Korean Job Discussion Forums

[carriepaulsmith]

I write as a discontented, currently-employed call-center slave.

I recently acquired my TESOL certification via Oxford Seminars, have a BS degree, and am a native-born US citizen. I would like to secure a teaching job in S. Korea. I am planning on bringing th ewhole family as we hate life in the USA.

My husband is also a native English speaker, permanent resident of USA, citizen of Belize, Central America, where we spent 10 years. (Point of interest: Belize is former British Honduras and English is the national language. From my life experience of 10 years living there, the British-based English command of Belize is impeccable. Most overseas employers and recruiters do not recognize this, and we are unsure if he can get a job teaching unless we find a couples-teaching contract.)

I realize that he cannot legally teach. He can however help with the logistics of getting our kids (ages 6 and 13) around for school and activities. I wonder if they'd be able accepted to enroll in Korean, non-international schools and get by in their studies with tutors, etc..

We are planning on uprooting fully and bringing the cat as well.

My goal is to come and teach for 1 year or more. I wonder if I will be able to find a contract that will cover at least half of the airfare, and housing that we can fit into. At present, we share a small 2 bedroom apartment. I fully expect that at best we would be offered a large studio space we'd have to share.

We want a non-USA adventure as a family. I'm looking for any thoughts on the possibility of all this or anyone's similar experience.

Thanks!

[Carbon]

Well, it's going to be a bit tough.

The market here is not really brimming with opportunity for even a single, fresh-faced 21 year-old. I am not sure how a hagwon would feel about a whole family and a cat. Public school may be different, but as I said, it seems to be a bad time in the job market here. Many jobs being cut in that sector.

There is also a question of money; the job you may get will pay between 2.1 ~ 2.3 million won, which isn't much for a family of 4. The kids would need schooling, which would all be in Korean unless you get them into a foreign language school, which are quite expensive. The kids will have a hard time in regular schools. Language will be a huge issue, but also just being foreign will be a big issue constantly. Personally, I think that is really a deal-breaker; your 13 year-old will almost certainly have really big challenges to overcome. Only you know your kids, but they will have to be strong in character and very self-confident.

Housing (small!) would be included in your contract, but even then, money would be tight, I suspect. I don't think your husband can work legally teaching (not 100% about that), so best to dismiss that idea; you don't want to take any chances with immigration.

All of that said, it still never hurts to try. It seems you are quite frustrated where you are, so why not? I am sorry to be so negative in my post, but honesty is what you need here, not unrealistic half-truths.

Best of luck to you and keep us posted.

[ttompatz]

[r122925]

[northway]

You're going to make your thirteen year old kid uproot, move to Korea, go to school in a language he doesn't understand, and live in a one room apartment with you?

[andrewchon]

I'd suggest some reading of Epicurus and Seneca first, however I may be out of touch with the Obama-land.

Your kids will be VERY POPULAR at korean public schools. Korean students, particularly the students who are poor at English, love having English speakers for friends. Not because they want to learn English, mind you. They want trophy friends and hope their english problems will be solved by that. It's up to you and your kids to turn that into your advantage.

Housing in Korea is tiny. 'House' as in a home with some soil underneath are virtually un-available at your price. You are most likely to shack up in a 1 br apartment block. You'll have to live like my neighbour: family of six all sleeping side-by-side together on the floor. Some apartments do not allow pets.

So, my advice as someone who has moved to a new country twice: get a job in Korea and make a new life, but come free of any expectations.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[randall020105]

do your research before coming all this way only to find you exchanged a bad situation for a worse one... just saying.

[Dazed and Confused]

Do take into consideration that your 13 year old will be in school from 9-5 everyday and have Saturday classes. And, there may very well be compulsory after school tutoring and extracurricular activities. Even during the vacation periods many of my students attend "vacation classes" at the public school from 9-3 each day. Your 6 year old might have a better time adjusting to school life in Korea and picking up the language faster. However, that doesn't mean it will be easy. Also, after a year if you take the kids back home you may find they end up repeating a grade. That's a serious blow for any kid especially one who had no control over the situation. Have you considered home schooling? If your husband isn't working can he take charge of their education?

