Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ocalmy]

I'm applying to a MED program in the States and need to get at least one professional letter of recommendation. I teach public school and neither the principal nor the vice principal speak a word of English.

I called the admissions office and they told me the letter could be written in Korean as long as it was translated by a legitimate agency. So my questions are these:

Does anyone have any experience with these translation offices? Can I trust them to translate the recommendation professionally and appropriately?

Do Koreans even use letters of recommendation as a factor in their university applications/admissions process? How can I be sure my vice principal will even know what kind of letter to write? I tried to explain what I needed to my co-teacher (who barely speaks any English). She smiled and showed me some kind of document that simply verifies that I was employed. My next step is to present sample letters and hope her reading skills are good enough to get the idea.

In my experience Koreans seem to be much more modest (albeit false) than westerners. My school has been very happy with my performance over the last two years. But I'm afraid they might be less willing to dish out the praise in the way a good letter of recommendation requires.

It's uber important that I get accepted to this program. Any thoughts or suggestions on this topic would be much appreciated.

[ttompatz]

ASK for a sheet of school letterhead and an envelope.

Write your own.

Get your principal to sign it (get your co-teacher to translate if it makes him feel more comfortable) and put the school stamp on it.

They typically don't write what we consider to be a letter of recommendation or reference letter. They simply issue a certificate of employment (as required by the labor standards act).

.

[byrddogs]