Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dbee]

I'm just wondering how your average English teacher here got the info they needed to make the decision that Korea was the right place for them to go.

We work in an industry where it seems like the majority of people are lied to about at least one major issue by their bosses, hogwons and recruiters.

How does this end up happening ?
Are we teachers just unprepared, or is it totally the fault of the Korean ESL industry ?

[Son Deureo!]

I never knew anyone who had done this before I came over. I only had a cousin who had taught ESL in Japan (indirectly, it led to his death, but that's another story...).

I did the best research I possibly could on the internet and talked to a current foreign teacher before I came. In the end, it turned out that both the school and the teacher had lied to me and I still ended up in a bad situation. Research over the internet can only do so much good, as people lie, not many people actually put reports on the blacklists, and situations can change after you get there.

[mj roach]

Looking for cheap flights to Asia in the paper and saw an ad offering paid airfare.....

[livinginkorea]

Always wanted to teach in Asia but didn't think much about where in the beginning. I picked Korea 'cas it was small and not very popular so not very well travelled. I never fancied going to a place where everybody went to but I never researched much about it before I came here.

I think the benchmark is..

Did you know about Dave's before you came here?

I didn't!

[VanIslander]

I chose the option about having searched the 'net for general info, but there should be other options, like, insisted on speaking with prior foreign teachers from the school (best way to find out about working conditions, director, apartment, etc).

Before even applying for positions I decided what I wanted based on the Internet (too many jobs available out there to become a beggar - be choosy!).

I looked for a place with clean air (rejected Pohang, Ulsan, Seoul), beaches (rejected Daejon, Gwangju, Daegu), some rep for beauty (rejected Masan), no subways (rejected all suburbs), location near a major city (rejected Sokcho, Sogwipo despite their charms, and Yeosu, Jinju, Tongyeong).

That's exactly how the decision making went.

Then, after reviewing several job offers on the 'net, I decided to look for 2.0 mill with no kindy and no mornings.

Voila!

My hagwon on Geoje island, 50 minutes by ferry south of Busan was a hit!

I got exactly what I was looking for.

Two and a half years later my initial research continues to stand up as correct. No other place has popped up that I hadn't known about. Surf around long enough, get enough different places on the 'net saying the same thing, and chances are it's accurate enough.

Do your research, and get what you want, especially in terms of the basics.