high pressure, having to work overtime and. al. er. io. dealing with a lot of unpredictability and unexpected situations in their work environment.. v. n. These circumstances give expat teachers a difficult perception of the job stability with working at a hagwon.. 22. Ch. engchi. i n U. Alpaugh, Michael Craig. "Native English speaking teachers at Hagwons in South Korea: an investigation into their expectations, motivations, beliefs, and realities”. University of Birmingham, United Kingdom 2015..

(37) 37. Chapter 5: Hidden Racism and Xenophobia Throughout my research and observations, I have noticed that racism is a factor that affects expat levels of satisfaction. They type of racism that some expats experience in Taiwan and South Korea is not direct racism or hate crimes, but rather how they are perceived by locals in the Taiwanese and South Korean society. In Taiwan and South Korea, racism is a hidden and subtle issue that has been recognized as a social issue. The most well-known form of racial discrimination is to foreign labor workers who come from Southeast Asian countries, who often. 政治大. work in tough conditions with relatively low wages. Racial is also expressed towards Africans. 立. and South Asians as well, especially since they often need to deal with stricter immigration. ‧ 國. 學. policies. In the Han-Chinese society, the idea of race was apparent as early as the Song Dynasty.. ‧. During this period, labor workers were referred to as ‘black-headed people’, this term was used to show the hierarchy between the peasant class and the landlord class23.. sit. y. Nat. al. er. io. In the East Asian countries of Taiwan and South Korea, discrimination also occurs from. iv n C h e n g c hhierarchy of race but there is also a concept of socio-economic i U which should be considered. In n. the nature of the homogeneity of the society. However, in this situation it is not only a matter. East Asia, your socio-economic status defines your value in society; particularly your educational merit and your occupation. So, in this society, the perceptions of foreigners is also based on the economic and development levels of the country the originate from. Foreigners who come from nations with high economic development are regarded with more respect than those who don’t.. 23. Ngo, Tak-Wing, and Hong-zen Wang, eds. Politics of difference in Taiwan. Routledge, 2011..

(38) 38. Chapter 6: Data Analysis In order to determine the relationship between the independent and dependent variables, I needed to use a raw marginals frequency table. Here is an example of a table below, in which I will explain how the computation process works.. 1) How friendly do you think the local people are here? Expats in Taiwan 2) medium. 立. 6 75% 3 13.6% 9 30%. 3) high. total. 2 治 25% 政大 19. 86.3% 21 70%. 學. total. 1)low. ‧. ‧ 國. 1)not friendly 2) somewhat friendly 3) very friendly. 8 100% 22 100% 30 100%. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. With the table here, the left-hand side of the table represents degree of friendliness; 1 means not friendly and 3 means very friendly. The top part of the table represents overall satisfaction levels as an expat; 1) means a low level of expat satisfaction, 2) means a medium level of expat satisfaction and 3) means a very high level of expat satisfaction. The total number of expats surveyed was 30, so I had to make sure that when I add downwards and across that everything adds up to 30 expats. So for the category of ‘somewhat friendly’ there were 8 expats out of 30 that said that the Taiwanese people are ‘somewhat friendly’; Among these 8 people 6 of them rated their overall satisfaction levels in Taiwan as a 2, while only 2 of them rated their satisfaction levels as a 3. I had to divide each number by the total in order to get the percentage across; when computing across I had to make sure that everything adds up to 100%. 75% of all the expats who said that the Taiwanese people were ‘somewhat friendly’ also rated their overall satisfaction levels in Taiwan as a 2, while only 25% of the people rated it as a 3. However, there were 22 out of the 30 expats who rated the Taiwanese locals as ‘very friendly’ which is a high majority. Out of the 22 people in total that said the Taiwanese were ‘very friendly’ 19 of them also rated their overall expat satisfaction level as a 3 (which is 86.3%); this shows that there is a significant relationship between degree of friendliness and levels of expat satisfaction. The friendlier expats perceive the local people, the higher their levels of overall satisfaction as an expat will by. For each question in the survey, I made a table just like above for both the expats in Korea and Taiwan and then I compared the results. The following pages will show all of the data results and analysis.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v.

