Korean Job Discussion Forums

[marista99]

Not sure if this is practical for you, but no matter what their schooling situation both of your kids will benefit immensely from knowing some Korean before they arrive in Korea. If you could find someone who could teach them before you leave, the younger one might even be able to pick up enough to attend a Korean preschool without too much difficulty.

[Kakadoodles]

Is there anyone of any english speaking background in Korea with children (apart from the professor)??

[peemil]

Tons of jobs for Engineers in Ulsan. There is a huge crowd of them here. They get good money, great apartments- I've been in some of them. They've got carpet, huge kitchens the works and perks. They have a compound where they all live. It's like the west transported.

They've got a foreign school there too that is open to all employees.

If your hubby is an engineer you need not worry about working in a dirty old hagwon. Seriously. You need not speak English for the engineers jobs. They just run the show. What other perks.

-Tons of holidays.
-Tickets home every so often.
-They give you a shipping container for free so you can bring stuff over from home.
-They're supportive and make sure you get whatever you need. Christ. Last Thanksgiving they got turkeys shipped over for the foreigners. (When was the last time my boss ever gave me anything but a headache.)
-Really good social circle. They're welcoming.
-They have some great parties out there.
-There are other kids at the compound.

I could go on- I'll see if I can find a link for you.

I cannot stress this enough. If you want to come over and your husband is an engineer your throwing a year down the toilet if you work in a school. There are tons of employment options.

Best bet is to get in contact with someone at this paper. FLIK. It's owned by HHI, the guys who employ the engineers. The guys and girls who write for it often are engineers or could help you out more than I can.

I'm am alway jealous of the engineers. They have it sweet.

http://flik.hhi.co.kr/200410/news/index.asp

P.S. I'll keep posting more on this... Why would you want to work in a disgusting filthy hagwon with a dragon boss? You could work on your visa if you wanted to I believe if you really wanted to earn some extra cash.

P.P.S Last time I heard they had a Foreigner PX sort of thing out there and you could get meat pies and sausage rolls.

[Kakadoodles]

You must have had some very bad experiences!!

Thanks for all of that, we'll think about it! I'm not sure about the compound thing though. I want to go to Korea because it's Korea, not to pretend I'm back home or in the States!?!?!

Once again it's the children's schooling that is the hurdle for now.

[peemil]

Doesn't matter where you are. Korea will seep it's way into everything...

[ersatzprofessor]

Kakadoodle,

Thanks for your appreciation. To tell the truth, if I were you I would take peemil's advice seriously and at least check on whether your husband could have a chance of getting hired on. It sounds like a good solution for you if it is possible. And with money and free time for travel, you will get a lot more out of being here than if you are stuck at home watching bad tv that you can't understand.

Have you looked at other countries as well? If it is the experience rather than the money you are after, perhaps you might want to even consider doing development work or something like that instead. For I am not so sure you will really find what you seem to be looking for here. If you and your husband both work at hagwhons you will be likely teaching 30 hours a week and get two weeks holidays- and no guarantee that they will even be at the same time Now 30 hours doesn't sound that much, but if you are both new to teaching and not 22 years old you might find it pretty exhausting. Add culture shock to the equation, and pinched finances, and you might find a lot less cultural exposure than you would like and a lot more stress.

Don't get me wrong. It is doable. But the question is, is it really worth doing?

[sadsac]

Hi, the fact that the money is not necessarily important but the schooling is, will create a problem for you. An option you may want to consider for your nine year old, is to have them do their schooling on line from Oz. Depending on where you are living, you will probably find that there is a program available. It may even be through distance ed. The younger one could go to a kindy that has a foreign teacher, there are plenty of those throughout Korea. Look at some of the moreprovincial and rural areas, cost of living is considerably cheaper and culturally it could be a far more rewarding experience. When do you want to travel to Korea? Look at all the options available for you kids education regarding the internet because there are some. Best of luck.

