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robinsoncrusoe
Joined: 22 Jan 2010
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 Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 3:17 pm Post subject: Other opportunities besides teaching? |
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Just interviewed with a hagwon in Seoul and I think it went pretty well...
until I mentioned my F4 visa and that I'm a gyopo. The hagwon's representative was at least cool about it and so we spent the next half hour commiserating about how tough the market is for gyopos, but the ultimate conclusion was that those closer to the "blond-hair and blue eyes" ideal stand better chances than gyopos do.
Right before he hung up, though, he mentioned that there are "plenty of other opportunities for gyopos" besides teaching english. I didn't delve into it, just thanking him for his time, but does anybody have an idea as to what he's referring? He made it sound like there are plenty of opportunities in other fields but that they go by unnoticed mostly because few of us know about them.
Just wondering if anybody could shed some light on this, I've been looking for a teaching job for 5 long months and have to say, it's been quite exhausting and emotionally draining! |
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sadguy
Joined: 13 Feb 2011
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 3:35 pm Post subject: |
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i had a kyopo friend who was a translator after she got her translator license while in korea.
and had another friend who was an english editor. |
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blm
Joined: 11 Nov 2010
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 3:45 pm Post subject: |
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The big factor is your Korean ability.
If you can speak both Korean and English well there are plenty of oppurtunities. |
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shostahoosier
Joined: 14 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 3:58 pm Post subject: Re: Other opportunities besides teaching? |
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| robinsoncrusoe wrote: |
Just interviewed with a hagwon in Seoul and I think it went pretty well...
until I mentioned my F4 visa and that I'm a gyopo. The hagwon's representative was at least cool about it and so we spent the next half hour commiserating about how tough the market is for gyopos, but the ultimate conclusion was that those closer to the "blond-hair and blue eyes" ideal stand better chances than gyopos do.
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Did they not have a picture of you before the interview?
(not saying I agree with pictures by the way  ) |
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robinsoncrusoe
Joined: 22 Jan 2010
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 5:30 pm Post subject: |
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yea of course they had all my stuff: resume, background checks, photo, etc. I kind of just asked him towards the end "What are my chances like being a gyopo and having and F4?" which made him kind of start commiserating on the market for gyopos. He said he had to turn down a lot of qualified gyopo applicants who had MA in education with TESOLs and actual teaching experience but his bosses ultimately went with the blond american or canadian each time.
Also, I suppose the only jobs where they'll pay you to fly over is a teaching gig. I can't imagine companies that are not related to teaching paying for roundtrip airfare or providing housing all because you can translate something into English. Right? |
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oldtactics
Joined: 18 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 5:44 pm Post subject: |
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| EPIK always seems to be hiring coordinators if you're interested in working for them at the main office in Seoul. Check the NIIED website, be prepared for an excessively long interview. |
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wishfullthinkng
Joined: 05 Mar 2010
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 5:53 pm Post subject: |
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i'm on an F4 and after taking an extended vacation i took a hagwon job in korea to try and meet more koreans (oh what a failure that was) and it took me all of a week to find the job. finding it wasn't even planned, it was more of a spur of the moment type thing. there are TONS of posts on craigslist looking for gyopo teachers.
as for other opportunities, the recruiter is correct, there are tons. i now have a 9-5 at a korean corporation and could not be happier. granted they modeled the working environment after the US (no hwoeshicks, i can leave before my boss, only 5 day working weeks, i can come in almost any time i want, etc.)
my old hagwon was quite an experience (i only stayed for 3 months) but an experience i never wish to repeat. |
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whiteshoes
Joined: 14 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 6:08 pm Post subject: |
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| robinsoncrusoe wrote: |
yea of course they had all my stuff: resume, background checks, photo, etc. I kind of just asked him towards the end "What are my chances like being a gyopo and having and F4?" which made him kind of start commiserating on the market for gyopos. He said he had to turn down a lot of qualified gyopo applicants who had MA in education with TESOLs and actual teaching experience but his bosses ultimately went with the blond american or canadian each time.
