Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jstyle88]

I applied through a recruiter for an esl job and was told by them that Korean Americans have it harder in getting hired and it is difficult to find benefits like paid airfare and housing.

Is this really true?? I am korean American and I am worried yet don't know whether to believe this. It doesn't sound right.

[chill.sung99]

Very true. It has been like that for many years. However, I'm optimistic that the mindset of Koreans will change for the better, but it will take awhile.

I think Koreans are smart enough to know that Korean-Americans and White Americans are, in many cases, equal in terms of experience, education, skills, social and cultural perspective, etc... the only difference is "the face."

But in Korea, there is nothing more important than "the face." It sounds shallow, but image is everything in Korea. Try to count the number of face/plastic surgeons in Seoul. So if a hagwon or a company hires a Caucasian-American over you, even if you are more qualified (in American measures), just know that it wasn't because of your education/skills/experience. It was purely because of your ethnicity (and their desire to have white people in their company.)

Does that sound less or more offensive? Is it reverse racism? In America, we call that discrimination or racism. In Korea, it is called "meeting the consumers' demands."

[wishfullthinkng]

the gyopos i know seem to work the back office teaching-related jobs and are often fluent or semi-fluent in korean.

as chillsung said, looks play a large factor. if you are not attractive your odds drop dramatically.

in my opinion if you really want to work here find a non-teaching job, especially if you qualify for an F4 visa.

[amoonbot]

In terms of teaching in South Korea, Korean-Americans or Gyopos (F-4 Visa Holders/Dual Citizens) have a higher chance teaching at SAT academies, in fact they prefer gyopos. Generally, SAT academies can be pretty demanding in that they want "top-tier graduates".

My friend who used to work at a CDI branch (I know there is a pretty bad stigma around CDI, but this one was okay from what I've heard.) said they welcome gyopos.

At any rate, there are still a good amount of job postings related to teaching especially geared towards gyopos. You just have to make sure the conditions and benefits aren't bad.

As far as non-teaching jobs, it is much more difficult to obtain than you think.

[chill.sung99]