[Grotto]

I am currently teaching at an elementary school in Gyongi-do.
Some schools do have English speaking teachers...some of the Korean teachers at my school are pretty fluent and excellent teachers. You may have to look at a few schools in the area you are in but you might be able to find a homeroom teacher whose English is pretty good.

Now this may sound a little crazy but you might be able to get a hogwan position for your 9 year old where they play with the hogwan children and get paid for it under the table. Your son is fluent and the Korean children will benefit from it and so will he. You will probably find your 9 year old will have an abundance of playmates(many Korean mothers would kill for the opportunity for their child to have an English speaking playmate)

Good luck in your search.

[Kakadoodles]

I think distance education is a real option too. We live in the Northern Territory, so many children do school of the air here. My mother taught at the correspondence school before she retired and she did have a girl in Florida (???) on the books, so maybe we should do that. From what I understand internet access will not be a problem, so that will work too.

Great ideas thanks! I'm pleased to hear that some schools may have english speaking teachers too!!!

Sending my child down the coal mines sounds interesting...if he's naughty we could threaten to dob him in for deportation

[ajuma]

From what I've been told, foreign children can NOT attend Korean schools. It may be different for those who can speak Korean fluently, but I think not. Investigate other options.

The idea of one of you getting a job first then the other looking for work while here is probably the best suggestion posted. Another option could be finding a school that will accommodate both of you: one of you work the morning shift, one the afternoon/night, plus a 2+ bedroom apartment since you're both teachers.

Check out Ulsan. Good city, lots of options.

http://english.hhi.co.kr/About/Social.asp

http://www.theulsanweb.com/

http://ulsanhash.blogspot.com/

[fidel]

[taobenli]

Kakadoodles-

I think another poster has asked you this, too: Why Korea? Not that there's anything wrong with it, but with the hagwon system the way it is it sounds like it could be a little difficult with kids. Of course, if your husband found an engineering job in Ulsan or elsewhere, that could be a great lifestyle.

Why not try Japan? I did the JET program and there were several people I knew in my area who came over with kids and sent them to regular Japanese school (most had a great time, some had to investigate other options). The JET salary is good and there is more vacation time. I bet there's things your husband could do as an engineer there, too.

[Kakadoodles]

We have been researching Korea (teaching positions/culture/language etc), for quite some time now, and we WANT to go there. I don't really want to get into a debate about the pros and cons of other countries at this stage, as it's kind of similar to "which do you prefer; tomato or BBQ sauce?"

I would love to go to Ulsan, and appreciate the advice!

Hoo Roo

[Kakadoodles]

Just on another topic to do with children.

I had thought I would bring three or so of the childrens favourite toys and books. Warm clothes (although finding clothes for them will probably be not as much of a problem as finding clothes for us?!), and shoes will be packed.

Is there anything else I need to consider bringing for the children?

[sadsac]

Clothing certainly won't be an issue for the kids and if you and your hubby are regular sized folks clothing for you won't be a problem. Bring vegemite and cordial, two things I do miss from home. Ulsan is a good spot, my wife and I spent three years there and you can get most things. Hyundai Marine and Engineering are the big employers of foreign nationals and they live in the Foreigner's compound in Bangojin, it,s near Ulgi park and some reasonable beaches. Shopping at either HomePlus or Megamart will allow you to buy a reasionable amount of imported goods. Dining out can be a very inexpensive exercise, family of four, good meal, $20.00. Lotte have a multiplex, there is Outback Steakhouse, good food reasonably priced. Pizza, expensive, use the local bloke. Videos cheap to rent and a good selection generally. Invest in a couple of walkmans for the kids, always nice to listen to their favourite music. Ulsan has an extensive range of English hagwons and they are all over the town. Getting around is easy once you know what bus too take and a fare is only 700 won. As you are from the NT, I would highly recommend you continue the nine year olds education through distance ed. Hope all goes well and good luck.