(39) 39. 1) What is your overall level of language proficiency? Expats in South Korea 1)beginner 2)intermediate. 1)low 1 0.8%. 2)medium 4 33.3% 10 66.6% 3 100% 17 56.6%. 3) advanced Total. 1 3.3%. 立. 3)high 7 58.3% 5 33.3%. total 12 100% 15 100% 3 100% 30 100%. 12 40%. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. From this data, we can see that most Expats are at a beginner and intermediate level of Korean language proficiency; 15 out of 30 expats said that they were at an intermediate level, 12 said that they were beginners and only 3 were at an advanced level. For the expats who were at a beginner level, the majority claimed to be highly satisfied living in South Korea and 100% of all those who were advanced said that their overall satisfaction level was at a medium level. This shows that there is no correlation between language proficiency and overall levels of satisfaction for expats of South Korea.. medium 3 25% 5 31.2% 1 50% 9 30%. Ch. sit er. al. n. 3)advanced. io. 2)intermediate. y. Nat. 1)beginner. 1)low. Expats in Taiwan high 9 75% 11 68.7% 1 50% 21 70%. engchi U. v ni. total 12 100% 16 100% 2 100% 30 100%. We can also see in Taiwan that most the expats are at a beginner and intermediate level of Chinese proficiency. However, of all the expats who were at a beginner level 75% of them showed the highest level of overall satisfaction living in Taiwan; 50% of those were advanced mentioned that their satisfaction levels were both rated as a 2 and a 3. This also shows that there is no correlation between Chinese proficiency levels and overall expat satisfaction levels..

(40) 40. 2) What is your relationship status? Expats in South Korea 1)single 2) in a relationship 3) married total. 1)low 1 5.5%. 2)medium 8 44.4% 7 63.6% 1 100% 15 50%. 1 3.3%. 3)high 10 55.5% 4 36.3%. total 18 100% 11 100% 1 100% 30 100%. 14 46.4%. 政治大 From this data, we can see that the majority of expats of South Korea were either single 立 or in a relationship, and very few were married. For the expats who were single, 55.5% of them. 2)medium 7 58.3% 2 14.2%. Ch. engchi. 9 30%. 3)high 5 41.6% 12 85.7% 4 100% 21 70%. er. al. n. total. io. 2) in a relationship 3) married. 1)low. Expats in Taiwan. sit. Nat. 1)single. y. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. surveyed that they were highly satisfied in South Korea, while those who were in a relationship or married ranked their overall level of expat satisfaction as only a 2. This data shows that there is no correlation between relationship status and overall expat satisfaction levels for the expats of South Korea.. i n U. v. total 12 100% 14 100% 4 100% 30 100%. For the expats of Taiwan, the majority of them surveyed that they were in a relationship which is 14 out of 30 people. Of all the expats who surveyed that they were in a relationship 85.7% of them rated that they were highly satisfied living in Taiwan as well as 100% of the married ones. For the single expats, the overall majority of 58.3% ranked their satisfaction levels at a medium level. In contrast to South Korea, this data shows that the majority of expats in Taiwan who are in a relationship or married have higher levels of overall expat satisfaction..

