Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jamieg]

I know this sort of post is probably really common, but after searching the site for old posts, I still have some questions.

I am going to be quite frank and say that I am wanting to do this as a sort of working holiday. I have no intention of taking up EFL full time for the next 10 years or whatever, but am rather after a chance to experience a different country and culture and be able to support that by making money out there for the relative short term.


I just need some advice on what people recommend. I would be looking at the big cities (Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai) although am open to other large cities that have a more authentic culture, but still have a good music scene (I love house / electro etc) and offer a good city/metropolis experience. I have lived in villages before and while they are great, I want to experience a bustling, sprawling city now.

I would rather not be working non stop as I hear Korea can have you working from sunrise till sunset where China is more lax, but at the same time, I don't want to be losing money out there and having to rely on savings from home.

On top of that, I really appreciate a spontaneous way of living. As in, in a perfect way of life, I would turn up to the foreign country and have a look around and talk to some people before signing up for any specific job. Korea seems really uptight and professional, whereas it seems in China that it is a bit more laid back with an anything-goes attitude? Is this right? And I know that in Korea I HAVE to sign up for a 1 year contract and HAVE to have everything sorted before I leave the UK. Is it the same with China?

I'm babbling now, so will end it by listing some of my concerns
- I don't have a full year available for this - I would have to do a midnight runner from Korea.
- I would like to save some money ideally, but at the very least am doing this on the basis that I will not need to use money 'saved' in the UK.
- I am not looking for the fullest of full time roles. Early morning working till night non stop is not ideal and I would rather crimp on money earnt than do that, or at least have the option of taking shorter or longer hours.


So please, what would advise?

[Ralphie]

If you go to China, aim for cities with large Korean population, like Qingdao, Tianjin, Dalian. Work for Koreans in Korean private schools in China. Your salary will be comparable to salaries in S.Korea, but with lower cost of living and better purchasing power in China.

[pangaea]

If you don't have a full year available, look for a shorter contract (not sure they exist in Korea) or go to China if shorter contracts are available there. Signing a year long contract knowing that you aren't going to complete it is dishonest and unethical. Pulling a midnight run in the middle of your contract puts the school in a bad position and leaves a bad impression of foreign English teachers in general. In cases in which the school breaks the contract, doesn't pay teachers, abuses them, or in any number of ways makes life intolerable, I would say they reap what they sow. However, there are plenty of decent schools out there that uphold the contract and deserve the same.

[VanIslander]

[jamieg]

I think have I got an option that would cater for the best of both worlds.

I am going to look at doing a summer camp in Korea to earn a bit of cash straight away, then fly over to do 6 months in China which is much easier to do. The summer camps finish just before the start of the first semester in China so it works out well and I wouldn't have really felt right going into a job knowing full well I was going to do a midnight runner.

Then after my obligations in the UK I would return to Korea for a year if I wanted to.

So, does anyone know any good recruiters for summer camps in Korea or have any experience of them? I have heard that you are just a dancing monkey, but to be honest, if it pays then I don't mind. It will give me some experience working with kids which I don't have.