Korean Job Discussion Forums

[gotkd2000]

Greetings to all, I am new to this board.
I plan on teaching enlish in Korea from September 2004.

I am a korean-american adoptee, I was adopted when I was 6 years old.
Are adoptees considered as kyopos?

Are the chances of obtaining a job the same as kyopos or foreigners?

Also, I speak 5 languages pretty fluently by order of fluency: english, french, japanese, korean, spanish. I lived 8 years in the US, 6 in France, 1 year in Japan and have learned spanish through my entire school life.

Would this cultural experience be a plus when trying to find a job?
Would my speaking korean be a plus or should I pretend that I don't understand what my future employer and students say?

I taught english when I was 18 years old in Korea ( I spent a sabbatical year) before going to university (in France). I also spent my 3rd year of university studies in Japan last year (majoring in Japan) and also taught english, mostly privates. Would this be considered as teaching experience?

I am graduating with a 4 year french degree, how would that effect my job search? I am an american citizen though...

I would love to hear from any other adoptees teaching english or from anybody else interested in sharing experiences.

Sorry for all of these questions...
Thank you for any responses.
Feel free to e-mail me: [email protected]

[Real Reality]

Korean Adoptees Worldwide Links
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/koreanadopteesworldwide/links

Global Overseas Adoptees' Link
http://www.goal.or.kr
http://www.goal.or.kr/bbs/zboard.php?id=newsarticles

Adopted Koreans Connection
http://www.akconnection.com/articles/articles.asp?cat=3

"We only want white people"
We have been trying for a long time to place native English speaking Black American, Asian, Indian, Pakistani, Nigerian and Black South African English teachers into schools in China and Korea - mostly unsuccessfully. Occasionally we do place black female North American and Korean American teachers in Korean schools. We are usually met with a polite "no thank you" or an outright, "nobody wants to be taught English by a black person." This is a problem, particularly as we receive many enquiries from well qualified native English speakers who are not "white", who we know would make good English teachers. Unfortunately tackling this issue from our position is like walking into a brick wall - there is little we can do about it except encourage the employers to be a little more open minded.
http://www.teachinasia.com/ethnic_background.html

Korean-American Ordered to Serve in Army
A Seoul court on Friday ordered a man with dual citizenship to fulfill his two-year military service. The Seoul Administration Court ordered the U.S.-born Korean working at a foreign company in Seoul to serve his mandatory military service in the South Korean army despite his foreign citizenship.
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200311/kt2003112817031011980.htm

[just because]

Dont listen to RR, he is a little bit of a negative nelly.
You are considered a Kyopo however if you can speak English and Korean fluently you have got it made.
Nobody has to know you are a Kyopo outside your hagwon if your Korean is good enough. They will never know the difference if you don't tell anyone and if you can speak fluent English then just get the wages of us native teachers. It is a little harder but I know of a few kyopos and half english-asian people that have a great time here.
happy hunting

[jurassic5]

hello...I'm a Korean adoptee myself and work at a hagwon here in Seoul (apku). it's not too difficult to find a decent job, just remember to get the F-4 visa rather than the E-2 since it allows you a lot more freedom.

[J.B. Clamence]

It's great that you have a lot of cultural experience. That would be a plus, as you may be seen by schools as someone who won't have a problem living in Korea.

However, in my experience, schools don't really seem to care about much. As long as you have a 4-year university degree (doesn't really matter what subject, French is fine), that's all a lot of schools seem to be concerned with, except for experience. Sure, if you did some teaching a while back, by all means use it as experience.

Yes, there are some schools out there that want only white faces, but a lot of kyopos find jobs here. You should be ok.

Yeah, Real Reality likes to spout doomsday sh@t. It's best taken with a grain of salt.

Good luck.

[Real Reality]

Just quoting.

The Government of the Republic of Korea does not recognize dual citizenship after an individual reaches the age of 21. Americans of Korean descent who hold dual citizenship under South Korean law and work or study in South Korea are usually compelled to choose one or the other nationality soon after reaching 20 years of age. In addition, South Korean citizen men age 18 and over are subject to compulsory military service. The Government of the Republic of Korea considers an individual to be a citizen of South Korea if the individual's name appears on the family census register. A male dual national who has reached the age of 18 may not be allowed to abandon his ROK nationality until he finishes his military service or has received a special exemption from military service.

There have been several instances in which young American men of Korean descent, who were born and lived all of their lives in the United States, arrived in the ROK for a tourist visit only to be drafted into the South Korean army. At least two of these cases involved U.S. citizens of Korean descent whose names had been recorded on the Korean family census register at the time of their birth in the U.S. and who had been unaware of their South Korean citizenship. Further information concerning dual nationality is available at the nearest South Korean consulate or through the Consular Affairs' Dual Nationality flyer on the Internet at http://travel.state.gov/.
http://travel.state.gov/skorea.html

Gyopo needs help finding a job in Seoul
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=9421