Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mkclimb]

Hi -

I'm a new teacher in the U.S., and planning on teaching overseas in several countries; South Korea being the first destination this fall.

One question I have been thinking about is about the standards of how teachers are dressed in Korea; I know that in the states there can be a wide leeway with the way people present themselves when they teach, and this can vary significantly from school to school. For Korea, are nice pants and a collared shirt ok? Or is it expected to be in suit-and-tie? Or is this something that depends on the individual school?

Input much appreciated.

Thanks,
mike.

[alljokingaside]

hey,


I can't speak for all schools (and especially not for the hagwons [academies]) but at my high school, jeans are just fine. Actually, I started off somewhere between the suit n tie thing with casual dress- way over dressed. The some of local teachers here wear sneakers, jeans, etc. (some do the tie n suit thing) I suppose it depends, but variation seems to be the word.

Or better put, when a friend of mine in a public middle school asked about dress, she said that as a foreigner, he could probably get away with anything (tho, again, the locals here do too)

[ttompatz]

In most public schools business casual would be considered just fine with shirt/tie or suit for special occasions.

In an academy there is wide variance ranging from jeans and T's to collared shirt with pants to shirt/tie.

Best bet is to ask when you are hired. It wouldn't hurt to have a suit for special occasions and an extra tie along with your golf shirts.

Shorts are a no-no.

.

[noraebang]

Other than being somewhat uncomfortable in the hot summer weather with dress shoes, socks, and dress pants, it won't be a problem conforming to work dress codes. All of the young female teachers at my hakwon wore mini skirts and sandals yet it was not okay for a man to wear sandals in the summer. I would switch into sandals after work was over, and a Korean man at the subway told me that people might think I'm a "strange guy" for wearing them. Actually, he was quite thorough in his explanation, saying how older gentlemen might think I'm some kind of social deviant based on my footwear.

If anything, it feels pretty nice to dress decently every day. The cost won't be a problem. You'll find work clothes for cheaper than casual stuff like jeans when you go to Dongdaemun.

[ChilgokBlackHole]

Wear a shirt with buttons, even if it's short sleeved. I wore a sportcoat in the winter, but I never wore a tie. I wear black pants, they're not slacks. I wouldn't wear blue jeans.

Unless you teach Kindergarten. Then all that is out the window.

[Steffie183]

I have worked at many different hagwons and it will really depend on where you work and how foreign you look.

1) Most schools don't care what foreigners wear. Korean men don't generally wear completely casual clothes to work. My fiancee (korean) wore a suit as a manager but has adopted a more casual date look since he switched jobs. He will wear jeans with a nice shirt and undershirt with clean nice converses. Foreign men tend to dress more casually but their bosses don't complain because there is a very low bar set for foreigners here.

2) The more foreign you look, the less they expect you to act Korean. I am the typical female teacher (blonde, blue eyes, freakishly pale) and I can barely get anyone to speak to me in Korean even if I speak it first. I can get away with wearing pretty much anything but tend to dress in a casually dressed up fashion (nice jeans (no holes), nice top, dressy shoes). There is an outlet store in Myeongdong for Andew and TBJ that has this type of fashion with being pretty cheap with good quality.

My fiancee wears sandals in the summer time and I have never heard of only sexually deviant men wearing sandals before. But hey, Korea is constantly changing and if my fiancee thinks something is fashionable, he will wear it regardless.

Also, if you do teach kindergarten (I have never seen a man do this, they usually only want women) dressing up would be really weird. Kids are messy and you have to kneel or squat down a lot when teaching them. They know and understand this.

Dress nicely the first couple of days and then adjust accordingly. I tend to tread in-between the races in schools because I feel apart of both worlds.

[Steffie183]

Shorts are also fine. I don't know why a previous poster said that unless it is a more business-dress code school.

An example of the low bar set for foreign teachers: I saw a tall white guy on his way to work with some other foreign teachers. He was wearing a green basketball jersey, no other shirt, and sports shorts. He could've been going to shoot some hoops, you wouldn't have been able to tell except it was normal going to work time on the outskirts of Seoul.

[alljokingaside]

I forgot to include (again, public high school [not of the math n science breed], one of my co-teachers to me about this topic- "nothing too crazy"

(i took that to mean fish-net stockings and a tee telling the reader to insert his or her junk into him- or herself were out of the question; this was a huge disappointment.)

[mkclimb]

Thanks, lots of good advice.

I'll looking at public high school since that is where my experience is; though it sounds like no matter what your qualifications and preference, placement can be a little random.

At least dress in school sounds a lot like the U.S., variation from school to school and between teachers ( I definitely worked with someone for whom "dressing down" was the same as my "dressing up").

But generally this good to hear; sounds like I'll be fine with how I present myself. And if need be, I'll hit up markets in Seoul.

Thanks.
mike.

[toxicblue]

at my school we have very few dress code rules: no shorts, no flip flops (though other sandals are fine), nothing too low cut/short (though this doesnt seem to be enforced).. apparently some of the mothers complained that the teachers at our school were too sexy

[noraebang]

Think I can wear my Vibram Fivefingers?