Korean Job Discussion Forums

schwa · Joined: 18 Jan 2003 Location: Yap

Seollal was a time of reflection & decision for me. 5 years in this small town, 3 years at this job -- enough already. Job winds down this august & time to reduce to one suitcase again. Line up a nice uni job for next next spring or go open-ended, unsure yet. Genuinely fond of this country & its advantages but wearying (of friends leaving, of Korean food, of same old same old). Challenge, which brought me here, beckons again. Dreaming in technicolor again.

Today I put in my 2 hours, had an extended lunch with a good friend, & the boss calls to invite me to a yut nori tournament back at the office. 40 salarymen & some cute female staffers tossing the sticks, one-shot soju for a good throw (or a bad one!), anju & laughter. I dont really understand the game but evidently did well, our team won & I earned a double gift set of expensive stuff. Its a funny job.

I do work hard, sometimes. The boss is gonna squawk when I give notice & I'd like to think I've made a positive difference. But as a dear Korean friend put it last night, my life has become 'too' easy. I'm home to Canada for a visit next month but I've purposely limited that to 10 days, thats enough. I'm stuck on Asia.

Adrift, single, 50, free, solvent, open -- suggestions?

tokki · Joined: 26 Jul 2003

50 huh? ouch.... thats gotta hurt.

rapier · Joined: 16 Feb 2003

I'm 30, free, single and solvent. i'm expecting it to start hurting in the next 2 years...

schwa · Joined: 18 Jan 2003 Location: Yap

kiwiboy_nz_99 · Joined: 05 Jul 2003 Location: ...Enlightenment...

osangrl · Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Location: osan

Sokcho,...... well at least your in a nice place. I visited there in the fall and fell in love. don't u just love it? And Naksan near by........ahhh .

CanEducator · Joined: 27 Apr 2003

Here's a suggestion, Schwa- If you're solvent, you might like to try China. They seem to have a variety of interesting jobs there, although the salaries aren't a lot. I also see postings for China where you can get 6-month contracts. (I haven't taught there, I just scan the postings.)

So if you got a 6-month contract at a Chinese university for September 2004-February 2005, then you would have some university teaching experience and you could start at a Korean university in March 2005.

Alternately, find another Asian venue that offers 6-month contracts. (If you're wanting to start at a Korean uni. in March 2005.)

HardyandTiny · Joined: 03 Jun 2003

HardyandTiny · Joined: 03 Jun 2003

schwa · Joined: 18 Jan 2003 Location: Yap

Vietnam & Cambodia have developing markets for english teachers & the pay relative to the cost of living is pretty good. Aside from a few teachers ensconced in Thai universities, the teaching scene there sounds overrun with backpackers & sorely underpaid. Hard to get much info on Malaysia but might be interesting. Indonesia sounds a bit frenetic, Laos & Myanmar are very poor. I'm not averse to volunteering somewhere small & out of the way in exchange for a roof & food & other compensating charms.

I'm thinking I'll just set out, take my time, & see what happens.