Korean Job Discussion Forums

[tzechuk]

Don't you decide who your next of kin is?!

[kiwiheather2]

I thought I might see a lawyer and get a "Living Will" made up so that if anything happened I'd have a legal document passing right of decision over to my partner. Especially since the Terri Schaivo story has been in the media, its made me think that I need to plan for any eventuality.

[casey's moon]

I wouldn't bother lying as it isn't necessary (I lived in sin with my Korean fiance -- now husband) for 6 months and no one cared, and it could cause trouble down the line. Plus, you'll have to keep up the lie with co-workers, etc., which will be annoying, especially if you're making wedding plans while in Korea.

As for the next of kin thing, I think that if you list each other as next of kin in your passport, you should be considered as such, at least while you're outside of your home country. Not 100% sure on this, but definitely you'll have more say than any other person, other than each other's parents.

[mindmetoo]

Koreans seem to have an odd way of living together. They get married, hold the big wedding ceremony, but then what they don't tell the parents is they don't go to their Gu office and register the marriage. They wait a year. If the marriage works out, they register. If not, then there is no official taint of divorce.

[PolyChronic Time Girl]

I think that's a good idea...especially since parents put a bunch of pressure on their 30-year old kids to get married a week after meeting each other.
I'm doing the opposite way here....my fiance and I are going to register our marriage first, but we won't have our ceremony for another few months.

[kiwiheather2]

I agree- I dont like the idea of lying and I'm sure I'd slip up at some point.

But ...it'd be silly to (potentially) lose a job solely because I was living with my boyfriend!

I'll check out the 'nest of kin' on the passport issue. Cheers!

[margaret]

My boyfriend is living with me in my school-paid-for apartment. I'm teaching and he's here on a multiple-entry tourist visa. The first thing I asked through the recruiter, even before the phone interview was whether he could live with me. I also asked it during the phone interview. I wanted to make sure there was no problem with the bosses (a married couple). They are fine with us and have done nice things for both of us.
However they said the "students" wouldn't understand--I think it's actually thier parents--so to everyone else we say we are married. It's the best of both worlds. No fearing being caught for lying by the boss, no hassles trying to explain our relationship to other Koreans.
Margaret

[kiwiheather2]

Hey Margaret

Thanks for your post!

It's nice to know that you can be honest with your bosses and they'll understand. Hopefully mine will be as liberal.

Fair enough that you aren't telling your kids/parents, if it causes stress for them (and therefore the school) then the path of least resistance is the way to go.

[tzechuk]

I think Korean people are pretty OK with foreign couples living together. They must have seen it thousands of times on TV... heh...

[crazylemongirl]

[JongnoGuru]

[MissT]

There was a couple at my school who were unmarried. They were up front about it, and my director didn't seem to mind. She hired them knowing about it. She got them a really nice two bedroom apartment and everything. I think it would just depend on the director of your school. If you��re qualified for the job, I don't think it matters. Though I'm sure the director wasn't telling the parents about it.