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backhand
Joined: 17 Jul 2009
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 Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 8:30 am Post subject: |
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| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
| ThingsComeAround wrote: |
I'd.
That being said, a foreigner that 'knows' Korean will be expected to follow the 'Korean way', which means taking a dump truck load of extra work and smiling while receiving no extra compensation 
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Where do you live? I've not experienced this nor does any other foreigner who knows Korean that I know of. |
surprise |
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Neil
Joined: 02 Jan 2004
Location: Tokyo
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| Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 9:37 am Post subject: |
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ESL has one thing in common with jobs back home. Networking is where the best jobs are....not newspaper ads, websites or recruiters.
If you don't speak the local lingo you can network with 2/3% of the local population, if you do you can network with 100%. |
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DAC
Joined: 14 Aug 2009
Location: South Korea
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| Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 6:58 pm Post subject: |
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| romano812 wrote: |
| The problem with knowing Korean is that bosses will often try to dump extra work on you with no extra pay. |
It pays to know how to say no in any culture. And the more "pocket change" you have built up with the boss (like being able to speak Korean and choosing not to fight about everything you don't like) helps in saying no and retaining a good relationship. |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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| Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 8:37 pm Post subject: Re: Does Knowing Korean Help You Get Better Jobs? |
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| rooster_2006 wrote: |
[
That said, I think it makes my job harder. If I even speak Korean just to explain directions to confused four-year-olds, I get flak from the parents. Parents want you to speak English all the time, even when you have 20 kindergarteners and no co-teacher, and even when an activity is hopelessly complicated to explain in English.
If the parents give you flak, tell them "right then, YOU teach your kid English."
Can you seriously keep quiet and not let on that you know Korean, even when kids are calling you a butthole right to your face?
Nothing wrong with letting the kids know you speak Korean...they aren't going to be calling you names in that case.
And the trouble is, once you've let the kids know you speak Korean, they'll stop speaking English almost entirely, and then you'll be blamed for it.
Nope. Stop speaking English, and it's push-up time or (for younger kids) corner time.
So I'd say it makes getting a job slightly easier because it gives you credibility and allows the boss to relate to you, but it makes your job harder because you WILL inevitably have to use Korean at some point, and when you do, you'll be flagged as a problem.
At my last job (where I worked for three years) I taught two kindergarten classes. I used Korean quite a bit. Never got any flak from parents or trouble from the students. And if I were flagged as a problem, I doubt I would have lasted three years (and been asked to sign on for a fourth.) It's all about the person and not whether or not they speak Korean.
Of course, if I were still in Korea, I would have left teaching by now. I was offered a position as an interpreter. I don't like teaching kids. I hate having to yell over them, and watching them fail repeatedly to put together the simplest of sentences and feeling like I've done nothing to advance their English.
Sounds like there were failings on both sides..by your own admission.
If teaching is your career goal, power to you. I don't like teaching kids. I'd rather use my Korean to spend more hours in the office for 2/3 the pay as an interpreter, where people look up to me for my language skills rather than down on me as a stupid foreign dancing monkey. |
Speaking Korean goes a long way to get out of the "stupid foreign dancing monkey" box. Doing a professional job does the rest. |
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Beeston27
Joined: 03 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 12:21 am Post subject: |
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| Where are the places to look if you were to try and get non teaching jobs using your Korean?? |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 3:19 pm Post subject: |
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| Beeston27 wrote: |
| Where are the places to look if you were to try and get non teaching jobs using your Korean?? |
That questions means you really need to do your homework and find out which job you want and what you have that makes you a candidate for that job...No offense intended but there is no magic job garden out there where you can pick jobs off the tree
Basically you can look into companies (Korean and Foreign) operating in Korea. Educational offices, government positions for your own country if it has representation in Korea...
BUT
You need to skills and experience that ALONG with your korean skills make you a QUALIFIED candidate for these positions...hence the comments I made about improving yourself here and upgrading your credentials... |
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ThingsComeAround
Joined: 07 Nov 2008
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| Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 4:38 pm Post subject: |
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| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
Where do you live? I've not experienced this nor does any other foreigner who knows Korean that I know of. |
Glad to know that your experience applies to every other foreigner that enters Korea  |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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| Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 6:08 pm Post subject: |
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| ThingsComeAround wrote: |
| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
Where do you live? I've not experienced this nor does any other foreigner who knows Korean that I know of. |
Glad to know that your experience applies to every other foreigner that enters Korea |
I never said anything like that. Read much? |
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ThingsComeAround
Joined: 07 Nov 2008
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| Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 6:40 pm Post subject: |
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| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
| ThingsComeAround wrote: |
| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
Where do you live? I've not experienced this nor does any other foreigner who knows Korean that I know of. |
Glad to know that your experience applies to every other foreigner that enters Korea |
I never said anything like that. Read much? |
My opinion agreed with another poster.
