Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jodyray]

Hello Korean board,

I am 25, male, American and currently reside in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. I currently hold a BA of Political Science from an American University and an MSc in International Political Economy from University of Amsterdam. My experience is mostly in academic research and my teaching experience is in the form of private sector education and training; I have no experience in teaching English.

I am quite interesting in pursuing a position at a University in or around Seoul. I have read several posts from others with similar concerns to mine, and understand that, as with most positions, it is highly advantageous to interview for these positions in person even though it is not impossible to land these positions while being outside of Korea.

So my questions:
1. Is it possible to teach subjects like Social Studies or Economics or History and not English-language to students in Korea while I attempt to find the University position I am after?

2. If so, do I go through a recruiter for this, or are they all engineered to match English language teachers with schools?

3. Can you recommend where I begin; possible recruiters OR school to which I may directly apply? Even better, might anyone already be similarly employed with a University with whom I can engage in correspondence about this?

Thank you kindly,
Jody

[bodybydada]

When you see people on dave's esl writing about acquiring university jobs, they are, 99% of the time, referring to jobs where they teach English as a foreign language.

I don't know what kind of university job you're after, but it appears that you would like to teach in a subject related to your field. those jobs are not very common, and thus usually require a PhD. you could get lucky i suppose. right place, right time kinda thing.

in the meantime, I would look forward to teaching EFL, because there's an abundance of that here, and not so much of the other stuff. Although, there are a few top tier high schools in Korea that might be interested in hiring someone like you to teach those subjects. (and in English, too.) There may even be more like-minded schools that I'm not aware of...

A recruiter won't help you. It would be best to just contact the schools directly, IMHO... (i don't remember their names)

[jodyray]

okay, thanks for the information. Do you know, other than the normal google search, where one might find such high schools?

[bodybydada]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/world/asia/27seoul.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[Bibbitybop]

bodybydada is correct. Why should a Korean uni hire a foreigner without a PhD to teach a subject that Koreans with PhDs, or without, can teach? And teach in Korean?

English is the one subject Koreans can't do on their own, that's why you foreigners in Korean unis.

Don't expect to get a uni job from overseas without a PhD. Come to Korea and work you way into a uni job.

SMOE (Seoul Metro Office of Edu.) does hire for foreign language high schools. Check out their ETIS website. Contact ONE of their recruiters listed on their website (don't apply through more than one recruiter). You may also want to contact the Gangnam (Kangnam) office of education, they are separate from SMOE.

[jodyray]

okay thanks for the info. but will going thru the SMOE be any better/worse than approaching a highschool or recruiter myself? What's the difference?

[Bibbitybop]

[cdninkorea]

I don't know how much help this will be, but I once met two Americans teaching Political Science and Business here, and they had PhDs.

[MA_TESOL]

go to a website called" Chronicles of Higher Education" Register and you will see tons of international positions in a variety of disciplines

[Unposter]

There are definately FTs in Korean universities who teach what are generally called "content" classes, where you study English through studying a subject matter. Most Korean universities are now offering more and more of their classes in the English language, whether they are taught by Koreans or Native Speakers. Generally, the purpose is to "internationlaize" the university to attract foreign students, and believe it or not Professors. It is also to give students a more international education and to provide educational opportunities for students who already lived and/or studied abroad.

It would be possible to be hired into one of these programs but generally they don't put FTs into these positions unless they know them (from teaching English) and the Korean staff has some confidence they can do the job. There are probably exceptions to this though.

Can you find one? Yes. Is it likely? No. Should you use a recruiter? No.

Your best bet would be to apply directly to the universities and see what happens. One thing to expect though is that if you communicate to them in English and they are not specifically recruiting, they may not understand, misunderstand or igonore your request. Often reading English and responding in English is just more work than many Korean Profs want to do when it does not directly relate to their research.

[pavement burns]

So my questions:
1. Is it possible to teach subjects like Social Studies or Economics or History and not English-language to students in Korea while I attempt to find the University position I am after?

I think it should be possible but ideally you might consider looking for international relations type positions as that is your specialisation. Your usefulness instructing courses in your discipline would be an advantage over others if there is any competition.

You might consider contacting some of these organisations and asking them similar questions:

Korean Red Cross: The Republic of Korea National Red Cross was recognized by the ICRC on May 25th, 1955 and admitted to the League of Red Cross Societies (to become the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in 1991) on September 29th, 1955.
http://www.redcross.or.kr/www/eng/faq.jsp

Korean UNESCO: From 1998, the Korea Unesco Youth Centre has changed into the Youth and Cultural Exchange Team and has focused on developing and disseminating a new concept of youth in Korean society through its extensive youth activities such as United Nations University Global Seminar, International Youth Camp, development of International Voluntary Services, Youth Information Service and club activity manual.
http://youth.unesco.or.kr/english/programmes.asp

KOICA: International Cooperation Training Center (ICTC)The ICTC is the major training facility of KOICA for promoting the development of international training programs and international cooperation programs as well as providing comfortable and modern accomodations for participants. The KOICA Community is open to all the participants of the Invitation of Trainees Program of the Korea International Cooperation Agency(KOICA). More than 20,000 people have taken part in this program since its foundation in 1991. https://ictc.koica.go.kr/

KOPION: KOPION is a non-profit organization registered with Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. With the vision of building a viable civil society worldwide, twice a year, KOPION is dispatching volunteers to overseas NGOs/NPOs carrying out community development projects in developing countries. http://www.kopion.or.kr/english/index.htm

2. If so, do I go through a recruiter for this, or are they all engineered to match English language teachers with schools?

You might get lucky with a recruiter but usually they need someone immediately and that someone is usually in the country.

3. Can you recommend where I begin; possible recruiters OR school to which I may directly apply? Even better, might anyone already be similarly employed with a University with whom I can engage in correspondence about this?

I suggest retracing your steps to your area of specialisation and joining and/or engaging the associations and educational forums related to it. This might cost a few hundred dollars here or there but assists you in continuing education and opening doors to possibilities globally.

There is also a patchwork of highly skilled and trained Korean academics nationwide who do provide a supportive environment for lecturers in specialised disciplines.

You may discover a long list of preferred employers not only in Korea but beyond in Asia or elsewhere and it would be useful to make similar enquiries to them. They will probably have more resources and opportunities to share with you.

Certainly most people arrive here at your age with relatively fewer credentials. So you might find it hard to progess with speed through open-sourced available placements online at places like Dave's. Put your research skills to work and possibly start with a year in a hagwon completed and locally available if you need a salary to support that search.

http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=R7qxqvjTbu0

It may take a couple of years to find what you're looking for but with a persistent and patient search anything can happen. Best of luck!

[yawarakaijin]

Who do you have to shoot to get a university job? I'm guessing just the current professor or does he have a co-teacher that would have to be taken out as well?

[ttompatz]

[yawarakaijin]

[ttompatz]

No-one left that I need shot.

I have left the university (as in instructor) world behind and now I am more than happy dancing with kids.

Best move I ever made.

.