Korean Job Discussion Forums

[yeongji]

I graduated in 2011 with a diploma in Medical Office Administration at a local community college. Prior to my studies, I was studying English Literature at a well-known university. However, I never finished my four years of undergraduate studies since I started losing interest in writing essays (to please the professors) and because the job market here for teachers is extremely low. I have witnessed several friends go through years of being substitute teachers, or give up and go back to school to change their majors.

Prior to my current job as a Medical Secretary in the Emergency Department, I started volunteering in various medical settings for about two years. I have a feeling that my volunteer experience will not be much of a help if I was to apply to clinics or hospitals in Korea, but I do wonder if potential employers will take it into consideration. With only a year and seven months of experience, I am not sure if I will even be considered as a potential candidiate in Korea.

I cannot communicate in Korean. I only know random words and short sayings that I have been taught by my friends or picked up from Korean television. A friend of mines told me that there are international clinics in Korea, but she is not sure if the documents are written in Korean, and if you must know their language to work there. I have been researching for awhile now for information online, but I have yet to find any useful information. On top of that, both clinics and hospitals do not post job postings online.

So my question is, is there any career opportunities for foreigners in the medical field in Korea? I have been interested in Korean culture for several years now and it was not until last year when I visited the country for about a month. I immediately fell in love with the difference in lifestyle and despite the fact that I love my home country (Canada), I am always looking for a change. Perhaps it is because I have lived my entire life here, but I do want to go out and explore the world. However, I do want to do it responsibly and having a stable career is a must for me.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[newb]

Medical tourism is popular in Korea. Patients from all over the world come here for major surgery to plastic surgery so they need foreigners who are bilingual.

[ttompatz]

The problem however is that he doesn't, with only a 2 year diploma, qualify for a visa in the medical fields (at least none that they import staff for).

E-1 Professor (교수)
E-2 Foreign language instructor (회화지도)
E-3 Research (연구)
E-4 Technology transfer (기술지도)
E-5 Professional employment (전문직업)
E-6 Artistic performer (예술흥행)
E-7 Designated activities (특정활동)
E-8 Training employment (연수취업)
E-9 Non-professional employment (비전문취업) (chef, tourism, etc)
E-10 Vessel Crew (내항선원)

The closest would be an E7 and that typically requires an undergrad and a couple years of experience or a graduate degree.

It wouldn't fall under E5 since "Medical Office Administration" is not classed as a "professional" designation (unlike doctors, nurses, other medical practitioners) but more akin to being a glorified secretary in a medical setting.

There might be a faint possibility under an E9 but typically and historically those are more like positions found in the hospitality / tourism industry.

The potential employer would have to go through a process to convince the labor office that no Korean could do the job before they would be allowed to hire him (just like an employer would have to do to import labor to Canada).

The biggest problem would be actually finding an employer able and willing to sponsor him under that class.

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