Korean Job Discussion Forums

princess · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: soul of Asia

I have to agree with iggyb. If I had never gone to Korea before, had zero Korean teaching/living experience, knew no one here, did not know any of the language, or anything about the culture, I'd just have to cut my losses and stay put in the US or wherever I was at the moment.

It also depends on how much money you have. If you have $1000 or less, maybe even $2000 or less, I'd be very careful about coming on over here and looking for another job. Trust me. Your money goes FAST over here. Korea is NOT that cheap, no matter what anyone tells you. It isn't a 3rd world country. Even if you come here with a few thousand bucks, hardly go out, hardly shop, and mostly use your money to keep a budget guesthouse over your head and buy food, the money goes, goes, goes. With $2000 or less, you may end up sleeping at Seoul station, dragging yoir bags through the streets like a baglady or bagman, if there is such a word as bagman. For reals.

And furthermore, if SMOE treated me like this, I'd never apply through them again. I can't believe people are actually talking about reapplying thorugh them. I'm sorry everyone. My heart truly goes out to everyone SMOE treated so badly.

I also worry for the people who get the bad news while already on their way to Korea. What will they do if they are coming here with less than $1000 to their names, only to hear they have no job. It's scary. I pray they won't be homeless wandering the streets. Maybe their embassy can loan them emergency money for a flight back to the US, Canada, etc.

Also, different people react differently to bad situations. I guess the SMOE office is glad right about now that guns are hard to get here.

iggyb · Joined: 29 Oct 2003

If people are going to come on over, you need to do some research into the different types of day-to-day rentals available. I don't even know enough about them to speak, because I've never had to use them.

But there are significantly cheaper alternatives to a hotel room. Google around the types of accommodations you can find in Korean cities. Don't just go for hotels because that is what you know back home...

princess · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: soul of Asia

That's right iggyb. With a hotel, you really will end up homeless. I'm staying in a place that's 40,000 a night. I just can't stand a goshiwon or goshitel. I think I'd get claustrophobic in one. But at least my room has a bathtub. Most likely, my apartment won't when I find a job.

marlow · Joined: 06 Feb 2005

iggyb · Joined: 29 Oct 2003

Well, what they have really shown, at least for now, is that they are just part of the ESL system ---- a system veterans of it have long known - can't be trusted.

Let me put it this way: two years ago when I was part-time in a MA Teaching program, one classmate who was finishing up talked to me about her decision to go to Korea to teach. She was all happy and enthusiastic and asking for advice. She was asking and talking about things like -- how could she better sell herself to the schools so they will hire her.

I didn't want to dampen her enthusiasm, but I had to tell her she was going about it the wrong way --- that the mindset she needed in preparation for jumping into the Korea ESL industry is --- What do schools have to do to convince me they are worth working for. I gave her some pointers about how to vet a school and things like saying up enough money for an emergency ticket home at a moment's notice as soon as you can out of your first pay checks. She had a Korean friend from college going over with her who had family in Korea, so I told her she could at least handle a worst case situation if she happened to fall into it.

Recently, when I decided to get back into the industry, I located her on facebook. She did land OK and is now teaching in a university on her second year here ----- and she now understands what I was talking about...

I can understand people applying for SMOE again. If you are afraid of getting burnt in Korea, then it might be a good idea not to go there in the first place.

In short, if you are going to teach in Korea, whether it is hakwon or other, you have to be prepared for the possibility you're going to get knocked around at some point....

laoshihao · Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 12:29 pm Post subject: hahaha!

iggyb · Joined: 29 Oct 2003

I still say the the apartment my wife (Korean) and I shared the first 6 months of our marriage in which we barely had room to lie down to sleep -- was the best thing for our marriage. You really, really, really, really, really, really have to learn to get along with somebody under those conditions...

stevieg4ever · Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Location: London, England

deleted

Carla · Joined: 21 Nov 2008

iggyb · Joined: 29 Oct 2003

I'm not sure, and I've deleted all those emails.

As I remember it, he said SMOE does visa numbers not NOA and that it was going to be FedExed. I'm not 100% on the # part but I am 100% about the FedEx part. And in any case, it was talk - real talk or false talk - who knows...

Carla · Joined: 21 Nov 2008

lifeinkorea · Joined: 24 Jan 2009 Location: somewhere in China

iggyb · Joined: 29 Oct 2003

On FedEx - I was told whatever it was I needed for the Visa was being sent that way. I thought it was a visa number, maybe wrong on that. I emailed asking for the FedEx tracking number so I could be ready when it arrived and get down to Atlanta to get the visa. The next day is when he told me I was deferred until March.

On living expenses --- she was talking about expenses associated with being in Korea without a job and paying your own way as you hunt for one.

Somebody who knows the specifics on the different, cheaper types of day-to-day rentals should do a post on it now for those SMOE rejects who still come over or get here and find they're without a job...

Ben Glickman · Joined: 10 Mar 2004 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Canada

Hi - This is Ben Glickman - co-owner of Footprints Recruiting. There are several threads going regarding the last minute job cuts with the SMOE. I will post what we know about the situation - hopefully some of this information is helpful to those affected.

We were first informed that the SMOE was cutting candidates last minute on the evening of Wednesday the 19th. I would assume this is when the word went out to all the recruiters involved as well as teachers recruited directly by the SMOE. We were not given a reason initially - we were told that that the SMOE needed to cut 100 out of the 600 teachers recruited total. Later we were given the reason that schools came in Seoul came in with less job orders at the last minute due to budget cuts. That is all we know at this point.

Each agency was given the directive to cut teachers, and at the same time the SMOE administration contacted teachers directly from all agencies to inform them they no longer had jobs. The selection was random from the SMOE - it was not related to nationality, race, salary level or anything else. Teachers from all countries, E-2 and F-4 candidates, and of all levels of experience and salary level were cut.

27 Footprints teachers were cut total. I don't know the totals from the other agencies. Roughly half of our cut teachers were placed in public school positions through EPIK or other MOE's and POE's. Other teachers deferred until Feb. 2010 for SMOE positions starting then. Some quit altogether.

If you are from another agency - at this point as far as we know EPIK still has a few rural positions left to fill but that's about it - of course there may be last minute drop outs/no shows/firings at orientation, both for EPIK and the regional MOE's and POE's. I don't know if GEPIK has any last minute positions left - we haven't heard of any. EPIK and the other MOEs and POE's did their best to employ as many of the cut teachers as possible.

We are working on finding out more about the visa transfer issue. If you have an F-4 visa, you are free to look for another job on your own from within Korea. If you have an E-2 visa, the ministries of education should be able to work together to facilitate visa transfers from the SMOE to other MOE's and POE's utilizing your documents already in Korea. Our staff is looking into visa transfers from the SMOE to private schools for E-2 visa holders. This issue is proving to be more problematic, but we are looking at how this can get done - I don't have definite information at this point as we are getting conflicting information from immigration, the MOJ, SMOE and the NIIED. We are trying to get this sorted as quickly as possible as there are hagwons interested in employing these teachers. I'll post again when I have definitive answers to E-2 visa transfers from the SMOE to private schools - at this point it does not appear that a simple LOR will suffice as the teachers were never registered in Korea in the first place. The SMOE is not canceling visas yet so teachers without jobs are able to enter Korea on their initial E-2's - but inter country visa transfers are not possible at this point.

One final point - in no way do we or other agencies benefit from this. This is a hit to our reputation and bottom line as well, although that pales in comparison to you teachers that have put your lives on hold, quit jobs, given up apartments, etc to take these positions. I am deeply sorry for all of you.