Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ekuboko]

[Francis-Pax]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

I suppose that the Korean government thinks it's are helping private education by making the E2 requirements what they are, but what they're really doing is ensuring a lowered quality of education and teachers. If teachers were free to change schools - say that all a teacher had to do was give 30 days notice to immigration - the quality of education would improve dramatically as hogwans were forced to take them seriously. It would be even more obvious than it already is that bad hogwans have a revolving door and good ones keep their teachers.

[some waygug-in]

What they should do is adopt the same system as Japan, where the teacher controls the visa....not the school.

But try and get Koreans to admit that Japan knows something better than they do...

[Francis-Pax]

[Hotpants]

Dave Sperling himself has some interview transcript on his opening page in which he mentioned the increase in advertising space for Korean schools, but a decrease for other countries. He suspects a big teacher shortage for Korea.

Personally, I had always intended to avoid Korea. I was mainly put off by all the bad hagwon hype. 100+ hours a month in a pokey classroom with no vacation for just 2 mill won. I can't understand all the people who say that Korea is a big cashcow - okay, I guess they must do a lot of privates. Now, I'm in Korea - and I was only prepared to come here if I didn't have to work in a hagwon - I'm earning the lowest salary level I have ever had amongst my EFL jobs. Why I came to Korea was certainly not the money, and certainly not for a lot of other things. It's not a place I would automatically recommend, although it certainly seems about the easiest place to land a modest teaching job considering the number of vacancies abound.

However, everyone has their own reason for coming to Korea, and I know of quite a few people who genuinely like Korea - although many of these have not taught anywhere else. For me the attraction behind ESL is so that I can sample as many places as I can. If I happen to find a destination I like enough, I would be prepared to settle down longterm. But, as least for me, that destination will not be Korea. I need somewhere with a bit more cultural buzz...something more than those funky samulnori guys... Also, EFLwise, I need students who ultimately make more effort to learn what I'm teaching...

Also, what happens to our market when perhaps eventually the 2 Koreas re-unite. I think 'unified' Korea will be a rough place to hang around. Does anyone ever think about this aspect?

[Aussiekimchi]

There does seem to be a teacher shortage. Maybe they are just getting sick of all the crapola. I will only get about 10% of applications after I tell newbies about the documentation needed for visas. I have noticed that happening ever since the transcript rule came into effect. The jobs that come in are never ending but that is not the case with the teachers. They tend to dry up pretty quickly. But maybe I am just crap at my job..dunno.
As for those high salary jobs, any problem I have with any school in the screening process are the ones with the high salaries. If any school is offering 3.0mil for a first timer in Korea, the eyebrows suddenly raise.
You shouldn't be too greedy in your first year here. Plenty of time for that in your second when you know the system better.

[rickhorton44]

[MixtecaMike]

[Homer]

If Korea can't find teachers, it's simply because the rest of Asia (China, Taiwan, etc.) is catching up in terms of good salaries, perks, living conditions, etc.

Bingo.

The ESL market in asia is becoming more competitive. This affects teacher supply in Korea. China is the big competitor here and has a stronger cultural pull for ESLers than Korea might have due to the fact that China is just a bigger player. The market in Korea is still a very good one as far as wages vs expenses and the perks you get. The current market is also a teachers market and people with qualifications and experience or people who know how to negociate and are professionals can get better deals now that a couple of years ago when the market was not as high in demand. In short, this might be a good development for teachers here.

[Moldy Rutabaga]

[Homer]

I think Koreans would rather just employ English teachers from India or the Philippines or other English-speaking countries rather than improve conditions. When have Korean hogwans ever not taken the easy way out?

But unless you are blind...you would have noticed how conditions did improve over the past few years here....

Salaries went up (1.1 per month was the avg back in 1997-1998).

Saturday classes are on the way out (back then the 6-day workweek was standard!).

Hours are also shorter.

Single housing is replacing shared housing.

Those are all small to medium improvements.

[dbee]

[Homer]

Often, the longer you stay here, the less desireable you are as a teacher. The way the law is set out, it encourages hogwon owners to take advantage of first time teachers as much as possible.

This of course only applies for entry-level hakwon jobs and for people who are unable or unwilling to find better jobs and capitalize on their experience and credentials.

[mack the knife]