Korean Job Discussion Forums

inverse_narcissus · Joined: 17 Oct 2006 Location: Masan / the pub

OK, let me first of all qualify the above statement. I do want to go to Korea. However, having read over some of the threads here, I'm starting to doubt it.

(Second of all, let me introduce myself. I'm Simon, an Irishman living in London who has plans to teach English abroad (for the first time) in early 2007. I am very happy to be here and thank you in advance for any advice I can get from you.)

I nearly had an aneurysm reading over this forum yesterday; I saw my hopes for the future falling foul of corrupt hogwan owners, leaky contracts and miscreant recruiters. I'm hoping you guys can fill me in: considering all the pitfalls, what are the benefits of working in Korea?

One lesson which I have taken into account is to try to get a placement in a public school, not a hogwan. How does one go about this? Most of the job postings I've seen here are for private schools.

Again, thanks in advance.

laogaiguk · Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Location: somewhere in Korea

sheba · Joined: 16 May 2005 Location: Here there and everywhere!

The problem with daves forum is that people post here mostly to vent about a bad day or ask for help with their problems, so its not a good judge of what goes on over here. Ive had a few issues of my own and have posted here, but by and large I love it in Korea. It is true that most hagwon (private school) owners are not running their school completely legally, but thats just the way it is here regardless of how much that can suck. Basically you just have to try and make sure you dont get screwed in the process. Look and look and look at the jobs offers and get a feel for what the basic package being offered is. Decide what you want in a job and only apply to schools that fit your requirements (you can be a little flexible though).

I read daves forums for months before coming over and I expected to get royally screwed when I got here. However, I was prepared for anything the boss might throw at me..... As it turns out, I havent had any major issues. My boss and the teachers at my school are awesome, I have health insurance, a decent apartment, and my job is great (except a few probs with some students). I love my lifestyle here, the people are friendly and helpful, the culture is interesting, the language easy ot pick up, I save a fair amount of money, and have great friends.

Try not to worry about what you read here.... certainly dont let it stop you from coming over! It all depends on the job (a crap job can outweigh all the good things over here) and your ability to adapt in a new country. Dont expect things to be the same here as home because its not. You will have probs, mostly little niggly things, and hopefully not the big ones you sometimes read about on this forum.

If youre not a registered teacher, and have no experience teaching then you will be lucky to get a job in a public school. If this is the case, I wouldnt reccommend teaching in a public school anyway - a class of 30+ students can be daunting, and certainly a lot more work than teaching in a hagwon. However if you do have the quals and experience, then public school might the way for you.

Good luck in the job search!

Homer · Guest

Well said Sheba!

I agree completely.

Julius · Joined: 27 Jul 2006

Ya-ta Boy · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

Privateer · Joined: 31 Aug 2005 Location: Easy Street.

By and large it's not the piffling problems with contracts that matter but read bosintang's recent thread on the futility of it all. He summed up nicely what most teachers realise after their first class: there's something very weird about the state of English language education in this country with the result that you're not expected to be a real teacher. And that leaves you kind of...nowhere. Wondering what the hell they hired you for.

A lot of us do the best we can to be real teachers but it takes time to learn how, time that you may decide would be better spent elsewhere. If you're already experienced and/or qualified of course then none of the above applies to you since you'll be already confident in your role. The situation will still seem bizarre sometimes but, to me anyway, the bizarreness factor is one of the best things about experiencing Korea.

[Disclaimer]This is my take on it anyway, everyone's situation is different, etc, etc.[/Disclaimer]

inverse_narcissus · Joined: 17 Oct 2006 Location: Masan / the pub

Thanks everyone for the input. I've been feeling a bit more confident about going to Korea lately and this thread has helped. Though I still have more questions which will inevitably arise, I'm keeping my head down for the time being, finishing off my ESL qualification.

Yu_Bum_suk · Joined: 25 Dec 2004

Pak Yu Man · Joined: 02 Jun 2005 Location: The Ida galaxy

As an Irishman...you have to ask yourself this question.
"Why wouldn't you come to a country where drinking/being hungover is accepted?"

Yu_Bum_suk · Joined: 25 Dec 2004

John Henry · Joined: 24 Sep 2004

There WILL be some bullshyte that happens to you while you are here.

If you're the type of person that can can just blow it off, and say "whatever", and go about your day, you'll do fien.

If you're the type of person that focuses on problems and the bad stuff that happens, you're screwed.