Korean Job Discussion Forums

waitingformyruca · Joined: 04 Mar 2004 Location: US

Howdy everyone. Just graduated school. Thinking about teaching in Korea. Two questions.

1. Should I really be worried about this or did this guy just get jerked?

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200312/kt2003120717224111950.htm

Basically he's an ethnic korean born in the US who by virtue of the fact that his parents were both korean citizens at the time of his birth had dual citizenship but never realized it. When he went to korea to each english he got sucked into military service. I'm also Korean but was born in the U.S. What's the deal?????

2. My aunt's friend works at Elite in Seoul. She claims it is one of the oldest and most well known of the hagwons. True? False? Would you want to work with these people???

Gracias.

peppermint · Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2004 12:43 pm Post subject:

I'm not sure about the first situation- I think you can choose to renounce your Korean citizenship and avoid the military, if that happens.

On the second one, I don't know if Elite is one of the biggest or most well known hagwons. It doesn't matter because those things don't always mean the school is good. I got screwed by the headquarters of a well known chain fairly recently. Talk to the people teaching there now, and see what they have to say. If they are happy with their work environment then that's a good indication.

tsgarp · Joined: 01 Dec 2003

J.B. Clamence · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

IconsFanatic · Joined: 19 Jan 2003

You have to opt out of your Korean citizenship before you're 18, otherwise you've got it for life.

Usually they won't catch you.... it depends on what you do. If you apply to teach English on an E-2 visa as an American, they're not likely to catch you. Korean bureaucracy isn't exactly what I'd call efficient.

The trap is when you try to get the gyopo visa (F-4?). Since you have to be an "ethnic Korean" to get it, you need to fill out the "military exemption" form, which basically says you're Korean, but not a Korean citizen, and thus are exempt from service. Turns out the government will check if you are indeed a citizen or not when you fill this form out, and that's one way people get caught.

Stick with the E-2 visa, and only use your "home" passport.

Best bet would be to find out if you have Korean citizenship or not.

waitingformyruca · Joined: 04 Mar 2004 Location: US

k. that is somewhat comforting. i think if i actually got suckered into the army i'd escape any way i could. i'd take a boat to china or japan and fly out from there if i had to.

humanuspneumos · Joined: 08 Jun 2003

I worked with a guy in Jeju in 97 and that happened to him. He was just married- about to leave the country(vacation)- and at the gates they nabbed him. They told him that he had to serve. The situation really sucked because he had just gotten married- was very Americanized- and it was the last thing on the planet he wanted to do. The only positive was that he loved playing cards. He never did get out of it. He had dual citizenship.

B-careful and do your homework. I saw a younger fellow in the Korean Consulate in Vancouver (had been adopted but for some reason had a Korean passport) trying to turn in his passport and renounce his citizenship. Whether or not he was under 18 I know not.