Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Oballef]

Hey cool capritonic, we'll be colleagues! I'll be there on the 13th. I come from the mean streets of Calgary, Alberta, Canada...(that big airport near Banff). How about you?

I'm not too worried about the school either. I found a couple of blogs from teachers currently working there and didn't see any ranting about horrific work conditions or anything. In fact, one of them totally praised the head of the afternoon program.

Which shift are you hoping to get, the morning or afternoon? I'm pretty easy either way, but kind of siding more on the afternoon gig, for the obvious perk of sleeping in and having students who aren't in diapers... but I'd also like to do join some hobby clubs and stuff and working til 9 might make that kinda tough. Anyway, I'll take what they give me and figure the rest out from there.

My name's Owen by the way...see ya soon!

[capritonic]

Whats up Owen?? Nice to meet you my fellow ESL teacher.

I'm Ross, I'm comin from Los Angeles, Ca. Mean streets of Calgary?? Wow, I hope to learn more about that.

I really don't mind the shift...I was initially interested in teaching older kids but everyone tells me how cool the kindie classes are (lol) and we discussed this during our interview so I'm not sure what I'll get. I don't have any teaching experience aside from my 120hr TEFL certificate soo I'm just happy to know we will have lesson plans for every level, etc. etc. This whole experience is going to be...new so as long as there is a fitness center, museums, and the whole art/music thing goin on (we have a good location shouldn't be a prob)...I'll be good with whatever shift! I just hope I don't miss the teachers orientation dinner to meet everyone else since I'll be a week late!!!

Do you know anyone in Korea right now?? Do you know Korean?? I have 3 friends scattered throughout the country...and they ALL love what they're doing. Get to packing Owen, you have a week and half to go! (lol)

Are we allowed to post our emails in here?

[Oballef]

L.A. eh? Cool, I'd like to hear some stories from a city with about as many people as my whole country! Do you have any cold weather gear yet? I gather this winter in Korea is harsh.

And hey Ross if you miss the first dinner I'm sure there will be MANY more! and the rest of us can fill you in in no time . But maybe we'll wait till you arrive, who knows? I'll keep you posted on here anyhow...I'd rather not advertise my email...and you might not want it right now cause it was just hacked and keeps sending Acai berry ads around the world...but we can keep tacking onto this post, hey?

And yeps I bet those lesson plans are going to be a total blessing. Plus an hour of prep time a day, 40 minute classes, paid training, being in the city on a good subway line and this job sounds all right.

As for friends in Korea, I've got some sideways related family in Seoul - an Uncle's step daughter and her husband - who I've only met twice in my life many years ago, but I'll definitely give them a shout when I'm over. Otherwise I won't know a seoul(sorry, had to...).

As for the language, I know maybe 20 words well...I've been doing the Rosetta Stone course in a relaxed manner and practicing Hangul reading/writing. I've got a good grasp of the consonants, but those vowels are tricky to get straight. I may take advantage of the free Korean classes I hear they give somewhere in Eunpyeong-gu. You?

And you're right, I do have to get packing!...I was supposed to start at another job around the time you're coming, but since all that kerfuffle with my first gig happened and I signed up for this one, everything's gone into overdrive. Kinda happy about it as I was just biding my time till I left anyhow. Right now I'm having a tough time deciding on what books to take...I can't seem to keep it under 10 for the life of me!

[capritonic]

Acai berry?? (lol) at least you promote good health! Yea L.A is....cool. i drive down to our koreatown to try to simulate a year of experience there. (lol) even here in koreatown, people look at me like ummm what are you doing. i've always wanted to ride that snow train tho across your land. The one from Vancouver to Montreal during early fall !!!

no cold weather gear YET. i was in china when it was 3 degrees once and thermals, big jackets and thick gloves did the trick. I love cold though. Is 10 books the limit? uh ohh......I didnt read that in the orientation guide! I know about 10 words in korean. I just bought flashcards today to start my korean discovery.

but yea man hit me up even if you take the other job. it should all be good! so many possibilities. i was just starting to think my degree had no uses...

[Oballef]

haha yeah I guess if I'm getting goosed by the hackers it might as well be for a good cause!

I'd also love to take that train across the muskeg. Early Fall would be beautiful and Montreal sounds excellent. I have a friend in school out there and he keeps telling me to make the trip, but I haven't had the chance yet. But hell I also wouldn't mind getting a fine tan on Venice beach and walking the storied streets of Hollywood...or eating goat's head soup in Azerbaijan, or...ahhh so much to see and do!

And I know what you mean about simulating the year ahead in Koreatown. I had the same thought and went to a bunch of Korean restaurants before signing my contract...I'm not sure I like the K-Pop, but I dug the chow. When I actually signed up I splurged and got a huge spicy squid meal with all the trimmings to celebrate...which was awesome going in, but not so much coming out...and because of that I'm packing a good supply of Peptobismol...heh!

I will definitely be working for Eunpyeong SLP. Right now I just have to schedule an interview with the consulate in Vancouver, pass that(which is only a formality I'm told) and get the visa put in my passport. Then I'm off. If all goes according to plan I'll be there on the 13th or 14th.

