Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sodivided]

Hello everyone,

I've recently been considering teaching English abroad, and Korea looks to be a good option for me.

One application asks for a writing sample, and I'm not sure what would be best to include. I have a BA in Linguistics and so have a bunch of papers I wrote for classes, including my thesis, but those are for the most part kind of jargony. On the other hand, they do demonstrate my understanding of languages, which could be beneficial. I have no idea! What would be the best kind of writing sample to include? I have other things I wrote for school, mostly in French and Latin, but I could dig up some other stuff. That's basically all I've written recently that could be worth anything. Should I write something else?

Also, I've seen that they specify that they want citizens of English-speaking countries - namely, Canada, the US, the UK and Australia. I'm a native English speaker, and I've lived in the US for about 16 years, but I'm not a US citizen. I'm a citizen of both France and Australia, but I have a French passport. Will this be okay?

Thanks!

[ttompatz]

[Goon-Yang]

Get an Australian passport and travel into Korea/get your visa in it. Korean immigration will know nothing about France unless you went to uni there.

[themagicbean]

Australia is on the list of native-speaking countries, so long as you apply with an Australian passport you should be fine. Yes you will need to obtain and use that passport. No your French passport will not work. Some lackey in immi who barely reads English, if at all, and certainly doesn't know French, will be looking to see if the issuing country is "on the list," if it's not, you'll be rejected.

Essay: To whom are you applying? Realistically if you're getting a first-ESL job the essay is to establish that you can write English at a minimally competent level. If you are applying to EPIK/etc. for public school they may consider it when deciding to give you a better (more advanced / well funded) school, as people with backgrounds in linguistics or ed tend to wind up with the better public school job. Ask for a length maximum to get a feel and generally stay away from jargon would be my generic advice but, as admitted, that's generic.

[sodivided]

Thanks for the replies. That's a shame. My BA is definitely from a US university, but if its for visa purposes then I guess I have to take some extra steps. I think I should just go ahead and apply for American citizenship and keep French for EU access if I'm going to have to deal with embassies.

I assume it's not even worth bothering, then, until I get all that sorted out?

[schlotzy]

Pretty much. Until you hold the magical passport it's a no-go. You can maybe just do some research into jobs/culture/life until then. Don't actually bother applying though.

[Justin Trullinger]

If you're an Australian citizen, get an Aussie passport. Gonna be a LOT easier than getting US citizenship. The Australian passport will be as good as a US one for working in Korea, and will save you the trouble of getting another citizenship...

But you're very right- keep your French citizenship at all costs, in case you want to work/live in the EU at any future point.

Best,
Justin

[CentralCali]

The first thing you need to check is if you are, in fact, also a citizen of Australia. I know it sounds odd but there are people who think they're dual nationals but are not and also those who are dual nationals but don't know they are. You should call the closest Australian Consulate or Embassy and (a) determine if you are a citizen of Australia and, (b) if you are a citizen, then get an Australian passport.