Korean Job Discussion Forums

[No_hite_pls]

[northway]

[bcity]

I have no idea why you're being so overly hostile, Son Deureo. It's honestly really rude and unnecessary. I get that I'm an idiot, I'm already aware of the mistake I've made, there's no need for you to rub anything in. Which, again, I'm not sure why you're even commenting, because you're making personal attacks as if my mistake has offended you. It's not as if I'm some asylum-escapee waiting to wreak havoc on students and the country.

It is all very unfortunate, but I'm moving on, and now I know what to do in future situations like these.

[amcnutt]

I feel for you bcity. It sucks for you that you were trying to be honest and ended up getting bit in the butt.
Korea is very traditional and they are not as accepting as many (not all) Westerners are. They don't understand mental illness and they care highly about appearances and social image. I'm going back to Korea for the money and work experience, but sometimes the cultural differences can really discourage me.
If I were you I would look into teaching in Taiwan. I've known a few people who have gone there and they liked it more than Korea. Obviously, I would take some lessons that you've learned here and apply them elsewhere. Good luck to you.

[Son Deureo!]

bcity, my hostility is not directed at you, it's directed at soyoungmikey for calling me "ignorant".

As I already said, I don't think it's fair that you're being excluded for having been depressed. If being proven sane were a prerequisite for an E2 there wouldn't be very many of us here at all. I absolutely agree that Koreans' attitudes towards mental health are dangerously backwards. However, there's not a whole lot I can do to change that.

If you want my sympathy for being excluded, you have it.

As for the health declaration, I've posted about this already on this board, as have many others. On this issue and many others, a lot of people make mistakes because they just don't bother to read up and profit from the experience of expats who have already lived here. If you'd asked here before you sent in your docs, or done a search this mistake could have been avoided.

For you, bcity, this all reads like rubbing it in and kicking you while you're down. Sorry about that. If there were anything I could actually do to help you now, I would, but there isn't much anyone can do for you besides point out your mistake and that can only benefit future applicants. You could try applying again and hope your previous declaration somehow gets lost in the shuffle, or send the letter of explanation and hope that the Immigration agent who reads it is reasonable enough to grant you your visa. That's your only shot at this point.

I wish you the best of luck, bcity. Sorry things didn't work out for you here.

[Weigookin74]

[Troglodyte]

[Emark]

[goreality]

With new fingerprinting and mugshots done when registering, changing information will only work for those who haven't been here yet.

There is a possibly to get your visa and be hired with less than perfect problems, but the chances are greatly lowered. If they catch you trying to lie you will get yourself another red flag and that will make the chances even lower still.

[korea.teacher]

Sorry about your situation bcity.

Aside form the debate over whether you can reapply, I'm concerned that Korea might not be the best place for you to work considering your past history with clinical depression (hurrah for working through it).

Consider that you will be working in a country experiencing it's own mental health crisis.

South Korea has had the highest suicide rate among OECD countries for years. In a country where 1 out of every 3 people suffers from some form of mental illness, would your doctor want you to work here?

Some teachers manage to ignore the craziness they encounter while working in South Korea. Others get burnt out and are beat down by their experience.

Regular Mental Health Checkups to Become Mandatory
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/02/20/2012022000929.html

Depression a Growing Concern in Korea
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/02/20/2012022000424.html.

Korea Strives to Reduce Suicide Rate
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/09/20/2011092000882.html

Suicide Remains No. 1 Cause of Death Among Teens
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/05/03/2012050301030.html

Korean Children Unhappiest in OECD Despite Material Wealth
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/05/07/2012050700775.html

More People in Their 40s, 50s Diagnosed with Dementia
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/05/07/2012050701297.html

80% of Teachers Unhappy in Their Job
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/05/15/2012051501144.html

More Than Half of Korean Students Unhappy at School
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/12/07/2011120700522.html

[creeper1]

To the above poster, yes being Korean in Korea sucks. For whatever reason a lot of Koreans are unhappy in life.

Generally speaking that doesn't apply to foreingers living in Korea though.
Most of them seem happy enough at a basic level. Sure there is a lot of complaining and whining but no real depression.

To the OP, I too sympathise with you. Pick whatever country you want and live life. Don't live in fear about your disease showing up again.

If you are set on Korea then apply again. It can't hurt. Don't be demotivated by the posters here that say you don't have a chance.

[recessiontime]

I'm going to guess that OP comes from a socialist country like Canada/Australia/England where claiming a illness or disability gets you benefits. That would make sense of why he was so forthcoming about his medical problems.

I had clinical depression before coming to S.Korea and I too never made any mention of it. It's because I knew from visiting this board day and night that doing so was a very bad idea. There are a lot traps in Korea that one can fall into if one is one looking for them. That's why this forum is a great resource for anyone teaching in Korea. Some of people on this board are really knowledgeable.

[shostahoosier]

I'm really surprised that the OP's application managed to make it to immigration.

When I was a clueless newbie...I was honest on my EPIK application and it was immediately *dinged* by EPIK. It never made it any further than that. I was still able to get in with GEPIK though and had no problem with getting a visa.

I would think that your info was kicked back by EPIK before they even bothered to submit your application to immigration if you checked "yes" on the mental illness portion.

[Emark]

So, now this thread is entering the area of question I had opened in another thread about "flagged" and "black listed" teachers.

How is it that we can "KNOW" that there is or isn't a Santa's naughty and nice list that GEPIK / EPIK has or doesn't have about foreign teachers?

There are other threads that discuss immi has no lists and no "flagging".

I guess in the end this is just a forum of opinion and not always fact right?

Right.

(OMG, I'm talking to myself! The cat's out of the bag now buddy! They all see your skit-so - di-mencha now!)

[slothrop]

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