Korean Job Discussion Forums

[KimchiNinja]

NE Asia is all about networks and relationships.

Here's a good summary from a book on business in Korea...

"Under the influence of Confucianism, Korean society has a strong group orientation. Emphasis is placed on person relationships in daily life, and people treat others according to whether the other person is inside or outside their group. Well-defined rules govern the obligations among group members. Proximity between group members represents a kind of social insurance, with help in times of hardship. Business opportunism seldom intrudes on such friendships. People take advantage of these personal relationships in their daily business lives, which can seriously disadvantage foreigners who do not have these personal networks in Korea."

As a foreigner you are disadvantaged here, so you need to work extra hard to build a network. Your network is how you get things done here, nobody succeeds on their own in Korea. If you have a short-term view and just don't care about this, people will notice, they will have a short-term view of you. Then you will cry on the internet about it.

If one wants to succeed here, do the things that bring success, and don't do the things which are counter productive.

[ChrisPK]

Is PRagic Confucian? When did he convert to Confucianism?

[aq8knyus]

When would a foreigner be up against these networked Koreans for a job?

If they work as a professional then a major reason for their being hired would have been that they are a foreigner. I doubt there are many open competitions for jobs where the employer doesn't care if the applicant is a foreigner or Korean.

Plus this is nothing to do with Confucianism, the same thing happens all over the world. In the UK it is called the 'old boys network', the current Chancellor only got his job cos he is mates with the PM.

Never heard of the old adage, "It's not what you know, but who you know".

[happiness]

Yeah, being social and having some kind of value to share (business, English, same school experience, etc) is the same all over the world.

Id say in Korea, being in more groups can be a lot of fun, esp if you like to drink.

Id also say alot of newbies here are not good at this kind of thing, as they may not be as into face time with people than online. IMO they kind of lack a serious social skills.

[KimchiNinja]

[PigeonFart]

[quote="KimchiNinja"][quote="aq8knyus"]When would a foreigner be up against these networked Koreans for a job?[/quote]

I made this thread, because it seems a lot of people don't know where they are, or why they are encountering difficulties at work. Although I don't work in the teaching profession, it would seem this stuff is universally true across all professions in Korea.

As a foreigner you are up against other foreigners, and a network will put you far ahead of everyone as far as landing jobs (since most don't have a network, and don't even know network is the name of the game).

Your network is also directly related to how well you are treated here. If you are clearly well networked, then you are somebody. If you are clearly not well networked, then you are nobody, and they won't feel bad about putting somebody in front of nobody.

Networks also make day to day life easier; when you need anything (legal representation, housing, a job, a suit, a bank) your network sets you up with the right people. You tend to get better service and discounts if you were formally introduced, as opposed to being a random person off the street.[/quote]

That's true, networks are important for success in Korea. That's why the captain of the Sewol ferry was so successful (up until the penultimate day), he was very good at networking.

Qualifed? Competent? Fit for purpose?....not as important as drinking soju with the old dogs.

[KimchiNinja]

[le-paul]

[KimchiNinja]

[le-paul]

[KimchiNinja]

[radcon]

[KimchiNinja]

[SeoulNate]

[KimchiNinja]