Korean Job Discussion Forums

[afsjesse]

I don't usually pay attention to stickies that much, especially the ATEK one. But I just read through the 4 pages of this thing and must say that I am somewhat impressed with the level of organization brought on by the members of Dave's.

At first I thought this was a bad thing. Afterall I am an E-2 and take my job seriously. I am not a jack-off and do consider myself a descent teacher overall. But after reading the arguments for only allowing F-visa people in, I think I can understand and respect such a move.

It's commone sense that people who have lived here for awhile and for those who plan too should have an organization to turn too solely based on them. Having hundreds or thousands of E-2's would get the group bogged down in noobish questions and calamity like this site does.

On a personal note I don't usually agree with Chicken on a lot of issues, but I do support him on this one. The main reason being that he's not being political about this. If this were a political group then it'd be a different argument. But for the purpose of support and finding common ground with people like you I can understand. I wish you well Chicken and everyone else!

Good Luck

Jesse

[Scouse Mouse]

I thought I might post how the site is coming along for any fence-sitters out there

There is a public newsletter that anybody can sign-up for regardless of visa status. It will be a weekly bulletin containing links to various blogs and news sites, with articles that may be of interest to the F-Visa holder in Korea. The articles will also be of interest to E-Visa holders, particularly those with long-term ties to Korea. If you are good at keeping up with the local news, it may not be for you. If you like your news delivered, it could be worth your time signing up (you can opt out later if you wish).

For members:

* Forums and Private Messaging
* A collection of guidebooks (multilingual)
* Some relevent Korean Laws (translated into English)
* An fully functional events planner with a user created venue database

The site is still in its infancy with very few members, but the atmosphere is relaxing, and discussions taking place are positive. The first AFEK meeting will take place next month, and that is when the experience should really take off!

Sign-up for the newsletter or find out how to join: AFEK

[pagehamilton]

As long as ATEK doesn't propose to throw the F visa holders under the bus AGAIN to further their own agenda, as they did with the foolishly thought-out "Equal Checks For All Foreigners" campaign, then I, too, think we can "peacefully co-exist."

Foolishly thought-out or not, I can't believe Tony Hellmann would deliberately try to screw anyone over, least of all the "lifers" among us. Tony is here to help, he may just have been a bit absent minded. Anyway, did you call him to talk about it? Try to get him to represent you better in his campaign? Did you point out what he was doing wrong and state your case? Negotiating is better than outright opposing.My suspicion is that a large number of E2 visa holders will inevitably end up as F2 holders in the future, so why actively exclude them because of a beef with Tony Hellmann?

Everyone sticking together regardless of who they are is always the better option cause that way you have MORE LEVERAGE. The Hagwon industry is a big earner for the Korean economy, so If you can unify ALL foreign workers together then we are bound to be stronger. You can then persuade BOTH E2 and F2 holders alike to sign petitions / take action for causes YOU WANT passed as law. Whether you can vote or not, you're still a minority in korea. Having a greater weight in numbers might just force the government to take you a bit more seriously.

Just a thought

However, the sharing information for spouses bit is a good idea if you're not seeing enough of that as it stands. Just don't make it so "them" v.s. "us" cause i think it may work against you in the end.

And this is from someone who's not even into politics! : )

[Cerriowen]

I don't mean to be quarrelsome, and I'm sorry that people feel that they are being excluded and discriminated against.

However, I can completely see the point of having a group for F-visa people.

Even in just the last 2 weeks of being married, there are lots of questions that have come up relating to living here w/ an F2 visa, that weren't an issue with an E2 visa.

There's also some social concerns which are particular to F2 visa people which aren't relevant to people who aren't married to Koreans, no matter how long they've stayed in Korea.

Just a few examples...

*Classes that are available only for foreign wives of Korean men (govt sponsored)
*Using your spouces' insurance (car/life/health etc)
*Ways to bridge the gap w/ Korean in laws
*Legal status questions (what happens if you get in a particular kind of trouble w/ an F2 vs an E2)
*Which clinics have forced husbands from the room while their wives are giving birth.

From personal experience... being here 3 years... sometimes you want to be around people who have been here a long time, who aren't still amazed by every day life, so you can talk about something more than kimchi and elbow-happy ajumas. Also... it's hard to build lasting friendships with people who you know will likely be gone in less than 12 months.

There's already a website called ISKA for foreign wives of Korean men, but it seems to have become an advertising hub, rather than a place to network.

I don't think the point is to make this a secret "clique" organization to keep people out, but rather to have a social networking, Q&A place for people who are married to Koreans.

* BTW I'm also a member of ATEK, and I don't see any conflicts of interest joining both groups.

[Ruraljuror]

[Cerriowen]

asking for equal rights for all teachers (F2's, F4's, F5's AND Korean nationals) is hardly an attack.

Inconvenient, yes.

Pointless, since the govt would never agree to check F4's and Korean nationals.

But I hardly think the two groups are fundamentally opposed to one another.

[KimchiGarden]

So have all the other ATEK threads been deleted?

[Scouse Mouse]

This isn't an ATEK thread

[naturegirl321]