Wordsift Unit 9

Pre-intermediate -Unit 9

MEB SUMMER COORDINATION OFFICE

The words to getcloser

1997 62 bad become believed borrowing business

companycustomerdecideddidnt

expensive foundgood happy highlevel idea

importantjob kind korea life like lose lost

moneypaid person quickly realizedrestaurant right

saidsangrok seoul served south spent started

Statussuh thinking time tired vicepresident

Waiter waiting wellpaid went world

Let’s ask the questions

Can you write your own story?

1997 62 bad become believed borrowing business

companycustomerdecideddidnt

expensive foundgood happy highlevel idea

importantjob kind korea life like lose lost

money paid person quickly realizedrestaurant right

saidsangrok seoul served south spent started

Statussuh thinkingtime tired vicepresident

Waiter waiting wellpaid went world

Which word is the biggest? Why?

job

These are the sentences

from the story.

Is it like yourstory?

Sang-Roh didn’t lose his job right away.

Most people believed the way to get status was to have a high-

level job and a good salary.

And most people believed that if you lost a good job, you lost status.

After thinking about all this for a while, Sang-Rok decided he didn’t

believe that the status of a well-paid job was an important value.

He realized you could be a good person without having a high-

level job and that having a job you like is the most important thing.

If you like your job, it’s a good job; if you don’t like it, it’s a bad job

even if it’s well-paid.

So Sang-Rok started looking for another kind of job—as a waiter in one

of the expensive restaurants he had spent so much time in.

Finally, Sang-Rok found a job in an expensive hotel in downtown Seoul.

Once he said, a customer asked him, “If you, a vice-president have

become a waiter, what will happen to me if I lose my job?” His answer

was, “You could become a waiter’s helper.” .

Let’s see our word cloud again

1997 62 bad become believed borrowing business

companycustomerdecideddidnt

expensive foundgood happy highlevel idea

importantjob kind korea life like lose lost

money paidperson quickly realizedrestaurant right

saidsangrok seoul served south spent started

Statussuh thinking time tired vicepresident

Waiter waiting wellpaid went world

What about reading the whole story? Suh Sang-Rok

In 1997, Suh Sang-Rok was making about US$7500 a month. He was the vice-president of a big company in, Seoul, South Korea. But 1997 was a bad time for businessin South Korea and Sang-Rok’s company suddenly wentbroke. It was borrowing too much money and growingtoo quickly.

Sang-Roh didn’t lose his job right away. He was paidwhile the company was closing down. Although he had nothing else to do, he realized that before long he wouldbe out of work. He was 62 years old but he coudn’t retirebecause he hadn’t saved much money and he didn’t havea pension. So he started thinking about what he wasgoing to do next.

What was he going to do next?

He decided he didn’t want to stay in the businessworld. He was tired of that kind of life. He wasespecially tired of eating everyday with his company’sbankers and lying to them so they would lend thecompany more money. He said he often had to eat fiveor six meals a day. He called it a “pig's life.”

During that time, Sang-Rok also started to thinkabout “values”—the Korean ideas about goodbehaviour that he had followed all his life. One of these ideas was that “status” was very important. Mostpeople believed the way to get status was to have a high-level job and a good salary. And most peoplebelieved that if you lost a good job, you lost status.

Do you think he would like to lose his status?

After thinking about all this for a while, Sang-Rokdecided he didn’t believe that the status of a well-paidjob was an important value. He realized you could be a good person without having a high-level job and thathaving a job you like is the most important thing. Ifyou like your job, it’s a good job; if you don’t like it, it’sa bad job even if it’s well-paid.

So Sang-Rok started looking for another kind of job—as a waiter in one of the expensive restaurants he spent so much time in. At first, he couldn’t findanything. Restaurant owners were worried thatcustomers who knew Sang-Rok would not be comfortable with him waiting on them.

Do you think you may be ashamed if your boss waitson you?

Finally, Sang-Rok found a job in an expensivehotel in downtown Seoul. In the beginning he waspaid about $US750 a month—about ten percent of what he earned in the business world.

He was happy about his new life because he didn’thave to lie anymore and his wife was happybecause he had more time to spend with her. He found that some customers who he worked within the past were uncomfortable when he servedthem, but this was not a serious problem. Once he said, a customer asked him, “If you, a vice-president have become a waiter, what will happento me if I lose my job?”

Guess his answer to that question.

His answer was, “You could become a waiter’s helper.”

Let’s see our word cloud again

1997 62 bad become believed borrowing business

companycustomerdecideddidnt

expensive foundgood happy highlevel idea

importantjob kind korea life like lose lost

money paidperson quickly realizedrestaurant right

saidsangrok seoul served south spent started

Statussuh thinking time tired vicepresident

Waiter waiting wellpaid went world

NOW LOOK AT THIS CLOUD

ability action appropriate areabenefit communicatecompany

complaint different dissatisfaction exactlyfeelfollowinggiven

happy jobmanagementmaybe month need opportunity

pastpay pressurepromotion question quote report responsiveness

staff support survey system text then think training two

understand used using view waywellyear