Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bboymagicmonkey]

SOme articles I found on the immigration website.

Ministry promises more openness for foreigners

By Song Sang-ho


The government will implement plans to encourage foreign professionals to live and work here, the Justice Ministry said yesterday.

The ministry plans to introduce various visa incentives for qualified foreign professionals and investors, and to allow foreign workers to switch jobs within the same profession. It also plans to launch programs to help foreigners, particular those with Korean spouses, adapt to life here.

From September this year, the ministry will issue permanent-residence visas to qualified foreign professionals and investors.

Foreign nationals with special job skills in various areas, including science, education, culture and athletics, can apply for the visa from Korean embassies in their countries. Business professionals with plans to invest over $500,000 - a drop from the current $2 million - are also eligible for the visa.

Currently, only foreign nationals who meet various requirements, including several years of residing in Korea, are eligible for the visa. To ease worker shortage in provincial industrial complexes, the ministry is planning to reduce the required length of stay for workers from the current 10 years to five, beginning December 2008.

From July, the ministry also plans to issue visas for job-seekers with work experience in world-renowned multinationals or degrees from globally recognized universities.


The companies and schools must be among the world`s top 300 and 200, respectively, as listed by professional rating organizations such as Fortune, the Times of London and Newsweek.

The visa will be valid for six months, but can be extended upon request if legitimate reasons are given. Currently, anyone wishing to come to Korea for education or work is required to have an official invitation from the school or employer.

Foreign professionals will be allowed to switch jobs within the same industry from December this year. [i]Currently, anyone who wants to move jobs is required to get permission from the government, a measure favored by local employers who fear high turnover rates. The ministry said it will further discuss the measure with local companies to stave off expected problems such as an increase in wage costs.

The ministry is also planning to devise a five-year plan by June this year to help foreigners settle in Korea. The plan includes various support programs to protect the fundamental rights of foreign immigrants married to Koreans and prevent discrimination against them.


As part of the efforts, the ministry plans to run Korean language and culture courses from January 2009. Foreign nationals seeking Korean citizenship who have completed the courses will be exempted from taking a naturalization exam. [/i] -----------------------------------------

I found that on the Immigration website http://www.immigration.go.kr/HP/COM/bbs_03/ListShowData.do

It seems to suggest that people in "education" may be able to switch jobs on an e2 visa after December this year. I asked my boss about it because we've always been on good terms, she is a really cool person and she said yes, she has heard about that as well from her dealings with immigration.

Consequences:

1. I think Employee Retention will be really tough for crap hagwons. Even for good hagwons.

2. Base pay for this industry has been around 2million a month for the last 10 years. I think it will shoot to 3 million pretty easily. Even 3million a month isnt that much for me anymore seeing as Korean Won slid 24% against the Australian dollar since I got here. My younger brother working as a porter now earns the same as me in real terms. Wack.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

This article was carried on the front page of The Korea Times
issued on 23rd January, 2008 - an interview of
commissioner of Korea Immigration Service.』
Immigration Office Plans to Ease Visa Rule



Choo Kyu Ho
Commissioner of Korea Immigration Service

By Yoon Won-sup, Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporters

A top visa policymaker said Tuesday that Seoul plans to give English teaching or E-2 visas to foreigners whose countries adopt English as an official language.

[i]``We�ve already decided to expand the recipients (of E-2 visas),�� Choo Kyu-ho, commissioner of Korea Immigration Service, told The Korea Times, Tuesday. ``I think the supply of (foreign English teachers) should increase to meet growing demand in a reasonable way.��

Choo said that he can�t specify when non-native English speakers will be allowed the visa because the change requires approval of related government offices.

He plans to discuss the issue at a meeting with related ministries before June.

Regarding Pakistani Ambassador to Seoul Murad Ali�s recent letter to Justice Minister Chung Soung-jin, which urged the Seoul government to allow qualified Pakistanis the English teaching visa, Choo said it would be good to allow all foreigners to make some contribution to Korea.

However, Choo said that the ambassador�s claim that Korea violates the World Trade Organization�s (WTO) rule, the most-favored-nation (MFN) treatment, with its visa regulation is not correct.

The commissioner said the nation needs to open its market not only in English education but also in many other areas in order to attract talented professionals from overseas.

At the same time, he said, Korea needs to establish a firmer law-abiding atmosphere otherwise, the opening would not be successful ― for example, he expressed concern over illegal immigrants.

Currently, about 1.1 million foreigners live in Korea but 220,000 are here illegally, according to the immigration office. The ratio of illegal immigrants is high given the number of immigrant laborers here ― 600,000.

