Korean Job Discussion Forums

[nlje89]

so, i'm an international student at a community college in the US, and i get my AA in english, which is worth diddly squat really, at the end of the year. i'm a TA and an english tutor here, so my professor recommended i apply for this english village program at a university in korea, where i would basically do 3 weeks of a "teaching internship" and another 4 weeks of university classes at their summer school. initially they told me since i'm not from a "native-speaking country", they'd need to conduct a phone interview with me before they'd accept me, i guess to listen to my accent? of course, they had no problem with my accent, and apparently loved my personal statement, and now i'm booked to spend 7 weeks in korea this summer. yay?

anyway, that's the back story. after a little bit of back and forth with their exchange coordinator, they asked if i've ever considered getting my bachelor's degree in korea, and they'd be happy to offer me a 40% scholarship if i did choose to attend their university. i told them i would consider it, and that i am actually thinking of getting my TEFL and teaching in china instead, since they're more lax about "native speakers". this kind of lead to the admissions person trying to sell me on teaching ESL in korea instead and that all i'd need is a bachelor's degree, and even one from a korean university is fine.. also i think she mentioned somewhere in our e-mail exchange that TEFL isn't worth much in korea. ouch.

NOW, i've done my research, and not only is korean immigration a pain in the ass about issuing E visas, it is IMPOSSIBLE if i'm not a native speaker. so, what could this admissions person be on about saying i could get a job there? is she just trying to get me to go study in their university, or do i have an actual shot at getting a job in korea if i was to graduate from a university there? i've not seen any topics here about foreign graduates of korean universities, so i kind of would like some input before committing myself to another two years in school.. in another foreign country.

thank you for reading my ramble! any helpful insight is much appreciated.

[Sireno]

I'm almost certain you need citizenship and a bachelors degree from one of those English speaking countries deemed by Korea. If you get a degree here in Korea then no dice.

[Otherside]

Could you get a job in Korea as a non-native speaker? Sure

Could you get a job in Korea as an English teacher as a non-native speaker? No way. (if you were married to korean, or had korean ancestry, it would be different.)

Additionally, for a native speaker to be able to work as an English teacher in Korea, they need a degree from an E7 country.

Also, as a non-native speaker, a degree from Korea is going to do you any favours in a country (eg China), where visa rules are a bit nire relaxed,


*native speaker = passport holder from: US, SA, Canada, NZ, Ireland, Aus, UK.

[Zyzyfer]

Doubt you can get an E-2, as mentioned.

Big unis most likely have student career centers that advertise non-teaching jobs not normally found elsewhere, but if you don't have any professional experience, you may find it difficult to qualify for the E-7 visa. Nationality doesn't matter as much, but experience does.

The best I see is maybe doing an "internship" part time job while studying. I believe you can still work 20 hours a week while on a student visa.

Speak with your contact at the university and try to get some more information.

[nate1983]

Do you mind sharing where you're from? How long have you lived in the US? You write pretty much like a native speaker, so maybe you could pass yourself off as one (don't lie about where you grew up, just say you've been using English as a first language since you were young if that's the case).

Are you only looking for English teaching jobs? The vast majority of foreigners working in Korea don't speak English as a native language (if at all), and a lot of them do just fine. There's plenty of other opportunities (what other languages do you speak?), though lots of them will involve knowing Korean.

[nlje89]

hey nate1983!

i'm actually malaysian, and english really is my first language. i've only been in the US for about two years, actually. the tricky thing about being malaysian is that pretty much everyone in malaysia speaks english, it's an "official" language, yet it just doesn't count. meh.

while ESL teaching is kind of my career path, i.e: getting CELTA done, do a few years of teaching, whatever follows after that, i'm actually open to any type of work in south korea. but really though, i think these days, as long as there's a job opportunity.. you take it. :/ oh, to answer your question, i'm fluent in mandarin, cantonese and some other chinese dialects, malay, indonesian and have.. conversational levels of japanese and korean.

this uni rep's trying pretty hard to get me to consider doing a bachelors with them, she says it really isn't gonna be that hard to get a job there even if i don't want to just teach ESL. but who wouldn't want to teach ESL in korea? it seems like there's more pro than con to it, no matter how many people complain about the ESL industry in korea being shady as heck. she kind of hinted that i should take the time there to get to know people because.. that opens doors for employment. i'm not sure if it's just her not knowing better about visa stuff, or if she's really trying to be helpful. hmm.

mmm. and yeah, the other replies kind of confirmed my research, that an E2 is very much impossible for me. perhaps i should just go and learn korean while pursuing a bachelors, and see where that leads me.

[Zyzyfer]

Honestly you probably look good on paper for the uni and she wants to get you on board. You sadly cannot get an E-2. If you have professional experience in other fields you might be able to get an E-7. But I wouldn't bet on it, and E-7s generally don't teach.

If you like any programs at the uni, sign on, student visas should allow you to work up to 20 hours per week (teaching or whatever) legally, study something interesting, get to know people, and see where it leads. But do not expect a job when the degree is done, and have a backup plan should you finish yourself unable to line something up after the degree is completed.