Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Who's Your Daddy?]

I'm from Canada. I arrived in 2003. The CDN$ cost 850,000 won, now it costs 1,140,000. And now the North Koreans have become more scary. I wouldn't come here now (as a newbie), yet I'm surprised to see people coming.

If you've been here at least 3 years, what do you think? Would you come here as an E2 newbie now?

[Seoul'n'Corea]

[Louis VI]

In 2002 I first came to travel overseas and have a bit of an adventure. So, yeah, I'd still come if a newbie today. In fact, I'm thinking about becoming a newbie in another Asian country in a year or two, and care not about currency conversion or political stability (I was in Thailand for a month vacation when the airport incident happened. The day to day life of most people went on as normal).

[bobbybigfoot]

You need a "maybe" category.

Things were definitely better a few years ago. It's starting to deteriorate over here. Not horrible yet, but not what it was.

But things have also worsened back home.

So the answer is "maybe".

The bottom line is that world is slowly getting worse and worse.

Pick your poison.

[vaticanhotline]

[gogophoto]

[decolyon]

I've been here 4 years. When I came originally, jobs were plentiful back home. NK and the US had their warmest relationship ever. And it was SK's economy that was just kind of so-so.

Things are completely different now and I certainly would come over. For all the opposite reasons I listed above. There are no jobs back home. Like none. I know people with MAs and MBAs flipping burgers.

I kind of like things are tense with NK right now. I travel for adventure and excitement. If things started blowing up tomorrow, I'd rather be here to experience it and be a part of it, than sit at home and watch it all happen on CNN.

The East Asian economies are pretty good right now. The won isn't as good as it was a few years ago, but if you just came over for the exchange rate, you're not a very smart person.

[Gamecock]

I was in Korea from 2003-2008. For 3 of those 5 years, I had a sweet public school job with 10 weeks of paid vacation and no desk warming. The exchange rate for American dollars was much better.

The public schools have slowly eradicated the benefits which set them apart from the crappy hogwan jobs. The hogwan jobs are still bad, and even the best ones only offer a handful of vacation days. Even many universities want you to teach kiddie camps, which was never the case when i first came to Korea. Overall, the competition is fierce for mediocre jobs. It's a an employer's market and more and more people are getting screwed over...because they can get away with it now.

Forget the issues with NK. It will probably be a whole lot of nothing, as usual. If I were a newbie, I wouldn't come now. The money and working conditions are not high enough now to offset the quality of life you'll be living. Just my opinion.

[youtuber]

The exchange rate blows now. Really blows. Pay is stagnant. More good ole uni frat boys heading over from Oklahoma. NorKs acting up. Tons more competition for crap jobs.

When I first came, not too many people heard of Korea. Now, everybody and their dog is coming. Doesn't seem that "special" anymore.

And the biggest thing....your experience in Korea is a black mark on your resume. Fluff it up all you want, employers don't value it.

Not too enticing.

[Jeonmunka]

It's not the NK vrs SK thing at the moment in the News, it's the US - China thing that has people worried.

[frankhenry]

maybe

[Koreadays]

everyone knows someone who has been to Korea to teach, they have all said how sweet it is, the girls are hot, the privates pay from 40-50 bucks a hour.,hakwon jobs are doable, free house, air ticket, heaps of foreigners here from our cities or province , drinking in Itaewon, hondgae, cheap food, and SOJU, the city is awesome man!! forget north korea he is all talk...

you seen the state of the economy bank home? everyone is coming to Korea now.. Ive been here since 2002 and I have seen the numbers of foreigners grow every year. its not slowly down, it's only increasing..
desperate times my friend.

[T-J]

Came to Korea in 1991 and the opportunities of that time that first brought me here no longer exist. I would find a different place to start out if I were at that point in my life again. Not to be confussed with regretting having come here. Korea has been and continues to be very good to me. It's just not the place to make a start that it used to be.

[mdickun83]

Okay, well, I'm a newbie and wanting to teach abroad. Applied with EPIK. I've got about 500/ month in school debt and I'm looking to pay that down while enjoying and learning about a culture completely different from my own.

So my question is this: If not Korea, where would you choose to teach?

[tophatcat]

I don't regret coming to Korea. But if I were new to the ESL business, I would go to China.