Community Events Noticeboard

What is on, in both countries: meet-ups, cultural events, festivals, workshops and job fairs. Post one or find one.

Posting an event people come to

• Date, time and a findable location. A landmark, not just a street name.
• Who it is for, and whether newcomers are welcome. Say so explicitly; people assume they are not.
• Cost, including free.
• Whether to register, and how.
• A contact who will answer on the day.
• The language it will be run in. This decides attendance more than anything else.

The events worth knowing about

Job fairs for foreign residents are the under-attended ones, because the employers there have already decided they will hire or sponsor non-Koreans. Community and cultural events covers them.

Multicultural festivals run annually in Korean cities and are the easiest single event for a newcomer to attend alone. Dashain and Tihar gatherings across Korea matter most to anyone spending a first year away from home.

In Nepal, the festival calendar is the thing that actually governs the year, and it closes offices and roads as well as filling streets. Events and festivals covers it; festivals and public holidays covers the Korean calendar.

For regular gatherings

A recurring weekly or monthly meeting belongs at find a local meet-up rather than here, where it would be reposted endlessly.

What to expect if you go alone

Which most people do, and which is fine.

Community and multicultural events are built for newcomers more than they look. Organisers want attendance, there are usually staff or volunteers whose job is to introduce people, and nobody is keeping track of who arrived with whom.

Two things that help: go with one other person if you can, and volunteer rather than attend if you want to meet people properly. Two hours on a stall introduces you to the organisers, the other volunteers and half the room, which arriving as a guest does not.