Korean Job Discussion Forums

[BrianG]

I'm looking for people who have attended University here in Korea while at the same time worked as a teacher. I am interested in attending University to only study korean but at the same time would like to find a job so that I can cover my living expenses and hopefully get a free apartment. Is there anyone out there who has done something like this and can offer some advice? Just curious how to work the Visa situation and find a job that would work with the university schedule. I appreciate your help!

[seonsengnimble]

If you decide to study and work, get your visa through your work, not your University. On an E2 visa, you can take classes, but on a student visa, you can't work.

[misher]

It depends on how much you want to study. If you are looking at intensive Korean programs that run for 4 hours each morning M-F , then you won't have much time to study. I work PART-time right now and study Korean and I find I have just enough time to keep up with with my course. Full-time forget it.

Also if you are looking for a job that provides accommodation then you will most likely be working full-time. In other words, you will teach 5 hours per day and be required to be there from 9-5 or 2-10. I knew one guy that studied from 9-1PM then worked 2-10PM at CDI. He made it through the courses but didn't get much out of it. His speaking still lacks even though he is a level 4 student.

As I aid before I work part-time from 7-10PM and I also work 10-5PM on Saturdays. Kind of a sucky schedule and kills any chance at a social life but it is more than enough money to pay the bills and rent.

[Sector7G]

[sigmundsmith]

There are two visa's - D2 and D4 visas. The first is for regular studies and the second is for Korean language classes.

The first you want to be on the visa with the university that you are studying with. you can work up to 20 hours with permission from the university that you are studying and from immigration.

On a D4 I am not sure. What someone else said you can be on an E2 and do a program that requires you to attend classes from 9 to 1. You dont need permission from your employer to attend this as the Korean finally realized that foreign people studying Korean language were putting money into the institution and the economy so they made the process easier.

Same if you are on an E2 visa and are studying your masters degree at a korean university. they changed the rules June last year. You dont need permission from your employer or immigration to attend and enrol in classes.

Im not sure about being on a D4 and working partime (legally) my understanding - but I am most likely wrong - is that you cant do it legally.

Check the Korean immigration website and actually call them would be my suggestion.

[BrianG]

thanks for your information. I've been living in Korea for about 2.5 years and come february my current contract will be up. I've been studying korean quite a bit and I can do ok with it but I kind of want to get over the hump and I've heard that attending a University class will go a long way to help me to do so. The issue is I don't want to blow my savings to study there. I was hoping to be able to work and go to University. If anyone out there has done this let me know what your thoughts are. Thanks!!

[coralreefer_1]

You can do it..there is no reason why you should not be able to.

When I spent a year studying Korean at a university with a D4 visa, I was working also (although not teaching English and not getting paid very much) As another poster mentioned..it is illegal to do ANY type of work on a D4 visa (visa for Korean Language Study). In my case, I was working with a taekwondo school that had given me a scholarship, and the whole premise of that school is a "co-op" educational environment, meaning that although I wasn't supposed to be working, so long as it was under the umbrella of my studies at that co-op university, it was acceptable.

The classes are a bit expensive..but not prohibitive. The only issue would be to find a job that has hours that will allow to you COMFORTABLY attend class and learn. As another poster mentioned, taking the class then going straight to work with little time to review the material while it is still fresh in your mind may not be effective..although this really depends on how dedicated you are.

In my case, my schedule looked like this:

Korean Class - 9am-1pm
Teaching Taekwondo - 2:30-9:30pm

At that time, the bus ride from the university to the taekwondo school was over an hour..which gave my time to review the Korean class just after it was finished, as well as the hour long bus ride home (I lived beside the University)

It can be done and you can get a lot out of it. In your case I would suggest you try to find a job that will place you in an area close to a university which you can study at. Don't get the D4 visa or you will be very limited to what you can do legally. If you've already had an E2 before that seems to be the easier route...getting a job then looking into the university programs.

I would say on average a 10-week semester of Korean study runs about 1 million won (more or less depending on the university) That will hardly break your bank assuming you have a regular E2 position making 2+ million a month or more. You might miss one of two special "cultural" classes per semester (basically a field trip to some historic monument or some other extra-curricular activity) but that is no big deal and you certainly wont fail the course because of that.

It might not be a bad idea to try one of the 3-week "intensive" courses that the university programs do during the summer and winter. This will give you an idea of what it is like to study Korean 4 hours a day and then go to work in the evening. After that 3-week course, if you felt like you were getting enough out of the program to improve your Korean and not be hindered by a work schedule, the regular 10-week semester programs may be a direction you wish to go.

Good luck~

[Sector7G]

[BrianG]

I guess i'm just debating on wether or not it's worth it to work myself to death with studying from 9-1 and then going to work at a school after that. I deally I would like to find a job that starts around 4pm so that I would have time after my university class to study or relax a little bit and then possibly have some time after work to get some studying/homework done. The other issue is find a job that would offer me housing so I don't have to pay for that on my own.

[noraebang]

Work a full time job and hire a few Korean instructors to teach you one on one for an hour each day. You'll receive superior, customized, private instruction.

[furtakk]

I'm working full time/studying full time right now. It is pretty awful. As someone else said, you have very little time to study. At first I thought it would be alright, as I was told there was little homework. However, little homework is still about 2 hours a day. If you have 4 hours of class in the morning and then work for 8 hours, it leaves little time for homework. Luckily, my hagwon is slow and my boss is very cool so I usually can do my homework at work, but if you have a busy schedule it can be crazy. That said, it's still really hard for me. I know other people who have done it, but maybe they are harder workers than I am.

I'm working mornings during my next contact anyhow so I won't be able to continue. I think after my next contract I will just study full time. I'm at level 3 right now, and I think I can probably self study through level 4 and just come back for the last 2 levels.

If you're looking for a job, make sure you will be working within an hour commute from whatever uni you want to study at. I think all the programs are from 9-1 so hopefully you can find something that starts at 230/3ish.

[coralreefer_1]

Thanks for the correction. I was not aware this had changed.

[BrianG]

Thanks for all the great responses. I guess my last question would be what is the best University to attend for studying Korean?

I've heard good things about Sogang at least as far as improving your speaking skills, but are there any other comparable programs or all pretty much the same?

[crazy_arcade]

Not saying that this is what I've done...but I've heard that some people

get a student visa for the classes and then freelance in the afternoons/evenings weekends.

All the people I met who were working with an e-2 were incredibly strained and tired.

[furtakk]

I haven't studied in Seoul, but generally I've heard that Sogang/Yonsei/SNU have the best programs. The first two more so than the last. That's not to say you won't learn Korean if you study at some other school. Pretty much every university has an intensive Korean language program. The big name schools in Seoul cost nearly twice as much though (I think 1.8 or 9 vs 1.0 mill a semester).