Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bgreenster]

so I am a bit of an impulsive creature, but during one of my insomnia marathons, I came upon the idea of attending grad school over here in Korea. Has anyone done this/is thinking of it/knows anything at all about doing so? After looking over the websites, it really does not seem too difficult to try and do... I was already planning on getting my master's in International Relations in the next few years or so (depending on when I felt like moving back to the States) but thought it might be even cooler to have such a degree from a "foreign" institution. I have plenty of time to ponder, since I wouldn't plan on starting up until at least next spring...

Any thoughts?

Oh, and I am mainly looking at schools around Seoul/Incheon, although I'm not picky if there's a cool program/school in another city.

Thanks!

[bobbyhanlon]

if you're looking for something to do, then why not. but if you're talking about a serious undertaking, then i would say definitely not. even the top korean university is a borderline candidate for the top 100 worldwide, and even if you went there (seoul national) few outside korea would have heard of it.
it can seem tempting- tuition is cheap, and you could pay your way through by teaching privates- but in the long run i don't think it will help you much.
anyway, good luck whatever you do.

[kalkamagi]

this question comes up every so often. there are international grad schools in korea, with quite a lot of foreiners. while true that the name accreditation might be lacking, if you know you want to be in korea for a few years, why not?
the career development center is great- foreign grads have great job opportunities in korea/asia that they wouldn't have after two more years teaching english. (not to knock teaching english- for some of us, it's a passion, others, it's a means to an end.)

i'm in my last semester in the international trade & finance program at yonsei. we're quite ticked at this semester's tuition increase at the moment, but i believe it's the best program in korea.

http://gsis.yonsei.ac.kr/
(if you go to the "admissions" page, you can see a picture of me!)

[gsxr750r]

Korean grad schools look great on a resume if you study one of these two areas:

1. Korean Language
2. TaeKwonDo

Past that, don't spend your money.

[Okibum]

Yonsei also has a MA in Social Work that is with University of South Carolina.

Also, since you are an American you can get a base pass and start a program on base. I think they have a Masters in International Relations and a MED with state certification on Yongsan. They are both US universities-- so I guess that is not what you are looking for.

[matthews_world]

Try also an International Studies master degrees at Sogang and Yonsei to name a few.

Woosong in Daejon, I believe, has a masters in TESOL.

[JeJuJitsu]

[Yaya]

I've known non-U.S. DOD people attend the Univ. of Maryland-Yongsan, though.

[joeheckel]

I am allured to the several weeks of vacation, older students and access to continuing education of a university. Would a master's degree from a K-grad school be a good idea if a teacher had an interest in obtaining one of those university jobs that are tenured? I only have a bachelor's in business management and the uni jobs all seem to want a master's in education. Are the uni jobs the place to be for someone with a long term interest in Korea?

[el_magico]

[Yaya]

No GMAT or GRE scores are needed to get into a GSIS program in Korea, though a few schools say they would PREFER that .

[NoExplode]

Don't listen to the naysayers. Sure, Korea's lacking somewhat in the rigor department as far as Uni's go, BUT, this is a 20th century mentality. Western businesses are dying to get Western people with Asian experience/schooling. If you can learn Korean while you're at it, you'd be golden. The Wall Street Journal did a huge week-long piece a few months back, about how Westerners that go to grad school in Asia are the absolute hottest properties in the business world. Doesn't even have to be MBA-related.

The jist of the WSL write-up was that Western business is looking for two things--people that can speak the language, and second, any type of post-grad education. History, International Relations, whatever. They interviewed some guy who went to an average Uni back in America, got a Chinese Culture Master's from a Uni in Hong Kong, and despite not knowing anything about Finance, was hired by a Finance Company, at six figures. The company told him they'd train him. They just wanted someone who knew Chinese and knew about China.

[PeteJB]

If anything, having an exotic university that no one has heard of on your resume is pretty good in the eyes of many employers. Especially if it's in a country where you are required to adapt to another language and culture, all of which are merits to your name and abilities. So, your degree isn't shiny and gold plated like a Harvard Grad Student? So frelling what. The best is bullshit and people like that never settle for less because of their materialistic narrow perspective.

[SeoulFinn]

I hope it was as easy as that. I have BA and MA in Korean studies from University of Helsinki (Finland) and I have lived four years in Korea. No one, absolutely no one has any interest hiring me. I have even contacted quite a few Korean organizations as well.

"Unfortunately we do not hire foreigners. Have a nice day."

[Cedar]

I attended Yonsei GSIS. For Korean Studies, it is considered one of the top programs in the world at the MA level. I would not consider getting a -terminal- degree from a Korean university (PhD or MFA etc) but for an MA in a subject where it makes sense to be in Korea (int'l relations with an Asia emphasis, North Korean security issues, Korean Buddhism, Korean Studies, Korean Language, etc.) then it makes a lot of sense.

After Yonsei I applied to 8 top American universities. I got into 5, the 5 with faculty members who were obvious for me to work with, and struck out on the schools where I'd tried to convince them I should work with them but it had been apparent they didn't see it as a good match (these schools only had 1-2 matches from my perspective, and those professors didn't call or email with me with the degree of warmth I felt from the schools that accepted me). I was offered full rides plus stipend, and took the school (UCLA) that offered the fattest stipend and has the highest concentration of Korea specialists outside UH (which I didn't apply to), spread across nearly a dozen different specialties. None of the 5 schools that accepted me told me I'd have to do the MA again (which does happen, even for some students here at UCLA especially in certain departments).

Some of the GSIS programs need no Korean, depending on the major (for Korean Studies you need Korean, but for business you don't). Some of the non-GSIS programs in Korea (like Korean Buddhism at Dongguk U) would be excellent choices if your Korean was up for it. Seoul National's GSIS (I took a class there, it's also good to note that GSIS entrance means you can take classes, usually 2-3 during your MA at any of the other schools as well, and you can have off campus committee members) requires a good percentage of classes in the Korean language.

If you want to study about Korea, and you intend to do a PhD later, this is a great place to do it-- the whole country is your resource. A subway ride can be research, or at least give you a new idea. The top expert is right around the corner in a country of this size...