Korean Job Discussion Forums

[tharonl]

my wife and i want to leave Florida and see korea. i was adopted from korea when i was 2 years old, so i believe i qualify for a f-4 visa. i currently do very well here, but i am yearning to give back to others (volunteer in an orphanage) and learn about my history. many would say i'm crazy for leaving such things behind, but money is not everything.

questions:
1. do we try to find jobs before we leave?
2. do we try to find a place to live before we leave?
3. where do we try and live?
4. are there any jobs to get besides to teach english?

thanks to all ahead of time!!! - tharon

[kangnam mafioso]

[tharonl]

after i posted this, i read the faqs and they have a lot of the information i was looking for...

i appreciate the one and only response i received from you though!

[Yu_Bum_suk]

A lot of gyopos find the experience strange. Have you been here before? If you and your wife are fairly well-off, you might just want to come for a visit and see how you like it. If you do want to search for work, you're better off doing it here.

Some disadvantages:

1. Some employers (hogwans) want foreign faces to impress the mummies, and you sitting in the staff room doesn't do any good.
2. You can get the worst of being treated like a foreigner and being treated like K-staff - left completely out of the loop, but expected to kiss ass to everyone in authority no matter how unreasonable, becuase 'that is Korea style'.
3. You can be welcomed like a long-lost cousin, but yet upset people by what should be understandable ignorance. 'You can't speak Korean?' ... 'I was adopted by Lutherans in Oklahoma.' ... 'So why can't you speak Korean?'.

Good luck with your plans.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

PS somewhere in the archives here there's a thread called 'The Gyopo Experience' you may wish to check out.

[tharonl]

thanks!

no, i have never been to Korea. i had this idea of volunteering at an orphanage and doing something good for the place i came from. it sounds like i am best off by just visiting and having the cultural experience. i don't know how the society feels about someone coming over to assist at an orphanage. i've read different posts and it sounds like there are mixed messages.

i will check out the gyopo experience, (just learned that's what i am)

[kangnam mafioso]

most of the gyopos i knew in korea spoke adequate, if not excellent, korean. they seemed to like it here and actually had high positions and were valued. korean amaericans with no korean language skills seem to be valued less.