Korean Job Discussion Forums

[nautilus]

What would you make a requirement, if you were in charge of immigration policy?

I'd put in:

criminal record check
Either Transcripts/ or public notary for degree certificate.
Medical check.


I don't entirely blame the Koreans for introducing some regulation- I've met plenty of jackasses here that shouldn't really be teaching. I include medical check only to filter out the mentally insane, alcaholics, or people with serious diseases.I think the above would be enough to sieve out the very worst. Oh, and I'd scrap the visa runs to Japan, and also alow people to work for more than 1 employer per visa.

Anything more than the above is too excessive I think.

[bacasper]

None. I'd let the market sort it out.

I know guys with high school diplomas or Associate degrees who could teach better than some people with four-year degrees here.

[nautilus]

[Homer]

I would say these are a must:

Criminal record check.
Transcripts and public notary for degree certificate.
Verification of Degrees with the Universities.
Verification of at least one reference.


These would be good too but not necessary for now...

Require a degree in an Education or Teaching related field
Medical Test (for illegal drugs in the system) for certain jobs (i.e. teaching kids).


As for the market sorting it out...that is not the best idea. The market does not care about qualifications or background. It wants to fill quotas....

[butlerian]

[Homer]

[PGF]

[blurgalurgalurga]

I'd demand a criminal check for obvious paedoes and the overly violent, but beyond that, I think it'd be more efficacious to change the Korean university entrance requirements.

Here follows a polemic:

The whole idea that everybody in Korea needs to speak English is absurd. The industry is driven by the entry standards of the 'good' unis, and the chaebol jobs; remove those requirements, and English would be studied extensively by only those who were good at it, or interested in it. Our jobs would be filled by only the most qualified teachers.

Sure, many of us would be out of a gig, but so what? The ESL industry is a bloodsucking remora on the flanks of this already flea-bitten country, and most of us are, despite our best intentions, parasites. It's just a flukey arbitrary thing that we can come over here with our sociology degrees and get paid to teach English; do any of us really feel we deserve this?

Most of our students won't get into those great unis anyway, and they'll have spent thousands of hours studying something they don't like or have a particular need for. They might as well study art or dancing or math, or for that matter sociology or whatever they're good at, and they'd have more fun doing it.

The best speakers are the ones who live abroad, in full immersion. Nothing we do here can change that. When they favour English so highly, they're ensuring that the richest kids--the ones who can travel abroad, and/ or get tutors--get into the best universities, and then, the best jobs.

Thinly-veiled nepotism, I say, and a massive waste of energy and coin.

[bassexpander]

1. Yearly school-paid health and drug check (in Korea only) for all E-2s and Gyopos on gyopo visas.

2. Criminal records check for all new E-2 applicants. Up to 9 months grace period for those currently here on E-2s. This would need to be done ONCE.

3. Limit of one 6-month tourist visa at a time for Canadians, with a 3 to 6 month break (outside of Korea) before being eligible for the next.

4. Automatic 1 million won fine per week -- up to a maximum 10 million won -- for any teacher caught teaching illegally on a tourist visa. Mandatory 3 month jail sentence and 20 million won fine for anyone caught teaching illegally on a renewed tourist visa with no proof of recent E-2. Immediate deportation after.

5. Automatic 10 million won fine for the school (per teacher) for employing illegals, and 1 warning before loss of business license. Second offense equals jail time and additional fines.

6. Automatic 10 million won fine for recruiters hiring illegals for part-time jobs, including automatic loss of business license. Second offense equals jail time.

7. Automatic 20 million won fine, plus loss of business license, plus jail time for Koreans running illegal after school scams, and found laundering money through teachers' bank accounts. 500,000 won bounty paid to anyone who turns in a recruiter guilty of this.

[Matt_22]

the more requirements korea puts in place, the more problems they have finding teachers. korea's not exactly a destination that people seek out when they dream of heading to asia. it's just that it's the easiest and most profitable country to work in. let's be honest, pretty much 90% of us here would be someplace else if there was a similar savings potential in other countries in asia.

in my opinion, raising the immigration requirements would actually be good for the teachers that truly want to be here (albeit a pain in the ass), but bad for the ESL industry and korea as a whole. fewer teachers would jump through the hoops, but those who did would in turn be paid more because of it. hagwons, especially in rural areas, would have trouble baiting qualified staff from abroad, so instead would rely moreso on homegrown korean natives.

so now you've got less foreigners here that make more money, hagwons struggling to fill teaching positions, and a much greater percentage of students learning english from a non-native speaker. but hey, at least you saved the children from the small possiblity of learning englishee from a recreational pot smoker. mission accomplished.

[Homer]

[mistermasan]

both china and taiwan required physicals. china was a full physical. taiwan was a nugget fishing and AIDS test with some other stuff so that we couldn't say it was "just"" an AIDS test (nugget fishing is for TB- rampant in nations taiwan draws factory/healthcare workers from. will you have to "go fish" if you switch to ROC? maybe. depends on the county.)

since this thread is hypothetical...if i was a citizen of a country that had nationalized healthcare i would like it that any foreigner who came to work in my nation or profit be pre-screened for health. joe six-pack is sixty pounds overweight and comes overhere to have his heart attack on MY dime? thank you, but no.

again, this is all hypothetical.

i would also like all teachers who do not possess some form of training to get certified within the first year here. failure to certify within the inital year disqualifies one from future employment.

[Homer]

Interesting mistermasan...hypothetically speaking mind you...

[Mr. Pink]

Would it make too much sense for Immigration, MoJ and Ministry of Education to use one central database on teachers? Buy an extra copy of your degree and have the university mail it to them with transcripts. They can then verify it and keep it on file for future reference. I find it stupid that people are CONTINUOUSLY asked for their degree and transcripts. It is an unnecessary cost when such things get "lost" as well.

Criminal background checks make sense. In Canada, ANY position in which you are working with or around children requires one of these. Why shouldn't Korea? Some of us on this board are parents - the thought of sending my child to a place that isn't screened for pedophiles is at times worrisome.

Medical Checks also make sense. If you want to immigrate or come work in Canada, you have to have a full medical check first. Why shouldn't Korea adopt that? Also, Canada doesn't pay for that medical check, so why should Korea? I disagree that medical checks should stop at alcohol and drugs. TB is quite contagious and should be included in that test. We seem to think our sex lives are private, but would an AIDS test be that bad? If you get cut at school from some kid with scissors, you could likely infect others. Any type of infectious disease should be tested in that medical examination.

Asking for training programs or qualifications is a pipe dream. I think if 90% of those who came to Korea had qualifications, they would teach in another country or their home country.

It would be nice though, if Korean universities did have some classes in English that furthered one in both education and ESL/EFL methodology. Classroom management and student-teacher boundaries and relationships come to mind. For newcomers, these are the two biggest things that FT's have trouble with.

Also, I want to have multiple entry be GIVEN to anyone with a valid visa: E2, E1, E7, F1, F2, F4, F5, etc. Paying for it is just stupid considering other countries let you come and go as you please with a work visa or permanent resident status.

[nomad-ish]

i would say that a criminal check is definitely required. chances are we're working with kids over here. also a 3 or 4 year degree and a medical check (done by your own doctor in your home country). i don't see the point of transcripts really...