Korean Job Discussion Forums

[TorontoToronto]

Doing my "is Korea right for me?" research and I'm dipping my toes into a few podcasts.

Korea Underground looks promising.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/korea-underground/id877640077

Any others you recommend? Qualities I'm looking for:

1) established (not a 3 ep still born series)

2) hosts who are dull or jerks. Podcasts are sometimes less about the topic and more about the chemistry between cohosts and listner.

3) tips for newbs

[PRagic]

You'll get more, and probably better, info by just reading through the FAQs here.

[TorontoToronto]

[PRagic]

lol...can't believe you used them as an example! Can't stand those two, and I'm pretty sure a LOT of expats here feel the same.

Maybe it's a generational difference, but, come on, READ! You're more apt to get specific information on specific topics, and, in the case of a forum, from multiple people. For me at least, pod casts are too slow, and all too often self indulgent ego fodder.

To each their own. Read a book or article by Hall, Hofstede, or Trompenaars if you want some cross-cultural guidance.

[TorontoToronto]

Delved into that podcast I thought might be promising. Yeah, gave two eps a try. Not really my thing. The female host almost sounds like she doesn't want to be there. And the guy doesn't really have anything useful or interesting to say about Korea. Then again, I only listed to the last two eps. So maybe they're just out of material. The upside is they're not in Seoul, so for those who are destined for some place outside Seoul, it might be useful.

As I said, in my experience, which may be different from yours, I like multiple sources: reading, podcasts, youtube, etc.

I'm not actually so sure about Korea at this point. I loved living and working in Singapore. But Singapore is like Asia made easy for Westerners. People line up. The government knows how to get shit done. Maybe Seoul, not so much.

[Oldtimer]

[PRagic]

Ha! Yeah, HK and Singapore should have a slogan, 'THE BEST PLACES TO LIVE IN ASIA....IF YOU DON'T REALLY WANT TO LIVE IN ASIA!'

There are still jobs to be had in Korea, and there certainly is an urban-rural divide here. But even second and third tier cities have most amenities, so you don't have to be in 'just Seoul' anymore.

Korea still has more of an edge than Japan, and probably always will. And I mean that in a good way. Some people prefer China. Taiwan is another option. Obviously, though I've been all through East and SE Asia, with well over 20 years in Korea, I have found this the best place to live and work. Plus, I've made no secret of the fact that Korea has been very good to my wife and I.

Why? Part of it is the weather. Yeah, yeah, I know...monsoons and hot summers, long winters, and fleeting springs and falls. But we get seasonal change and it's not scorching hot most of the year. Personally, I'd melt in HK, Vietnam, or Singapore, or Taiwan, places some go to teach, and we have little desire to even retire in SE Asia (e.g. Thailand). Love all those places for visits, even extended vacations, but to live and work, or live all year round? Nope.

I like Seoul. Yeah, there are problems, the asinine cost of housing foremost among them, but, hey, every major city has problems. Some prefer European cities, and that's understandable. If you have an EU passport and you can actually make money there, might be a nice option. My bread has always been buttered in this neck of the woods, though.

If you're looking for a place to just teach for a year, pick a country and get to it. You'll be better served by properly researching individual potential employers, though. Do your homework there first. See the FAQs. It's nice to be prepared, but don't overthink it to death. Pick a country, pick a place in that country (see FAQs for info on both or just ASK), get job offers, and then concentrate an vetting those employers.

[TorontoToronto]

[TorontoToronto]

[PRagic]

Several have noted the negativity on the Korea-oriented threads over the years. A lot of it has to do with the fact that, while employee rights are now somewhat more comparatively protected (e.g. labor board), a lot of new teachers still get screwed over by their hagwon (institute) owners, have aweful and/or xenophobic co-teachers if they're at public schools, or, for whatever reason, don't get the Korean thing.

There are also some people that seem to have this misbegotten, pre-conceived notion that English teachers are 'losers', and make every effort to flame whenever possible.

Then there are the university and would-be university instructors (not professors) who are smarting because pay has been stagnant or decreased, hours have increased, and conditions have worsened (e.g. no more housing; term limits), all while the competition for these jobs has ramped up demand for increasingly better credentials to get one.

This of course doesn't characterize every university, but the happy people don't come on the board to tell us they're happy. Same couple be said of the thousands of happy and satisfied hagwon and PS teachers.

Like I said, Korea has an edge to it, and it's not for everyone.

[TorontoToronto]

There's something I call the landlord/tenant spiral of death. Each has been legitimately screwed over at least once. In new dealings each assumes not good faith but "that guy is going to screw me over".

I think the whole nation of Israel is based on the concept (in politics and international relations) of not being a "frayer".

https://www.quora.com/How-do-you-define-the-Israeli-term-Frayer-or-friar-or-fryer

The very attitude the other party is going to screw you over causes one to act in subtle ways the other party picks up on. The other party, however, interprets the actions not as reasonable steps to protect oneself from being a "frayer" but as red flags the person is out to screw you over. So the other party takes steps to prevent being a "frayer". Of course then the first party reads those signs and it only confirms the person is probably dishonest and causes the first party to double down. And it becomes a death spiral of moves and counter moves...

I've seen it take hold in companies too. Yeah, we've all been at a company where the management was like "no, we're totally profitable" and then boom they lay of 3/4 of the work force. So when the next company does something which might be entirely reasonable people start to assume the worst...

The Western expat community in Singapore is, no doubt, different from the expat community in Korea. People tend to be there because they're transferred from corporate jobs or they're in some kind of white collar type job. "Oh, this just isn't going to work out. Well, fly me home and move all my stuff home HP." I would imagine working on a restricted Visa is a bit like working on an H1B during my Seattle days. The company there owns you and it's an expensive move home. So. You're skittish.

[PRagic]

The corporate jobs and the government jobs afford people to have the 'expat lite' experience. They're technically in a given country, but they're by no means actually on the economy. Papa is still picking up the tab and then some. And that's the way most corporate and government employees would like to have it.

[TorontoToronto]