Korean Job Discussion Forums

[fohjoey]

Hello Folks,

My names is Joey and I am grateful for your posts regarding teaching in Korea. I have found them very informative. If you don�t mind I would like to ask a few questions about my intentions and ask your advice.

Firstly, my intention is to teach English as a native speaking Irish American in Korea. I would prefer to be located in Seoul (or other comparable area with appropriate production needs) as I would also like to continue my career as a Professional Audio consultant (sound recording/live production). I am 50 years of age and have dual US/Irish citizenship and passports. I am a US Veteran. I have no teaching experience, but I do have extensive experience working with and facilitating school groups of all ages producing drama and music performances. I have an Honours Bachelors Degree in Media Production and Management.

Secondly, I wish to relocate with my family. There are four of us; myself, my partner, and two children. Our children are three and two years of age. Partner (not wife) does not have a degree. My Partner is Italian. Her passport is Italian. Our children have dual US/Irish citizenship and both passports, as do I. Myself and my partner are both seasoned travellers, having been both employed by a global airline. We would like to take this opportunity in our lives to travel with the children before they begin school. In addition, we have a number of friends and associates who have recently returned from Korea, having been employed there as English teachers. They advise us that it is entirely possible to earn and save in Korea, something that is very attractive to us at this time in our lives. We have been planning a new chapter in our lives, and the opportunity to save a bit of money towards that goal is very attractive. We have reservations about this possibility if we find it necessary to pay a lot of rent, considering we have found that accommodation provided by English teacher contracts is normally single accommodation.

I am of the opinion that I may be best suited to teaching young adults, perhaps incorporating Music Technology into my curriculum. Is this type of pro-active approach to developing a curriculum appropriate for a first-time teacher, or should one simply accept and follow a prescribed system? Am I correct in assuming that a 'chain school' is a franchise or assembly line type organization, such as Burger King/McDonald�s? As a first-timer/newcomer might it be beneficial to utilize recruiters in our search? Being somewhere that provides mentoring opportunities and a curriculum makes a lot of sense to us. As we are not youngsters starting our careers, your suggestion that the mentoring and curriculum, pay on time, standard non-dodgy contracts, and large pool of co-workers for networking that a chain school provides far outweighs grabbing the cash at this stage in our lives. That is not to say we do not expect to be well remunerated.

Could it be possible to be compensated for accommodation rather than utilizing that which is provided under the contract? Then we could pay the difference for our needs as a family.

Regarding my wish to continue my involvement in event production while we are there, I am advised that the best opportunities for me lie with the US expat/military community in Seoul. Is there a thriving live music scene attended by this community?

So, thanks again for your contribution.

Best Regards,
Joey

[ttompatz]

You have the right passport and a degree. You can get a job (but it will be a tough haul finding one in Seoul).

Your legal children will also be able to accompany you as dependents on a family class visa (F3).

Your partner will NOT. There are no girlfriend / partner visas. Get married or stay home.

The rest of your information is, in terms of the job search, worthless. This is NOT the good ol' US of A.

Bottom line:
Your partner can't get a visa to stay for more than 90 days.
You are over 50 (ageism IS alive and well).
You want to relocate with a family.
You have no direct relevant (classroom) experience.
You want to work with young adults (tight market at the best of times).

Your chances are not very good and you would never recover your relocation costs.

Good luck.

.

[ThingsComeAround]

Is your partner fluent in Italian? Can she cook? (not trying to be stereotypical but that's how things are here) There are so many Italia-philes here that if she were could find a job teaching Italian it could help you both out.

[fohjoey]

She is fluent in Italian, English, and Romanian. She is a great cook. She is a wonderful woman, mother and partner. She is watching.

[bbunce]

You and I have two things in common. I am also retired military and turned 50 last year. I found that noone wanted to hire me when they heard I wanted to bring my wife. (She is Korean) Schools want single, white, male or female, aged 25-30. Why don't you go to Italy and teach there so you can live with your partner?