Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Jizzo T. Clown]

Hi all,

I'm now looking at a public school job in Jeollanamdo. It's through Canada connections. I received an email from them but I'm American, so I'm not sure if they'll hire me or not. At any rate...

Does anyone have any information regarding the city or schools? I've done a search and read through some of the posts but they seem a little outdated.

As always, thanks in advance. This board is a treasure trove of information.

[Cohiba]

"Cohiba's Rule"

Think twice before you live outside of Seoul. "In Seoul" and
"outside of Seoul" are like two different countries. Seoul
is an interesting place with variety and venues for most
tastes. Outside of Seoul you will find a homogenous Korean
culture. I don't mean this in a bad way, but you will never
find things like: brown bread, good beer, bars with good
tunes, English book stores etc.

Remember the FFF RULE. FFF=Fun For Foreigners.

If FFF in Seoul = 100, then FFF decreases at
1/distance. So 2km from Seoul FFF=1/2(100)=50;
10km from Seoul FFF=1/10(100)=10. This rule is
a rule for nightlife, food and foreign products only.
Nature etc. is on a different scale altogether.

This means you will be wasting a lot of time commuting
to Seoul. This is especially a drag if you have been
boozing on a Friday night and there are no buses or
trains.

I, unfortunately, live in Inchon where the FFF factor
is almost in the negative range. I know!

[BigBuds]

[lulu144]

If you want to get a cultural experience, where it's not okay to disagree or to say no to something then by all means!! and yes you can get hired by canadian connection if you're american. I know some who did. I work in jeollanamdo, and have recently quit to be with more foreigners as I'm going a little mad....

also- it's so true... in and outside of seoul are two completely different experiences...

[Jizzo T. Clown]

I'd like to be in a place that has some kind of public transportation, but one where I can take off on a bicycle and explore (not to mention get exercise).

I've lived in places with populations ranging from 4,000 to 8 million, and I like the mid-sized cities the best.

My main concern is being isolated from other foreigners, and I do go to bars once or twice a week (not every night). I'm a morning person after all.

[Jizzo T. Clown]

[Smee]

Send me a PM if you want more detailed information, or if you want detailed information about a particular place.

I teach at a public school in Jeollanam-do, placed through Canadian Connections. I guess you're shooting for an August start date, right? I'm American, and it was no problem. About 10% at the last orientation were American.

Canadian Connectiosn can answer questions you have about particular areas. What I mean is, there are a number of different programs, each which offer different salaries, different overtime rules, different vacatiosn, etc. It deptends on if your school is classified as "regional," "Jeolla Cultural Program" or "Jeolla Language Program." The difference is some schools are run by the province---Jeollanam-do---and others are run by the individual counties. If you work for the province you'll have to do special training sessions during breaks, which eats up 3 weeks. *yuck* I signed in my small town for many reasons, but one was because it offered the most vacation time.

Check out http://wiki.galbijim.com/Portal:Jeollanam-do for some information. It's incomplete, but it should help. Even the smallest of villages has an open air market. The food is considered to be the best in Korea . . . the sea food is good, but honestly I get disappointed at the lack of variety. There's hiking basically everywhere, and, for Korea, the air is clean. We have blue skies! There's a lot of coastline, so you have beaches and islands everywhere.

I myself live in a town of 16,000, which definitely isn't for everybody. There are small mountains behind my place, a few temples, and a large market every five days. That's a pretty typical set-up for folks down here. The pros are:
*the people are very friendly, and don't judge you based on preconceived notions of other foreigners . . . because there aren't many.
*you'll have the relatively unique opportunity to experience a side of Korea most won't see. I've had tea with nuns at a local temple, spent Chuseok with a local family, rang the bell at a temple . . .
*lots of free time . . . there's no forced overtime, a relatively light schedule, weekends free, and a relatively large amount of vacation. That means plenty of time to see the rest of Korea. You also get random days off, such as for tests, school anniversaries, volleyball tournaments (seriously).
*A 75 minute bus ride to Gwangju (for me), so I can get my big city fix when I need it. It sounds like a long ride, but you could easily take that long commuting to Seoul from the suburbs.
*we play volleyball every week . . . my school is the county champions.
*it's not a hagwon: you'll get paid on time every time, and you won't get a measly 7 days of vacation.

The cons are:
*isolation. In my town there are something like 8 Caucasians, meaning I go weeks without meaningful English interaction. I have lots to keep me busy (studying, exercising, travelling, hobbies), but sometimes I'd just like to kick back, have a meal, have a drink with friends . . . but I have to go out of town for that. We're kind of tight down here, though, so it's not THAT bad . . . but it's sometimes hard to shake the blues when there's no one to talk to.
*the students are very low level. Only a handful out of 100 can communicate basic things. Theyve improved, especially after our winter camp, but it's a slow process. Seeing them once every week (sometimes once a month) doesn't help either.
*There's a good chance you'll be working at several schools, which would be spread kinda far apart, making the commute kind of a drag.
*my county school board is corrupt as all hell. I feel kind of dirty, haha.


Well, I don't know what else. Like I said, PM me and I'll try to help more. Also, Canadian Connections should put you in touch with people already in that town. That will help a lot. Also, check Galbijim for pics and info about some of the areas. Good luck.

edit: sorry about the typos . . . old computer (another con, I guess).

[faster]

Jeollanamdo is the land of amazing food, for what it's worth.

[Summer Wine]

[jinju]

Id stay away from both Jeollas. Its like going to work in deep rural Mississippi.

[formerflautist]

I live in a smaller city outside of Seoul. What has been a sanity-saver for me is that there is a strong expat community here. We all teach at separate schools so we don't see each other all the time. It's just nice to have others around to trade war stories with. And call if you need help.

[Smee]

Yeah, an expat community is nice. My first year in Korea I lived in Bundang, and the best times I had that year were because of great (foreign) coworkers. This year I'm in a rural area and the best times I've had are because of really great (Korean) coworkers and neighborly Koreans in my town. Since I came down here to learn more Korean and meet more Koreans, it's been nice. But I do miss having a lively expat community. It's hard to go a long time without having people who can understand your jokes! Having a balance between a Korean and foreign lifestyle is important, at least to me.

Suncheon and Mokpo are two cities in Jeollanam-do with the largest expat communities. They, along with Yeosu, are popular with foreigners who get placed down here. Hwasun county also has foreigners who live/work in Gwangju, but other than that factor Hwasun is pretty much like any town here.

But, I prefer places that are really big or really small. "Medium sized" cities, with the exception of Chuncheon, seem pretty lifeless to me. I mean, if you want a rural experience, why mess around with a place with 100,000 people? You lose all the charm of the small town without gaining any perks of a large city. Naju is a perfect example of this, and is a complete hole. And if you want to live in a city, why go to a place with 200,000 people? You may get 1 department store, maybe a Dunkin Donuts, and MAYBE a small movie theatre. Yeosu---though very scenic---is an example of a "medium-sized" city with almost no big city amenities.

I guess you'll have to identify your priorities.

[Jizzo T. Clown]