Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bettypie]

Does anyone who is currently teaching have or know someone who has a disability? I am blind in one eye (I wear a prosthetic so it's hard to tell) and my recruiter told me today that she wonders if Immigration will revoke my visa after the health check. I thought they were worried about things like HIV and AIDS and drug use. Can they / will they deny my visa because of a physical disability?

[Senior]

Just cheat on the medical by memorizing the eye chart.

EDIT. On second thought. This is a stupid suggestion. It would still be possible to cheat. But obviously it will be difficult if you have no vision in that eye. I would just peek around the outside of the little eye cover thing.

If you go legit, you would probably be fine, but you might run into some douche bag immi guy. They can be fickle if they didn't get layed the night before. Or any other myriad of factors they use to jerk you around for their own amusement.

[MarionG]

Knowing that you are blind in one eye should not impact your ability to
teach in Korea. It will be noted on the health form, and probably the
only thing that will happen is your school will ask you how you lost the
vision in one eye..more out of curiosity than anything else.

If the school makes a stink, it just means they already have another
candidate they like better than you.

[Chambertin]

Disabled vet here,
I have seen no problems with the visa or the health check. I doubt being blind in one eye, or deaf in one ear will be anything but a liability if you want to drive, be a DJ, etc.

However considering one of the worst things you can say to someone here is "disabled" it's up for grabs. I'd worry more about the kids than the people in the goverment. Evil knows nothing better than the children here.

[gaelforce]

You'll be fine. I have exactly the same disability as you and have taught here for 4 1/2 years without any hassle from immigration regarding my partial-sightedness.

It isn't considered when awarding pass/fail criteria for the medical exam. The hospital will just check the sight in your good eye.

You may get some questions from your students if they spot the prosthetic/lens, but that'll be all.

Best of luck with the new job!

[bettypie]

gaelforce- It is great to hear that someone else has gone through this exact same thing. My recruiter has been less than supportive about the whole thing and I have honestly been kind of freaked out. Can I pick your brain a bit about your situation / experience? I unfortunately haven't posted enough to do PMs but if you are comfortable I can just post my questions here.

[Sophos]

My husband is deaf in one ear and has been all his life and we are planning on applying to EPIK for the August intake. Do you think he should declare it on his form or will EPIK be prejudiced against accepting him?

I also have had some high blood pressure readings recently and may be put on beta blockers - should I declare this? I feel fine and really don't want to miss out on the opportunity to go to Korea but am just a bit worried how these things will affect us.

[ttompatz]