As others have said housing will be much smaller than you're used to. One of my students is from a family of 4. They live in less than 600 sq.ft. one bedroom apartment. Cheaper housing is usually found outside of Seoul. In fact the further you get outside the big cities the cheaper your housing will be. Negotiate with your employer and give yourself some time to find an adequate place but be prepared to make up the difference in your housing subsidy. Some schools might give you key money and others may only give you a small monthly stipend. If you have US$10-20,000 you will have a little wiggle room to find something. If you are essentially broke you will have to take what's in your price range or your employer offers. You may also find yourself responsible for furnishing it as well (if you don't live in school accommodations). Keep in mind that second hand goods can be found in Korea but they are higher in prices than you'd find in the US.

After a year in Korea you may or may not break even with all your set up costs. I assume you are thinking of doing this not only for the adventure but also for financial reasons, right? I'd suggest on planning a longer stay.

[Dodge7]

[eat_yeot]

[Paddycakes]

Ahh, the old "grass is greener anywhere but here" syndrome...

I'll add my two cents:

First, I've known some foreign couples (both waygooks) who brought their kids here.

So in theory it is possible to pull off.

But the big, big difference is that their kids are below school age, which makes for a world of difference.

Most foreigners actually leave Korea when their kids hit school age because schooling is such an issue. The ones who usually stay only do so because back home they have no chances of getting a job.

International schools are around $20,000 US per year, which represent basically the full yearly salary of a typical ESL teacher. So that's off the list.

Home schooling is your only option I think.



Some points:

1. Putting a 13 year old in a Korean school who is pure white and who has no previous Korean language training... sorry, but you could really damage your kid here. That's going to be hell for them, and it's going to screw up their education.

Learning Korean is not like learning French or Spanish...

2. ESL teachers generally have a standard of living on par with local taxi drivers. Do you really want to live your great 'expat adventure' living like a local taxi driver in Asia? It's do-able if you're 21 and single, but with a family and kids? It's not going to be a very nice life.

You want to raise your family in some crappy little apartment with mold all over the walls? Or take a shower in the bathroom without the shower stall? Basically you hose yourself down standing beside your toilet.



3. Korea is NOT cheap, especially food at the grocery store. The majority of the foreign families (usually waygook husband and Korean wife), are really struggling financially unless the wife has a really good job. ESL, as mentioned, pays peanuts, in spite of what some of the posters on this board like to claim.

Don't be fooled by the posters who like to spin their income every which way to make it look bigger than it really is by factoring in airfare, etc.

A lot of people really love to inflate their incomes, but you can expect to probably take home 2 million per month or so after all deductions.

4. I assume you're living paycheck to paycheck in the US. So I would assume if you come here you have no "emergency escape" fund if things in Korea go sour (probably more than a 50/50 percent chance of that happening).

Trust me, you're going to want an emergency escape fund and plan.


5. I don't personally think any hogwan will hire you, and they most certainly will never pay for your other family member's airfare.

It's an employer's market, and they can pick and choose.

Why would they want to take on a complex situation (like yours) when they can just get a 22 year-old with none of the extra issues?


My final advice:

1. If your heart is set on Korea, go for it. But get the emergency escape fund and plan setup first.

2. Your only option is "home-schooling". Your husband will have to be the teacher. Does he and your kids have the self-discipline required to pull that off?

3. You're are not going to save any money... in fact, you could very easily wind up spending more than you make. You'll come out of Korea financially further behind than when you started.

If your definition of a "great expat adventure" means living like a poor local does... well, that's a plus on your side.


4. If you want to escape the Call Center and the US, why not just go to Belize?

Since your husband is a citizen there and it's an English country, you'll probably have a heck of a lot easier -and more enjoyable- time.

[Carbon]

[Paddycakes]

[ssuprnova]

OP, I really hope you're trolling... it's one of the worst ideas I've ever heard.