Korean Job Discussion Forums

[insam]

I'm often shocked by posts here by people wanting to move to Korea. Whether it's asking about contracts or country codes or phone calls, it seems that many people have no knowledge/interest whatsoever in the country. My advice for anyone moving to Korea would be maybe 6 months or so of language/culture training + financial stability (e.g. don't go if you can't afford the flight and to live for a few months and return home if necessary). What do you all think? Before I went to Korea for the first time I self-studied Korean for a couple of years, and when I went to Korea I had a very easy time. Some Koreans think that English teachers arrive in Korea by default, that they are failures in their own countries. I'm starting to believe them. How many people were financially stable when coming to Korea and actually have an interest in being in Korea? I actually had a great career/civil service job that I quit to move to Korea. It had nothing to do with the money. Perhaps this is why I have little or no concern for whiners.

[gdnchg]

Yeah, I know what you're sayin. I'm going to Korea having established my career here first...and don't plan on taking anything less than 15k with me...so I won't have to beg for any advances or reimbursement of my plane ticket. The OP has a point.....

[dogshed]

I had actually made plans to come here in '97. I lucked out. The recruiter called a day after I accepted a job in the US. I told him no and the next day the Korean economy collapsed.

Financial things happen that we can't control. Even smart people make bad financial and career choices.

People who end up in dead in jobs or jobs they don't like are not necessarily losers.

The fact that I choose to come here instead of taking a job in another part of the US makes me a winner.

[Areut]

[goodgood]

Let me start by saying that I think it is ridiculous that a lot of people who have been here more than a year know no Korean, and little about the culture.

But.....

[goodgood]

Oh yeah, one more thing. How long did you study to be a teacher before you came here?
Schools here don't bring you over so you can go look at the three-story stone pagoda that you spent 6 months reading about. They want you here to teach. If there is anything you should do before coming here, it is learning how to do that, rather than learning how to say 'The desk is next to the chair', or whatever, in Korean.

[Areut]

[tob55]

Face it...the majority of people coming here did not train to become educators, they have little if any practical experience teaching in a classroom, but they are simply looking for something to do for a year or two before they actually launch off into the career they trained for...Korea makes it possible for them to come here and carry the title of "teacher" or "assistant teacher" during their stay here...Unlike some of us who have come here as educators with good jobs we left behind to come and see if we could help (not because we are losers in our own country, regardless of what the Koreans think)

Yes there are options for people to gain additioanl training and experience if some who come here decide teaching is the thing for them, but in the end, 95%+ come for a year or two generally and leave...The 5% of us who stay do so because we have decided that living in Korea offers just as much if not more opportunity for us than going back to our home country...

Personally, the idea of going back to the United States and applying for a teaching job when I will most likely be competing against 1000 other people for the same job (been there done that many times) is not my idea of fun...I have 23 years of public, private and university teaching as a professionally trained educator back in the good old USA, and this is the battle I faced during those years, but oddly enough here in Korea there are schools who call me frequently to come and work for them...(I have been in my public school position for the last three years and one year in hagwon prior to that) So, for people who are on the "you must be a loser thing" that isn't the case...

For people who think it must because I had a dead end job back in the States that isn't true either...My last year teaching at Univeristy in the States I earned more than $70,000 US dollars and could have re-signed if I wanted to, but I decided to come to Korea...Funny, I make a little more than a third of the salary I earned in America, but I actually have more money to save and spend here than I did there...

I could go on, but I think it is clear for many of us who have chosen to make Korea a home for the present and future, we have many good reasons to make that decision, and it really has nothing to do with the fact that we were unemployable or down on our luck before we came here...

[insam]

tob55, there are certainly people like you. I also know a former investment counselor who was making bank yet continues to live in Korea teaching kindy for whatever reason. I'm totally with you, yet in your statement you admitted that those people are not the norm. I'm tryin to help people, and frankly, learning a modicum of Korean and culture can reap huge benefits (from my experience), far more than people realize.

goodgood makes lots of good points; however, those that say I am on a 'high horse' are missing the message. I'm trying to help people in a pragmatic way. I always send a message in Korean when applying for a job. If you think that all that matters is teaching ability, you are freaking crazy. Imagine a Spanish teacher in the US or Canada who knows English vs. a teacher who only knows Spanish. Granted, it's somewhat of a different situation, but it's still a no brainer. The business manager who hired me at the international school where I first worked specifically told me that the Korean email I sent him was the deciding factor in hiring me. Sure, they want to know you're qualified, but that's the minimum. Koreans are just like other people; if you take interest in their history/language/culture, it will benefit you.

I'm willing to get off the pre-study stuff just as long as people make an effort to learn once they get to Korea (like goodgood et al). I've known many great teachers who didn't know anything about the country before coming over, but it is always better if you know a modicum of language or are at least willing to give some effort.

By the way, I didn't just spend my time in the US studying about 'pagodas', but you would be surprised how far that goes.

I've recently been offered a contract from an institution for 70 hours per month where others have been offered 120 hours per month for the same pay. Is this a high horse? No, I'm trying to help people. If you are Ivy league, then forget this because you are already making $80 per hour in Korea, but if you are not Ivy league, then learn Korean! You'll love it.

[tob55]

Thanks for clarifying your post for everyone...I understand where you are coming from and understand the importance of knowing cultural aspects of the country as well as the language...That is why I try hard to learn Korean for the benefit of my wife as well as myself...I personally feel it is unfair to her to expect that all of the learning should be on her part rather than a shared responsibility between the two of us...Thanks

[VanIslander]

a degree, a pulse, a hundred and fifty bucks and an open mind is all you need,... though a bit of luck can help

[goodgood]

Yeah, I appreciate the reply as well. Now I see your side more clearly.

[VanIslander]

I know only a few Koreans words after over four years here but I have learned TONS about the culture

from Korean adult students (even from younger ones, though less often and in less detail), Korean coworkers, Korean friends and countless Koreans who want to practice their English. I travel around Korea often on my 3-day weekly weekends (went up to Seoul and down to Geoje Island this weekend alone) and I always meet Koreans who approach me to talk. As an ex-journalist I ask plenty of questions and have read about Korean culture (good books: Korea Unmasked, Faces of Korea, Korea Bug, How Koreans Talk, Korea: A Walk through the Land of Miracles, What's So Good about Korea, Maarten? etcetera).

I have also learned some things about Korea and Koreans through Dave's, though that's been offset by the negative attitudes around here, which can start to get to one if one doesn't take a timeout from this place. Meeting other expats has helped but less than i thought it would in terms of understanding Korea/Koreans. There's value in the many independent blogs one can google to.

Learning the language is not necessary to function here happily, nor is needed to travel extensively nor to communicate with countless Koreans (who want to practice English).

[TOMODACHI-KID]

"tob 55,"

Wow! I can't believe you were an educator in Korea, or in the United States. You have grammatical errors up the "ying-yang!" For example, tons of run-on sentences, RTO!!!! Moreover, comma-splices, big time!!!!

At any rate, my time as an English teacher in Korea was an awesome experience--culturally speaking.

[oneofthesarahs]