You choose words which give a nasty tone of 'I'm right, other opinions are wrong'.
Maybe you should read more and express yourself a bit better.  |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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| Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 9:28 pm Post subject: |
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| ThingsComeAround wrote: |
| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
| ThingsComeAround wrote: |
| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
Where do you live? I've not experienced this nor does any other foreigner who knows Korean that I know of. |
Glad to know that your experience applies to every other foreigner that enters Korea |
I never said anything like that. Read much? |
My opinion agreed with another poster.
You choose words which give a nasty tone of 'I'm right, other opinions are wrong'.
Maybe you should read more and express yourself a bit better. |
Maybe you shouldn't read into other people's posts what isn't there. Because then that gives them the same right to do that to you.
I simply gave my personal experience as did the poster to whom I was replying.
Don't like it, then don't read it. Problem solved. See what a nice helpful person I am? |
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dhl262
Joined: 30 May 2009
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| Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 6:30 pm Post subject: |
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| not really...it doesn't really help. But it sure makes communicating a lot easier. |
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kloofy
Joined: 17 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 7:33 pm Post subject: |
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Yep, Id have to agree with the translator guy... it makes things very much worse if you're at a school or hagwon, so dont let them know you know korean, and of course it'll make life very interesting since sometimes they'll talk about you in your face, not realising...
Once I responded to my boss and his wife while they had a conversation, and they were shocked, his wife turned red and left the room... he just smiled and then I saw it in his eyes. luckily for me they are very nice ppl... so it has made our situation better. but never use it in the classroom, parents will know immediately... and pull their students.
For ventures into other careers it's a definite yes. It's amazing what networking can do for you, esp if you teach adults... |
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rooster_2006
Joined: 14 Oct 2007
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| Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 5:33 am Post subject: |
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Kloofy, thanks for the agreement.
By the way, to respond to the other posters:
Knowing Korean DOES NOT mean you'll be treated like a Korean employee and be given a bunch of extra work. That's crap. It will result in hell from the parents, the boss, etc. if you speak it in class, but your workload should not increase just because you speak Korean.
The extra work comes with the impossible-to-fire "regular" status (jeonggyujik) and the probational contract period that leads up to it, NOT with a one-year dead-end teaching contract.
Why are the Korean teachers working 50 hours a week? It's not because they speak Korean. It's because they are regular employees, not on one-year contracts. Not to mention that their job descriptions are different.
Keep in mind, although paid less than us initially, jeonggyujik Korean teachers have things we don't -- they're almost impossible to fire, they can advance to positions far beyond our reach (like gyojangnim or wonjangnim), they're unionized, they get all sorts of pension benefits if they work there a while, etc. THAT status is why they have to work longer hours. It has nothing to do with language. |
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ghostrider
Joined: 27 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2014 5:06 pm Post subject: |
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| Neil wrote: |
If you don't speak the local lingo you can network with 2/3% of the local population, if you do you can network with 100%. |
That makes sense, but being able to speak Korean would probably be of secondary importance once you get hired. There are already millions of bilingual Koreans. |
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happiness
Joined: 04 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2014 5:32 pm Post subject: |
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| rooster_2006 wrote: |
Kloofy, thanks for the agreement.
By the way, to respond to the other posters:
Knowing Korean DOES NOT mean you'll be treated like a Korean employee and be given a bunch of extra work. That's crap. It will result in hell from the parents, the boss, etc. if you speak it in class, but your workload should not increase just because you speak Korean.e. |
THis is correct.
and yes, I speak rather decently, just studied on my own (and I speak rather decent Japanese, so thats an advantage), Ive gotten some cool comfy jobs because of speaking Korean. I think they feel there will be minimal fuss. Im doing an extra job right now translating a script into English for a business test for some Engineers. Im also working in some art work with some people "with some traction" because I can understand what they want.
You can also date a different class of person if so inclined.
Alot of benefits. |
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