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Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
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alistaircandlin
Joined: 24 Sep 2004
Location: Seoul
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 Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 11:07 pm Post subject: |
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| Jotun_Symph wrote: |
| Most people who are bitter are duped by promises of exotic travel and amazing cultural experiences, then they get over here and are so pissed off everyday about their jobs that they have no energy to devote to anything besides complaining and bitching when they leave work. . |
yeah I agree with this too - it's a good point: you will have to work pretty hard in Korea, at least for your first year. For some people this might not be what they anticipated. But, teachers everywhere have to work hard, especially for their first few years. (Although I've heard that there are more relaxed jobs in Thailand, with less hours - and less pay) |
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Isehtis
Joined: 07 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 8:29 pm Post subject: |
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| People here are overly negative. |
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toonchoon
Joined: 06 Feb 2009
Location: Gangnam
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| Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 3:00 am Post subject: |
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| Gorf wrote: |
| It's like word of mouth. People only come on here to complain, and rarely mention the overwhelming positivity in their lives in Korea. Personally, I've never had a bad time in Korea. Making the move was one of the best things I ever did. |
Yes. +1 |
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itistime
Joined: 23 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 3:16 am Post subject: |
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Research, research, word of mouth and more.
Know what you're getting into.
Korea ain't bad. You could be happy or sad anywhere you go.
Good luck. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 3:22 am Post subject: |
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| shifty wrote: |
As opposed to a previous poster, I believe this forum should be a main source. It can be justifiably seen as a microcosm of teachers in Korea, a sample, if you will.
But it is more than that, it is a cut above and more reliable than an other random sample. For simple reason that any teacher who goes the whole hog and registers on Daves must, on average, be more motivated and committed than the one who doesn't. Note, the operative phrase here being 'ON AVERAGE'.
If you limit yourself to particular individuals who have their own particular slant, you could arrive in a country that has absolutely no resemblance to the one you imagined from their outpourings.
Let's take a case in point: On this very forum right now, there is a thread 'Another of Korea's victims' which reached a satisfactory ending. The only reason why it did was that it was exposed to a large number of posters so that sanity could prevail.
There is a lot of information to be gleaned off Daves.
It is also something of a myth that complainers are more drawn to it. If they are, they can always be seen as such. People are not stupid.
As a previous poster says, Ttompatz is a marvel. But he couldn't be drawn out and allowed to do his magic without interaction and being part of a 'team'. There is mutual growth I dare say, even if most of it is a oneway street from Ttompatz to the run of mill Dave's poster. |
I agree this place is useful but it in no way is a reliable sample or microcosm of Teachers in Korea. It falls victim, quite normaly I might add, to the over representation of negativity. This is simply due to the fact discontent people are louder than content people. This goes double on a near anonymous online board. Add in the trolls, socks, pretenders and people who come to vent and you get a what you get.
There is a lot of great information and advice on here but it in NO WAY should be an applicant or job seekers MAIN source of information! Making an employment decision based on what you read here would be, in my opinion, a bad move.
Just my two cents. |
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shifty
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
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| Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 9:14 am Post subject: |
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| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
I agree this place is useful but it in no way is a reliable sample or microcosm of Teachers in Korea. It falls victim, quite normaly I might add, to the over representation of negativity. This is simply due to the fact discontent people are louder than content people. This goes double on a near anonymous online board. Add in the trolls, socks, pretenders and people who come to vent and you get a what you get.
There is a lot of great information and advice on here but it in NO WAY should be an applicant or job seekers MAIN source of information! Making an employment decision based on what you read here would be, in my opinion, a bad move.
Just my two cents. |
I must be blind, or unreceptive, but I just don't see all this negativity. I'd say conversely that the Daves crowd is quite cheery.
They are cheery in the face of distinct xenophobia and predilection for not paying and fast and loose with the truth. I would submit that as a group Daves produces fewer runners than at large, for reasons that I've already elucidated in an earlier post.
When a poster comes forth with cockroaches or some other frivolous complaint, then the thread is quickly shouted down by old hands.
Most rants are acknowledged by their authors to be just that.
Pretenders yes. Those who want to brag that they are sublimely happy, but find it gauche to do so. They then go through the back door by proclaiming that all on Daves have come to whine. The corollary being that they are winners.
Trolls are hardly a factor.
Now socks, well I've never understood that, unless of course they were banned from the site, which would validate such course of action. You will notice I've remained at my account name, unlike say you. Just sayin.
So if as you say, Daves is a suspect source, what then is worthy, and why? Please less with suggestion as before of contacting directly someone who has actual experience in Korea. I mean, the whole of Dave's people are just that.
Except they are in plural. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 11:50 am Post subject: |
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No worries, I did not hold much hope you would "see it" either. The other issue is that you are playing a game with me here. Thats fine and it fits in well with this place.
