Korean Job Discussion Forums

bobbybigfoot · Joined: 05 May 2007 Location: Seoul

The very fact that you are posting this question on Dave's is telling. More than likely there's a part of you that wants freedom, or that doesn't want to go through the hassle of having to deal with a spouse from another country.

If you aren't willing to move mountains for your girl then you should probably go your separate ways.

Unposter · Joined: 04 Jun 2006

I've got a suggestion:

Why don't you go back home and start your own business. Then, you can sponosor her work visa. Just becareful she doesn't sue you for sexual harrassment.

Another possibility is she can just come over on a tourist visa and work illegally. Better yet, she doesn't have to work; she can just live with you while you work. It is probably better than migrant labor in Australia.

Yet another possibility is she could become an internantional nanny and get a visa that way. You could find a job near where she worked.

Your girlfriend could get a job with a big Korean company and get posted overseas.

The two of you could join the U.S. Army and see the world.

Your girlfriend could try to immigrate to the U.S. not as your wife.

There must be dozens of possibilities - I don't have any idea if they will work for you - but I am sure there is SOMETHING you can do if you actually put your mind to it.

Raptorboy0 · Joined: 23 Jan 2006 Location: Daegu

Wow you guys went to town on the psychological analysis! I guess I should've preempted that by explaining more first.

As for the 'get married' comments, neither of us are really into the institution of marriage, however I think we would both be willing to tie the knot for visa reasons if it was really necessary.

I am posting this on Dave's because I have exhausted my own internet research abilities and I was hoping to hear some specific accounts directly from people who had done this or at least people who've had Western guy/Korean girl couple friends who have successfully relocated their relationship to another country.

I could teach in another country, but what would she do for work? If I marry her so that she can live long term in the US, what kind of work is she likely to find? She has a university degree in business management but not much work experience, so getting a sponsor seems unlikely. Going to Australia or New Zealand is an option, but again we would both just be migrant labor and would likely not save very much money, and then what?? I'm trying to think long term here. I think that getting ourselves in a situation where one of us is totally unhappy (i.e. me having to work on a farm in a country I'm not interested in, or her working under the table as a dishwasher in America getting paid $5/hr) would be the quickest way to kill an otherwise perfectly happy relationship.

So basically I would like to hear accounts of actual success stories if anyone has done something like this or knows someone who has. Hope that clears things up.

naturegirl321 · Joined: 18 Jul 2006 Location: Home sweet home

You could study in France. We were looking into that. Uni is cheap there and you don't need to prove that much money, maybe 6 to 8K a year plus insurance.

Try working in a third country, like you said, you each get your own visas. I don't know abotu where Koreans can easily work, so I can't really help, sorry. Though I will say, if you can get to China, you could live pretty well, espeically if you did IELTS testing on the side.

If you want to think really long term, marriage, then going to the US so she gets citizenship is an option. We also thought about that, but then, my husband would just end up teaching English like me and I didn't really want that to happen, so we're in Korea Smile

Though it has been hard. I spent 6 years in his country, now he's agreed to come to Korea to be with me. Neither is an ideal situation and we're trying to figure out what to do next, but options are pretty limited for us. So I know what you're going through. It's incredibly frustrating.

jrwhite82 · Joined: 22 May 2010

Your easiest option really is marriage in my opinion, in terms of immigration. But if you marry her for an easier way through immigration, you're going to live a much harder life. You have to do it for the right reason, because you love her and REALLY want to spend your ENTIRE life with her. I know I ripped on you earlier, but it is not a decision to be taken lightly. But you've been with her this long and it sounds like you want to stay with her, but also not be in Korea forever. So if you want to have your rice cakes and eat them too, FOREVER - then get married.

My wife came back with me to America. Her spoken English is very good. Not perfect though. And her writing ability is just so-so (sadly, still better than many Americans though.....) She got a job through a member of our church with a physical therapist office. The church we attended is mostly Korean people with an English service for the younger/non Korean members. The physical therapist (a Korean-American who doesn't speak Korean) had many Korean patients that didn't speak English. So she worked there as a bilingual office manager/receptionist. The guy was not very nice, and the pay was 12/hour. But when she finally stood up to him his attitude pulled a 180 and he treated her like gold and increased her pay. Then when she told him she was quitting he treated her like diamonds trying to get her to stay.

She learned a lot about medical billing and physical therapy. Enough that she can easily get hired elsewhere doing the same thing. She is planning on getting a certificate as a pharmacy technician now as well. After two years on the conditional visa, she received her 10 year green card. Now we are back in Korea for a year or two making babies (with her reentry permit, which allows her to leave for up to 2 years without losing the green card, however she loses her continuous residency status, so the clock resets on her 4 years that she needs in a row towards citizenship). Without the reentry permit you can only leave for up to 6 months. The visa process is LONG and frustrating. The US government is not helpful or understanding for anything that doesn't fit exactly into their forms. It is a very stressful process. I'm not going to lie about that. Also, my wife had a hard time adjusting to her new life in America, and if it wasn't for the emotional support of my family and the spiritual support from our church she probably would not have made it here. Me being there was a lot, but it still wasn't enough on my own I'm afraid...which was really frustrating for me. We would get in a fight and she'd have no one to go to to vent about how much of a dumbass I am.

I will not lie. Marriage is not easy. It takes work. Not every day is this amazing love filled experience. But the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. I've only been married 3 years, but I can't imagine living a day without her. We just found out she is pregnant so we are getting ready for this new chapter, which will bring it's share of difficulties and pleasures. But we are really excited to go for it together.

One thing I would suggest is to find some place with a large Korean population and live near it. Not in it though. That way she can find all her food that she wants and other stuff like that. But it's not too close where she never has to branch out into the non-Korean America. My wife also complained that many Korean Americans are really annoying to her. Whatever that means! So she was happy living in between DC and Baltimore where there is a big enough Korean population that you can find a large Korean super market and all that stuff, but it was far enough away to avoid being in Little Korea all the time.

Vagabundo · Joined: 26 Aug 2010