Job Discussion Forums

[Hokie21]

So I'll be finishing up my 2nd year teaching in Korea and I have to admit....this country is starting to really bore me. I've always been interested in visiting Japan, but now that my contract is running out I'm considering the possibility of teaching there.

For those of you who made the jump across the sea.....how does Japan rate compared to the land of Kimchi and Dokdo? Is it more difficult to find a job over there? Is it tough finding a sponsor? Do you have to be wary of "hagwons" like you do here in Korea? What is the best way I can go around to looking at finding work in Japan? Feel free to PM me if you'd like.

Thanks a bunch and enjoy your weekend.

[mitsui]

You can't compare. No hagwons here, and mostly Japanese would work at jukus.

It is a tight job market here. If you are not picky it is ok, but the better paying jobs are tough to get.
Networking is everything here.

[Hokie21]

Cheers. Thanks Mitsui.

[RM1983]

I worked in Korea in my mid 20s and am now in Japan (early 30s).

First of all, know that if you are looking to find a job before you come you need to be recruited by a big name company, these will either be eikaiwas (private schools) or dispatch companies (who send people to public schools).
There are like 5 or 6 of these that have chains that operate across Japan.

It is a lot harder to get hired from abroad than Korea because the market is flooded here. If you go for the big company route you might not get a lot of input into where you live and work.

Do not expect to get any airfare paid, and be aware that if an employer offers you housing it might well be a rip-off or a means of making it difficult for you to leave the company.

On the other hand, it is not like Kore as if you are really unhappy in your job you can quit without losing your visa.

The smaller, better places to work do not need to recruit abroad as there are already experienced people here who will approach them. I came on a working holiday visa and got it changed after finding a job when I was here.

In terms of working conditions/atmosphere, in eikaiwa the classes are smaller and the kids much more manageable than in Korea, but many places will have a set method and style that you need to follow. Not all but many and especially the big companies. They expect you dressed in business attire and to act very professionally. I say this because in Korea I would often wear shorts to work and we were encouraged to take our adult students out drinking after classes on Friday. Smaller private schools here might do the same but the big companies very much discourage contact with students beyond the scripted lesson. After teaching kids in Korea though, I have to say even the worst classes I have had in Japan seem mild.


Also, if you go for eikaiwa you will more likely than not be working one day at the weekend, usually Saturday. This made a big difference for me from Korea. In Korea, after a year I had been to all the major cities and had traveled extensively, whereas in Japan I have hardly been outside of Tokyo.

Japan is also a little bit more difficult in terms of getting things done. My bosses in Korea all sorted everything out for me, all the visa-related trips I did were accompanied etc. My bills, phone, internet, a lot of stuff like that, my school took care of. In Japan, you can get help for this stuff but you just cant expect to be looked after like in Korea. If I were you and serious about coming Id start learning Japanese right now.

In terms of personal stuff, I'd say Japan is a massively more interesting place to live. You will never run out of things to do and see. The people are far less friendly but still reasonably friendly and very nice. You wont get harassed as much as in Korea and can keep yourself to yourself much more easily (although it is easy to get a little lonely and/or bored if you dont plan your weekends beforehand).
There is a superb variety of food here (you can find Korean food super easily), and the nightlife is more sophisticated. It is also a lot more expensive and taxis home cost an absolute bomb. There are a lot of very cool places to go though and some very good bars around.

In Tokyo at least though the foreigners dont tend to congregate like in Korea. When I lived in Korea I would usually head to a combini downtown where all the foreigners would gather to drink, then head to a bar filled with foreigners. It's much rarer for this kind of thing to happen in Japan. I live in Tokyo and rarely meet other foreigners beyond the times I head to Shibuya or Roppongi.
Also, you are not allowed to dance in most places in Japan, by law, so all in all it is definitely less of party place than Korea


Overall I find Japan a more rewarding and fun place to be, but I do wish I could take the cheapness of Korea and the rough n ready parts of it. I also very much appreciate that no one bothers me for being foreign here, but also quite miss that friendliness that Koreans have.

I must've bored the living shit out of you by now, but I'll just say that just being bored of Korea isn't a great reason to come here, the job market is quite tough and you definitely will not save as much money. If you have a specific reason to come here (language, love the culture, want a Japanese wife/husband) then that is going to make the problems a lot easier to deal with than if you are simply bored of Korea

[mitsui]

You will have to try more here. Probably no free flat, and you will find that you will need to learn the language, and cannot just make excuses for being a foreigner.

Weekends would be more boring. I have been here 13 years and things are tougher. I have to work harder and smarter.

One question: can I get British beer at Homeplus?

[RM1983]

[mitsui]

Beer shopping is better over there since they have a free trade agreement with the EU.
I was surprised to find Smithwick`s at a 7/11 in Gangnam, so of course I bought it and my Irish colleague was naturally jealous.
Can`t find that beer in Japan.

[Hokie21]

Not bored at all. Thanks very much for the responses guys.

You can find a few British beers over here in Homeplus including Magners. I'd say in the past year or so the craft beer scene has really started to take off. The Korean beer is still pretty crap and there is nothing that stacks up to an Asahi, Sapporo or Hitachino, but if you know where to look you can find some decent microbrews in Seoul.

A story just came out in the news saying that imported beer is at an all time high. Up almost 30% from last year.

[mitsui]

Yes, Hitachino is made in Ibaraki, which is north of Narita airport.
It is a bit pricey in a bottle, just less than 400 yen.

After a while beer gets boring here but Yebisu put out a different beer in a blue can. That is pretty good. They have the limited edition in a red can for the fall.

Japanese craft beer is decent. Some people like Baird, which is made down in Numazu, in Shizuoka.

[RM1983]

Actually I was in Busan during Golden Week and in the Seomyeon area was a small bar selling Hitachino beers. Good stuff, went there before we had that Gemiji octopus stuff - good night!

[jkcm25]

[Black_Beer_Man]

RM1983 pretty much covered most differences between K & J. I'll add two more.

1.) Japanese people are less willing to hire you for private lessons than Koreans. Brand reputation is everything here, so most people prefer to go to a language school than to hire you directly. If you want to supplement your day job, the best thing is to work part-time teaching company classes.

2.) Unlike Koreans who express their emotions freely, the Japanese often show "whatever emotion causes the fewest ripples" in any given situation. They don't want to embarrass you or bring down everybody's mood. I've never been able to get used to this even after years and years of being in Japan. It's often very difficult to get a clear opinion from a Japanese person especially if it's a negative one. I often feel like I am being deceived (if not intentionally).

[Black_Beer_Man]

Another thing you may miss from Korea is your special status as a foreigner. Koreans have the attitude that foreigners are guests in their country, so quite often they will treat you to lunch or businesses like city tours (Daegu city) and amusement parks like Seoul Land will give discounts to foreigners. http://eng.seoulland.co.kr/eng/index.asp

In Japan, foreigners are just weird and don't get any preferential treatment (as is the case in most western countries).

[Master Shake]

To those who've lived in both countries, how would you compare the level of English of Koreans vs. Japanese?

I must admit, I expected most people (especially younger ones) in Tokyo to speak at least some English. No dice. It's like finding a needle in a haystack.

Is it any better in Korea?

[RM1983]