Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cvitur1]

Hi-

I'm looking into doing the whole ESL thing in Asia, specifically Korea and have been told by a recruiter that it will be difficult for me because I am not caucasian even though I speak English as my native language. What are other people's experience with this? Are there any Asian-Americans(of non-Korean descent) over there teaching now? Did you have a hard time finding a job? Any advice? Thanks everyone!!

Charlie

[ninjamonkey]

sup. i'm chinese canadian, i'm going over there in a couple of weeks to daegu.

my experience has been mostly positive, i've had alot of non responses to my inquires, don't get me wrong, but i managed to find something relatively quickly (2 weeks). i found that getting a TEFL certification really helped, even a internet one

i'm pretty happy with the offer i got, but i guess we'll see in a couple of weeks

good luck

[cvitur1]

Ninja, I sent u a PM, but just in case, would you mind telling me who you went through?

[Ya-ta Boy]

Try a search on this site. There are a number of other Asian-Americans who have gone through the job search successfully who have posted. You can PM them for advice.

[cubanlord]

Hey there OP. I recently offered a Korean-American a job for decent money here. It will be a tad bit more difficult for you to find a job. However, if you have the relevant qualifications, then it shouldn't be a problem. Now....keep in mind....she is a Korean-American...BUT....has everything relevant to teaching English:

-Graduated with an English Degree from a well respected American Uni.
-Has relevant experience teaching English
-etc.

You will need more relevant qualifications when compared to a "whitey"; you can still find something good. Where there's a will there's a way.

[Kwai_Chang_Kain]

I'm Asian Canadian and it took about 4 months of searching to land a job here. I eventually found a recruiter willing to help me out and so far everything is going OK after 2 and a half months. My hagwon isn't the greatest but it's far from being the worst. PM me if you want to know which recruiter I used.

[idodaegu]

I'm a British-Chinese, and I found it very difficult for many schools and recruiters to take interest in my application (1.Being asian-looking, 2.being British).

The way I found my position was through the resume boards. I posted my resume on Dave's. A hagwon emailed me some questions, I answered them, they liked my replies, so I had a telephone interview with the manager of the foreign teachers (a Canadian guy), and the next day he told me I had the job! I did my homework on the school and accepted the position.

Before I flew over to Korea, my school hadn't even seen my photo or anything (which I think is uncommon practice in Korea). However, I made sure that they knew that I was of Chinese origin. Being a Christian, I put my who job searching to divine intervention!

I've been here just over a month already and everything is going great. My school is very supportive, the accommodation is excellent, my location is great, and the teaching schedule isn't too heavy.

[OCOKA Dude]

[wwidgirl]

I know that a lot of problems that non-white people have getting a job in korea are due to the fact that PARENTS want white people teaching their kids english. It's for show. Therefore the hagwons prefer white people. That is why oftentimes non-whites need better credentials.

To recognize this fact is not reflective of racism but rather of the reality.

[changmee]

My husband is Asian-American and he had little difficulty finding jobs in Korea. When he first started looking, recruiters told him that it would be hard to find a hawgon that would hire him. However, he chose not to deal with any recruiters or hagwons that made that claim. Our first year we negotiated directly with the hagwon (SLP). Our second year we were hired on at a public high school. They had no problem with him being Asian-America. Good luck!

[fidel]

Just an aside why do you insist of polarising yourself into racial categories. There is no country called Asia-America so why do you label yourself as Asian-American? Wouldn't it be better to call yourself American of Asian descent. I know it sounds pedantic but it seems to me that there are no actual Americans everyone is (Insert ethic race)-American!

AS to your question check out YES Youngdo. They don't generally select teachers on race.

[OCOKA Dude]

[Gord]

[Picture Perfect]

[pest2]