My job in Korea

I've started working as an editor at a Koren publishing company called Times Core, which primarily produces four weekly newspapers in English for Korean children (elementary through high school) as well as a dozen other periodic publications -- all with the goal of helping Korean students learn English.

My job is twofold: one part as a journalist, editing content to ensure it's gramatically and mechanically accurate, and the other part as a native-English speaker, makng sure it doesn't sound like a foreigner wrote it.

I am the only non-Asian, native-English speaker on staff, and from what I can tell, the only one employed in the whole building and its hundreds of employees. It's really interesting.

The staff of Times Core pretty much all speaks at least some English, with the writers and other editors of course speaking the most fluently. All of the stories are written in English, but the day-to-day logistics are conducted in Korean. And because the only thing I know in Korean is "thank you," I don't go to any meetings, and I don't answer an office phone or email account. It's awesome.

Having moved here from Brazil after nearly three years of Portuguese, I am very sympathetic to the non-native speaker. Working here, though, I realize just how complicated English is.

Real doozies include: "in," "on," "to," "for," by," and the like.
For example:
"I saw that in TV." Wrong.
"I saw that on TV."
OK, so, "I read that on a book."
Nope, "I read that in a book."
We get "on" a bike and "in" a car, but not vice versa.

English also has lots of phrases, expressions or colloquialisms that have a non-literal meaning, or that may be accurate, but we just don't say.
For example:
"Put to sleep" is used for when an animal is euthanized, not for putting a child to bed.
While "lover" may be technically correct, it's probably better to use "his wife" when the target audience is 5 to 8 year olds.

I'm sure this is very frustrating and confusing, but it makes me feel like I'm helping not only the staff here, but also Korean students, and that's rewarding.

I work on the eighth floor of this high rise.

Koreans are very formal, so at work they call me
"Ms. Brye Ann Steeves." I tell them I go by just Brye
(and sometimes Bree or Brynne), so that's all they put on my nameplate.

Apparently God has office space here as does an architectural
firm and I think a dermatologist, among many others.

I like seeing my name among all the Korean ones!

But it can be tough, too.
My computer is all in Korean and I don't know what ANY of these
characters mean. So, I count. Eight icons to the right and
two down on the drop down menu is how I turn on the editing feature.

Sure, why not.

Another big part of the experience is riding the subway to and from work.
I've seen people become intwined with each other by their headphones and manage
to free themselves while still texting. I've seen people walk into closed doors and
step on, or even sit on, other people because they were texting. None of these things seems to
be a big deal, but there is subway etiquette ...

No subway lovin'.

No puking.

And don't even think about having a snack.