Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Fraser]

Hi there, after scouring blogs about Korea as well as this site I still have a few questions for experienced ex-pats. Hopefully you can help.

Situation: My wife just accepted a one-year contract working at an international school starting this August. She gets paid well and has great benefits, including free rent and utilities, etc. We see it as a way to knock off some student loans and travel Asia afterwards while we're relatively young.

I am 28, Canadian, have a B.A. in international relations and a journalism diploma. I have several years of experience working as a city reporter however I just got laid off just before the new year,

Here are a few things I need to know:

- With a background in journalism and public relations what are my job prospects in Korea? I have not looked too intensively but can't seem to find any online job sites for non-ESL/teaching jobs with a simple google search. Any good non-teaching job sites to recommend?

How effective would it be for me to enter Korea on my F-3 visa and "pound the pavement" looking for a job?

- If all else fails and I can't find work in my field I'm prepared to teach ESL (I have worked with kids at an after-school program in my early twenties so I'm not entirely "green" to dealing with them (although I'm sure it's very very different)). It's not ideal for me but I gotta do what I gotta do. But it remains unclear to me whether I can be issued an E-2 visa at the Korean consulate here in Canada prior to taking on a job. Can I get an E-2 visa without signing a contract with an employer?

I'd prefer to find a job in Korea after arriving and if I did teaching work I'd prefer to work with adults. Is that possible or do I need a specific visa (F-2 or F-5 or something from what I've read?)?

Also, it seems like Korea offers different visas for different kinds of work. Can one hold multiple work visas? For instance could I work part-time at a corporation working in communications, or editing etc. AND teach English on the side?

Sorry, I'm sure the Korean consulate could answer these questions however I've yet to contact them and a bit anxious. In the meantime some insight would be much appreciated.

[CentralCali]

Straight up: you cannot get an E-2 visa without a contract signed by both you and a Korean employer. Also, you cannot hold more than one category of visa.

[Fraser]

Right, makes sense.

So one profession or the other?

Can you get an E-2 with a part-time employer?

If not that's just really crummy for me because I'm not interested in locking into a contract with anyone. I also don't need an apartment, airfare, benefits etc. Ideally, if I taught English, I'd like to work on a per hour basis. And I'd ideally do freelance work as well.

[ttompatz]

[Fraser]

Thanks for the info ttompatz.

So I can enter on an F-3 visa, look for a job, and switch to an E-2 visa? Would I need to make a 'visa run?' If so, would I need to return to Canada for another interview or what?

I've read elsewhere about people on F-3's finding work and switching to an F-5 (not sure how long they had lived in Korea however).

Basically, I just want to know I can find a teaching job after I arrive in Korea with an F-3. Anyone else have any experience/knowledge with my situation?

[CentralCali]

For a teaching job on an E-2 visa you will absolutely have to return to your home country if you have never been in Korea on an E-2 visa before. You will have to get the required documents and have them apostilled. Then you will have to sit an interview at a Korean consulate in your home country, unless you get some kind of exception to policy from Immigration and an agreement from the consulate in the other country where you wish to sit the interview.

CDI is facing a class-action lawsuit from a number of former employees (apparently both Korean and foreign former employees) that hagweon chain's franchises had listed as independent contractors. If you go that route, you'll merely be helping to perpetuate abusive contracts in this industry.

[ttompatz]

[CentralCali]

[crystal]

My co-worker is in Korea on an F3 visa. Her husband is here on an E2. She didn't work when she first got here, but looked for a job later. You can get the F3 amended, in country - no visa run, to include special activities. She has a stamp on the back of hers that says E2 and the name of the school, but her visa is still an F3. If you wish to teach you will still need to provide your documents and have a school to sponsor your "special activities". She got the amendment in June (I think) of last year and did not need to do an interview at home.

[siwawalter]

Check the E2 website.

[Fraser]

Well here's hoping to not having to fly back to Canada.

Crystal, can you ask your coworker to email me? You'll have to PM me to get my email. Or can you tell me if that coworker had an E2 previously?

Would part-time employers sponsor an E2 visa?

Korean visas sound like a bureaucratic nightmare.

[ttompatz]

[crystal]

This is her first job in Korea, she didn't hold an E-2 previously.

She didn't need to have an interview at home, just provide the same documents as the rest of us - CBC and degree with the necessary stamps!

No visa run either - I believe that's why the school got her the "special activities" amendment, so they wouldn't have to pay for any kind of visa run.

Also worth noting - if you do this, because you are still on an F-3, your visa will still be tied to that of your wife, so when her contract finishes and if she stops working your "special activities" permission will no longer be valid.

[minos]

I've seen some full-time editing jobs advertised....

I've met a few foreign journalist who are paid a decent salary....one has a Pulitzer and the other is a girl who started as a teacher here.