``We often hear the Korean government cracks down on immigrant workers and doesn�t pay much attention to their human rights,�� Choo said. ``In a sense, it means Korea lacks full enforcement of the Immigration Law well. So we need to develop a better system.��

He said employers of immigrants needed to abide by the law. ``Free flow and common prosperity is my principle. Please remember that we can�t be open without order,�� he added.

Meanwhile, he said he is ``sorry�� if some foreign teachers experienced inconveniences caused by a new E-2 visa regulations that require criminal record documents and medical checkups.

``Demand for native English-speaking teachers has surged. But there were some unacceptable foreign teachers. To block them, we had to strengthen requirements for foreign teachers. It�s most difficult for us to catch up with rapid changes. I also beg for the understanding of owners of private language schools for the inconvenience,�� he said.

Lastly, he stressed the need of facilities to accommodate refugee applicants. ``Currently we don�t even have a place for refugee applicants. We need to develop a well-organized system for them,�� he said. [/i] ------------------------------------
Consequences:

I really think that most Korean parents in Seoul anyway, are too snobby to have their kids taught by a South Asian, Filipino or an African native speaker of English....hey, I'm Chinese and some people don't even like that.

Thus, all my whitey compadres like you guys will be at an even BIGGER premium. Who wants to get their kids taught by a brown/yellow/black guy when a legit white person is available right? Not the parents at my hagwon that's for sure!

Can you imagine how snobby they would be to a hagwon that had African teachers around their kids? Other parents will pay 400,000 a month more in tuition just to be able to get a North American and justify it by saying "Oh, the African's university is not so famous! I think that guy from Idaho State is better. What, he's white? Oh, I didn't notice, I just think a Philosophy major from the National University of Kenya isn't as good as Potato Science from Idaho State."

Also, I read on that other guy's post that college dropouts are being considered to work in public schools in GyeonggiDo now...man, they really scraping the bottom of the barrel to get teachers now, hunh?

NOT that there is anything wrong with dropouts.

Personally though, I'd rather my kid learn English from Chinua Achebe (brilliant Nigerian poet and novellist) than some ass who dropped out of an Arts major in the US.

So, in conclusion, the Future of the e2 Visa for white people is looking pretty peachy.

[branchsnapper]

I hope you are right, but I wish I had 100 won for each time someone read the official tea leaves and then predicted big pay rises.

Why is being Chinese better than being from the Philippines or Africa, if we are talking teaching English. You mean Chinese/American right?

[bboymagicmonkey]

Being Chinese - Australian (like me) has a little bit of an "advantage" because 99% of the time I am mistaken for a gyopo. So, i get some "ins" to society that obviously foreign looking cats can't.

I think going by reading official announcements and predicting big pay increases is pretty foolish, yeah, i agree, but making predictions on known variables like Seoul people's snobbery towards South Asians / African Africans and Filipino's is way more bankable.

White people = premium.

Go work it boys and girls. ^^

[branchsnapper]

It works the other way too. Mandarin teaching is starting to take off, and I speak it to a certain level, but I bet any students I might get would rather look at you.

[Sody]

Can't say I agree with all the OP's comments, but I do understand what he is saying.

As for Mandarin, believe it or not it is a real niche market and I know Mandarin teachers who can charge even more for private tutoring than us English teachers. They ARE in demand but I guess if you are rich you can afford it.

[aerialsimulacrum]

Yeah, a big reason for my selection of a public school position was the racial discrimination in hagwons.

[atomjuice2]

"I just think a Philosophy major from the National University of Kenya isn't as good as Potato Science from Idaho State."

Thanks, this made my whole evening...a Potato Science Major....lol.

I'm a 'whitey'...I keep asking my students what skin color has to do with education....or anything for that matter...I just get blank stares. Sometimes, like today, I told the students I have almost lost faith in Koreans...I tried telling them this was 'learned' beahvior...

Of course, this issue is never far from the surface of ill intent in western countries either...but it's so in your face here. This vertical relationship model based on a color-code has to be challenged at every sign here. Will it change? I'm not at all optimistic. Wished I could see reson to be.

[sojourner1]

Guess this should had been worded differently as some E2 English teachers are black and others are Asian so it's not just a white people thing. Try to word it as, The future of the E2 visa for current 7 countries teachers.

[matthews_world]

'white people'??

What sort of backwards, ingrate family did you come from?

As far as I know, Asians and Africans alike teach English here, too, much less any other job.

[Ramen]

[pkang0202]

World's 300 and 200 companies and universities??

So, if I was born in a Native English speaking country, and I graduated from Tokyo University, I can teach English in Korea?

[bboymagicmonkey]

[bejarano-korea]

[crusher_of_heads]