Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Swampfox10mm]

Sorry, I don't trust anonymous people on the internet until I get to know them better. Nothing personal.

[jackson7]

My best mate landed a fantastic lit position making great coin for great hours and full vacation with only a U.K. master's degree in literature. He was simply given his schedule and he then created the course and assigned the books that he chose. He is now teaching at another university in literature yet again, in Seoul nonetheless (his previous uni was in Bucheon).

It is certainly possible to score the lit position you're seeking, but for those with less than a doctorate, it certainly can be a needle in a haystack. Best advice so far that I would agree with is to try to pick up a lit course or two within your university. This might take some shmoozing, either with a dinner or lunch out with the right professors, or playing on the faculty soccer team, but this isn't necessarily something unique to Korea. It's always who you know.

J7

[MoonDuck]

@FarEastProf,

Tried to pm you with a reply to your question, but this site won't let me as I don't have 25 posts to my credit yet.

Yes, my doctorate is in literature, although I have taught introductory linguistics.

I taught that one lit course (it was on _Tess of the Durbervilles_) at a rather dismal private uni some years back. I could have stayed on there had I wanted, but I got a job offer in Taiwan and decided to go there instead. Now I'm back in Hanguk, as you can see.

I admit that I am completely unaware of any tenure-track posts available for PhDs in this country--if you know of any, do pm me, if you can.

Right now I'm at a hakwon that isn't doing too well, but there is a major Korean uni that's interested in me, so I have some hope.

Good luck to all of us.

[PRagic]

Keep your eye on the Chronicle of Higher Education's job site. They often have postings for tenure track positions in Korea. You could also follow the employment opportunities on the web pages of the major universities.

SNU, Korea U, Yonsei, KonKuk, Ewha, Sogang....they're all always recruiting Ph.D.s, and a lot of the positions are directly funded by the government. The funds don't come out of the university's pocket, so they're keen on hiring non-Korean Ph.D.s.

The jobs are out there, you just have to actively look.

[Swampfox10mm]

And most are probably not tenure-track. Our Ph.D's are called "visiting professor."

Also,your Ph.D needs to be from a non-Korean school (at our univ., anyway). Same rule applies to Korean Ph.D's here. I can tell you our PT Korean staff is none too happy about that.

[PRagic]

True, but ther are indeed many tenure-track positions available. For incoming Ph.D.s with the right qualifications, the choice between tenure-track and visiting status can often be left up to the individual.

The jobs are out there. I know as I have one of them!

[FarEastProf]

The last few comments make teaching in Korea sound somewhat better than initially thought, at least in comparison to the opening comments on this thread. But the information here has shifted away from the question of how, where, and whether one can teach a literature course to the more high-end positions that take a Ph.D. for granted.

Sticking with the current discussion for a while though, how do tenure-track positions measure up against equivalent posts in Western countries? Do people who get this sort of position still find themselves weighed down by unreasonable course loads?

[Swampfox10mm]

No. Never heard of a Ph.D teaching over 9 hrs a week. But publishing is required.

[PRagic]

First, I should say that I don't teach in an English related dicipline. I am, however, in a tenure-track slot (currently Associate Professor). We have a two class load per semester, one undergrad and one grad.

Money-wise, the position pays in the same ballpark as a position at a university in N. America. New Assistant Professors start at around 5+ million a month with full benefits, which is about the same as a flagship state university would pay at the entry level. We also have great access to internal funding, and about 5 million a year is alloted, no questions asked, to attend conferences.

We do 'have to' publish, and review of research and publications is a cornerstone of the hiring and promotion processes along with teaching reviews and professional service. For the most part, people who will publish will publish no matter where they work.

Ironically, I've heard from friends in tenure track slots in the U.S. that some of the new profs are less apt to publish in ranked journals than the people I know working over here. Those people get weeded out by the time they come around for the Associate Professor promotion.

I honestly don't have a clue about the publishing requirements in Literature or TESOL. The pay would be about the same. Someone else might be able to help out in this regard.

[MoonDuck]

Thanks for all the info., you guys, and I will look into the unis mentioned by PRagic.

In the past, I have interviewed at Yonsei and Ewha, but they didn't want me--perhaps because I don't have any publications ....

I'll have to get cracking with that, as I have lots of free time on my hands right now.

I am surprized to read that tenured profs get around 5m a month, which is way beyond anything I recall having been offered back then. Times change.

Thanks again, and I'll report anything I find that might be useful to others.