Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mspencer1983]

Hi all...



has anyone out there taught at a school and been the only foreign teacher? what was your experience like....

i have already done a year in korea..and i am currently in the process of accepting a position but am weary as i will be the only foreign teacher...and there were 6 at my previous school...and we stuck together on matters important to foriegn teachers, i think im gonna miss that safety blanket...

just wondering if there are more cons than pros....


any insight is greatly appreciated! thanks.

[pest2]

I was the only foreign teacher for 1 year at a school. The school was good and I got on OK with the director/owner, but the social climate of the office was terrible. The K-teachers were very unfriendly and seemed to constantly have a chip on their shoulders.

I think its better if you're a woman, though... they might 'accept' you more readily..

Despite that it was like that, because the owner/director realized what the situation was and didnt want to make everyone feel uncomfortable, I never had to do exta-work activities such as dinner meetings, work meetings, etc... Being the only FT has pros and cons....

[Milwaukiedave]

I spent a year at a school as the only foreign teacher and it does get sort of lonely. If you can make friend with other foreign teachers in the area (doing stuff outside work) it won't be too bad. It is definately difficult to socialize with the Korean teachers (more so when your male), although I really considered my co-teachers my good friends.

I'd say some of it really depends on where the school is and if there are other foreign teachers in the area. Also what other things are there to do in the area.

I'm not saying don't take it, just look at the big picture and whether you think you can adjust to that kind of an enviroment.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

I really love being the only FT at my school. There's no one to mess things up for me and no one to upstage me, either. I wouldn't recommend it for a newbie, but if you already know your way around Korea I think it's great.

[mspencer1983]

yeah i already lived in korea for about 15 months so i dont need anyone to hold my hand...and the job is in the gangnam area and i know plenty of people in seoul...so i dont think i will necessarily be lonely...

i was more worried about being overworked and/or bullied by the boss/korean teachers....which was something i experienced at my previous school...but as there were 6 of us (and being realitively close friends) we threatened to quit several times...and they backed down.

i figured as the only foreign teacher i'd either be mistreated a lot or treated exceptionally well *as the 1 resident foreigner*

thanks for all the insight.

[MarionG]

I'm the only foreign teacher at my school, and also the first they've had. I get on well. Some of the Korean teachers completely ignore me, some are friendly, but most don't speak English well enough for much of a friendship to develop. My director, who I like very much, speaks great English.

I've had no problems making friends with other foreign teachers in the town, and also Koreans.

[KYC]

I am the only one foreigner at my school. I'm the 3rd native speaker here. The isolation can get to you sometimes...you go through 8 hours a day of not really having a conversation with anyone. Then I go home to my empty apartment as well. Having said that, I have no problems with being alone. It doesn't bother me that I cant have normal conversations. Everyone at my school is really, really, really nice and friendly. They try to help me as much as possible if I ask for it. I know they are probably just afraid to approach me because of their English..so I don't really care. I like being the only foreigner actually

[oneofthesarahs]

I definitely think it depends on how many friends you have outside of work. I'm the only foreigner at my school, and it's not really a problem. I can avoid workplace drama more easily that way. I'm also the "star" of the school, if you're into that sort of thing. I'm at work to work, not to hang out with people, so the lack of people to talk to isn't a big deal. My Korean coworkers are friendly, and students will pop into my office from time to time to say hello, so it's not really lonely.

The biggest problem for me is being the only foreigner at work AND in my immediate area. I'm not lonely at work, but then I go home and don't have many friends in the area. There's only one other foreigner in my town, most of the Korean people around here don't speak much English, and my Korean skills aren't good enough to go out and meet new people. But if you already have a support system outside of the workplace, you should be fine.

[renzobenzo1]

First time in Korea and I am the only foreign teacher at 2 public schools.
It can be lonely and I feel isolated, ostracised at times. But now that I am more relaxed I can just keep my head down more and get on with what I have to do. Some company would be nice to get through the day though. Its only really surface dialogue I get from the other teachers and kids.Wish it was deeper.

[Chris2007]

[oneofthesarahs]

Part of dealing with being the only foreigner in an area is just to accept that it won't be easy to meet new people and be willing to put yourself out there to meet new people. Like I said previously, my Korean isn't good enough to make friends with people who don't speak English. But there's no way of knowing which Koreans speak English and which don't, of course. I've had to wait for them to approach me. I've just tried to be friendly and approachable and put myself in situations where it is possible to meet new people. I scope out bars or restaurants that seem friendly and laid-back. I go to town festivals and hang out in local parks. You have to realize that you will not always be approached and sometimes you will end up hanging out alone. I've found, however, that most Koreans who speak English well (particularly those who have studied abroad) will be interested to know who you are and where you are from and will try to strike up a conversation with you.

It's stressful at first....the first weekend I was here I was insanely lonely, so I decided to go to a bar near my apartment. I walked by the bar something like 5 or 6 times before I worked up the nerve to actually go inside. I ordered a beer and was sitting at the bar for only 10 or so minutes before a guy introduced himself to me and invited me to sit at a booth with some of his friends. None of them spoke English particularly well, but they wanted to give me contact information for one of their friends who does a lot of Korean/English translation work in the area. I met their friend about a week later and he has become one of my closest friends in Korea.

Within your neighborhood, the staring will actually be much less frequent than in other places. If you live in a big city, different people will see you every day. But in a small town you are going to see the exact same people over and over. They'll get bored of the foreigner in their midst after the millionth time they've seen you walking by.

[htrain]

I am one of two foreign teachers at my school. The other guy said "Honestly, when I heard you were coming I didn't like you even though I had never met you, because I was afraid you'd steal my thunder and I was kind of the star of the show here." But now we're close and shoot the $hit between classes, which is really nice. This question is VERY broad. The people you work with could be awesome, or they could suck. Any job you take here is russian roulette anyway, right? Just hope for the best

[waynehead]

I'm the only one at my school. Like others have said, I couldn't have done this in my first year in Korea, but having been here a while and knowing my way around, having a social network sort of already in place, feeling just generally comfortable being here...I don't mind it. It still probably has more cons than pros, it's difficult interacting with the other teachers b/c so few of them speak english and I can't speak korean well...and say monday thru wednesday when i don't go out and see my friends often it can seem like a huge conversational black hole, I can go days sometimes without using polysyllabic words it seems...but I've gotten used to it.

[garykasparov]

[mspencer1983]