Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dhan89]

Hi,
I currently hold a dual citizenship in both Korea and USA. I also have a documentation that waives my mandatory military service in Korea until the age of 35 or 38. I'm 23. I want to teach english in Korea and eventually work other jobs there until my late 20's.

My question is do I still need to get an e2 or f4 visa to work in hagwon or ps? Is it possible to just have my notarized/apostilled degree and cbc? Iow, are hawgons/ps down with Korean Citizen/Am Citizens with no visa who holds a BA and CBC from the US?

I cant really get an f4 visa because my parents have investments in korea and they cant give up their citizenship.
I don't want to get an e2 visa because I think it's unnecessary for a Korean American, and I don't want to be held down to one contract.

Please give me some clarification in this matter. Thanks so much in advance.

Daniel

[DHC]

If you are a dual Korean citizen with and you entered Korea with a Korean passport, then you do not need and cannot obtain a visa.

[sml7285]

[dhan89]

can anybody else give me more info on this?

can i still get a job teaching english as a dual citizen?

[nora]

difficult.

my university for one will not/can not hire korean nationals for our department. we had foreigners apply for a job but they were rejected out of hand because they had acquired Korean citizenship (not F series visa, but actual citizenship).

also, appearance is huge here. A korean citizen is not a foreign native speaker. doesn't matter if you speak english and grew up in the states, having a korean passport and citizenship trumps the other. so a lot of places won't accept you.

finally, those places that will take you will offer you korean deals - longer hours, less pay, more responsibility. there are plenty of threads on here about people who are Korean citizens who got jobs here (or offers) but they were ridiculous compared to what a non-citizen would be offered. you can expect lower pay and no housing benefit for starters.

long story short, it's not impossible but it aint easy.

[alongway]

If you're an ethnic Korean with Korean citizenship, they'll treat you as a korean as stated. While some non-koreans who take citizenship will get rejected for certain jobs, they'll still have a leg up in some areas as they don't look Korea. You've unfortunately got nothing going for you in those regards. Even F4s who don't take citizenship can have trouble finding a decent job.

That's not to say that jobs aren't out there.
Do you speak Korean well? Is your degree in education? If yes to those, you might be able to get on as a real teacher, making a case to be the Korean native English teacher at some public schools. To some extent you may have to forget the jobs that F series and E1/2s would typically apply for and come at it from another direction.

[virsago]

dhan89, I was in the same situation as you last year. Although my situation differs from you slightly, I may be able to give you some information on this as I have went through it myself.

I am a dual citizen of the US and Korea and currently work for SMOE as an English teacher. That waiver you have, if it is indeed what I think it is, won't cut it if you plan to stay here for more than 6 months. As sml7285 pointed out before me, these waivers aren't meant for people who plan to stay in Korea long term. There is a way around this, but I am unsure as to whether or not this applies to you.

First you need to go to your nearest Korean Consulate General and go to the military affairs booth. From this person I was able to retrieve a form titled "제외국민 2세 확인 신청 안내." By filling out this form, I was told that I would be able to stay and work in Korea as an English teacher without having to go to the military. I had to get a Korean passport made and had to use this passport to enter Korea. Once in Korea, I had to get my 주민등록증 made(basically a korean registration card/social security thing). During the August 2011 SMOE/EPIK Orientation, pretty much everyone from SMOE/EPIK had no idea about this document and it took about a week for things to get cleared up. Fortunately, it ended up alright for me and I'm working here with no issues so far.

Now, as I mentioned before, my situation differs from yours slightly in that both of your parents are still Korean citizens whereas my mother is a naturalized American citizen(my father is in America with a green card). You'll have to go to your Korean Consulate General's military affairs person to get the specifics.

Good luck.

[sml7285]

[sojusucks]

[seoulsurvivor8]

If you're a citizen of Korea, you don't need a visa to work there. It would be like applying for a green card to work in the US if you're already a citizen.

......right? lol

[sml7285]