Korean Job Discussion Forums

[interplanetjanet]

I have found many many threads on male dress, but not much on women. (just that males seem to dress better than women)

I am a shorts and flip flop girl. Can a girl get away with wearing long shorts and flip flops? I am guessing no on the shoes, but I had to ask, as I live in them! What kind of sandles are appropriate?
Private and public please!

[bellum99]

edit..means I changed what I typed and had nothing to say....I can't remove the post totally....so I edit.

[Alyallen]

At my public school you have to wear shoes or slippers indoors. You can't wear the shoes you wore to get from your home to the school indoors. Some teachers buy sandals or dress shoes that are specfically worn indoors..

Hope that helps...

[ella]

What ages are you teaching? I teach university so I wear suits. Shoes are left on in the classroom and in my office. I wasn't sure where I'd be working so I also brought with me from home a pair of slip-on shoes to wear indoors. They're comfortable and have a low heel, similar to mules (tried to find a pic online but couldn't). They're a neutral beige tone so they go with almost anything and are relatively inconspicuous with my suits. They're not slippers - I know it's done here but I just couldn't bring myself to wear slippers with a suit.

[willneverteachagain]

edit? what the hell does that mean?

i wore sandles everyday day in the summer

[oneofthesarahs]

I work at a private school, and I wear more or less whatever I want, within reason. I say dress to impress your first few weeks of class, and then you can start toning it down more.

As long as you look put together and clean, I don't think most private schools care. Most days I wear black pants or skirts, but every so often I'll wear jeans. My general rule for shirts is no excessive cleavage and no t-shirts with writing on them. Today I was wearing a bright pink t-shirt with two skeletons hugging on it with a black cardigan, black pants, and sneakers with skulls on them. And nobody batted an eye.

[Canadian Club]

No one really cares at my hakwon... as long as we aren't showing our boobs. Tank tops, shorts, etc are fine, although most of us wear skirts or capris with tank tops or t-shirts in the summer. In the winter? Jeans, sweaters, shirts.

We can wear flip flops indoors, although they have to be separate from the flip flops that we wear outdoors.

[forever_young]

dress like the your female korean colleagues or better?
u get treated differently depending on how u present urself in korea, more so than in western countries.

and it wouldn't hurt to be the stylish foreign lass, either yes?

[formerflautist]

There is no way to keep up with the Korean teachers. They come in every day dressed to the nines. I wear jeans, a nice shirt, and flats most of the time in my public school. It really depends on your school as to what's expected.

[interplanetjanet]

Yeah!!
That means I am packing my jeans, my tanks and my flip flops! And of course more caual informal dress too, just in case.
Thanks for the info. I will just be sure to ask my school what is NOT acceptable.

[Canadian Club]

Talk to the other foreign teachers and get them to specify what "casual" means (if it's a word that they use).

Stylish is nice, and you WILL need stylish clothes (summer and winter) for parent/teacher interviews, Christmas plays, dates, or any possible occasion when you will be meeting the parents.

Little kids are messy. They get cyaron on their hands and wipe it on you. Most of them pick their noses. You'll be touched, hugged, and hair-petted with sticky fingers/faces/bodies. Little kids sometimes throw up or use their panties for a bathroom, so the likliehood of getting those expensive clothes messy around 10 or so kids is pretty high.

I do love my kids and they love me, but they are messy! Thank goodness I don't have to eat lunch with them!

[hubba bubba]

[formerflautist]

And no tanks. I've been told that showing bra straps are bad. I think that the schools that allow that casual of attire are few and far between. Your appearance is important. A well-dressed teacher is often thought to be a better teacher.

[rhinocharge64]

A pretty smile, fair hair, and slim generally does the trick. Not my perspective, but the locals tend to be quite judgemental on the old image. I'm a man: I wear a shirt, and tie with slacks, and an aroma of 'Old Spice'. Though I am sure your not interested, however the old spice I do strongly suggest to all and sundry!!!

Regards The Charge

[Yu_Bum_suk]

I hope you're not coming to teach at a public school. If so, you can expect to be given the respect of a mascot (or simply sent home to change) if you come to school in that.

Mind you, at the end of my brief hogwan days I came in wearing flip-flops, a tank-top, and ragged shorts, but that was only to embarrass my idiot boss.