Korean Job Discussion Forums

jordy · Joined: 20 Jan 2003

I did the hagwon thing last year and I am looking for something different. I am well qualified and willing to live anywhere in Korea. How do you go about getting a corporate job? Are there any websites or recruiters that deal with this or have job listings for jobs other than hagwons or universities?

I_Am_Wrong · Joined: 14 Sep 2004 Location: whatever

it all comes down to who you know. I was offered jobs with corporations my first week here because of my friend who works at Samsung.

Kim Jong Jordan · Joined: 13 Mar 2004 Location: The Internet

Start your own corporation.

Len8 · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Location: Kyungju

Worked to-gether with a another teacher who had finance background. Anyway after his one year contract he landed a job with a local bank doing their financial statements. Don't know how he did it, and he couldn't speak korean either.

There are a few guys who work at bars or cafes, because the male buisness customers would rather speak to them to practice their English, and because in the cafes the bimbos are stoneheads anyway. Knew one guy who visited cafes near Nowon, and made a packet for the adjumah owner and himself, just from talking to the customers. They would buy drinks and chat with him, because they were buisnessmen and wanted conversation rather than to touch up the dumbas chicks who were throwing themselves at them.

mindmetoo · Joined: 02 Feb 2004

Just make sure you don't trade your 2.5 million (when you figure in the free apartment) 18 hour a week hagwon job where you can wear jeans and tshirts for a 50 hour a week suit and tie job where you're making marginally more money.

TheUrbanMyth · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Location: Retired

rapier · Joined: 16 Feb 2003

I believe the opportunities are few at the moment, but they are out there and can only increase...
From what I've heard, the key is to learn korean, network with Koreans more (they're in the know), and sell yourself, make the most of your abilities.

lastat06513 · Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2004 5:30 pm Post subject:

Although I'm still in retirement, this is my 2-cents on the subject
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I don't know much about getting a Korean corporate job....
But this is the advice I was given about getting a USFK type job, "Get a contractor position first, get the SOFA stamp in passport [you don't need to pull an Osaka run for that, it can be done in-country.], then, after a certain amount of time, start looking for positions advertised at the CPOC or ACAP office."

What is a contractor position?~ it is a job contracted out by the DoD to certain companies to do certain types of work.

The down side is that these positions are only for Americans. I'm not sure this info will help much (if you aren't American). But it can be useful for American teachers looking to get out of the Hogwon gig.

From my understanding, there are tons of them there, you just have to know the "right people"

YiSunSin · Joined: 08 Jun 2003

What about getting a job teaching professionals... use that as a network base. I know someone who did this and got pulled into a chaebol as an English teacher and then moved on.

It's called the 'hidden job market'... companies prefer to employ people from referrals, word of mouth etc so you have to network like the others have said, find a good recruiter, get your resume targeted to companies you want to approach, maybe pick up some more skills, take a course...

Len8 · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Location: Kyungju

Urban myth. From what I gather the guy stumbled onto a cafe or cafes where the madams or adjumahs had a reasonable knowledge of English, and the smarts to cotton on to how they could use him to make money. The madams were the younger types too, and might have gone to university at some point in time. He said the men that visited the place had just finished their usual 12 hour samsung (or other company) shift, and needed a breather so to speak before going home. A lot of them had good english speaking skills apparently, but no opportunity to use them, so they jumped at the chance to practice.

The dude telling me this was a native speaker, but half caucasion. he wasn't korean either, so I can asssume that the buisnessmen didn't find him threatening. He also had the uncanny knack of being able to put people at ease.

Len8 · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Location: Kyungju

Every now and again you see these guys pedalling that multilevel marketing crap. Like amway and sunrider or Nuskin. if there is a new product out, there will be your usual mob of salesman pounding the streets or the trains.( no korean skills either).
Some of them come over here get some korean to advertise for them in a korean paper, and then just sit around the Hilton hotel and wait for the korean customers who are willing to quit their jobs so they can join his venture.

diablo3 · Joined: 11 Sep 2004

jordy, what qualifications do you have?
if you have a bachelor in arts, then it might be difficult to get out of teaching in Korea. If you have a bachelor in engineering or computing, your chances of doing something different increases, as an example of course.

Of course, it never hurts to network and see what you can find from friends and fellow students.

I got out of teaching because of my qualifications and networking with my fellow students.

Good luck

Medic · Joined: 11 Mar 2003

There are jobs around for people willing to translate books. You don't have to be a great korean speaker to do it, but your korean partner has to be good. What you end up doing is correcting the translation done by your korean partner for all of the English nuances. i have heard the paye is pretty good. thart's about all i know. if someone out there has more information please share.