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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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andersondm4
Joined: 01 Feb 2011
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 Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 5:35 am Post subject: |
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| masada wrote: |
I'm half Korean/American and I never ran into any kind of problem involving this distinction. Honestly, I think its a non-issue and it made for a great conversation topic with my directors. They actually liked the fact I had a Korean background and have been very supportive of me.
I'm only a little over 1 month into my teaching stint and I've quite thoroughly enjoyed it thus far. I'll try to answer whatever questions you may have, but I'm quite limited in my knowledge due to being so fresh, but I can offer you details of any experiences I've had here. My situation/background is probably different from yours, but at the least, my opinion is don't trouble yourself over it. |
thanks mate, whereabouts are you working?
did you work with a recruiter?
also just curious are you on an E2 visa, although I'm looking into an F4 my mother was adopted and it seems like that's an obstacle. As of now I'm thinking of just starting out on an E2, and after I was settled down a bit try to work on an F4 |
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emmahearst
Joined: 10 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 6:43 pm Post subject: Re: Getting a Job in Korea as an Asian American |
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You ended up getting a job yet?
| anners wrote: |
What are my chances on getting a job in a Korean private school as an Asian American? I would prefer either Seoul or Bucheon.
No ESL teaching experience
Bachelor's Degree
Volunteer teaching experience in the states
Should I just stick to trying to get a public school job?
Thanks |
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anners
Joined: 05 Nov 2010
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| Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 1:51 am Post subject: Re: Getting a Job in Korea as an Asian American |
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| emmahearst wrote: |
You ended up getting a job yet?
| anners wrote: |
What are my chances on getting a job in a Korean private school as an Asian American? I would prefer either Seoul or Bucheon.
No ESL teaching experience
Bachelor's Degree
Volunteer teaching experience in the states
Should I just stick to trying to get a public school job?
Thanks |
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No, haven't gotten a job offer yet...but I think it has to do more with the fact that i don't have all my documents completed.
Actually, I got a response from one of the major private chains wanting to set up an interview with me once all my documents were in. I sent them a picture when i applied so i guess that was a good thing. |
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masada
Joined: 19 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 10:16 pm Post subject: |
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| andersondm4 wrote: |
| masada wrote: |
I'm half Korean/American and I never ran into any kind of problem involving this distinction. Honestly, I think its a non-issue and it made for a great conversation topic with my directors. They actually liked the fact I had a Korean background and have been very supportive of me.
I'm only a little over 1 month into my teaching stint and I've quite thoroughly enjoyed it thus far. I'll try to answer whatever questions you may have, but I'm quite limited in my knowledge due to being so fresh, but I can offer you details of any experiences I've had here. My situation/background is probably different from yours, but at the least, my opinion is don't trouble yourself over it. |
thanks mate, whereabouts are you working?
did you work with a recruiter?
also just curious are you on an E2 visa, although I'm looking into an F4 my mother was adopted and it seems like that's an obstacle. As of now I'm thinking of just starting out on an E2, and after I was settled down a bit try to work on an F4 |
I'm located in Uijeongbu. And yes, I'm an F-4 VISA.
I worked with several recruiters, but the one I landed a job with was very helpful. If you're a first time teacher, I think it's best you go through a recruiter. If you plan to do this more long-term, probably won't require one. Good luck with your search. |
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smartwentcrazy
Joined: 26 Feb 2009
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| Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 10:34 pm Post subject: |
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| masada wrote: |
| andersondm4 wrote: |
| masada wrote: |
I'm half Korean/American and I never ran into any kind of problem involving this distinction. Honestly, I think its a non-issue and it made for a great conversation topic with my directors. They actually liked the fact I had a Korean background and have been very supportive of me.
