Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ytuque]

I am stuck in a rut since I work at a uni and do not have a Phd. I have a MS from a very good school in the US with many years of work experience, but without a Phd, my prospects are very limited.

I would like to start a Phd program, and my first choice would be to get one from a Korean uni since I am planning on being in Korea for a number of years. I don't feel that a Korean uni would view a distance Phd favorably, but I could be wrong since this is only my impression.

Any advice on this matter would be appreciated.

[bluelake]

Yup, I'm doing my Ph.D. in Korean studies while teaching at a university. It makes for a rather busy life (teach in the mornings, grad classes in the afternoons, and Korean language class at night), but I'm enjoying it. Also, my wife and I are studying together, so it's kind of fun being CCs after being married for 25 years

[ytuque]

Are your classes in Korean or English? Do you expect to use your Phd to get a tenure track teaching position here in Korea?

[PRagic]

If you plan on working in academia in Korea, your best bet would be to get your Ph.D. from the best school you cant get into in your dicipline in N. America.

Ph.D.s from Korean universities are not viewed as competitive by Korean universities, particularly when hiring foreign professors. If you look at the ads or websites for departments hiring foreign profs, you'll see that most state that the Ph.D. must come from a non-Korean accredited university, and it is commonly known that Korean schools are gonzo about big names; the bigger the name of the school, the better.

One exception may be Korean studies (add to this Korean history and Korean literature), but even in this case, several western university programs are considered better than the best programs available here, even if you can handle that level of work in Korean. And even if you do graduate, you'll have a tough time getting hired in Korea by a decent program.

So what do you do? Get into a good doctoral program in N. America and pack your bags. Try to get funding for at least your course work phase. You can probably knock out the courses, diagnostic, and preliminary exams in 2 - 3 years and then, if you can get your proposal defense done in a timely manner, you can work here while you write your dissertation. I wrote my dissertation while working a university job in Seoul full time. It's doable, but it wears you out as another poster commented.

One piece of advice if you do go ahead with this plan; don't expect to be offered a great position as soon as you finish your Ph.D. The fact of the matter is that Korean universities do not favour recent grads, and most of the best schools require at least 2 SSCI ranked publications before they'll even consider your application. To speed up the process, I published one paper while I was waiting for my dissertation data to come in, and then I immediately started cutting up and publishing my dissertation as soon as I finished. It was a pain at that stage because completing and defending the dissertation really takes it out of you, but looking back, it was the best thing I possibly could have done.

And don't make the mistake of thinking that just because you're a foreigner with a Ph.D. that any university in Korea will be screaming to get you; not the way it works now. In fact, there are often 20-50 qualified Ph.D. applicants from outside of Korea for positions at bigger name schools/departments here. Not saying you won't get work here, just that you have to approach the process realistically.

[bluelake]

[tenchu77491]

I was an east asian studies major in the states (BA). I was centered in Japanese studies (5 years of intensive language in Japanese). I am not learning Korean. Do you have any advice for me? I would love to get a masters in either Korean studies, Japanese or EAS. I am sure my BA can be swayed into either direction for a master program. Do you know any universities that may be of help to me? Or any programs out there?

Would be great if someone could PM me

PS,

I am most interested in literature, history, politics and language... so I have quite the broad range for masters programs. Right now, politics and language are at the top.

[bluelake]

tenchu77491,

I sent you a PM.