Also, I suppose the only jobs where they'll pay you to fly over is a teaching gig. I can't imagine companies that are not related to teaching paying for roundtrip airfare or providing housing all because you can translate something into English. Right? |
So you speak Korean right? A friend of mine was making 3.0 working at a bank because she was bi-lingual. Do you have an aunt or uncle you can stay with for a bit? I'm sure you could get over here, by hook or by crook. |
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robinsoncrusoe
Joined: 22 Jan 2010
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 7:23 pm Post subject: |
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| wishfullthinkng wrote: |
i'm on an F4 and after taking an extended vacation i took a hagwon job in korea to try and meet more koreans (oh what a failure that was) and it took me all of a week to find the job. finding it wasn't even planned, it was more of a spur of the moment type thing. there are TONS of posts on craigslist looking for gyopo teachers.
as for other opportunities, the recruiter is correct, there are tons. i now have a 9-5 at a korean corporation and could not be happier. granted they modeled the working environment after the US (no hwoeshicks, i can leave before my boss, only 5 day working weeks, i can come in almost any time i want, etc.)
my old hagwon was quite an experience (i only stayed for 3 months) but an experience i never wish to repeat. |
1. Why was it a failure to meet more Koreans? Part of the reason I'm going is to make Korean friends. kinda sad that it didn't work out for u. but why?
2. awesome job. generally, korean corporations are sweathouses, it's pretty uplifting to hear not every one is like that.
| whiteshoes wrote: |
| So you speak Korean right? A friend of mine was making 3.0 working at a bank because she was bi-lingual. |
uh, actually not really.  I was hoping to learn when I got there. I'm a fast learner and I already have a pretty good foundation from which to build off of, from hearing my parents speak all the time. |
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wishfullthinkng
Joined: 05 Mar 2010
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| Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2011 12:51 am Post subject: |
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| robinsoncrusoe wrote: |
1. Why was it a failure to meet more Koreans? Part of the reason I'm going is to make Korean friends. kinda sad that it didn't work out for u. but why?
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i took what was advertised as a part-time job at a hagwon. however, they expected me to come in for 2 hours earlier everyday for unpaid prep time on top of the working hours. they also placed me in a city that was 1.5 hours away from where i originally applied to, promising me that they'd transfer me to my city a month later. that never happened and i ended up being in transit and at the school for around 12 hours a day in the evening so i couldn't even go out to meet people had i wanted to. the staff were also very aloof and had no desire to help or be social with any of the teachers. granted that won't happen to everyone and very well might be the minority of situations, but it did little to polish my expectations of a hagwon.
| robinsoncrusoe wrote: |
| 2. awesome job. generally, korean corporations are sweathouses, it's pretty uplifting to hear not every one is like that. |
i was very fortunate to find my current job and i know it's very much not the norm for korean corporations. it has been infinitely more fruitful for me to befriend koreans here than at the school. |
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Oppa
Joined: 05 Apr 2011
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| Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2011 5:46 am Post subject: |
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as others have noted the answer is obvious.
It all depends on your level of Korean.
If it's very high or near fluent, I'd imagine there would be endless opportunities, especially if you have a degree in something useful.
if it's not, then the only thing you're bringing to the party is your English, which will only be useful in private or public education. |
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crossmr
Joined: 22 Nov 2008
Location: Hwayangdong, Seoul
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| Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2011 7:33 am Post subject: |
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On an F4 you can work at anything basically. Any industry (other than the "entertainment" industry), own businesses, etc. Those are the benefits of the F-series (2, 4, 5)
Sure you could stay in English and make a decent buck by piling up various part time jobs and privates, or if you wanted you could get into something else and if you have great Korean skills you could certainly get into another industry as a bilingual worker. You could do foreign relations, translation, etc.
The only thing to keep in mind is that you'd have to work like a Korean in those jobs, so you might be putting in a lot more hours than you would working in ESL.
