Korean Job Discussion Forums

[saram_]

It certainly is a little bit more difficult to find jobs in Seoul yes if you're Irish..but that can be overcome if you have good experience, good qualifications and more importantly are very understandable. It seems like Irish people have to kind of give up their accent a little and at the very least soften it.. possibly even perhaps AmericaniZe it too to some degree!!

Few places will hire an Irish teacher for the sole purpose of a strong Irish accent about the place- Thats a certainty!

BTW..lots of posters here on about the Irish drinking loads.. You'd actually think that they drank more than people from other countries.. Its a complete exaggeration. Most people I see very drunk in Seoul are not at all Irish.
Just another one these stereotypes that should be overcome!!

Of course many Irish like to drink but then the exact same can be said for many teachers/US Army etc..
No way can anyone say its mainly Irish people you see drunk around Seoul which appears to be the gist of some of the posts in reply here!!

[livinginkorea]

Two Irish people where I teach. Haven't met many here, but there is a big Paddy's Day parade every year which is full of North Americans!

[7drunkennights]

And by the way my name is in reference to the dubiners song, seven drunken nights, not any kind of lifestyle I lead, sorry if that ruins your day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jujqyVez2jw

Once you speak slowly and clearly you will have no problems at an interview. If the school only wants an american accent you wont get to the interview stage.

[mulligc3]

Irish people here.
Are we the only ones who don't get our pension back?
I think so. It's quite a lot of money isn't it?
Like 90,000 a month we pay, the school pays that too so in total about 180,000 a month is total contribution. Of course, this is related to your salary.
This is counted toward our Irish pension so they say, some agreement in place.

So it works out that we pay just over a million for the year.
Not happy!!!

[Carla]

[Bucky]

My roomie at orientation was Irish, and worked in many countries as an English teacher with no problems.

[Mr. Pink]

[Carla]

[iammac2002]

Oh my, aren't we being racist?

[NightSky]

worked with an Irish guy recently, nice fella, but I didn't understand what he was saying half the time, so I can't imagine how his students did.

[livinginkorea]

Same as every other country, certain accents in certain locations are harder to understand. A lot of Koreans have this problem too in their own country. .

A lot of people forget that when we speak to students we speak a little slower, with less collocations and such depending on their level compared to native speakers.

[Ro2]

I'm from Dublin, in Seoul looking for work at the moment. I found it a bit difficult to get replies from recruiters when I was applying from other countries (I was travelling elsewhere in Asia) but now that I'm in Korea, with a Korean mobile number, I'm making progress. I have been told that the accent makes Koreans a bit hesitant, but I'm getting plenty of phone calls here now about work.

But as any Irish person knows, there is no one Irish accent - my own accent (what might be considered a "D4" accent) is, I am told, much easier to understand than a lot of other other accents you hear in Ireland. Still, while on the phone i've been careful to avoid using any contractions, spoke a bit slower than usual etc. Seems to be helping.

So far, I haven't met any other Irish people, having been around Busan and Seoul over the last couple of weeks. I know of one other irish guy who is in Seoul, and one in Daegu, that's it. To be honest I've met hardly any non-North-Americans, one scottish guy in Seoul, a few english, that's all. Met LOADS of americans and canadians.

[litebear]

[Ro2]

[litebear]