Korean Job Discussion Forums

[PeterDragon]

dsaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[Aelric]

Well, this is mere speculation, but I doubt it's "full". More likely that there are simply not as many prime spots this year as usual, and as such, people are refusing their placement. I know Busan just became a tough nut to crack largely due to a glut of renewals (including my own). I think that if your willing to work in the boonies, you can still get an EPIK contract. I'd just go with SMOE if indeed they are still advertising.

Again, I don't know any of this for sure.

[PeterDragon]

dasdasdasdasdasdasdasdasdas

[Otherside]

EPIK is most definitly not full. It's "full".

There will be some less ideal positions still available.

And, more importantly...I'm sure some of the 1000-odd teachers due to arrive in September are going to get cold feet and back out.


My take is, there have been a huge glut of applicants this year, for which they were unprepared. Within the next few weeks, they'll finally get on top of the situation and the job board will be flooded with EPIK ads dated August 10-15, looking for teachers for a September start.

[PeterDragon]

That sounds consistent with what I know about the K-job market--- I guess a few weeks' time will tell.

Having said that, the influx of exonomic refugees from the West makes me nervous. I've got three years experience and good references and am about to get an F-series visa, so I've probably got little to worry about personally when it comes to getting an EPIK job.

But man, I miss the days when they needed us much more than they do now....

[Aelric]

You may want to re-think that boonies plan. Unless you prefer solitude, can handle what will likely be a hostile local population (not violent, but hugely judgmental and unfriendly) or already have experience with the culture and/or language, you really don't want a rural placement. It's not like Peace Corp. where they are happy to see you because you are helping them, more like they have you because the new laws say they have to to get continued funding and otherwise you are not welcome. Not always the case, but common enough to hear a constant barrage of complaints here and I've seen farmers pissed at my existence and been spit on. Try to get into one of the bigger cities or at least a large town, or perhaps wait a few more months and get signed on the next semester.

[PeterDragon]

Well, I'm not available til March anyway, so I have pleny of time to apply early and get something "nicer" than the boonies.

I've worked the boonies, and I've worked in a bigger city with a large expat community.

Believe it or not, I prefer the boonies. The foreigners willing to work there are people I feel I have more rapport with than the expats I've met in places like Seoul or Daejeon. Being a rural American myself, I find I actually get along better with the locals. They have a thicker shell, but the only close Korean friends I have are rural ones--- I just don't have enough in common with someone born and raised in an Asian metropolis to make a real connection; it's an amplified version of the disconnect I feel whenever I'm in the urban U.S.

This isn't to pass judgement on the city or the people who live there--- but there is a small subset of people who prefer the small class sizes and easy pace of rural life--- and I'm definitely one of them. My dream placement would be Gangwondo, Jeollanam Do, or Jeju. The only good size city I've really got my eye on is Yeosu, and even that isn't that big.

[t1m1ty]

From what my recruiter told me, EPIK is no longer hiring. I sent in my application, passed my interview, and sent in my documents only to be told that I will not be receiving a contract. Now I am supposedly being placed in SMOE. All this confusion is starting to make me reconsider public schools...

[PeterDragon]

If a recruiter no longer personally has access to EPIK, they'll probably tell you that all EPIK positions are closed, even if it's not true. He wants to hang onto you and your recruitment bonus, so he'll tell you whatever he needs to in order to keep you exclusively interested in his agency. Recruiters were saying that SMOE and GEPIK was full several weeks ago, now applicants have backed out or schools have decided they want someone else, and SMOE and GEPIK are advertising like crazy again.

It is really weird to see so few EPIK ads this time of year though---- Maybe Otherside is right, that more EPIK positions will pop up again in mid-late August. Or maybe the world financial crisis is causing unprecedented things to happen.

[Julius]

[nyla54]

In the middle of June, my friend and I were scrambling to apply to public school positions. I was told by one recruiter that GEPIK and EPIK were essentially closed, and they were even bothering to accept any more applications. I contacted two other recruiters to make sure I was getting a consistent answer, and they both relayed the same response.

That being said, I am in the application process for SMOE. From what I hear, SMOE is not full; however, given the huge influx of applicants with more credentials, the program is strictly taking only Level H candidates.

[Oreovictim]

I sent an e-mail to Korvia yesterday, seeing if it's too late to get a late August/early September gig. Instead of answering my question, they just said, "Please send us your resume and photo. Do you have all of your documents?" That was about it.

Here's what I'm confused about. I don't mind EPIK or SMOE, as long as it's in a decent area. It just looks like at this point, all the good spots are taken, right? The main problem I have is going over there, not knowing where I'll be placed. If I go with EPIK, I might say that I'd like Pyeongchon, and I'll end up in hickstown Paju. Or If I go with SMOE, I might want Sadang area but end up in Nowon. Are there any sites that actually list what's left that I can choose from? I don't like the idea or traveling halfway around the world without knowing where I'll be placed.

[kokujin]

[nyla54]

[afsjesse]

This topic seems to creep in every 6 months or so when EPIK is hiring.... especially more so now with this recession. But at the end of the day this is still EPIK and there will be some blokes who don't even come or who will just leave because they don't like there job situation.

I think there will be limited positions in the next two months that will open up. You just have to be in the know with how to get them.