Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Mari2121]

I’d like to go to South Korea to work as a foreign language (French) teacher. I know this is a forum mainly dedicated to ESL teaching, but I thought maybe some people here might have worked at (or heard of) places where not only English is thought, but other foreign languages as well. Or maybe of recruiters who don’t specialize only in finding ESL jobs.

Any pointers/info would be very appreciated,
Thank you.

[modernseoul]

Of course in Korea other non-English languages are taught. However they are mainly Japanese and Chinese, and only taught in selective schools and hagwons.

French isn't in great demand here in Korea and unless you're very well qualified and experienced (Uni or International School Role). Or have an independent visa (F2,F4,F5,F6 etc). Your options are limited.

There are a few French teachers working here on student visas and French-Canadians teaching both French and English. As well as those on tourist visas (i.e. Illegal / No-Visa).

Your best options are either come here as a student or on a working holiday visa (I'm pretty sure France is in that scheme).

[furtakk]

I met one girl who taught French on a proper E2. I can't remember the name of her school. There are not many French academies in Korea. I think most jobs hire directly.

Your best bet is probably to look up some schools, and contact them directly. Here is a list of some:

http://seoul.angloinfo.com/af/613/seoul-foreign-language-schools.html

[Lucas]

There are a few Irish and Scottish teachers here in Korea.

I'm not sure if they're teaching English or Gaelic, it's hard to tell sometimes

[Fox]

Here in Gangwon-do, there are E-2 teachers in public schools teaching not only English, but also Chinese, Japanese, and even Russian. If French is one of your native languages, it's not entirely impossible that you could get a job as a French teacher in the public school system, but I have no idea how you'd go about it.

[schwa]

French used to be taught in some public schools here (German too) but European languages fell off the map a few years ago & Korean teachers teaching them either switched to teaching English or gave up. Not sure if there ever was much demand for native speakers.

I'd guess there are a few university programs out there but you'd likely need some impressive credentials.

At the private institute level, Furtakk's links look like a good place to start looking. Best luck.

[PatrickGHBusan]

[littlelisa]

Do you have teaching qualifications? Experience?

The links that PatrickGHBusan included are two different lycées (LFS is in Seocho, and Xavier is in the north of Seoul), both under the AEFE, and that go from kindergarten to terminale. The two hire French teachers, but as he said, they require qualifications. There are some foreign language Korean high schools as well.. I know of at least one, named Daewon, where they teach French, and I know that there are others as well.

PM me some information and I might be able to help.

[nate1983]

Have you looked into the Alliance Française? It's in a nice building in Myeongdong right next to the Namsan tunnel. There are both native (mostly French) and non-native teachers there.

http://www.afseoul.or.kr

[Mari2121]

furtakk’s link seems pretty interesting; I’ll definitely look into it.

Unfortunately, I do not have experience nor qualifications as a teacher. The best I have is a Masters in French Studies (Linguistics), which is better than nothing I guess, but I suppose this rules out the Lycée and Xavier School.

I’m glad to learn that it is possible to get an E-2 to teach something other than English. But does anyone know if teaching is the only type of work that you can do with an E-2 or can you do other things as well?

Thanks a lot for all the information guys.

[wings]

An E-2 visa is specifically for "language instructors". There are other work visas for other kinds of work.

Here is a link to the qualifications you need to get a visa for a few other kinds of work: http://www.hikorea.go.kr/pt/en/info/popup/icis/e_7_pop_en.html

Basically, it's not easy!

[NohopeSeriously]

My church registered me at a Tajiki (Tajikistan, a country right next to Afghanistan) hagweon around Dongdaemun. I was there for a year and 9 months.

[Mari2121]

So, I've looked at the link provided by Furtakk, and for quite a few of the schools on list, I couldn't find an email address to contact them on their website. Is that something common/normal (to have a website but no email address)? Or am I just not looking well enough?

[modernseoul]

In 2012 there were 29 E2 Visa granted to French Nationals, and overall there were over 21,000. 11,000 were American and overall 20,000 plus were native English speakers.
This is not to say it's impossible, just that there's a very small market.

[wings]

One of the reasons the market is so small is that there are a lot of gyopos who grew up in France and Spain, Argentina, Germany, etc. who are now in Korea teaching the language of the country where they grew up. I know a few Spanish teachers here, almost all of them are gyopos, the rest are married to Koreans, so they have different visas.

Not only is the market smaller, but unless you are working for the Aliance Francaise, the Diplomat training centre, or similar the pay is MUCH lower and also includes Saturday classes and late night/early morning shifts.

Another thing to consider is that a lot of the teachers here for languages other than English are very qualified. My husband has all the qualifications for an E2 for teaching Spanish, as well as a 10 week course, and a follow up on-line course. He couldn't find work as a teacher here.