Job Discussion Forums

[reem]

Hi my name is Kareem, and I was wondering if there are any oppirtunities to teach english in Japan, or Korea being a college graduate. I f any one could give me any advice I would really appreciate it, Thanks!

[Jack Tripper]

There's lots of opportunities (for Japan, I'm sure for Korea as well but I'm dont know about them)...some with deadlines that have passed for 2004, such as the JET Program. But check through the archived forums and check out www.bigdaikon.com for other other ideas/opportunities for folks that are still trying to get there this year. Look into the "Incoming JET(something like that)" forum threads that are usually a comment/complaint about not getting accepted.
Good luck!

[Gordon]

There are lots of opportunities. You can get a job in either country if you have a degree. What kind of job are you looking for?

[Glenski]

[shmooj]

For Korea you need to read the Korean forum at
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/index.php
and check out the Job Discussion section. It's an eye-opener!

[ironopolis]

If you want reliable and OBJECTIVE information on working in Korea, I would very, very strongly recommend NOT relying on the link shmooj posted.

I certainly agree that it's an eye-opener. After what seems to me as the relative common sense of this Japan forum, I find a bit depressing the image many on the Korea forum must portray of westerners. ( Then on reflection I think not many non-westerners ever read it, so I just have a laugh at some of the utterly ridiculous things posted)

Korea's not everyone's cup of tea and undoubtedly some people don't get on too well there, in Japan or lots of other places, not necessarily through any fault of their own. But I loved working in Korea (I like Japan too) and I know the vast majority of other westerners I met there were pretty happy with it also. Yet we're neither particularly well represented on that forum, nor I suspect, in the eyes of many of its posters, are very welcome either.

FWIW, I'd echo what was said above. You should be able to get a job in either country, but they are quite different and which one would be better for you probably depends a lot on what kind of person you are and what kind of experience you're looking for.

[shmooj]

[PAULH]

[ironopolis]

shmooj,
Sorry, you seem to have taken my comments above as a swipe at you for posting a "useless" link. Perhaps I could have phrased what I wrote better, because that wasn't my intention, nor what I meant.

I'm not saying at all the eslcafe Korea forum is a waste of time, nor that worst case scenarios are not useful (I agree that they are as long they're considered as such). But neither is a very one-sided picture. I know of people who have never been to Korea but have made some very negative conclusions about the place on the basis of "information" gleaned from that forum. Indeed, I'm sure I once saw someone post somewhere on eslcafe as a reply to a similar enquiry something like "check out the Korea forum on here to see what a horrible place that is". Perhaps people do come close to relying on it because it's so well used compared to other forums and because there isn't much else around, frankly. So, I don't see my warning as any kind of assumption of naivety on the OP's part.

I stand by the point I was making above: by all means have a look at that forum as part of the overall picture, but don't make the mistake of assuming it's necessarily the whole or an accurate picture. Given that some people do so assume, and having spent a decent amount of time there myself, I don't think my advice was that unreasonable. Note that I said don't RELY on it. I never said don't look at it.

[shmooj]

Actually, I took your post pretty much as you explained it.

What I think is a bit sad is that you don't provide the OP with any info to go on at all in response to their original question.

I say again, if you have a source of info apart from the Korean forum then please share it. If not, what I posted is the best they have to go on despite it being flawed.

PaulH - thanks for posting although I've tried to pull up that link and it won't load. Perhaps server trouble. I'll try later.

[shmooj]

Kareem

I've been sorting through some of the dross on the Korean forum and found this...

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=19408

It is about ECC which seems like a good way to get here for a first timer.

ANyway, where are you? It's about time you gave us some more details of you and your situation or this thread is going to dry up mysteriously...

[ironopolis]

Ok, shmooj, yours is the bestest, I admit defeat, you win

[shmooj]