Korean Job Discussion Forums

[downstack]

My husband and I had an easy experience. Most recruiters said it would be difficult, but one immediately placed us at a kindergarten together, a school that provided couple housing (two rooms instead of one) and didn't mind having a couple teach at the school. Also, we are in Seoul, which we'd requested. You will probably have to be flexible with what you teach though-- most public schools only want one foreign teacher, and it would be hard to coordinate housing if you are each working at different school.

[cayce23]

My boyfriend and I came here together. We had no trouble finding a school that wanted us. We got hired with a company that has two different schools across the road from each other. At first we were separate, but we renewed after 8 months for a second year, and that made them trust us enough to work at the same school.

As for housing...ugh. Our circumstances might be different, but we got two equally lame choices, and so we've been stuck in two apartments down the hall from each other in the same building. This would be GREAT in America, but in Korea, the buildings have no insulation (hot in the summer, freezing in the winter, and the neighbors hear every footstep) and the door locks sing loudly when you enter your code, so going between two apartments all day was out of the question. Thus, we have been living in an apartment the size of my last bathroom for the past year. We've pushed for a two-bedroom apartment, which is actually very large. Now we're just waiting for a previous teacher to vacate. Can't wait!

It's difficult living and working 24/7 with the same person, no matter how close you think you are to start out. Trust me, little things will wear on you.

One couple at another campus our company owned broke up and had to be moved into separate apartments. This is not ideal for a company.

[nattyos84]

Hi

Okay so we have decided to apply through the EPIK program initially. In the application it mentions that unless couples are married they will not be allowed to live together, we're currently living together in UK and would like to continue to in Korea if possible. We're also a bit concerned that we will not be placed in the same city and will have wasted time applying through the public route if this is the case?

Does anyone have any experience of not being married and living together whilst working in public school? Also does anyone have any idea about the number of couples placed in the EPIK program.

Thanks!

Nat

[s.tickbeat]

Couples housing is usually better than people here are presenting it. It usually means two distinct spaces within the apartment - in my place that means a separate bedroom and living room, and in my friend's place it means that they have giant wooden sliding doors separating the sleeping/socializing area from the food prep/doing chores area. The apartments are much larger, and it's ALWAYS worth forcing the issue if your apartment turns out to be too small to accommodate the two of you. In any contract, I would specify/define 'couples housing' as 'two distinct and separate multi-purpose rooms of comparable size within a single domicile connected to the heating system, and excluding verandas, bathrooms, and patios.'

Anyway, the biggest challenges we faced coming as a couple were more related to *working* life (in contrast to student life) and trying to find a work/life balance while still maintaining personal time. Being a foreign couple here comes with certain advantages, especially if you present as married (whether you are or not). My husband is respected as an 'honorable man' who's committed to 'his lady.' He's also NOT seen as a threat or a predator, here to prey on young Korean women. For my part, I'm seen as a 'respectable, chaste' young woman, who's landed well. The foreigner guys leave me alone (boyfriend/girlfriend relationships are seen as impermanent, but the husband/wife relationship is seen as somewhat sacred by the waygooks here). The biggest advantages are institutional: as a 'married' couple you'll simply be treated with more respect and thus have an easier time with officialdom, the work environment, and students. It's a life-stage thing.

The whole thing makes me want to vomit, honestly. There's no more honor in marriage than in cohabitation, nothing more respectable or chaste in marriage than any other kind of relationship. I also hate being seen as part of a whole, rather than a whole in and of myself.

P.S look for after-school programs if you want to live together. Or, if the UK has domestic partnership or common law marriage as equivalent to marriage, then claim to be married. When you register at your embassy, claim spousal status.