I'm only a little over 1 month into my teaching stint and I've quite thoroughly enjoyed it thus far. I'll try to answer whatever questions you may have, but I'm quite limited in my knowledge due to being so fresh, but I can offer you details of any experiences I've had here. My situation/background is probably different from yours, but at the least, my opinion is don't trouble yourself over it. |
thanks mate, whereabouts are you working?
did you work with a recruiter?
also just curious are you on an E2 visa, although I'm looking into an F4 my mother was adopted and it seems like that's an obstacle. As of now I'm thinking of just starting out on an E2, and after I was settled down a bit try to work on an F4 |
I'm located in Uijeongbu. And yes, I'm an F-4 VISA.
I worked with several recruiters, but the one I landed a job with was very helpful. If you're a first time teacher, I think it's best you go through a recruiter. If you plan to do this more long-term, probably won't require one. Good luck with your search. |
Well you answered your own question. You work in Uijeongbu, and if I remember correctly, is pretty rural/countryside. This is just my opinion, but the closer you get to Seoul, the whiter the teachers get. They tend to stick the 'undesirables' (aka Asian Am's or anyone of color) into rural and less desirable areas. It makes absolutely no sense but that's how sparkling Korea works. They think a white appearance = fluent 'good Engrish teacha' as opposed to others who they dismiss as non-native speakers. I've seen instances of a highly qualified candidate (2-years exp, TESOL) get rejected over a fresh blonde bimbo graduate. Low and behold the qualified candidate was Asian. It's all about appearances in Korea. What's even more flabbergasting is that Koreans tend to discriminate against their own people (i.e. F-4's) yet touting this image of KOREA NUMBA WON! |
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lesigh
Joined: 09 Apr 2012
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| Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 2:25 am Post subject: |
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Is it really so impossible to find a position in Seoul?
I have had recruiters basically refuse to work with me because that is where I want to be.
It's so discouraging. |
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nu_teach
Joined: 10 Apr 2012
Location: OC, CA
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| Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 9:43 pm Post subject: Re: Getting a Job in Korea as an Asian American |
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| anners wrote: |
What are my chances on getting a job in a Korean private school as an Asian American? I would prefer either Seoul or Bucheon.
No ESL teaching experience
Bachelor's Degree
Volunteer teaching experience in the states
Should I just stick to trying to get a public school job?
Thanks |
I'm curious, is there a specific reason why you prefer private vs. public school? The debate of public vs. private has many threads on here about it but from what I've read; many job searchers prefer public over the hagwons (private schools) so I'm quite surprised that you specifically want private school.
To answer your question directly, I read that you're half-Asian so honestly, you shouldn't have any problems at all. But with that said, whether you get hired or not depends on so many variables because there have been people who have a stellar resume/experience and yet recruiters turn them away and yet people who have zero experience; they get hired easily.
I am Vietnamese-American and I recently got a job working for a public school (GEPIK program) in Seongnam (it's 14 miles from Seoul). I went through ThinkOutside Recruiting. Previous to ThinkOutside, I was with Access Now recruiting and for whatever reason, I was told by recruiter from Access that the only school that was hiring are private schools. Obviously I found out that this is not true. I remember all the private schools (via Access) that interviewed me had a big issue with my ethnicity (Asian). They flat out told me most of the parents at private school want to see typical "American" (ie, blond hair, blue eyes, etc). The public school that hired me asked about my ethnicity but did not make an issue of it.
I wish you luck with your job search and don't give up if you get turned down or rejected (whether it's the school or recruiter). There are many, many jobs and recruiters out there. Keep applying! |
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nu_teach
Joined: 10 Apr 2012
Location: OC, CA
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| Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 9:47 pm Post subject: |
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| lesigh wrote: |
Is it really so impossible to find a position in Seoul?
I have had recruiters basically refuse to work with me because that is where I want to be.
It's so discouraging. |
No, it's not impossible and don't let those recruiters discourage you! If the recruiter you're working with can't get you what you want, go with someone else. |
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NohopeSeriously
Joined: 17 Jan 2011
Location: The Christian Right-Wing Educational Republic of Korea
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| Posted: Wed Apr 18, 2012 5:22 am Post subject: |
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| A lot of hagweon jobs are available these days. You might score better at a hagweon job if you can speak Korean semi-fluently. |
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Hoost
Joined: 12 Nov 2008
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 5:56 pm Post subject: |
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Don't worry.
