Korean Job Discussion Forums

[PatrickGHBusan]

I have a question for you olsanairbase, actually a few questions.

First have you actually worked for a University in Korea?

I have and worked with tenure and non tenure track professors (foreign) and with foreign instructors (the majority of foreigners hired) and with guest lecturers. Each had a different mandate, set of responsibilities and differing conditions.

Working for this university, I was involved with the hiring committe and worked on working committees with other universities, including that Universities partner institution in Canada.

Second, do you actually understand the difference between a full tenure track professor, a guest lecturer, an instructor and say an assistant professor?


Third, do you know the requirements for these positions?

Now, consider that Universities tend to follow their own employment methods and apply their own selection and promotion systems...just like back home. These differ and sometimes the differences can be quite significant.

Now TENURE track Korean professors in Canada HAVE to have a command of English in order to TEACH their classes. If they are hired as guest researchers, that is a different story.

In Korea, most tenure level foreign professors will end up teaching in English as the bigger universities are pushing for classes being offered in English. Still, these potential professors would be well advised to learn Korean (and in my experience many do). Foreigners with MAs are also getting access to guest lecturer positions in certain institutions if they have the qualifications, publications and proper profile.

Lastly, the University I attended to get my MA has been applying a policy for years now: they focus on hiring guest lecturers, typically PhD students, to teach undergraduate classes and are awarding fewer and fewer tenure track positions in certain fields. Why?

Budget limitations.

Furthermore, this university hires professors based on qualifications but also based on their ability to bring money to the school via research grants and to bring renown to the school via publications.

Why would Korean University be different?

They too operate on a limited budget.

[kimchi_pizza]

[PRagic]

Kimchi_pizza and PatGHPusan are right. I'm a tenure track Associate Professor. My university employs a lot of non-Korean professors in both tenure track and visitor capacities at several ranks (Assistant, Associate and Full Professor) and across several diciplines. In many cases, it is the choice of the incoming professor as to what track they wish to assume. Those with short term goals in Korea often go with a non-tenure track visitorship, but some opt for the tenure track.

The university employs at least as many visiting full-time lecturers holding MAs (generally in ESL or language education). The management system and policies governing contract, visiting full-time lecturers (with MAs) is completely separate from those used with reference to Ph.D. holders. Kimchi_pizza was right on the money in this account, but that's a different thread...What I can tell you is that if you are tenure track, you are given at least one semester's notice should a problem arise, and then a semester to get your act together before getting canned. This depends on the university, but it is a lot different than the 'out you go' system pushed on the contract visiting full-time lecturers. Night and day. And there's a reason.

To even be qualified for initial review for a tenure track or visiting prof position, you have to have a completed Ph.D., post doctoral teaching experience, and a minimum of two articles published in ranked international journals. Applicants must pass department, college, and finally university level review and approval of their experience, qualifications, and research publications and future agenda. For most of the foreign profs I've met here and at other universities, you can expect to be up against anywhere from 30-100 applicants from N. America and Europe for one job slot.

After passing these three levels of review, applicants are required to give a lecture at the university. This lecture is critiqued. During the interview phase, applicants answer very specific questions, especially pertaining to their research and breadth of knowledge on theory.

Every year (every semester at some universities), professors are rated in three categories, much as they are at universities in other countries including the US and Canada; teaching, publishing, and professional service.

To meet the publishing requirements where I work, you'd have to publish one solo article in a top 10 journal in your dicipline per year, or two articles in lower ranked and/or domestic journals per year (either solo or with another author). Most international scholars publish only in international journals. As the publishing process takes anywhere from one to two years, this means that you need something in the publishing pipeline almost every semester to stay professionally competitive, and that's a lot of work. Some people go the book chapter route or, depending on the dicipline, projects.

Teaching is one of the best parts of the job in my book. International profs generally have a lot of freedom to teach courses in their dicipline and specific areas of interest, especially at the grad level. In addition to teaching, there is also thesis and dissertation guidance for MA and Ph.D. students studying under you.

Professional service can include service to the department, college, university and dicipline related organizations. I'm on three committees at different administrative levels at the university, on the board of the national level organization in my dicipline here (the first foreigner to hold such a position), and on two editorial boards in my dicipline, in addition to refereeing articles for a slew of international journals. All this stuff takes up a load of time, and that doesn't even include conference organization committees, international conference participation, and the like.

So there you have it. If nothing else, I hope hope that this clears up any confusion.

[PatrickGHBusan]

Thank you kimchi pizza and PRagic.

Those were most informative posts.

Now olsanairbase I think your attempt at miss information has been countered with actual facts.

Carry on my friend.

[olsanairbase]

[edwardcatflap]

Good grief. The amount of pomposity, self importance and petty bickering about things that really aren't very important, on this thread would put anyone off working at a university temporarily or not.

[PatrickGHBusan]

You said this olsanairbase:

[Milwaukiedave]

[olsanairbase]

[PatrickGHBusan]

Point made about US universities olsan.

There are more tenure track foreign professors than you think now in Korea and the number will only grow.

In Canada, Korean professors that do not have Canadian residency are typically hired as visiting professors, guest lecturers, guest researchers.

As for where I worked, sorry but thats not gonna become public knowledge. I have had my fill of online stalkers in the past and I am not about to open a door to that again.

As for your disputing my qualifications to make the analysis I made in this thread, that is your perogative. I frankly do not care what you think of my qualifications on this issue. I am speaking from experience, based on my qualifications and most of all on the work i did in Korea for the University along with what other foreign and korean professors have told me over the years.

[whiteshoes]

To the OP

Excuse me while I step away from the urination match, and try to answer the question.

From what I've heard from a few different people (keep in mind this is by no means "scientific") is that it has to do with the private pension that universities use. I'm sure someone here knows better than I do, but I believe that for the first four years of employment universities are not required to pay into pension. However, by the fifth year they need to pay into pension and they need to pay the first four years retroactively. Most universities never pay in, so after your fourth year they don't want to pay the money.

Can anyone clear this up more?

[liveinkorea316]

[PatrickGHBusan]

[kimchi_pizza]

[big_fella1]

My question is "Has anyone fought this rule?" It seems to fly in the face of Korean Labour Law regarding the guaranteed protection for contract workers after 2 years as stated in the "The Fixed-Term and Part-Time Worker Protection Act"

The act states after 2 years contract employees automatically switched to permanent status. you can find the act http://www.moleg.go.kr/english/korLawEng?pstSeq=52953&pageIndex=7]