Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wooden nickels]

[kimchipig]

I worked in Japan before I was in Korea and the writing was on the wall even then, like in 1992. Learning English was the "cool" thing to do in the 1980s when there was plenty of excess cash around but when budgets tightened, English lessons were often the first to go. The schools in Japan didn't help themselves much by paying their teachers peanuts and hiring them based on their looks. Neither was treating foreigners teaching English as second class citizens doing much to have said foreigner do anything to make this workplace a more successful operation. Interac was almost as bad as Nova. It has just taken almost twenty years for the English boom in Japan to really fizzle out.

Move to Korea. When I went to Korea in 1994, people chased me down the street to offer me jobs. My first job paid me W1.2m which at the time was C$2300 a month and the cost of living was dirt cheap. I had absolutely no problem living on W300k a month and I lived well. With a couple of privates I thought I had it made. However, things changed with the 1997 crash it they never recovered. Koreans have basically made all the mistakes that the Japanese have made. I saw a post stating how jobs in Korea were getting scarce and I was flabbergasted. I also saw my old university job of ten years ago advertised for less money that I was making then. When Korean xenophobia added into the mix, it is hard to attract and retain good teachers in Korea. The money is simply not there for the aggravation. That is the reason I left in 2004.

China is the place to be. There are 1.4 BILLION people there wanting to learn stuff and huge numbers of people who would spend their last yuan to get their kid an English lesson. The market is so huge it will not run out in a couple of generations. The cost of living is still cheap and you could very easily make 10,000 yuan a month with a couple of privates. That will keep you very, very well in China. I spent six weeks in Shanghai this summer and I was getting 300 yuan per hour teaching privates and with a few calls I had people banging on my door. I didn't actually plan to teach at all, we were just there to visit family, but that is what worked out.

Compared to Korea, China is much easier to live in, in my opinion anyway. The xenophobia that is all pervasive in Korea is non-existent and people are usually very reasonable and rational. Of course I have an easier time since my wife is Chinese and I have good connections. However I think an ambitious foreign teacher could do exceptionally well in China provided he/she knows their stuff

[liveinkorea316]

[take a rest]

You know, on second thought, if my middle school students' interest in English is any indication of the future of this country, I give the whole thing maybe another 20 years.

[Hotwire]

China's not Xenephobic?

Gwailo!

[plato's republic]

There's a clear correlation here between the state of the Japanese economy and the decline of TEFL in Japan. Once the Japanese economy tanked in the early 90's, the amount of people who could afford to pay the high fees associated with studying at a private language institute also began to gradually decline. Fast forward roughly two decades and now we're starting to see the death of TEFL in Japan. There'll still be a market for learning English in Japan, but just not on the same scale as twenty to thirty years ago.

Regarding the 'cool' aspect of studying English among Japanese, I would agree with that to a degree, however, having taught in Japan for three years I found that a majority of my adult students were studying the language not because it was the cool thing to do, but for reasons such as travel, business, overseas study etc.

Now, if the Korean economy were to tank on the same scale as what happened in Japan, and for a sustained period, it wouldn't surprise me to see the vast majority of mom'n'pop hagwons go bust overnight and perhaps a few larger chains as well. If that were to happen, we might find ourselves talking about the death of TEFL in Korea. For as long as the Korean economy continues to purr along, and while parents can still afford to send their kids to private institutes, there'll still be a large market for TEFL in the ROK.

[Weigookin74]

SO, what is the Vietnam average? I spoke to someone making $1500.00 US but had to pay for his apartment. I think it has potential; but isn't there yet. If they paid $2000 or more, it would seem like a good deal. If they boost their salaries a little more, you'd probably see a mass exodus from Korea. BUt, I think they are more strict on TESOL though.

[misher]

[youtuber]

I get that Korea is not Japan...but look at the similarities!

JET was a government programs that is slowly dwindling and private dispatch agencies have taken over to reduce costs.

EPIK and SMOE are government programs that could (and probably should) be taken over by other agencies to reduce costs.

Japan also has small mom and pop academies, but most of the teachers in Japan are/were employed by big chains and JET just as most teachers in Korea are employed by EPIK, SMOE, and other big chains.

The companies that are failing are the big franchises like NOVA, GEOS, ect. Why do they fail? Not enough money.

Granted, Japan's economy now sucks. But look at Korea's economy! How is it any different? Both are heavily export based! Similar family owned conglomerates prevail! No resources whatsoever to speak of! And both will lose out to China.

The evolution of Korea will probably be the Japan of today. It just seems that the two countries are too remarkably similar.

[kimchipig]

[OneWayTraffic]

I don't know; I found Korea easier and easier every year that I spend there. Of course I had a wife and contacts, so the reasons you like China go both ways. I'd still be there except for my kids and the lifestyle.

I'm back in NZ now and enjoying being able to speak to people and go fishing on the beach. Also enjoying being able to actually have a lifestyle. But I don't like having to struggle for a job; I had it so easy in SK. I'd go back in a second if it was just me.

[liveinkorea316]

[youtuber]

^How are the governments so different? Both are corrupt democracies.

As far as being Christian, I don't see how that relates to an economy at all. Some of the worst scammers in Korea are "Christian". Business is business.

And the societies are organized in fundamentally the same way. Social mobility is difficult, elders are greatly respected, and if you aint Korean/Japanese, you are going nowhere (ie xenophobia)

Don't seem all that different to me...

[liveinkorea316]

[shostahoosier]