(41) 41. 3)How would you describe your overall financial situations here?. Expats in South Korea 1)not good 2) good enough. 1)low 1 16.6%. 2) medium 3 50% 11 66.1% 2 33.3% 16 53.3%. 3) Wonderful 1 3.3%. 3) high 2 33.3% 7 38.8% 4 66.6% 13 43.3%. 6 100% 18 100% 6 100% 30 100%. 政治大 The overall majority of Expats in South Korea surveyed that their overall financial 立 situations as a 2, which means good enough to survive. 66.1% of all the expats who ranked their ‧. ‧ 國. 學. financial status as a 2 also rated their overall level of expat satisfaction as a 2, while 50 % of those who ranked their financial status as not good also rated their expat satisfaction level as a 2. However, the majority of those who rated their financial status as a 3, which means wonderful, rated their overall level of expat satisfaction level as a 3 which is very high. This shows that the expats who are very financially well off, have higher levels of overall expat satisfaction in South Korea.. n. 1)not good 2) good enough 3) Wonderful. 1)low. Expats in Taiwan. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. iv 3) high n C h2) medium 2 engchi U 3 40% 60% 7 35% 9 30%. 13 65% 5 100% 21 70%. 5 100% 20 100% 5 100% 30 100%. This data shows also shows that the majority of expats in Taiwan rated their financial status as a 2, which means good enough. However, even for those who rated it as a 1 the majority of 60% surveyed that they were highly satisfied living in Taiwan. This shows that there is no correlation between financial status and expat satisfaction levels for expats in Taiwan..

(42) 42. 4) How satisfied are you with your housing and living arrangements here?. Expats in South Korea 1)not satisfied 2) somewhat satisfied 3) highly satisfied. 1)low 1 20%. 2) medium 4 80% 8 53.3% 5 50% 17 56.6%. 1 3.3%. 3) high. total 5 100% 15 100% 10 100% 30 100%. 7 46% 5 50% 12 40%. 政治大 In South Korea, the majority of expats surveyed that they were somewhat satisfied with 立 their housing conditions. 53.3 % of those who rated their housing conditions as a 2, also rated ‧. ‧ 國. 學. their satisfaction levels as a 2 while the remaining 46% rated their expat satisfaction levels at a 3. There was an equal 50% distribution among those who were highly satisfied with their housing and who ranked their expat satisfaction levels as a 2 and a 3. This shows that there is a small correlation between quality of housing and expat satisfaction levels for expats in South Korea.. n. al. 2) medium 2 100% 7 38.8%. Ch. sit er. io. 2) somewhat satisfied 3) highly satisfied. 1)low. y. Nat 1)not satisfied. Expats in Taiwan 3) high. n engchi U 11. 9 30%. iv. 61.1% 10 100% 21 70%. total 2 100% 18 100% 10 100% 30 100%. From this data, we can also see that the majority (18 out of 30) of expats rated that they were somewhat satisfied with their housing. Out of all the expats who rated their housing situations as a 2 the majority also rated their satisfaction in Taiwan as highly satisfied; 100% of all the expats who rated their housing quality as a 3 also rated their overall satisfaction levels as a 3. This shows that expats who are at least somewhat or highly satisfied with their housing are generally more satisfied with their overall life in Taiwan..

(43) 43. 5)How friendly do you think the local people are here? Expats in South Korea 1)not friendly 2) somewhat friendly 3) very friendly total. 1)low 1 33.3%. 2) medium 2 66.6% 13 68.4% 2 25% 17 56.6%. 1 0.7%. 3) high. total 5 100% 19 100% 8 100% 30 100%. 6 31.5% 6 75% 12 41.3%. 政治大. In terms of friendliness, the overall majority of South Korean expats rated that as a 2 which means ‘somewhat friendly. Surprisingly, 66.6% of those expats who rated friendliness as a 1 (not friendly) also rated their overall satisfaction levels as a 2. For those who rated friendliness as a 2, their overall satisfaction levels were also a 2. Finally, 75% of the expats who said the locals are very friendly are also highly satisfied living as an expat in South Korea. This shows that expats who rate local South Koreans as very friendly are more likely to be highly satisfied with their lives in South Korea.. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. 2) medium. n. al. y 3) high. er. io. total. 1)low. sit. Nat. 1)not friendly 2) somewhat friendly 3) very friendly. Expats in Taiwan. i n C h75% 25% U 3 e n g c h i 19 6. 2. 13.6% 9 30%. 86.3% 21 70%. v. total 8 100% 22 100% 30 100%. From this data, we can see that Taiwan has a very high rating of friendliness among expats; there were no expats who rated the Taiwanese locals as not friendly. However, the majority of those who rated the locals as ‘somewhat friendly’ also rated their overall satisfaction levels as a 2 and 86.3% of those who rated the Taiwanese locals as very friendly also are highly satisfied living in Taiwan. This confirms that there is a direct correlation between friendliness of the locals and expat satisfaction levels..

