Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sunnyjazz]

I lived in Korea for three years in the early 1990's and am thinking of returning this year. Now I have an 8 year old daughter and I'm wondering if this would be a good thing for her or not. We would not be living in Seoul or Busan. I'm also not sure if I'll be earning enough for us to live on; the base salary is 28,200 won. Advice? Thanks-

[Who's Your Daddy?]

Is your spouse Korean? Can your child speak Korean?

If the answer to both is "yes" then it's possible, otherwise I wouldn't come.

[ttompatz]

[Died By Bear]

What could possibly go wrong?

[Daniel1981]

Even without being a citizen I believe that you are also entitled to some social programs. Education and/or day care support is one of them, as well as other support for living depending on income, as well as where you live (as some programs are supported locally, some nationally)

I don't have any details myself but this is one thing I remember from the social integration course. I would check it out. If I were a parent, the million dollar question would be where my child would be and what he/she would be doing while I am at work. So if sponsored daycare is available, it's worth a look.

[sunnyjazz]

Thanks for all of the replies, I still need more information from the school but this looks like it might be too much of a stretch for us. I'm a single parent with my adopted daughter, she is Guatemalan by birth, my ethnicity is "white" (European-American by way of England a few generations ago). I don't know what kind of reception we'd get with our unusual family make-up. My mom lives with us and helps out tremendously with household concerns and childcare. I'm not sure how difficult the visa situation would be for her. Homeschooling is an option for my daughter but I'd rather have her in school.

[Ballerina2012]

I live here with my 12 year old daughter. She likes it here. I teach at an international school, so she gets school free and with me. If you can get your daughter in a school, I say go for it.. we travel..... Japan, China, Taiwan, so far, and I love it. Life is short!

[Yaya]

[Ginormousaurus]

[sunnyjazz]

There is no way I can afford to send my daughter to an international school; I'd love to have her come to school with me but since the position is at a university that's not going to work. I talked to the professor who is recruiting at the university about my idea to hire a translator to go to school with my daughter for awhile, maybe a college student, and she seemed to think that was a good idea. Of course I don't know how much that would cost. I was wondering about the bullying aspect. My past experience with Koreans has been so positive that I figured she should be in good shape with the kids; I actually thought she might be better off in a more social society than where we live in the States. She's a very outgoing girl who enjoys school--she thought she'd like to be in a Korean classroom with children who behave as opposed to the classroom she is in now (which is in an excellent school). Then I was reading about Korean school children being the unhappiest in the world and I wondered about her liking school there. We're adventurous and want to travel, but I don't want to move and feel financially pressed or have my daughter mistreated.

Thanks again for all of the advice, especially from Ballerina2012 since you are living in Korea with your daughter.

[Ginormousaurus]

[Janny]

If you MUST send her to a public school, make sure there are at least a couple other foreign, English-speakers there for her to bond with.

The bullying IS inevitable. Kids are not kind, and Korean children will not be either. The 'wangta' label exists even in the West...the one kid nobody wants to play with....and it's way worse here because Korean students are NOT taught anything about tolerance, fairness and treating outsiders (non-Koreans) with respect.

Your daughter will have a rough go of it; I predict many afternoons / evenings in tears. And walking around / being in classrooms with an adult translator by her side?? I'm sorry, but that might make it worse. An outsider with a school babysitter to boot. No.

I truly hope you find another option in another country. Or by some miracle, find a way to get your child into an international school so you can work in Korea. That would work out fine. But please don't take the job and send her to public school with no language ability and childish rose-colored glasses. She will get hurt (emotionally).

In case you're wondering, I'm a certified elementary school teacher who worked in Korea for 8 years. I know what I'm talking about. Specific cases (such as ballerina's) of happy endings on this topic are rare. Your daughter may have the guts and confidence to make it through....but scars will be forged that don't disappear.

[dongjak]

If you are on Facebook join:
Expat parents Korea
Awesome families in Korea

These groups have families who are dealing firsthand with raising kids in Korea and can give you advice.

There is also a secret group for single moms. If you join one of these a member can add you to the single mom group if you are interested.

[actionjackson]

For what it's worth, I have a few Korean students who are slightly darker than the rest of the class and every so often I hear them getting picked on and bullied because of the color of their skin. And one of them is even popular enough to have been voted class president.

[PatrickGHBusan]