Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Jizzo T. Clown]

So today my boss came and told me they needed a work history document. I had no idea what he meant so I told him that I've already given them a resume and two letters of reference, which is all we use to prove work history in the states. After what seemed like forever he got my point, but then he had to explain it to the finance office. They said that Gyeonggi is requiring this of all of its FTs now.

Anyway, the reason this came up is because apparently some Canadian guy was accused of being a pervert or something (haven't heard anything about this, mind you ). He said GPOE is requiring all schools to submit proof of employment history, a photocopy of a State-issued ID (drivers license in my case) and a social security number.

And to add injury to insult...

He received a document (about 500 pages from the looks of it) with new regulations for FTs, one being that if you work in a public school in Gyeonggi-do, you must teach 22 hours per week. So apparently next semester my teaching load will increase from 18 to 22 hours.

Is all of this true or is my school just slow to respond to the directives they get from their superiors?

[wylies99]

Why wouldn't a resume count as a "work history"?

[jaderedux2]

A resume is a work history and I have provided them with telephone numbers of references.

State ID I have driver's license and thankfully the state I last drove gives you the option of having your ssn number listed or not. Mine isn't.

Social Security number why? I don't need it to pay Korean Taxes and I file my return every year with the IRS. Since Koreans are notorious about losing everything you give them and there is ASOLUTELY no privacy my ssn is going to remain my knowledge. Identity theft is a big problem in the world and I can see them just gathering this kind of information and leaving it lying around or storing it in boxes.

The pedophile that was just apprehended had a great work history. Criminal background check would have yielded nothing. Even the people he worked with in Korea said he was a nice guy.

I can't understand why in a wired country they don't understand that privacy of information is extremely important. I would be less hesitant about giving them information except they don't protect it nor do they respect my privacy. They have more than once asked me for my degree, resume etc. Cuz oh gosh we can't find them.

When I got my medical done it took all of about 20 minutes for everyone to know how much I weighed and that I had white coat syndrome and I had to go back a few times so they could take my blood pressure. And these were medical records.

I don't know. I know they are trying but they are making decisions based on emotion, after the problems present themselves and without thinking about the ramifications of the information they are asking for or what they are going to do with that information once they get it or how to safeguard sensitive information like SSN numbers.

Sadly sex offenders are not always easy to spot and frequently don't have a record. A standard criminal background check would be good just in general. I don't like the idea but it isn't a bad idea. But it wouldn't have caught this guy. He had a clean record and good resume.

This is the proverbial shutting the barn door after the horse gets out.

Actually I just think that what this will do is dry up this kind of English education. There will be lots of people I suppose willing to jump through all the hoops but I think they will find that a lot will just leave and Korea will get such a bad reputation that finding good teachers will get harder and harder. Salaries are rising in China and they already have pretty strict regulations these days in place. Vietnam and other 3rd world countries are also starting to see the value of English Education and the salaries are becoming if not more competitive certainly they are headed in that direction.

Those who stay will either make a lot more money or they (the Koreans) will just cease the programs like GEPIK, EPIK and SMOE. That would not surprise me in the least to see some of these programs fall by the wayside.

I am simply weary of being suspect and I am female and married to a Korean. I have true empathy for the men. I don't think they are going to have an easy time of this.

Jade the weary

[icnelly]

I had to suppy two proof of work letters along with my resume and letters of recommendation when I got hired, so maybe it's just being more evenly implemented.

Why MUST we work 22 hours? Anyone else heard of this yet?

[Jizzo T. Clown]

Yeah but reference letters serve that purpose already if they're from previous employers / coworkers. I'd never heard of "proof of work letters" before coming to Korea.

My boss is very worried that when the people from Gyeonggi come to our school they're gonna put his head on the chopping block since I've "only" been teaching 18 hours.

[Demophobe]

I just don't care anymore. I was talking with my wife last night and it seems that so long as foreigners keep doing weird stuff and Koreans keep painting us all with the same brush, there will never be any real peace here.

We are all AIDS spreading, drug-doing perverts. That attitude is an reality, save a handful of Koreans who have some reasoning skills and is an attitude reinforced by the freaks that are walking into the spotlight. There is no quiet future in Korea for foreigners, not even for people like me who have been here a long time, have families, community involvement; everything that Koreans have.

I am resigning to apathy. There is nothing I can do to change people, Korean or Western. I will quietly do what I must here, but as I told my wife, if it begins to affect me directly (more than however being part of the Evil Group will), we will be on the next flight out of here. It really is starting to get too weird for me.

At this point, I am willing to submit to a range of inconveniences for the sake of normalcy. Degree verification, criminal history, references, graduate degrees only, no airfares...whatever. Anything that will help sort out the wackos here and restore a sense of peace and harmony. It was like that for me for many years; from the late '90s through the early part of the new millennium things were quite peaceful and comfortable. An occasional flare-up, but as far removed from life as the town I was in.

Lately, drug busts, 2 pedos set foot in Korea, an AIDS spreading lunatic and now a popular, high-ranking gov't officials' wife having a sordid affair with a foreigner; these events are coming too hard and fast for Koreans to digest comfortably and we are seriously being put in a box as a result.

There is enough blame for everyone, but some of us are absolutely innocent of any crime yet being thrown on the pile anyways. More than innocent: many are really advancing Korean society. Yes, call me what you will, but I am doing good here and am taking nothing except for my paycheck. There is no carnage in my 12 year wake; no stories, talk, mistrust or questionable actions. Perhaps this is why I am finally becoming weary of all of this; there is no end in sight and my actions are of no consequence in the big picture.

I have a great number of friends who are the same; good people doing honest work and contributing to this country, but it is all adding up to naught. When the sharks smell blood, they go into a frenzy. If one looks hard enough at a random sampling, some anomalies will be found. The Korean press, immigration, boards of Education and now the general population are scrutinizing all of us with new vigor and ever-increasing disgust; it feels suffocating to say the least.

Rant on, huh? Yes, I am bored. I really don't feel like going outside today. Why is the news all so bad? How is it so? There are so many good people here and if we are so interesting, why aren't our positives being discussed? The way it is? Yes, that is the way it is. Korea seems to be best left for Koreans.

[CentralCali]

My resume is my work history. My passport is my government issued identity document from my home country. As the Korean government has copies of both now, there is no reason to bother me for the same information.

[Jizzo T. Clown]

I think what's going to happen is that FTs are gonna have to start bringing a dozen or so copies of every personal document they can get their hands on before coming to Korea. I told my boss that if I re-sign then I'll be sure to bring 12 copies of everything so I'll have something when it gets lost by either the finance office, the provincial office, the recruiter, or immigration.

Ask your schools about the new 22 hour minimum next week and see what happens.

[icnelly]

[icicle]

[quote="icnelly"]

[wylies99]

[The_Conservative]

[ttompatz]

[tiger fancini]

[tiger fancini]