Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Tallgesse]

Don't mistake me, this is far from the reasons I plan to go to Korea.

However..... Something I am looking forward to with great anticipation is getting rid of this stupid car, tearing up my license in the DMV office, giving the bird to the staff there, and having a friend drive me to the airport while blasting a certain Tupak song invovling our men and women in blue uniforms. (green, in the case of my county)

There is nothing in this entire world I hate more than driving. If I didn't need a car, about 75% of my stress would be gone and I'd probably add a good decade to my life span. I joked with my parents that the first set of photos they would get from me from Korea were going to be 12 of the bus terminal, 6 of the route map, 10 of the bus driver, 14 of the taxi, and 5 or 6 of me posing with the cab driver. I just can't wait to suck in all that sweet sweet public transportation. My heart is skipping beats just thinking about it.

So you can imagine my apprehension when I see several posts on here about international drivers licenses and jobs where people were asked or required to drive.

My questions are:
How common is this?
Does it happen frequently?
Is it usually stated in the contract if you are required to drive?
Is there a higher chance of having to drive if your in a program like EPIK?
Since this is a pretty important feature for me, is it worth telling my recruiters, should I use them, that I do NOT want any contracts where I am going to have to drive? (From what I am hearing even if I did they likely won't listen and will just give me whatever they have)

Thanks in advance. And yes I know not everyone shares this sentiment about driving and for some people its one of the things they miss most about home. I am not one of you.

[Squire]

I highly doubt you will be required to drive in any PS job here. I haven't heard of that happening. You'll be working a job that has been done before by another foreigner in almost all cases. In some cases driving is pretty beneficial though. The two guys before me both ended up driving (a bike and car) because this flat is two bus rides from the school. Eventually I bought a scooter because of the time it takes and wating at two different bus stops in the summer is miserable. But as far as I'm aware I live further from my school than any other PT in this town. My situation is far from typical

[Squire]

[northway]

As a newb there's basically zero chance of this being an issue.

[Tallgesse]

Northway can I PM you when I have enough posts for it? Your always quick to give me replies and seem really serious about your work, I could use the mentoring. (Not at all meant as a slam against any other poster, everyone has been really helpful.)

So then the only thing unspoken for is, if I go the Hogwan route and start using recruiters, should I mention to them that I want nothing to do with driving in Korea?

[schwa]

I have never heard of epik requiring a teacher to drive. Schools do not expect new teachers to have cars. If a school happens to be somewhat remote, the school should help with getting you there & home again.

A few teachers in my area made the personal decision to get cars & it has made their commutes more convenient. Most however manage just fine without.

[Tallgesse]

I'm starting to rethink my whole commitment to public schools anyhow but I'm still undecided. Different issue entirely... Which will probably be posted about later on some time... But from what I understand public is the only real way its going to be an issue since hogwans are pretty much city deals.

[Joe Boxer]

I've never heard of any school requiring a teacher to drive. If you want to get around, though, get a scooter (moped). As gay as they are back home, they're awesome here. Traffic/slow cars? Drive in between the vehicles. Red lights? Lol. You will never, EVER get pulled over, except for not wearing a helmet.

[Tallgesse]

hahahaha. Maybe. Guess you know just how white I am now. The only NWA song I know off the top of my head is Straight outta Compton. I thought Tupac did one called &%$# the police? eh, anyway, the feeling is the same regardless of who did the song. Its beside the point, the point is I hate driving and want a bus route. The stupid part is I actually live near a large US city but even they have terrible public transportation. I love going to DC just for the metro, which is funny because everyone I know there hates it. Whats worse is I have a year till Korea, and I'm actually having to move out to where there is even more driving than I'm doing right now, in October. It will certainly motivate me to get my CBC done early and nail those recruiters quickly.

[northway]

PM sent, but not sure if you can respond yet.

[Tallgesse]

Not yet but I'm getting there. Thank you. I'll reply soon as I get the rights.

[myenglishisno]

I'm one of the only foreigners I know here who has ever driven/owned/rented a vehicle of any kind in this country and I've been here for years so yes, it is very unlikely. I know most public school jobs in Japan force you to have a car but in Korea I've never heard of this being the case.

I suspect mainly because the public transportation here is great, most schools will get you an apartment nearby (2-5 minute walk) and because driving here is quite dangerous (though getting better) and schools don't want to take responsibility. I've heard of more people being forbidden to drive in their contracts than the other way around.

The odds of you requiring a car for your job are like one thousand to one and you can easily avoid jobs that would require you to have one.

If you decide you need your own wheels here, I definitely recommend a motorcycle. Best way to get around in this country. You don't strike me as the type though

[Tallgesse]

Actually I have thought about a scooter here, in the US. I don't know I feel like I might enjoy that a bit more. But in Korea I wouldn't bother unless I felt pretty sure I'd be staying a couple years or more. Which, of course, I won't know until I get there. None the less the first year? I deffinitely just want to use PT. And my own two feet.

[Modernist]

I teach in a pretty rural corner of my 'city'. If you are looking at PS, you should remember than in Korea, places called 'cities' may be closer to Western 'counties', with a central urban core and a bunch of outlying myeons [larger towns] and ri-s [basically little crossroads]. Within the last 20 years or so a lot of growing cities basically merged with their surrounding 'guns' [Korean counties] to get more land for development [can't run out of space for the big ugly concrete boxes!].

So they'll tell you, oh yes, you'll be teaching in ____ City, but that's not to say it'll be a city like you think of it.

My school tried to get me to take an apartment in my little myeon, but I said no and got a place in the urban core area of my city. Buses run up here about every 30 minutes but it's a short walk from the stop to the school. OTOH, catching one back is a crapshoot and I've waited 40 minutes sometimes.

The bus system IS quite good and extensive, but it's up in the air how far you'll have to walk to and from the stops to the schools and apartments. I have never heard of any PS teaching being required to drive.

[Tallgesse]

Modernist: That suits me just fine. I have no problem walking and I'd probably enjoy it....Well...I'm sure my eternal optomism will diminish with the Korean winter or the yellow dust.... But ehh...Adventure! Right?...RIGHT?!

Really really starting to rethink my determination with PS, but not just because of the possibility of being in a rural area. I'm starting to become a little more serious about where I want to be in Korea. I have two cities in paticular I think I'd really enjoy. So it might be worth it for me to start considering the research and ground work that goes into a Hagwon job as an inevitability. So far though the consesus is no one is having to drive...At least in this thread.