Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cjonlee]

Real Reality is AN IDIOT. (period)

If you're a naturalized citizen of the U.S. (or canada for that matter, and probably any other country) you don't have any obligation to korea or your birth family. (legally) Don't let idiots who don't know scare you. Even if you're still registered as a korean citizen, it's an easy matter to renounce it. In fact, that's basically what you're doing when you get your F-4 visa.

Second. Learn this phrase: ee-byung boh-nehs-seh-yo. Means I was adopted. Once you utter that, or whatever pronunciation of it will get your point across people will both understand your lack of korean and be sympathetic and most likely helpful.

Third, the idiots on dave's mostly only post negative crap. Even if they have positive experiences, they don't post it on here. Yes there are a lot of problems, and you need to be careful, but in general you should be able to find a half decent job with little trouble even if you look Korean.

The best thing for you would be to go to a place like Bundang, anyang or the outskirts of Incheon where you can work in a small city but still be close enough to the comforts of seoul when needed.

Try staying at a husak-jip and your hosts might be able to put in a good word for you or aid your job search.

Good luck. PM me if you have any specific questions.

[Real Reality]

Just passing on the news.

Discrimination
Having taught English conversation, there have been too many students that have withdrawn from this writer's class simply because of the color of their instructor's skin. This Korean-American has personally experienced the deep discrimination/racism of Korea, and it is painful.
Chosun Ilbo (December 25, 2002)
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200212/200212250002.html

[LETTERS TO THE EDITOR] Adoptions: Korean disgrace
... a history that continues to allow itself to be marred by the unequal circumstances of poverty, social conservatism, political inferiority, missionary zeal, racism, prejudice, ignorance, the unequal status of women and a lack of social welfare and sex education. The simple fact that South Korea continues to export its children abroad, at the rate of more than 2,000 babies per year, especially when the domestic birth rate is at an all-time low, is nothing less than a disgrace.
Now that the Korean press has filed away its reports, the television crews have packed up their bags, and the stories about "successful" adoptees, tearful reunions, and adoptees' struggles with identity can once again be forgotten, what does that leave us, the adoptees, with?...I think nothing will be done -- by Koreans, that is. Because if the government was going to do something about changing the policy on international adoption, it would have done so already, as it has promised to do in the past.
by Kim Stoker, JoongAng Daily (August 17, 2004)
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200408/17/200408172214553079900090109013.html

Safeguarding Amerasian kids from bigotry of our society
by Lee Sun-young, Korea Herald (December 23, 2004)
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2004/12/23/200412230026.asp

[cjonlee]

you left off the one by me.

Titled, Adoptees band together, drink all the time, and get paid on average 50% more than their white counterparts. And have an easier time getting serious relationships with the opposite sex

[prosodic]

miniD,

I suggest that you do one of the adoptee tours before looking for work. It gives you a few weeks to a month to get a little taste of Korea in a structured setting. Some of them are government subsidized (the Korean gov't. feels guilty about shipping us off) and a few will even help you out with airfare expenses. After that, you can decide whether or not you want to live here for a while.

G.O.A'L. (Global Overseas Adoptees' Link) should have some information on upcoming tours. If you can't find anything through G.O.A'L., ask me.

http://www.goal.or.kr

P.S., Adoptees are not kyopo. Strictly speaking, the term "kyopo" means that you grew up in a Korean family with some kind of Korean cultural influence.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[ohfamous]

i agree that most people who post here talk about negative things and forget to mention the positive. in my own gyopo experience, i found it hard to find a good job. i stress GOOD because i was offered some really crappy ones (mostly offering 2.0 but no housing and no benefits). it was the end of the summer hiring season (bad time) and it took me 2 months to get a job. same as you, i had a TESOL but no exp. also, i probably know less than 100 words in Korean. but it all worked out and now i'm teaching at one of the supposedly "elite" hagwons in kangnam.

people haven't treated me like they're racist or anything (i'm in Seoul). just say you're from america. people are surprised and think it's funny that i can't speak korean, but they're not mean about it. and remember, it goes both ways. from personal experience, i know that koreans who come to america face discrimination from everyone: americans and korean-americans. to my shame, kids at my church weren't talked to and were sometimes made fun of. of course, now that we're adults, it's changed from simple social discrimination to a more professsional sort.

anyways, the general consensus seems to be that timing is a pretty big factor. try to come close to the start of the semesters (Mar/Sep) where there are lots of jobs or during the vacations before those semesters for the camps like you mentioned. as far as having a korean face (as well as being male), well, you'll take a hard hit for that, nothing you can do. at least you'll get offers from only two schools: ones that don't buy into the "white monkey" money-making scheme and actually care about education, and the ones that are so desperate to fill a spot that they'll hire, god forbid, a non-white face. it's easy to tell the difference.

[miniD]

Hey thanks everyone! You've been a lot of help. Out of pure luck, I think I may have a job at a winter camp starting on Jan 3rd! I'm totally flying by the seat of my pants right now since I planned on coming later in the month and am totally unprepared, e.g., not packed, didn't finish my hep AB shots, have to cancel my New Year's date, etc. I don't even know where to start as far as packing goes!

Anyhoo, the camp pays 2.5 for three weeks. I have to buck up for a pricey last-minute flight but I think it is worth it. I got a PM from a teacher there and she hooked me up with it since they were short one teacher and I already have my visa, saying that the hours are good for a camp and the director is cool.

Any last words of advice?

p.s. ohfamous: I have boobs, didn't you hear?
p.p.s. cjonlee: band together? drink like fish? paid 50% more? sex? where? when? where??

[mithridates]

My last bit of advice would be to prepare yourself for the odd ajosshi here and there who will take it upon himself to lecture you on how a Korean woman should act. I don't know if you smoke but if you smoke outside you may get a lecture for that as well...so make sure you're thick-skinned enough ahead of time or one of them might ruin your day.

[cjonlee]

[jurassic5]

[mithridates]

I myself consider it an advantage being stared at on the subway, but that's just me. Some people I know would rather just blend in if they could.

[cjonlee]

[dogbert]

[jurassic5]

[dogbert]

I don't know if Korea in particular is like that or not, but from all the stories I've heard of U.S. citizens being drafted into the Korean military, I'd guess that it was.