I'm assuming you are coming as an F-4 visa.
Some employers prefer this as they don't have to go through the complex visa process.
Anyway, when I came to Korea... I was just like you. No experience, only a bachelor's in a totally unrelated field.
I got job offers from the SMOE (turned down because they don't confirm where you live until after orientation), Avalon (as a curriculum developer- turned down because I didn't want to live in bundang), and finally a job at a Hagwon in Seoul, which I accepted.
They even let me come one month early and stay in their house for free... unfortunately for them I applied and got accepted to a university teaching position when I arrived. So i broke contract and have been working at a University ever since.
Now I'm teaching at a National University.
Anything is possible. |
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lesigh
Joined: 09 Apr 2012
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| Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 11:42 pm Post subject: |
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How about an Asian who can only get an E-2?
I feel like I'm in a weird area: not foreign-looking enough for an E-2, not Korean enough (at all) for an F-4.
What to do?! |
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overdrive2023x
Joined: 08 Aug 2011
Location: San Diego, CA
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| Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 8:46 pm Post subject: |
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| masada wrote: |
I'm half Korean/American and I never ran into any kind of problem involving this distinction. Honestly, I think its a non-issue and it made for a great conversation topic with my directors. They actually liked the fact I had a Korean background and have been very supportive of me.
I'm only a little over 1 month into my teaching stint and I've quite thoroughly enjoyed it thus far. I'll try to answer whatever questions you may have, but I'm quite limited in my knowledge due to being so fresh, but I can offer you details of any experiences I've had here. My situation/background is probably different from yours, but at the least, my opinion is don't trouble yourself over it. |
I've had the exact same experience as you. I've only been here a month and a half too as well.
The principle and staff love me, because I'm Korean American, and say they feel more comfortable with me, just because they think I relate somehow better to them or something (I'm an adopted Korean and don't speak any Korean, and have no background in Korean culture). Teachers have introduced me to friends (business and educational professionals) that give me free Korean lessons, and I get taken out to dinner a couple times a week by people that just want to pick my brain on stuff.
Hagwons generally won't take you. Don't even try, it's a waste of time, and when you get here, you'll realize after talking to current teachers here, that public school teachers have better experiences anyway. If you want to get a job (and you are some sort of Asian american), here's what I did (I live in Bucheon by the way):
1. Apply to a recruiter that deals with GEPIK (Korvia is the best for this I'd say).
2. Get all your documents ready and set. If you're in the states, of course the background check is going to take the longest. Get it apostilled in Washington DC and use uslegalization.com to get it expedited. I and many of my friends used them, and had the national apostille back in 5 days.
3. Make a BOMB ASS introduction video. This is the KEY. Don't do the simple and shitty 60 seconds in front of a webcam talking about yourself (If you youtube 'GEPIK introduction' or 'interview' you'll see what I'm talking about). Learn how to edit (or find someone that can edit video semi professionally) and find someone that has a nice camera and audio equipment. This was my personal KEY to getting here. After making the video, I sent it to my recruiter, and schools were fighting for me. I had 5 interviews suddenly in one week (as oppose to before sending the video, and having 0 interviews), and most of them had already decided to hire me even before the interview, just because of the video. Think of it as a preliminary interview. I chose a school based on what they offered me.
4. If you qualify for the F4, start working on getting it now. It's infinitely renewable at this point (though I heard the gov is trying to get rid of it). The more documents you have in hand, the faster you'll get a job.
5. You're not going to Seoul (at this point) Just accept that. But I think living in Gyeonggi is better, because usually your housing will be nicer. Once you get here, and start networking with everyone you can, then you'll find a way into Seoul. |
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