Korean Job Discussion Forums

[iggyb]

I'm a little too pissed off at the moment to site search for this. Sorry...

My experience in getting a job in Korea has been either through direct contact via email from the US or through a recruiter while in the US. When I changed jobs, I would do it after taking a couple of months vacation back home or after having returned to the US for a death in the family...

What are the prospects like if you do the search while in country?

How long did it take people who've gone this route to find a job?

I'm looking for an adult institute in or near Seoul. I'll only take a K-elementary school hakwon job as a very last choice.

Since the SMOE job fell through --- which is the reason I'm pissed off at my recruiter right now --- I've talked it over with my wife (Korean) and I'm probably going to head over to Korea using the tourist visa deal the US has with Korea and look for jobs directly in person.

(My wife's father was terminally ill and then died - which is the reason I started looking to return to Korea for a couple of years to help the family.)

In case anyone is thinking it - the F-series visa is a no go. Neither of us have a job in Korea, and my wife is on a Permanent Residency Visa in the US we won't give up, and she will not be with me the first year in Korea as she keeps her job in the US...I've checked with the consulate in Atlanta on this...

(Also, private teaching is out. I hated it the two times I let someone talk me into doing 1-on-1 privates when I was teaching in Korea (1996-2000). It was illegal and a major pain in the neck to deal with.)

I'd much rather have not paid my own airfare and been able to absorb the headaches of job hunting in the ESL market in Korea from the comfort of my own livingroom here in the US, but with my wife's father finally having passed, time is becoming more crucial, and this is the step we will likely take...

Any good advice will be appreciated since I have not gone this route before.