Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ktkates87]

Hi all,

My fiance (soon to be husband) and I are hoping to come to Korea to teach the end of August/beginning of September.

Does anyone have any good advice for us? I hear couples positions can be hard to come by.

- We both meet requirements to teach, both having university degrees
- No kids
- Wanting to come for at least a year, but hoping to like it enough that we will want to stay for 2 years
- Can be super flexible in location (Not really sure about being in a rural area in the first year, but dont have our hearts set on Seoul or Busan)
- Willing to teach private or public

Looking for information about recruiters who are especially helpful with couples positions, ideas of what to be including in resumes and cover letters to show that we are both serious (not high-risk employees) and basically any other information that would be helpful to newbies who want to come over as a couple.

Thanks

[kinerry]

[LikeFrostOnRoads]

Yes, just apply, apply, apply, apply. You'll deal with frustrations and longer waits, but those jobs are definitely out there. Just look for any post that mentions couple and apply.

[crossmr]

will you be married before arriving? If you can't find a specific couple position but really need to go on that time frame one of you could get a job and sponsor the other for a non-working spouse visa. While you're here, find a job and do a visa run.

[burgerdance]

My wife (girlfriend at the time) kept applying to different places for months, we almost got into epik but I was rejected for some reason. We even considered her coming here first since she was the one really getting offers. I just have a BA, she has a MEd. And another down side was that we are both asian.

Recruiters didn't really help much, but we got lucky when I applied to a school directly. Now we are at the same school and share a loft apartment in Bundang, which is really close to Seoul. Being here now made us realize that it would be so hard to come on our own. So far we're pretty happy, it just the school we're at there is a lot of prep work involved.

So just keep applying until you find a school that will take you both, but if you are comfortable being separated for a bit, apply separately and have the one without an offer come along and find places to apply in person.
Or if one of you get an interview, ask the school if they are looking for more people and try to refer your fiance.

[bsrosenfeld]

My girlfriend and I both came over here together in March. We worked with a recruiter and got 2 positions is public middle schools with GEPIK. Technically, it's not considered a 'couple' position because we are in different schools, but it is another option for you.

One thing to keep in mind, the public school systems will not provide housing for couples unless you are married and can provide a marriage certificate. Our recruiter was great and not only got us positions within 5 minutes of each other's school, but ensured that our apartments are right next to each other's in an officetel.

Of course, one of you can deny housing and accept a housing stipend of 400,000won per month, but we don't want to violate our contract and risk any repercussions. Plus, it's great to have an extra apartment for storage and guests.