Korean Job Discussion Forums

poet13 · Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2006 10:45 pm Post subject:

I never really though of Toronto as a Canadian city anyways :)[/quote]

the chinese and italians and greeks and jamaicans and koreans and british and sikhs and tamilese and indians and germans say it is, so it must be....

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

poet13 · Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 12:28 am Post subject:

i spent my late teens and early twenties in toronto. beach, christie pits, and queen east... sucked. got out as fast as i could. left canada in 89, never looked back....

Hater Depot · Joined: 29 Mar 2005

bulgogiboy · Joined: 12 Nov 2003

I sent sealed transcripts from the UK to Korea via UPS(not cheap), only for my boss to say immigraton didn't find them acceptable for exactly the same reason as stated by the OP.

Actually, they allowed my visa process to start, but wouldn't finalise it without seeing the transcripts with the seal over the area where the envelope is sealed. So, I went back to my uni again, and felt like a fool standing over the secretary directing her where to put the stamp. I got her to put a stamp over the back fold and a stamp on the front as well. Red tape Crying or Very sad

The transcripts in the envelope were official, signed and stamped themselves with the uni address and contact details on them anyway. If they really wanted to double check they could call/email my uni.

Mind you, I've heard the red tape in Korea pales in comparison to some other places like Kuwait. Maybe we're not so unlucky, I just remember how easy the process was before lots of losers started using fake degrees to get jobs here and made it more complicated for those of us who actually graduated.

poet13 · Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 6:01 pm Post subject:

re:losers who didnt graduate.
very annoying people they are. I used to work contract here for US army, and I once met the 17 or 18 year old son of an officer (I knew the major professionally and socially) who "taught" english. His family didnt know. they thought their son was just hanging out, when in fact he was raking in money "teaching" in peoples homes during the evenings. They PCSed a couple of years ago, but I dont think his parents ever knew. Really amazing what people can get away with here.
While there may be plenty of work for people with and without degrees, those without really do make the lives of those with degrees more difficult. While it doesnt make it alright to teach without a degree, having a degree doesnt mean a person has a minimal standard command of english, or the ability to teach at any level. Some of the worst english I have encountered here has come from people with more education than I (BA no TESL).

bulgogiboy · Joined: 12 Nov 2003

Yeah, you're right, you don't need a degree to teach English well. When I was in China and Thailand most of my co-workers had no degree, and quite a few of them had absolutely no qualifications at all. They did the job the same if not better than me. I know lots of people back home who don't have degrees who would make great esl teachers

As you say though, it's just the fact that in Korea it makes it more complicated for genuine graduates like us that annoys me.

poet13 · Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 6:16 pm Post subject:

yes, i agree. I wonder how long it will be though, before the government starts requiring more than a degree, but also a TEFL certificate...
i think that is probably more valuable than a degree...

jamielives2000 · Joined: 01 Feb 2004

i just sent away all my documents now i am worried
i am pretty sure that there is nothing stamped over the seal
hmmm
is this the norm ?

bulgogiboy · Joined: 12 Nov 2003

If you didn't get a stamp over the seal then there's a high likelihood that they won't accept those transcripts. Sorry buddy.

If you're lucky they'll start the process and just let you bring new transcripts with you when you arrive, to finalise it.

bulgogiboy · Joined: 12 Nov 2003

I hope they lay off asking for a TEFL certificate for a few years, at least until I've left Korea and packed in ESL for good! I'm sure theyll continue to complicate matters for us, though with all those aforementioned jokers using fake degrees you can't blame them for wanting to take extra precautions.

I guess there has to be some kind of standard(i.e. a degree) for teaching here, though as you pointed out, some of the worst English comes from 'educated people', and some of the worst freaks get access where more normal people who didn't go to college(e.g.most of my family) are refused.

Education should make people more capable, open-minded, individuals but sadly in some cases the more educated the people the smaller the mind( ex: I went to harvard business school, I know everything,etc).

poet13 · Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 8:28 pm Post subject:

Several teachers i talked to have had this same experience. It's possible through some freaky time warp that we all met the same woman.
It goes like this.... (and this is my true experience)
I met a woman on the ferry to japan last year, american i think. We were in the smoking area by the staircase. We (three or four of us) ended up talking about our credentials. I said i had a BA, no TEFL. This woman went off on how she had a masters, a PhD, TEFL, TOEFL, TOFU, and maybe even soy butter....very full of herself. the other two people there scurried away. I couldnt resist. I asked, "But does that make you a good teacher?"
jeez she got bent.
i hate people like that. People who deal in absolutes, who think that only they can be right, who measure others against themselves, rather than themselves against some ideal.

poet13 · Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 9:03 pm Post subject:

Several teachers i talked to have had this same experience. It's possible through some freaky time warp that we all met the same woman.
It goes like this.... (and this is my true experience)
I met a woman on the ferry to japan last year, american i think. We were in the smoking area by the staircase. We (three or four of us) ended up talking about our credentials. I said i had a BA, no TEFL. This woman went off on how she had a masters, a PhD, TEFL, TOEFL, TOFU, and maybe even soy butter....very full of herself. the other two people there scurried away. I couldnt resist. I asked, "But does that make you a good teacher?"
jeez she got bent.
i hate people like that. People who deal in absolutes, who think that only they can be right, who measure others against themselves, rather than themselves against some ideal.

Hollywoodaction · Joined: 02 Jul 2004

poet13 · Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2006 6:38 pm Post subject:

solves a foreigners visa issues too, doesn't it? I have a US green card via marriage.