Korean Job Discussion Forums

[newbiecdn]

I'm a Chinese Canadian (I was born in Canada and my first language is English, but my parents are from China) interested in going to South Korea to teach. Does anyone know how open or accepting Koreans would be to my ethnic backgroud? I mean, in terms of hiring......
I realize that Korea and China has had (and continues to have) strained relations and I am concerned that this will affect my chances of finding a job there. Furthermore, I am slightly concerned about how ethnic background may affect the way in which I am perceived/treated by Koreans in general.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

[prosodic]

Have you read the FAQs?


http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=4176

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=5

There are more good links on this topic in the FAQs under the heading, "Getting a Job"

[newbiecdn]

Geesh, those were disheartening to read. I mean, I have read in a few threads how there are quite a few, shall we say 'picky' employers in Korea, who prefer Caucasians. I guess I just wanted to hear it directly from someone, that Koreans don't like the Chinese, to be convinced.

Now I don't know if I should even bother with looking for jobs there...

[newbiecdn]

Okay, has anyone with a Chinese background been to Korea to teach? Or have you all realized that it's hopeless to even try?

[peppermint]

How good is your Mandarin? I've worked with a few Chinese nationals who taught Chinese( mandarin) to adults. If you could do both, there should be a niche for you somewhere.

[newbiecdn]

Unfortunately, I cannot speak Mandarin. I can only speak Cantonese. My chances of finding a job in Korea are pretty slim, huh?
Phooey!

[peppergirl]

[ryleeys]

My girlfriend taught Chinese in Korea for two years.

She had no problems. Although if you're a Chinese citizen, I believe you're limited to the number of visa extensions you can get.

[Son Deureo!]

You may experience some discrimination because you're not caucasian, but that doesn't mean it's hopeless. I had a good friend here who was Vietnamese-Australian who did just fine. Of course, when the boss advertised the school he used a picture of a blonde haired blue eyed girl as the school's foreign teacher.

At any rate, there is enough demand for English teachers that you should be able to get a job somewhere here, you just might need to be a little more persistent.

[CanadaCommando]

Sorry to say, but your a fighting a very uphill battle.

My friend is Canadian of Vietnamese descent...he's been trying for a LONG time to get a position here to no avail. Best he has gotten yet is to fly in himself, and they will "give him a chance and an interview". Not promising.

Fact is many, if not most, of the people here have their job because they are white. Sure, there are exceptions, but they are just that; exceptions to the norm. It's a horrible fact, but it's true. What the Korean parents want is someone very "foreign" looking teaching their children English. Recruiters and Hogwan owners conform to that demand.

[Eazy_E]

I know of a Chinese-Canadian who has been here teaching English for three years already. Unfortunately I'm not really in touch with him so I can't ask him where he works or how he found the job. But it might be heartening to know that some people with an Asian background are employed teaching English in Korea. I also have a close friend who is Korean-American but speaks no Korean. She was able to land a job after a substantial amount of rejections.

I agree, the preference for the blonde, blue-eyed appearance in an English teacher just blows me away... I guess it's a comment on how appearance-obsessed Korea is. It's really unfortunate that so many talented people are turned away because of how they look.

[osangrl]

my school has me the English teacher, and a chinese teacher.... im sure they would be stoked to have a chinese canadian... there are lots of hawkwons here that study both these languages. Don't give up!

And if ur interested I could mention ur name to my school. PM for details.

or... goodluck!

[marista99]

Why Korea in particular? Someone mentioned Hong Kong, and there's also Taiwan. Those might work out better in your situation.

[newbiecdn]

Thanks everyone for replying!

As I mentioned, I do speak Cantonese, but by no means do I know enough of the language to teach it. Actually, I could probably do well with a few lessons myself...

I'd like to teach in Korea for several reasons.
First of all, to experience a brand new culture. I'm sure that if I taught in Hong Kong or Taiwan for an entire year, I would experience a new culture....but because I'm Chinese, and I've been to Hong Kong and China, the novelty of those countries just aren't the same. (Imagine being Canadian, and going to the United States to teach, or vice versa. Sound exciting??) I actually have some family in both HK and China, which is part of the reason why I don't want to teach there! Don't get me wrong, I love my family, but I just finished university and I really want to go to a new place where I can be immersed in a different world and make a bit of money at the same time. This may sound a bit greedy, but money is the other reason why I chose Korea. I'm not expecting to make big bucks, but from what I've heard, at the end of my contract, I'll probably be able to walk away with some cash, which wouldn't be the case if I chose China or Japan. I have student loans that I need to pay off, and China doesn't pay well enough, while the standard of living in Japan is just too high for me to make any money.

I guess I'll keep trying with Korea for a while. If it doesn't work out, I may try Taiwan or maybe even China...just for the experience.

By the way, this Canadian citizen is actually a 'she'!

[ryleeys]

Sorry... I knew that she said she was a Canadian citizen... was just posting about the visa limitations for the hell of it...