Korean Job Discussion Forums

[terrapinaj]

I was corresponding with a recruiting agency about getting a job teaching English in Seoul and I was informed that because I had a minor arrest on my record (Public Intoxication) I would not be able to get a visa to get in to South Korea.

I'm wondering if anyone knows if this is the case, or can advise me about how I should go about getting a visa anyway.

Thank You!

Andy

[Skippy]

Make sure that record is ON the FBI check.

Start doing research into getting your record expunged. If possible, get it cleared.

Then apply.

You can try applying now with the record. But most schools and recruiters and that will skip on by you. You re too much hassle. If an application goes to immigration, expect them to not want to spend the time to understanding things. They will go the path of least resistance with a "NO".

Please also look through the board. This question has been done before. Even this week....

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=221174

[Emark]

The big problem that immigration and the rest of the crew involved in hiring / employing foreigners with criminal records is their lack of understanding the criminality of the charges.

But when it comes to the differences between criminal acts in Korea and other countries in the world, sometimes the waters are wider than we think.
For example; slander and libel charges are nearly impossible to see through the court system (in Canada for sure) but here in Korea, it's a daily (probably multiple each day) occurrence. On the other hand, MJ possession charges are the a little more than common in N.A. Her in Korea, of course there isn't any of that happening in anywhere near the same numbers.
What Korea thinks is serious, another country thinks isn't too bad.
Now, there are tons more other charges that we foreigners can get tangled up in that really shouldn't have much if anything to negatively play against our employment as an ESL teacher.

Now, when the Koreans get a hold of a rap sheet with a single minor charge, they don't know what to think of it. First, they get this paper that's entirely in English. Not just any English, but a legaleze English meant to deceive and confuse anyone outside the bar. So when they go to ask just what the he-- this means, nobody really knows and can't give them an answer. So, in the end, they really don't know if it is a minor charge. Instead of making a devastating error, they err on the side of caution.

So, is it all a loss and not worth while trying? No.

I know one teacher currently employed here in Korea with an E2 who has a criminal record. His secret?

He had a Korean translation of his rap sheet. PLUS he had a personal letter explaining the surrounding circumstances behind the charges in Korean. He didn't have these notarized by a Korean lawyer, but I suppose that wouldn't have been bad idea.

I'm not at liberty to reveal more of his details and I don't think he should either.

So, if you think that the charges are minor and are not significant enough to deter you from teaching in Korea, simply prove it to them. There are some in Korea that won't give you the time of day. Relax, they are just the lazy ones that don't want the extra 15 minutes work to deal with your extra paperwork and baggage.


Good luck 'all.

[SoylaMBPolymath]

The only way for you to know if your record is clear, is for you to order an FBI background check. You will read all kinds of things on this board and some of them may apply to your situation, many others will not.

This is one very misleading, commonly posted statement: "If you were fingerprinted, you have a record. Forget it."

This is not true. I speak from experience. I was arrested for public intoxication, and not as a minor. It was the first and last time I was ever in a jail cell. I was fingerprinted. Alas, why did this not appear on my national background check? Because my home state's legislature deemed the Class of my offense not worth reporting to the FBI's database. In other words, the FBI will not go trawling for offenses. It will depend upon the state in which you were arrested and what the statutory requirements were at the time of your offense.

Again, the best way to be sure? Get the background check. If it comes back with "No Arrest Record Found" on it, you will probably be able to get a job teaching in Korea.

Of course, if you are from another country...none of this will apply to you. But still, you should probably just get the record, instead of trusting this site as a definitive source for guidance.

Best of luck to you.

[terrapinaj]

I do have the CBC but it is now older than 6 months so I will need to get a new one. I suppose I should try to get the record expunged but I don't know how I would go about doing that?

A little background. I'm from Indiana and I have been living in Bloomington (Indiana University's Campus is located here and that is where I graduated from) for 10 years now. I got the public intox about 2 years ago. I did "pretrial diversion" so I was never charged with what I was arrested for, but it does show up on the background check as "no disposition" which is confusing even to me.

They've changed the law since my arrest and now it is highly unlikely that the circumstances I was arrested under would yield the same result. Public Intox now can only be given when an individual is prone to cause harm to self or others. I was a passenger in a car that was pulled over on suspicion of DUI or DWI (those charges against my friend were also dropped) and they pulled me out and arrested me. Highly Unethical in any situation.

Anyway, perhaps I could have my Korean friend write me a letter explaining what happened and that would help. I guess all I can do is try.

Thanks for the info, sorry I didn't see any other topics like this when I browsed the forum.

[SoylaMBPolymath]