Korean Job Discussion Forums

[rooster_2006]

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/12/116_35389.html

If you read this article carefully, apparently 이명박 is negotiating something called the "WEST Program" with the US. The WEST Program is, on further research, an 18-month Working Holiday program by which Americans and Koreans can go to each others' countries and work for 18 months.

It sounds interesting. I speak good Korean but am not a gyopo and can't get the F-4, so this creates a chance for me to get a job doing something that isn't English teaching (honestly not my true calling, and not why I spent thousands of hours learning Korean). My Japanese friend uses her Working Holiday visa to work at a dentist's office, so it's definitely possible if cleared with the proper visa first to do things other than language teaching.

I'm sure some people will think of some bad points, too, though. What do you guys think of the "WEST Program?"

[Join Me]

Seems it has problems already...

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200812/200812010005.html


The biggest problem seems to the value of the Korean won at present.

[Bibbitybop]

First, where did it say anything about Americans coming to Korea?

Did I miss that? I only saw info about Koreans going abroad.


Second, let's analyze this: American jobs are being lost by the thousands. Who is going to hire a Korean immigrant at a small or medium-sized company? Heads would roll.

On the flip side, why would any American in their right mind want to come to Korea, if it was possible, and work for Korean slave labor company? Sure, free soju and blowjobs from noraebang girls, but a 56 hour work week and a boss from hell?

[Join Me]

[rooster_2006]

[rooster_2006]

I also want to remind people here (even though this is Dave's ESL Cafe) that this visa, while it would improve English teaching by allowing one to ditch their employer, has a much more important element to it -- it allows you to do work OUTSIDE of teaching English. Because let's admit it, some of us would like to experience Korea without being merely an English teaching monkey, and some of us have other skills that we can use to make money.

If I had this visa right now, I'd be singing Korean pop songs for 10,000 won an hour at the Hongdae KT booth, doing Friday shifts at an American restaurant in Itaewon, and working at a foreigner guesthouse and maybe be doing some web design. Maybe I'd still make the bulk of my money through English teaching, but there are so many other fascinating jobs that Koreans want to hire us to do if we speak good Korean -- if only we had the visas to do them. All of the things I mentioned are things that Koreans have wanted to hire me to do.

Korea is not just about the hagwon. Believe it or not, there are other sectors here that you can work in, as well. It's tunnel vision to only think of English teaching. Korea is not just a big hagwon.

[Join Me]

Unless you want to risk a big fine, imprisonment and deportation...yeh, the only real option for most people is teaching English. Personally, I enjoy my life here too much to risk any of the above three.

[Bibbitybop]

[rooster_2006]

[Mirabilis85]

Hmmm is that WEST program really reciprocal? I remember reading about it months ago when the U.S. unveiled it. I thought it was just to help Koreans improve their English skills.

[sojourner1]

Working holidays are geared at young adults which the article is talking about. Normally it's for people under 30 to go wait tables like they can in Australia for something like 4 periods of 3 month employment stints while Korea is taking a more liberal approach to it than common wealth and European countries do.

I like the idea of Korea helping its' graduates out with a finance program to help university graduates who suffer from low credit rating because of their inability to pay back tuition loans. Korea is acknowledging what's been a huge problem in America for 8 years now. They know that low credit rating makes graduates unemployable at a level they went to school for. This is a worldwide epidemic in developed counties as well as high unemployment of young adults and graduates. If employed, they're usually underemployed in a lower paying job just to survive that relates nothing to their studies, ambitions, and purpose in life.

Presidents can address these employment problems, but it's going to boil down to starting massive public works projects to employ them while upgrading infrastructure to jump start the economy. The private sector just isn't going to offer opportunities. In the US, they're already talking about doing this as well as increasing diplomats to work abroad. I hope the government employs and trains people to go in as management teams to fix banks and companies. I smell possible interesting good jobs in the future.

[pkang0202]

Just because you have a visa to work OTHER jobs besides English, doesn't mean you will get those jobs.

Look at ALL the people on F2/F4 visas teaching English. I'm sure a lot of them would love to change jobs, the problem is that Korean employers DON'T want to hire foreigners.

2 of the main reasons being:

1. Lack of Korean Fluency
2. Salary is too high (a Korean could be hired for less)


It seems the only jobs available to foreigners outside of teaching English is copy editor, writer, or test maker.

Most of the expats I know working in companies were hired in their home coutnry and sent over. Or, they went through their home country's HR department, bypassing Korean HR.

[rooster_2006]

[Xuanzang]

I wouldnt want to wait tables in a pork restaurant. Teaching English is probably the only professional job I would want here. I wouldnt want to work in a company if it was under Korean working conditions and contracts. E2 is just fine for me.

[pkang0202]