Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Old Painless]

I just can't believe that not ONE school in ALL of Korea wouldn't hire you...it's unbelievable based on what I saw in Korea from 95 to 08. What nationality?

[Voyager2]

Australian OP, with a neutral accent and a BA:EC (not much in the scheme of things i know). I sent out tens and tens of applications, used six recruiters (knocking on one's door my first day in Seoul late September) and made it very well known to all and sundry - in all my communication - that I was in the country and that all of my E2 paperwork was ready to go.

What about Yang Yang Star asked? What about Cheongju? Asked the rainbow agency, and on and on it went. Nothing OP except 'Sorry we've not heard back from them. How about Pohang? Yes I always replied. Yes to anything on the peninsula. I always responded with a yes.

And then I advertised myself on Craigslist several times cheekily in the Jobs Offered column (refreshing them every 72 hours as per craigslist regs) - nothing except something a few days ago from a Wings Turn Kindy in Seoul. Yes I replied again (despite reading less than complementary reports about them online), sending all that was requested in a timely, professional academic manner. 'Job Offer' was the title of Wing's email in badly written English. Again - nothing.

I responded to those jobs I could that stipulated ASAP, gender not important, no age consideration and ones that didn't ask for North Americans. All I could in one week short of two months in Korea. It's getting cold, I had no job, home and the job ads were all starting to repeat themselves.

To my own Craigslist and DESLC searches there was an occasional 'oh btw how old are you?' and then - more than once when I answered and sent a not decrepit looking photo - there was just silence. I tried OP, I flew myself there, took people's advice from herein and nothing. Just silence. What am I doing wrong I asked myself OP. That's why I started this thread to reach out for some help. Rgds

[ippy]

Good luck dude! Hope it all works out. Thailand is easy life. Also, quick translation puts you around 40,000Baht, which outside BKK is going pretty far. If theres a cheap apartment attached, then you should be able to put away a little something every month meaning in a year or so you can re-evaluate. Plus, youre just in time for peak tourist season and skipped the shitty rain. Congrats on the gig! pretty sure all of those 'conditions' are standard formalities. Just make sure they pull their finger out their butts on the visa.

[TheLostProphet]

Read this whole thread from start to finish, jesus, I feel so bad for you Voyager! It was like reading a tragedy or something. I'm utterly shocked you couldn't find anything decent in 2 months of looking.

I've been finding it pretty tough and soul-destroying myself, but like a bunch of people such as Watergirl have speculated, now is not the best time to be looking. In fact, right this moment is probably the worst the market has EVER been. Unless you're white, American, young and female you're shit out of luck.

A few things then - look into Korea in December through to January. The academic term begins in March so you'll have better luck then. There was a slightly older British guy who posted here January 5th 2014. He was finding it tough too, then got something and signed his contract and stuff by the 20th. So it can be done.

Also look into EPIK/GEPIK. I'm not sure what the age requirements are, I think the max is 55. Public school programmes like that are generally signifcantly less discriminatory so you'd have a better chance, especially with your ECE degree.

To add my 2 cents on China, I lived in Shanghai and travelled around China not so long ago. Dude, it was fantastic! I'm really surprised at the negativity on this forum, but I guess it is the place for Korean Jobs. You can DEFINITELY get a great job in China, there's just so much demand and you can negotiate for a better offer. Don't take the first thing you're given.

As for where to live, Shanghai is the most cosmopolitan, westernised and is a real 24 hour city. Beijing is cold as balls in the winter. If you thought Korea was bad then avoid anything north of BJ. There's other nice cities to look at too: Sichaun, Xi'an, Hangzhou and Yangshuo come to mind. The last two are my favourite places in China and the last one is basically SEAsia. You are absolutely spoilt for choice, and you'll be treated like the celebrity you are.

There are a few negatives tho. Air pollution can suck monkey nuts, but just buy a proper Western face mask with a hermetic seal, none of this surgical mask bollocks, and you'll be ok. Also get private healthcare insurance so you can take advantage of Western/International hospitals. You'll want to avoid Chinese ones at all costs.

For me the biggest problems are the internet censorship and lack of a real drinking culture. Chinese internet in general is very slow and shit, using a VPN makes it even worse. I need my instant streaming porn dammit. Plus I like being able to use Facebook, YT, Gmail etc. as and when I want. Young Chinese people in general do not go to clubs or drink. The expat bars/clubs are always full in SH but it's like 1% of the young population who come out. I swear all Chinese people do is eat, sleep and work. Things like live music are stupidly hard to find in such big cities.

So those reasons (internet freedom, drinking and general lack of pop culture) are what completely push me to Korea. But if you don't care about having a boogie to some C/Kpop in a club, or jackin it to the Hub, then China will be just as great a place for you instead.

[isitts]

[Roman Holiday]