Korean Job Discussion Forums

[joesp]

I just have a few questions. Do they have stipends here, or what's it called, like TA-ships where they waive tuition and give you a mill a month for living. You know, like a teaching assistant + grad program.

I'm thinking about a master's program in Korean. I just want to stay busy without working, and do something I enjoy which is work with languages (specifically, a foreign language).

Besides money, would I be able to keep the studying up at the same time as working like 3 or 4 hours per day? How grueling is this supposed to be?

thx,

Joe

[liveinkorea316]

From what I hear the Korean MA's in TESOL do not stack up to their foreign counterparts.

Hundreds of posters on this forum have completed MA degrees in Linguistics from reputable universities in Western countries while working full time in Korea. You will be busy but they have done it so you can too. Most will take between 2-3 years.

If you are looking for a Korean University I heard that student visa's will allow you to do upto 20 hours of part time work alongside your studies so long as this does not interfere with your classes and full time in the semester breaks.

I don't know about University gigs but you should be able to find some private tutoring and/or hagwon jobs to fill in your extra time.

But you would in this case have to pay your tuition fees. Your part time work may cover your costs but you aren't gonna save any money.

If you took the distance degree option on offer from many reputable Unis in the USA, England, Australia, Canada or NZ you could save alot more money and there would be no issues with how much you can work or where.

[coralreefer_1]

TA positions here in Korea tend to be very limited in number like everywhere else, and unless you are near fluent in Korean or bring some other outstanding credentials to the table to make up for said lack of near fluency in Korean..those kinds of opportunities may be hard to come by.

At my university most of the students who are getting stipends are on the NIIED program. There are a few who are working in the library or doing TA, but they are almost always Koreans. Of the foreign students getting a stipend..they are with NIIED, or else doing scientific research for the university and the department itself decided to grant them a stipend..which is a case by case basis.

The NIIED program will pay your tuition, insurance, and give between 900,000 to 1,000,000 won a month, while also not limiting you to outside work as well. However not sure where you are from but for some reason this program is not open to American citizens unless you are of Korean decent. Seems strange to me that a program designed to foster international understanding between nations would exclude the worlds most diverse nation unless those applicants are of Korean decent, but that is what I was told when I tried to apply myself.

Technically you can work and study at the same time on a D2 student visa, although typically it is limited to 20 hours per week during semester. However on holidays and vacation periods you can work unlimited hours. Also some universities have agreements with immigration that allow students who are enrolled in their "evening" grad courses to work 40 hours per week during semesters.(may not be an options for the typical ESLer) However all of those rules are based on you having a D2 student visa, which you are not required to change assuming you already have some other type of visa. If you are on some other type of visa then the work you are allowed to do and how much of it is determined by the confines of that visa, not by the university you may attend or any other rules that govern "students"

As far as how grueling it would be depends on your work, transportation time, coursework...etc. Typically you would not be allowed to take more than 12 credits per semester and in most cases limited to only 9. So that's 9 hours a week of classes, plus your other work. Depending on the subject, university, and your personal study habits..it could be hell or a walk in the park.

[Hugo85]

[coralreefer_1]

Yeah, the public info on the website does not state that, however when I contacted them with specific questions they said I should contact the Korean Consulate in the US, who then informed me that it was not available to US citizens UNLESS they " were of Korean heritage" in their own words.

Now that may have changed, or perhaps the person who replied to my email was not well informed, but that is what I was told (Actually I think I still have the email)

Maybe the complaint I made afterward paid off. I do recall sending a letter to the NIIED government office complaining how it was a rather discriminatory policy considering the mission statement from NIIED is to foster and improve relations with other countries, yet here I was a guy who was already very proficient in Korean and already living in Korea (so they need not pay for my korean language education, or plane ticket) yet I was told I could not qualify because I was from the US but not of Korean decent.

Granted...this was in 2009..and perhaps things have changed since then

[Hugo85]

That is definitely in stark contrast with what I got told at the Korean consoludate in Canada, the directives for the KGPS program and the actual results of the KGSP for the year 2009-2010 regarding USA nominees (available on NIIED website).

Something was up with the person you talked to because you are definitely eligible to apply. Maybe they were misinformed or maybe it was a criteria the consulate chose to use at first but ended up not being able to use due to low participation.

NIIED was correct to forward you to the Korean Consulate in the US, but that consulate screwed up. I'd complain directly at the NIIED.

PS: Unless you are of TOPIK level 5 or 6 you would of had to take a year of korean, even if they only require TOPIK level 3 after said year of korean.

[NilesQ]

If you wouldn't mind living in Nonsan(middle of nowhere), Geumgang University has a program where you take their Korean program for free(language program not a degree program), room and board included plus a monthly payment of 250,000 won to act as a room mate/tutor for 5 hours a week to a student studying English.

I went there to look into it once. Brand new school still under construction. If you wanted a rural experience, you'd get it there. It's about 40 min bus ride from Daejon with a daily shuttle going from the school. In the end, you could live in Seoul, do a reputable language program and some privates and come out better. Depends on what you're looking for.