Korean Job Discussion Forums

lanems · Joined: 20 Oct 2006 Location: USA

I'm a recent college graduate who just got an acceptance letter to the Fulbright ETA grant in Korea. I'd like to hear from anyone else who has been in the program about their experiences, or anyone who has experience teaching in Korean public schools.

My background is in Linguistics and I have volunteered as an ESL teacher in America for about two years. Most of my teaching experiences have been with refugee or immigrant populations and have revolved around really basic English skills such as writing or practical survival skills. I will be placed in a Middle School in Korea, so I would appreciate hearing from anyone with experience teaching in a Middle School environment.

I'd also like to hear from anyone who has had a homestay experience in Korea, and any advise or interesting experiences they may have to share. As part of the Fulbright grant, I will be staying with a host family for a year. I expect the host family will either have a teacher at the school I'll be teaching at, or will be the family of a student who attends the school I will be teaching at. I'm expecting to be asked to provide some English lessons as part of my homestay expense. Any advice or suggestions for surviving a homestay would be greatly appreciated!

Also, I am a total beginner at studying Korean. Any particularly useful phrasebooks or dictionaries that anyone could recommend would be greatly appreciated. I can read hangul and would appreciate any books that use hangul instead of romanizations.

Thanks for your time!

Saxiif · Joined: 15 May 2003 Location: Seongnam

What bit of the country are they sending you to?

I'd be leery about doing a homestay unless learning Korean is a very high priority...

jkelly80 · Joined: 13 Jun 2007 Location: you boys like mexico?

I have both the lonely planet and the Barron's dictionary, and I think the Barron's is far superior, and it's from 1988 (!). I would recommend Barron's b/c it has a larger dictionary. Here's a link:

http://www.amazon.com/Korean-Glance-At-Barrons/dp/081203998X

No I am not an employee nor do I own any stock.

cbclark4 · Joined: 20 Aug 2006 Location: Masan

If you google Learn Korean you'll find some getting started type Korean.

I met a Fullbright Program guy last year he was perfectly happy.

lanems · Joined: 20 Oct 2006 Location: USA

Learning Korean is a priority for me. Which is one of the main reasons why I chose the Fulbright program over other options. I won't know where I will be teaching until after the 6 week orientation provided (which should include Korean language instruction and teaching instruction).

I'm meeting with a Korean speaker 5 days a week right now for some Korean tutoring in exchange for English lessons. I'm using the KLEAR textbook "Integrated Korean" but I would like some more quick and easy survival Korean things to cram before I leave.

I'm told that I won't be sent to Seoul, and I'm expecting to be in a smaller town that doesn't normally attract native English speakers. I've spent some time as an exchange student in rural Japan and rural Hong Kong (New Territories) and I have generally enjoyed living in more rural small villages so this isn't a problem for me. However, I think in order to enjoy such places, proficiency in Korean will be more important than if I were living in Seoul.

Thanks for your advice!

Saxiif · Joined: 15 May 2003 Location: Seongnam

One thing that you should keep in mind is that the Korean that you are learning is almost undoubtedly RIDICULOUSLY formal. A lot of the expressions and sample dialogue in virtually every Korean textbook uses the kind of language the most Koreans don't use unless they're talking to their grandparents.

I don't think I've ever seen a textbook that taught more everyday Korean, maybe someone else knows of one? It would be worth tracking down.

Also if you want rural, try to get a posting in NE Korea (Kangwon-do), definately the most rural bit of Korea and it's a really beautiful combination of ocean and mountains while still being a reasonable bus-ride for Seoul.

seoulsucker · Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 1:51 am Post subject:

Yu_Bum_suk · Joined: 25 Dec 2004

He he he - I always find it amazing that Fullbright 'scholars' will spend their fellowship doing something that a computer science major with a 2.0 GPA could get paid $2,000+ / month to do. In fact, I find the Korean government placing Fullbright scholars in EPIK-style positions to be a bit of a scam. The Fullbright Foundation should be receiving in the neighbourhood of $25,000USD for your year's service, not paying for you do charity teaching in the public school system of a rich country.

As for a Korean homestay, I can't imagine what that would be like. I'm sure it will be very interesting in some respects, but I also suspect that after a year you'll be envying everyone else whose schools provide them with single housing for free. In case you didn't know, privacy is not a term on which Koreans place a great deal of stress.

definitely maybe · Joined: 16 Feb 2008

i find this curious too. are korean school districts placing motivated, successful students and scholars, much like the op, in rural positions because they can't attract wanderers and folks overloaded with loans? if so, wow! i have no doubt a fulbright scholar could do some good there, but it seems like a someones getting duped!

OiGirl · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: Hoke-y-gun

OiGirl · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: Hoke-y-gun

Saxiif · Joined: 15 May 2003 Location: Seongnam

ajuma · Joined: 18 Feb 2003 Location: Anywere but Seoul!!

My first 2 jobs in Korea were homestays and both turned out really well. Beware that the family may be a bit "over-protective" of you...afraid to let you out on your own at first.

Chances are that the school that you're assigned to has another foreign teacher. See if you can find out his/her name. If you find that you're the only foreigner, post something here telling what city you'll be in. Even though "Korean immersion" is great at the beginning, you'll need someone from your own background to hang out with. I went 1 full month without seeing or talking to another foreigner, and while I wouldn't change the experience for anything, I know how stressful it can be.

DrunkenMaster · Joined: 04 Feb 2008

O.P., don't do the homestay. Trust me. I did one. I know friends who did them. No one likes it after a while. Sure, you may well be the exception, but do you really want to risk a year of your life at a place where if you come in past 11 o'clock, you have to ring the bell and wake up the whole house because they locked the door from the inside? Houses are big apartments by the way. They have one level and three to five rooms.

You are correct that you will have to do English lessons for room and board. You will also be expected to join the family and their friends on weekend outings that last all day long, where adults will not speak any English, but the kids all will. You will be the kids' new best friend. But even they will start to not want to talk to you. They're kids, you see, and you're not. The parents won't understand this, and will continue to create outings where they talk about you in front of you in Korean while you try to make conversation with the kids. Some of the things they will say will be good, and some will be negative. You won't know. But everyone else will.

You'll be like a pet. Like a big white monkey pet.

Soon they will begin to ask you why you haven't learned Korean yet (the second hardest language in the world to learn). You will mumble something. They won't understand because they won't speak English. The kids will translate it. They'll nod their heads. You'll smile uncomfortably.

Then one day the husband will beat his wife in front of you.

The kids will call you "pig" even though you're not fat. Or so you think.

Are you fat? That won't go over very well in the homestay.

In addition to this, you will work a full-time job. There's nothing better than free English lessons at the end of a long day's work. Work that you've never done before and are learning. Baptism by fire, as they say.
Sure, I might be wrong. But do you really want to find out the hard way?

ajuma · Joined: 18 Feb 2003 Location: Anywere but Seoul!!

While I don't agree with everything DrunkenMaster said, but he's right in that you'll have to establish some ground rules.

Ask for a key to the apartment AND a key to your room. Your room should be off-limits to the rest of the family.

Allocate 1 weekend a month for outings, but politely decline other invitations. Don't get trapped in the "every weekend" thing.

If you are working for room and board, establish times for lessons. If they have something else to do at that time, request that they tell you in advance. (Chances are they won't, but it doesn't hurt to try!)