Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cobradiner]

Hello, I'm looking for any guidance and information based on others' experiences on where I should work after my 3rd year in Korea. Also, I don't mind teaching, but is there any other line of work possible with a liberal arts degree abroad? After my 3rd year here I will hopefully have a high score on the intermediate TOEIK test, so I wonder if I could put that to any use somewhere else. It's been a good 3 years here in Korea, but my time to move on has certainly passed quite a while ago.

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Personal Pros of Living in Korea:
-study of the language (so difficult yet challenging at the same time)
-the food
-the night life
-the international community and language exchanges in Seoul (perhaps you can find this at every major world city)

The Cons:
-I find Koreans too awkward for my taste. Even when I speak their language, they are not fond of small talk and sometimes would rather spend the next 10-40 minutes in silence with me than talk. I love my students who will talk about anything forever, but they tend to keep to themselves after they become adults.

-I feel like I'm excluded from a lot of the culture. Yes, I can go almost anywhere here, yet its difficult to make friends on the street. Even when you speak Korean, I feel like I'm a trained monkey because Korean tends to be a exclusive language only Koreans like to use with one another, and they are completely suprised by foriegners learning it.

-Many Koreans who have studied some amount of English tend to want you to only use English with them. For example, my boss knows maybe a couple hundred English words, yet has no concept of English grammar. Despite my Korean being better than her English, she would rather me only speak English to her and not translate for her.

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Overall, the study of Korean has been worth it, yet it's been hard to use it outside of utility purposes. I find it hard to socialize with Koreans, so I'm looking for a country where study of the language seems to be more encouraged while the culture and people seem to invite you more to participate in their culture. Unfortunately, work and being able to pay back student loans are another factor too. I'm considering Japan, China, Italy, France, Spain, South America, Mexico, Russia, Australia (maybe Korean would come in handy there), Thailand, or anything else with good enough reasons.

For those that have been to Japan, did you find it more inviting or xenophobic in comparison to Korea? I've heard they are more polite in general, but their social circles are even harder to break into than Korea's.

[ewlandon]

Totally go to Australia to speak Korean, makes sense.

JK but i dont get that logic. Just pick a place and go. Or go home and find a real job and tell us how it works out for you. Or go back to school and study more Korean, and try to find a job back home that has connections to Korea and could use you as someone who knows the culture and the langauge etc.... I see potential there.

[cobradiner]

I've heard Australia has a large population of Koreans there working, studying, or both, so the Korean would come in handy I think. I've wanted to visit Australia for a long time, and I could continue studying Korean there.

[nicwr2002]

If you have to pay a lot in student loans then South America is out. The exchange rate for sending money is horrible and not worth it. You might be able to do it in Japan, but you have to pay for your apartment there and cost of living is higher. To be honest, if you want to improve your Korean, just stay in Korea for another year or so. Maybe being a translator or something along those lines is what you want? If you can speak Korean well enough maybe you could live in Australia as a translator or anywhere else Korean would be in high demand.

[postfundie]

[BroodingSea]

I've worked in Japan on a couple of occasions. Agreed Japan is rather expensive but if you can pick up a role paying 300,000Y a month you should be able to save something reasonable.

[ironclad80]

[cobradiner]

Ok, so its no longer possible to save money in Japan now? Does paying rent zap most of your paycheck every month? We're making about $2000 or more a month here in Korea and after taxes and insurance and utlity fees it comes to about $1600 or so. Can you even break $1000 per month in Japan after all rent and fees are paid for? Not to mention that $400 of that $1600 has to go to loans every month, but it's gotta be possible in Japan as many people go there to pay off their loans.

[FriendlyDaegu]

[BroodingSea]

[chungbukdo]

[JustinC]

TOEFL or TEFL or CELTA or Trinity Cert. TEFL or MATESOL?

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe...

[chungbukdo]