Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jvalmer]

[mayorhaggar]

[World Traveler]

Spending on English is going down, in both the public and private sector.

[World Traveler]

[jvalmer]

[schwa]

Agree with jvalmer's points. Also, some of us get paid substantially more than K-teachers in the early years of their careers. Granted, we've got a lower ceiling.

My province was in line to cut secondary school positions but changed course this year & will retain them for at least another two or three years. Elementary positions look solid for a good while to come, in outer provinces anyway.

[wonkavite62]

I didn't realise that South Jeolla Province cut High School teachers as well. I am there now, and thinking of staying another year. It's the first time I have heard that there were cutbacks in THIS province. I have heard different views as to why the cutbacks are happening. The same political party has (unfortunately) been in power since 2007. President Lee Myung Bak introduced a very rigorous visa process-which partly explains why it took more than one attempt for me to get here. But he at least wanted more NET'S. Conservatives might think that the cutbacks are necessary due to poor economic performance. But is that the reason for it? Some people have told me that they are cutting back on western teachers quite simply because the level of English has gone up so that we are no longer needed. One of my friends who studied Korean at university said that the real reason for the cutbacks is that rich parents think that NET's in public schools are removing the advantages for wealthy kids in the English exam. That may be true. But I think that there is a xenophobic streak somewhere in the Saenuri party.
Rich and older people vote for them because they remember the good old days of martial law and dictators-but hey that created an economic miracle!!!!!!! So the old system is the answer, they think. Meanwhile the younger voters, who WANT something better, and value education, decide to protest by not voting. Like Russel Brand, in a small way. At least though, there still seems to be some chance of me being kept on another year. But I wish this was 2003.

[grant gerstners]

I presume, here to invoke a broader perspective on the forces at work in the region (not just in Korea). But I'm just guessing.

I sometimes wonder if the cuts in Korea are partly a manipulation aimed at getting westerners more focused on teaching in Japan, and perhaps other regions.

In anticipation of the Olympics in Japan in 2020, there is supposedly a desire to get more of the Japanese to be able to speak English. They want to start getting ready for that now. Some of you/us might well end up in Japan. I gather things are better in Japan, long-term, although I hear the start-up costs and cost of living are higher.

[But the reimbursed airfare and free apartments in Korea were all just to facilitate getting a bunch of us all acquainted with how the reality of working abroad can work. Now we know how to do it. Enough of you/us are now equipped to do it somewhere else.]

In addition, the hoped for "economic integration" of southeast Asian nations (google: ASEAN) in 2015 will likely include an eventual push for more English education in those nations.

[jvalmer]

[World Traveler]

[Weigookin74]

[jvalmer]

[schwa]

[Brooks]

No way. Korea must be better. The market here must be even more flooded than Korea.
I work in Tokyo and my contract ends in March.
I have gotten zero interviews at all for next year.
At this point I may head back to the US in the spring, doing Teach for America.
In Japan teachers are mostly either overqualified (with presentations, articles, books, etc.) or fresh off the boat with youth and no experience.

Anyway, I would say Korea is doing a better job than Japan at teaching English. In Japan, the cuts to teachers in JET previously was just a way to save money.
At least the Education Ministry ordered high school teachers to teach classes in English and stop using Japanese.

Korea seems to follow Japan. The birth rate is low and schools will close. It is only a matter of time. Schools have lowered their standards and let in anyone.

I get a bit over 50,000 US in Tokyo. Can I do that in Korea? I assume not.

Japan is expensive but I tell you, I was in Korea in 1998 and it has gotten a lot more expensive since then, but the Tokyo area is an expensive place to live in. The key money is a lot. If you lose your job you may have to move to be near the next one, then pay more key money to a new landlord.

[Weigookin74]