(44) 44. 6) How socially conservative do you think the society is here? Expats in South Korea 1)not conservative 2) somewhat conservative 3) very conservative total. 1)low. 2) medium 2 40% 2 66.6% 14 63.63% 18 60%. 1 4.54 1 3.33%. 3) high 3 60% 1 33.3% 7 31.81 11 36.66%. total 5 100% 3 100% 22 100% 30 100%. 政治大. For the expats who rated the Korean society as being ‘not conservative’ the majority of them (60%) were highly satisfied with their lives in South Korea. Those who ranked the society as being ‘somewhat conservative’, which is a 2, the majority of them also ranked their overall expat satisfaction levels as a 2; so, this is a direct correlation. For those who rated the South Korean society as being ‘very conservative’, the majority (63.63%) ranked their satisfaction levels at a medium level. This confirms that there is a correlation between level of conservativeness and expat satisfaction among expats in South Korea.. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. al. 2) medium 1 20% 7 31.8% 1 33.3% 9 30%. Ch. engchi. y 3) high 4 80% 15 68.1% 2 66.6% 21 70%. er. io. 1)low. sit. Nat. 1)not conservative 2) somewhat conservative 3) very conservative total. Expats in Taiwan. i n U. v. total 5 100% 22 100% 3 100% 30 100%. The overall majority of expats surveyed in Taiwan considered Taiwan to be ‘somewhat socially conservative’. However, among those who rated Taiwanese society to be ‘somewhat conservative’ 68.1% of them were also highly satisfied living in Taiwan, as well as 66.6% of those who said it was very conservative. This shows that there is not a significant correlation between how conservative the society is and expat satisfaction levels in Taiwan..

(45) 45. 7) How adventurous are you? Do you always like to explore new things? Expats in South Korea 1)not adventurous 2) somewhat adventurous 3) very adventurous total. 1)low. 2) medium 1 50% 11 57.8% 5 55.5% 17 60%. 1 11% 1 3.3%. 3) high 1 50% 8 42.1% 3 33.3% 12 36.6%. total 2 100% 19 100% 9 100% 30 100%. 政治大. Most expats surveyed here mentioned that they were ‘somewhat adventurous’ while the remaining mentioned that they were very adventurous and only 2 people mentioned that they were not adventurous. Among all of those who rated how adventurous they were as a 2 (somewhat adventurous) they majority of them also rated that their satisfaction level of living in Taiwan was at a medium level. The majority 55.5% of those who were very adventurous also rated their expat satisfaction levels as a 2 while the remaining 33. 3% rated it as high. Overall, this data shows that there is no relevant correlation between how adventurous expats are their overall satisfaction level living in South Korea; which I find to be surprising.. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. al. 2) medium 1 50% 6 28.5% 2 28.5% 9 30%. Ch. sit er. io. 1)low. y. Nat 1)not adventurous 2) sometimes adventurous 3) very adventurous total. Expats in Taiwan 3) high 1 50% 15 71.4% 5 71.4% 21 70%. n engchi U. iv. total 2 100% 21 100% 7 100% 30 100%. In the case of Taiwan, the majority (20 out of 30) of expats also rated that they are ‘somewhat adventurous’. For all of those who rated that they were somewhat adventurous, 71.4% of them rated their overall expat satisfaction in Taiwan as very high, as well as 71.4% of those who were ‘very adventurous’. There were only 2 people who mentioned that they were not adventurous and they both ranked their level of expat satisfaction as a 2 and a 3. This data shows that there is not a strong correlation between these two variables..