If you did some networking you might be able to land yourself a nice job with a small/medium business looking overseas who needs a bilingual worker with knowledge of western culture to work for them, could be worth a decent buck. |
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robinsoncrusoe
Joined: 22 Jan 2010
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| Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2011 8:50 pm Post subject: |
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| crossmr wrote: |
On an F4 you can work at anything basically. Any industry (other than the "entertainment" industry), own businesses, etc. Those are the benefits of the F-series (2, 4, 5)
Sure you could stay in English and make a decent buck by piling up various part time jobs and privates, or if you wanted you could get into something else and if you have great Korean skills you could certainly get into another industry as a bilingual worker. You could do foreign relations, translation, etc.
The only thing to keep in mind is that you'd have to work like a Korean in those jobs, so you might be putting in a lot more hours than you would working in ESL.
If you did some networking you might be able to land yourself a nice job with a small/medium business looking overseas who needs a bilingual worker with knowledge of western culture to work for them, could be worth a decent buck. |
This is great advice, thanks. I'll look into all of these opportunities. I guess I can't carry out my plan to become a famous idol singer on an f4, but ah well 
Also, just wanted to say: I finally got an offer and have accepted! |
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crossmr
Joined: 22 Nov 2008
Location: Hwayangdong, Seoul
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| Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2011 9:45 pm Post subject: |
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| robinsoncrusoe wrote: |
| crossmr wrote: |
On an F4 you can work at anything basically. Any industry (other than the "entertainment" industry), own businesses, etc. Those are the benefits of the F-series (2, 4, 5)
Sure you could stay in English and make a decent buck by piling up various part time jobs and privates, or if you wanted you could get into something else and if you have great Korean skills you could certainly get into another industry as a bilingual worker. You could do foreign relations, translation, etc.
The only thing to keep in mind is that you'd have to work like a Korean in those jobs, so you might be putting in a lot more hours than you would working in ESL.
If you did some networking you might be able to land yourself a nice job with a small/medium business looking overseas who needs a bilingual worker with knowledge of western culture to work for them, could be worth a decent buck. |
This is great advice, thanks. I'll look into all of these opportunities. I guess I can't carry out my plan to become a famous idol singer on an f4, but ah well
Also, just wanted to say: I finally got an offer and have accepted! |
Sure, you could become an idol singer, entertainment is fine. "Entertainment" is not fine.. |
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Oppa
Joined: 05 Apr 2011
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| Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 4:43 am Post subject: |
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| crossmr wrote: |
| robinsoncrusoe wrote: |
| crossmr wrote: |
On an F4 you can work at anything basically. Any industry (other than the "entertainment" industry), own businesses, etc. Those are the benefits of the F-series (2, 4, 5)
Sure you could stay in English and make a decent buck by piling up various part time jobs and privates, or if you wanted you could get into something else and if you have great Korean skills you could certainly get into another industry as a bilingual worker. You could do foreign relations, translation, etc.
The only thing to keep in mind is that you'd have to work like a Korean in those jobs, so you might be putting in a lot more hours than you would working in ESL.
If you did some networking you might be able to land yourself a nice job with a small/medium business looking overseas who needs a bilingual worker with knowledge of western culture to work for them, could be worth a decent buck. |
This is great advice, thanks. I'll look into all of these opportunities. I guess I can't carry out my plan to become a famous idol singer on an f4, but ah well
Also, just wanted to say: I finally got an offer and have accepted! |
Sure, you could become an idol singer, entertainment is fine. "Entertainment" is not fine.. |
actually I think it is.
I recently read a story in the Korea Times how there a ton of "host clubs" operating in Gangnam and oft visited by Korean females. As with hostess clubs, extra "entertainment" can be had. The legislature is trying to write a law, because the current ones all assume such "hostesses" are female, and the cops have no legal mechanism to go after the male "hosts".
I want to become a host in one of those Gangnam clubs. I think I'd do pretty well, but they're going to try to make it illegal.
A- holes!  |
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