Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Play_Doh]

Learning Korean - a good career move?

[Shincheon_Blues]

[Swiss James]

why wouldn't most esl teachers be granted that clearance then?

[kangnamdragon]

[komtengi]

[royjones]

how could gaining knowledge (Korean language) ever be a bad thing?

[dogbert]

[Universalis]

I found it to be pretty worthless locally.

At the peak of my Korean language studying I took the Korean government's official Korean language aptitude test and qualified as level 3 out of 6. I prodly placed this on my resumes and applications back when I was looking for side jobs doing editing and proofreading. For the interviews I did get, not a single interviewer asked me about it. One guy was even suprised when I did show up for the interview and was able to speak some Korean.

They care about one thing: are you a native English speaker?

Katydid mentioned her friend the blogger (the Marmot, I assume) and used him as an example of a foreigner getting paid due to his language skills. Sure, he's doing it, and so is Oranckay, but how many papers and publishing houses are there in Korea willing to pay the cash to put a forigner on the payroll? As others have mentioned, Korean-Americans are a much better fit in the Korean office, and would quite possibly work for less money (maybe... I'm just guessing). The Donga Ilbo is one of the big papers in Korea and they still pay to have their work translated poorly by local Koreans.

It's like the inner-city kids who bet their entire life on being a sports star... it's a very risky chance you're taking if you dive into Korean studies in hopes of landing a good job as a result. I just don't think there are enough positions out there.

The Marmot did it the right way... study Korean as a personal or academic interest, and then, if you're lucky, a job will find you.

Brian

[komtengi]

there are whoever other jobs besides proof reading and interpretting where it is important. I ran into a friend yesterday and he told me he is in a marketing role at a Korean firm, even though his background is in engineering. The Korean skills is what landed him the job

[kangnamdragon]

I admit I got my job because I am a native speaker of English, but I could not do my job without speaking Korean. Also, someone who is not a native speaker of English could not do my job. So, I am an example of a native English speaker who gain advancement by learning some Korean and cannot be replaced by a Korean who speaks English.

[Homer]

Not withstanding Osangrl and Rapier,

Learning Korean can be useful here and outside of Korea.
However, you have to apply this skill to a proper fields of work.

Just to name a few, by lerning Korean you could:

While here:

Do consulting for companies wishing to come to Korea or for companies wishing to do business in a western country (I do this).

Work for a Korean company in a number of jobs.

Work for your government here at an Embassy or consulate.

Run your own import-export business more effectively.

At home:

Work for the government of your home country in the Foreign Affairs section.

Get a further graduate degree and teach at an East-Asian department in a University.

Work for Korean companies wishing to do business in your country.

Translation (requires more studies).

There are many more possibilities out there....so learning Korean (or another language) can be quite beneficial.

[OiGirl]

[Eazy_E]

Sorry Homer... if I were going to choose another international language to study, it wouldn't be Korean. It's spoken in only one country (okay, two: North and South K.) where almost everyone is in the process of learning another language, namely English.

Now before anyone goes accusing me of being just another thick-headed English imperialist, I studied French for many years at high school and university despite living on the West Coast of Canada where almost nobody speaks it. Why? I enjoyed it and I thought that French would be an asset to me since it's the other official language as well as a major language internationally.

I also study Korean because I feel that it's natural to learn the language of the country in which one is living. I'm still a beginner, but I know a lot more than most expats who have been here for less than one year.

Everyone who is living here should at least make an effort to learn some of it, but don't do it purely as a career move.

[komtengi]

[Homer]

Easy E,

Thats beside the point.

I did not talk about Korean vs another language.
Italked about the possible applications of Korean in your career.

Wether you prefer to learn another language is up to you and is not any better or worse.

However, as Komtengi said, you have too look at the bigger picture.

Learning Korean for your career is a good move if you gear your career choices to take advantage of the new skill.

Learning another language (any language) will only benefit you profesionaly if you then apply this skill in the proper fields of work.