Korean Job Discussion Forums

Dan · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Sunny Glendale, CA

People who talk about how great japan is, and still stay in korea and complain about it should get a shift kick in the pants.

whatthefunk · Joined: 21 Apr 2003 Location: Dont have a clue

Yes. %$#* you all.

FierceInvalid · Joined: 16 Mar 2003

To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what brought me to Korea rather than Japan in the first place. It probably had something to do with the relative ease of finding a job and the compensation package that went along with it. I didn't know the culture of either place, so one cool place on the other side of the world was just as good as another, and reading the resources available at the time people were complaining no matter where they were (the same is true now). So, all else being equal, I took the better package.

No regrets. I've loved my time in Korea, and think it's pretty likely I'll come back. But this time next year I will be in Japan. Higher standards? Yeah, in a lot of cases, but not so much in others (the big schools like NOVA being the obvious example). Better overall level of English speaking in Korea? I don't think so, I reckon they're similar to the point of there being very little difference. I just wanna do both, that's all, and I dig a lot of the things Japan offers that Korea doesn't. I think the "quality of foreigners" thing gets blown way out of proportion. They're probably about the same.

machinehead · Joined: 11 Sep 2003

em · Joined: 15 Feb 2003

The people that I know who have gone to Japan have been far less qualified to teach English than I. And they usually went with GEOS, AEON, or some such company.

I think that Korea is the wild west of ESL to Japan's sober east coast. I mean, alot of us came here because the odds of making good cash looked better. We are the prospectors, the future robber barons of the ESL trade. We'll play a little fast and loose for that paid airfare and accomodations.

Okay, I'm totally full of crap. But it felt good to say it.

whatthefunk · Joined: 21 Apr 2003 Location: Dont have a clue

machinehead · Joined: 11 Sep 2003

whatthefunk · Joined: 21 Apr 2003 Location: Dont have a clue

machinehead · Joined: 11 Sep 2003

whatthefunk · Joined: 21 Apr 2003 Location: Dont have a clue

Hmmmm....very interesting....to the dungeon, Dweezeldworf!!!

hojucandy · Joined: 03 Feb 2003 Location: In a better place

i don't like -

japanese food (love korean)
japanese traditional music (love korean)
working hard
the high cost of living

matko · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: in a world of hurt!

matthews_world · Joined: 15 Feb 2003

It is safe to venture that Japan is more selective about its teachers than Korea. Korean schools will hire about anyone.

I came here to take advantage of the paid housing. I've been paying back bills and plan to stay here another year.

Korea is also is a good starting point for new teachers. If you feel you'll be a career ESL teacher, come to Korea, get a couple years under your belt, study for a master's degree and you'll have something to show future employers, whether in Japan, your own country, or abroad.

That's my plan of attack.

Very Happy

stanley · Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 5:22 pm Post subject:

I worked in Korea as an English teacher for three years. Later I did the same in Japan. Japan may be more selective about their teachers but Korea probably would be, too, if it had a larger pool to choose from. Even so, the end result was about the same. You had a lot of degreed, yet still unqualified people teaching English--me included--and a bunch of so-called losers--me included--getting drunk and debasing the local women. The English teachers I met in Japan weren't much different from the ones I met in Korea.

I enjoyed my time in both places, learned a lot, and made more than enough money to get by. When in Korea, I often met people who wanted to go to Japan. One of them has now been in Korea 15 years. However, in Japan, I didn't meet anyone who wanted to go to Korea. The only people I met who had any idea about Korea were people who were escaping from bad jobs they'd had there, or else Koreans.

If I had to choose between the two places, I'd flip a coin and come up a winner either way.

William Beckerson · Guest

On one of my trips to Japan, I was told that with my experience in Korea, I could walk into just about any of the schools in town and land a job. Kiddy schools are a growing section of the market there.

All the men (Men?! I'm being generous...boys with BAs. Not Matko. He's pure man.) who go there want to go "teach" highschool and college girls, so that's why they're always looking for folks willing to do the kindy job.

I got a chance to get a job at the local YMCA the last time I was there, but I didnt have enough money for the startup costs, and all of my stuff was here in Korea... so I came back to earn more money and hope I get another opportunity like that again.

Since Matko is working in Japan, I figur it's best to ask him about what the employers want and dont want there.

There's also a guy who's handle I cant remember over on the Job board's Japan forum who has been there for 100 years and seems to know everything.