As for account names, the fact you kept the same account does not mean you have no others...
I CANCELLED two accounts when I left in 2008, my user account of Homer and my moderator account of TheDude. I have been using this account that was created by my friend Patrick while I was in the hospital. That is something I made clear numerous times but that some still try to use like I hid something. AGain, par for the Daves course my friend.
You think this place is cheery, no problem. I think negativity towards experiences in Korea is overly represented here but that this is a natural by product of anonymity in an online medium along with the normal phenomenon of unhappy people being more vocal than happy people.
Then there are those confortably racist threads that run pages and pages where people engage in semi-disguised racist rants about Koreans. The mods do their best to curb those in but quite a few get by under the radar and you can find real gems about Koreans there. Then again, they are just Koreans so who cares. Reverse the comments in those threads and watch the indignation catch fire on here! 
Practically speaking, Daves is ONE source amongst many. It has several very well informed users who are able to provide solid advice and check their personal opinionhs at the door before doing so. The flip side is that frankly speaking for every Tom on here you have 10 people providing unreliable opinion that is unsupported by facts and that can be quite damaging if used by a Teacher. This type of opinion-advice can be overly negative but also overly positive, each is equally bad for a newbie.
Again, this is the nature of a mostly anonymous online board...discerning applicants will catch on to this early on.
So by all means consult this place but also consult other places and talk to people who can provide factual and informed advice. |
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shifty
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
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| Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 9:10 pm Post subject: |
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| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
| As for account names, the fact you kept the same account does not mean you have no others... |
I'm sad that you might think that of me. Especially when I'm certain you have no others. B/c there can be only ONE PADDY!!
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| Practically speaking, Daves is ONE source amongst many. |
I wonder if you could name some of these, I'd like to see how they stack up and it would help many newbies in their search.
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| The flip side is that frankly speaking for every Tom on here you have 10 people providing unreliable opinion that is unsupported by facts and that can be quite damaging if used by a Teacher. |
For every Teacher on Daves there are nine teachers? You always say you don't snigger at the teaching fraternity in Korea, but now I'm not so sure whether to believe that.
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| discerning applicants will catch on to this early on. |
Who needs discernment if that what it does to you?
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| So by all means consult this place but also consult other places and talk to people who can provide factual and informed advice. |
Names of other places, please (not just one off the top of your head). We absolutely know about talking with past and current teachers, so look, as sign of good faith, I've gone and spared you having to repeat that. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 3:20 am Post subject: |
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Easy..one GREAT place to get FACTUAL information about working in Korea is:
http://wiki.galbijim.com/Main_Page
They have city sections that detail a lot of the bigger Korean cities.
Rubrics about visas, jobs, adapting to life in Korea and none of the venting-rant that comes with a more general forum like Daves.
Applicants should absolutely hit that site for factual information.
Another place that can be damn useful if you wish to work in Busan:
http://www.pusanweb.com/
They cover Busan like no other site.
For Canadians, sites like http://www.canuckabroad.com/ can provide more candian-centric information on visas and living abroad.
Some of the larger recruitment agencies have very decent webpages chock full of useful information on the visa process, required documents and often articles about working in Korea.
Footprints is a good example of this.
Korean embassy and consulate sites typically have a decent section on visas that can guide an applicant.
The list grows....
There are also some very decent blogs out there that a newbie can visit. Roboseyo and Chris in Korea offer a decent place to get some information on Korea. Chris in Korea even answers questions on his blog.
Daves is ONE source in a long list of many sources. A lot of the places above offer far more factual and tone-neutral advice that is free of the venting that occurs here.
Once an applicant is armed with factual information he can use this site more effectively as he will be able to sniff out some of the BS here.
Good resources here are:
Some of the more experienced posters
The FAQs, even if some are old, they are full of good information
The contract sticky thread has a TON of great advice and great posters on contract issues and tends to be neutral and factual when checking a contract. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 4:26 am Post subject: |
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| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
Easy..one GREAT place to get FACTUAL information about working in Korea is:
http://wiki.galbijim.com/Main_Page
They have city sections that detail a lot of the bigger Korean cities.
Rubrics about visas, jobs, adapting to life in Korea and none of the venting-rant that comes with a more general forum like Daves.
Applicants should absolutely hit that site for factual information.
Another place that can be damn useful if you wish to work in Busan:
http://www.pusanweb.com/
They cover Busan like no other site.
For Canadians, sites like http://www.canuckabroad.com/ can provide more candian-centric information on visas and living abroad.
Some of the larger recruitment agencies have very decent webpages chock full of useful information on the visa process, required documents and often articles about working in Korea.
Footprints is a good example of this.