And no no, you can bring as many books as you want to pack. I just wonder if I should give my luggage space over to more practical things and get my reading material over there. I don't know what the selection is like though, but I hear there are book trades and stuff, so if you're a reader maybe it's a good idea to bring more than a few to barter with...so far I'm bringing an assortment of stuff I've never read and some old standbys like William Burroughs to keep me (in)sane. I guess as long as I get all my necessities packed and have some weight left over I'll bring what I can.

What did you do before selling your seoul? What was your degree in? I was doing temp work and just getting by, and yeah kind of feeling hopeless that my Communications degree was so useless(should I really be surprised?). Nothing but sub-sub-basement entry level positions were going. I needed to get out of that drudgery and Korea seemed like the natural choice for escape, all things considered. I guess you could call me an economic refugee. I'm planning on only staying a year, but if the situation is really good, maybe two. After that who knows, maybe I'll like ESL teaching enough to really sell my soul to it proper, or finally get around to being a rock star...

[capritonic]

hahah some pepto, Imodium, tums, o yes. a years supply for weak western stomachs (lol) the spicey squid feast is pure bravery!!!!! that sounds oh so painful. wow you have a mini roadtrip coming up from calgary - vancouver! i still havent received my visa # as well.

before i sold my "seoul" (lol) i actually work at a bookstore full time!!!!! william burroughs...interesting, seen never read any of his essays. what else do u read? i will bring stranger in a strange land by robert heinlein for you in case. not because we are foreigners in korea but the story is great, its about a martian. im not big on fiction, more bio, biz, self help stuff.

i got my degree in business: marketing concentration. i love music so i interned all through college in related fields...radio, music publishing, etc. etc. and yet i was still ended up talking to people about books (which i don't mind, i meet crraazzyy amazing people in bookstores) but im over it! so korea seems like an opportunity to skill build, meet other adventurers, TRAVEL to places (shanghai on a long 4 day weekend is 350 bucks!! (flight +hotel) and all this great stuff for a year. i'm even looking at online mba programs for fun........

yea the lack of economic prosperity right now is so rough. make sure you budget for the first check that comes 6 weeks later!

annyong!

yea yeaaa hollywood, venice, but you must go to the bridge to nowhere and enjoy bungee america true LA pimpin status! and you know we got that amazing mexican cuisine, right?

[Menino80]

OP if you insist on doing Eunpyeong try to find housing at Eungam or farther south (Sangsu, Mangwon) etc. Taking that loop around is a pain in the tuches, and Eunpyeong is the crusty ajeossi capital of Seoul.

[Oballef]

Yeah the road trip is 11hrs or something on the greyhound!...but the ride's all right so long as I have a book, my iPod, and no avalanches...

Actually I DO have my visa number, but that hasn't helped me much with the consulate. Once I got my visa number I was supposed to get an interview in Van on the 7th and fly out on the 12th. The school even pulled some strings to get my visa number quickly so I'd get to Seoul by the 12th. By the time I had the visa number the consulate was all backed up with interviews until the 16th, meaning the 17/18/19th is the earliest I can get to Korea. So I won't be much ahead of you if at all! Maybe we'll both miss the orientation party...I tried on my sweetest charm pleading with the lady on the phone to let me have an earlier interview but nothing doing. Frankly it seems kind of ridiculous to only do E-2 interviews for 2 hours a week, especially in high season like it is now. I mean I don't know how it is at your consulate but here the interviews are only done on Wednesdays and Fridays from 2-3pm...!!!

Hey yeah, music is awesome! Actually I just stumbled upon some excellent stuff out of L.A....Geneva Jacuzzi? Lo-fi-dark-synth-pop with wicked bass lines...thank you Metafilter! Anyway it's cool there will be another music fiend in the house at Eunpyeong SLP...looking forward to trading tunes as well as books! There should be some sweet concerts to check out over there...I hear Hongdae is great for the underground scene, and we won't be too far away in Gusan...have you heard of Supercolorsuper http://supercolorsuper.com/? it's a group putting on indie shows in Seoul, and mostly in Hongdae...their last big draw was Coco Rosie in January, which I would've loved to see. What kinda stuff are you into? I feel bad for asking that question cause anytime I get it all I can think of is Duke Ellington saying "there are only two kinds of music, good music and bad music"...but generally my own tastes run to rock and roll of all sorts, hopping "world music" and jazz. Really though, anything goes so long as it's GOOD...I can even stomach Norwegian thrash metal on occasion...hah! Right now I'm feeding on 60's R&B but we'll see what tomorrow brings.

And man I gotta say, Stranger In A Strange Land is one of my all time favorites. I went on a major Heinlein bender a few years ago, starting with that book, so maybe save your luggage space!...although it might be just the kind of thing to read as a westerner in the most Confucian(ising?) land of them all...really I'm still grokking that scene where Valentine Michael Smith finally gets humor! mindbending! Science Fiction is kind of the bread and butter of my reading...or maybe it's my candy...or maybe my buttered toast with strawberry jam, ha! Otherwise I'm into all sorts of stuff..."literature", plays, essays, pirate stories, biographies, history, fantasy, you name it so long as the first page grabs my attention.