Korean embassy and consulate sites typically have a decent section on visas that can guide an applicant.
The list grows....
There are also some very decent blogs out there that a newbie can visit. Roboseyo and Chris in Korea offer a decent place to get some information on Korea. Chris in Korea even answers questions on his blog.
Daves is ONE source in a long list of many sources. A lot of the places above offer far more factual and tone-neutral advice that is free of the venting that occurs here.
Once an applicant is armed with factual information he can use this site more effectively as he will be able to sniff out some of the BS here.
Good resources here are:
Some of the more experienced posters
The FAQs, even if some are old, they are full of good information
The contract sticky thread has a TON of great advice and great posters on contract issues and tends to be neutral and factual when checking a contract. |
I think the problem with a lot of those sources is that they require actual work, whereas a lot of newbs want to do as little work as possible, which often means coming on Dave's and asking an extremely broad question (i.e., "Which cities are good to live in?") that's really difficult to give a proper answer to rather than checking out a site like Galbi Jim for themselves and actually putting some real research in. |
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shifty
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
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| Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 4:34 am Post subject: |
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| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
Easy..one GREAT place to get FACTUAL information about working in Korea is:
http://wiki.galbijim.com/Main_Page
They have city sections that detail a lot of the bigger Korean cities.
Rubrics about visas, jobs, adapting to life in Korea and none of the venting-rant that comes with a more general forum like Daves.
Applicants should absolutely hit that site for factual information.
Another place that can be damn useful if you wish to work in Busan:
http://www.pusanweb.com/
They cover Busan like no other site.
For Canadians, sites like http://www.canuckabroad.com/ can provide more candian-centric information on visas and living abroad.
Some of the larger recruitment agencies have very decent webpages chock full of useful information on the visa process, required documents and often articles about working in Korea.
Footprints is a good example of this.
Korean embassy and consulate sites typically have a decent section on visas that can guide an applicant.
The list grows....
There are also some very decent blogs out there that a newbie can visit. Roboseyo and Chris in Korea offer a decent place to get some information on Korea. Chris in Korea even answers questions on his blog.
Daves is ONE source in a long list of many sources. A lot of the places above offer far more factual and tone-neutral advice that is free of the venting that occurs here.
Once an applicant is armed with factual information he can use this site more effectively as he will be able to sniff out some of the BS here.
Good resources here are:
Some of the more experienced posters
The FAQs, even if some are old, they are full of good information
The contract sticky thread has a TON of great advice and great posters on contract issues and tends to be neutral and factual when checking a contract. |
Thanks for the links. I'll give them a squiz when I get a mo. I am familiar with them, but now I'll be able to look at them with a new eye.
Heady stuff!!! |
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Zeno
Joined: 20 Nov 2010
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| Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 11:23 am Post subject: Re: so MUCH hype about teaching in Korea & I join this f |
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| ducaticanine wrote: |
| much of what i read are about difficulties and problems. makes me wonder. i had this idea that there were plenty of jobs in Korea and quite simple to find.. |
Lurking Dave's will mess with your perspective. It attacts all the people who have an axe to grind.
I never encoutner such negativity talking to teachers and expats in real life. Most teachers are I meet are happy and having a postitive experience in Korea. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 3:06 pm Post subject: Re: so MUCH hype about teaching in Korea & I join this f |
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| Zeno wrote: |
| ducaticanine wrote: |
| much of what i read are about difficulties and problems. makes me wonder. i had this idea that there were plenty of jobs in Korea and quite simple to find.. |
Lurking Dave's will mess with your perspective. It attacts all the people who have an axe to grind.
I never encoutner such negativity talking to teachers and expats in real life. Most teachers are I meet are happy and having a postitive experience in Korea. |
This is pretty much what I have been saying in this thread...just not as clearly as you just did.
Well done. |
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shifty
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
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| Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 7:59 am Post subject: |
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Ah well, I've come away fairly disillusioned.
The flagship site on Paddy's list 'galjimin' seems to be moribund.
The one for Busan looks alright, doesn't grab me by the throat and not let go, however. Any rate it's only for Busan and not Korea as a whole. If I had no other alternative I still wouldn't go there, that's how staid it looks.
Maybe these places are being supplanted by facebook.
The one in Canada I left alone, I don't know if I did the right thing..
I thought b/c I'm not Canadian I get a pass. |
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World Traveler
Joined: 29 May 2009
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| Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 8:50 am Post subject: |
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| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
| I agree this place is useful but it in no way is a reliable sample or microcosm of Teachers in Korea. |
Those with plum jobs are overrepresented here. They have extra time to surf the internet. Those who have hagwon jobs with long hours may not have the time or energy to post on here. And they may not even know about this site, as most expats in Korea do not. |
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