And $350 for the travel and lodgings in Shanghai? that's awesome and good to know, though I bet my bill would be more than twice that after nights on the town and a tailored suit or two...well hell, with only 10 days vacation they might as well be worth it, no?

Hey did you use a recruiter to get your job? I'm just wondering because it seems like certain recruiters have the gambit on certain schools, which makes sense I guess. Just kinda curious about the whole process.

[Oballef]

oh yeah and to Menino80:

I'll be sure to stay watchful in Eunpyeong. I read about someone on here who got tackled by a drunk ajeossi with painful results in Eunpyeong. Don't want that! I'll remember to keep my guard up.

As for living after the Eungam loop, I'm guessing I won't be able to choose where I live. From what I gather the teachers here are all placed within walking distance to the school, which jives with what I was told in the telephone interview. I don't know exactly where along the line the school is, but Gusan station keeps popping up. Though I also gather that the area is well served by busses, so maybe when I need to I'll pay the little bit extra for the bus to skip the loop.

thanks for the tips!

[Menino80]

[capritonic]

Whats up Owen??

I didnt get any notifications regarding for your responses in here. But yeah I used Pegasus Teachers to find the job at Eunpyong. I'm not 100% on the process but from what I'm told, the Korean government pays X amount per foreign English teacher at a given school. The recruiter keeps a cut, the school a cut, and the remainder is our salary. I've been told its approximately 5,000 USD per head I'm not 100% on that number though. But obviously its a lucrative biz recruiting folk.

Anyways, crunch time man! I checked out supercolorsuper.com and that seems like some interesting stuff! They're going to be in Seoul Feb 26? That's really soon. I listen to an obscene amount of American pop music, its just because that was the industry I wanted to work in that industry (lol). Top 40...black eyed peas, enrique, drake (canadian!), eminem...my pop music dosage is toxic. If you looked through my ipod though I have quite the selection from punk to rock to country. I would hit up the House of Blues every now and then and catch up on up and coming folk singers and what not too. And I agree good music and bad music. No thrash though!

And wow 2 hours per week for interviews? Might as well mail it in? LA does them daily...I'm assuming our Korean population is substantially higher maybe. I'm still waiting for my visa numerals, hopefully this week!
Are you packed? I just bought a years supply of my favorite deoderant!

[Oballef]

Heya Ross, I am off to Eunpyeong-gu in 2 days! Turned out someone canceled their interview for this past Wednesday so the consulate let me do it then, which meant packing up as soon as I found out and getting on the bus to Vancouver...I feel a bit like a whirly gig all spinning around but ah well I passed the interview and am now the proud owner of an E-2 visa!

The interview was a breeze. They asked me to invent a quick lesson plan for a 45min class, how I would introduce myself, how would I break up the time etc. I said I would show the kids pictures of my house, family, cats, etc for the first half of the class, then show maps, pictures of lumberjacks and eskimos for the rest and end off by teaching the first line of O Canada. Nothing fancy, just playing off of basic stereotypes and stuff. They seemed to like it enough anyhow, and said "we think you will be a good influence on your students" when they handed me the visa, hurrah! They nearly stumped me by asking how much I knew about Korean culture...I very stupidly said "not much" thinking I would impress them with my appreciation for the vastness of Korean culture or something, but they later recommended I be more diligent in my research...the kicker being that I've done like maybe a couple hundred hours of research at this point! I guess it's just good to be prepared to spout a few facts about Korean history/culture/food or whatever.

$5000 a head? yeah that's not bad at all...no wonder my recruiter got kind of heavy on me to take whatever I could get at first...I'm glad I stood my ground and waited for something in Seoul.

I'm not quite all packed yet...I've got to find a few sticks of Mitchum Sport and a new coat. Tomorrow is for shopping and stuffing it all in, then Saturday I'm off!

Still set to head out on the 20th? Get your visa number yet?

[capritonic]

Owen,

Have a safe trip! I woke up this morning to my visa number so I'm heading downtown in a bit to the consulate followed by a Korean lunch of course!

Thanks for the insight of the interview questions...I will keep a lesson plan at the front of my mind. Maybe I can show off my skills of how to ask for the restroom or more kobe beef, too.

Annyong!

[Oballef]

Yo Ross, I am here on the other side! Just got in this morning after a gruelling 18hrs travel time. I am with the other new teachers at a PC Bang just down the street from our apartments, which are 10mins walk from the school. I haven't been to the school yet, but the apartments are nice and new...only problem is mine reeks of rotten fish and mould, coming from a drain in the bathroom...yech!...apparently the others don't have this problem, so you needn't worry about it.

Hey how did your interview go?

[capritonic]

Owen! You made it, congrats!! Are you excited?? 18hrs travel!? ouch.

So you guys moved right into your place? No "love" motel?

The interview was a...joke man. He asked if I had any teaching experience, I said "no" and he said you need the visa for a year? I said "yes" and he said pick up tomorrow same time...oh yeah pay window #2 the 45 bucks. Done.

Sooo I will be there Feb 20 for me Feb 21 for you, I should be getting my ticket soon enough.