Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cdnguy]

For all you Jeju-do folk,

I am coming to korea in late December or early January with my girlfriend to teach. We arent set on a place but we are attracted to Jeju-do...(yah i know its not really like Hawaii but im a candy ass in cold weather so the hotter the better) We plan on coming to S. Korea without a job offer and then find one once here. Given that we want to work on the island, is this a realistic option given that we both need to find a job at the same school or at the very least two very close schools?

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

[SarcasmKills]

Find a school in advance.. easy to do.. less headaches..

Most schools will find a decent apartment for you two to share and pay for your return flights.. if you are already in Korea when you apply for a job, the schools won't bother compensating you for the flights.

[hellofaniceguy]

Teaching jobs are plentiful on Jeju for non koreans. Sometimes you will see 10 openings in a month at various schools and for 3 months you will see nothing.
Finding a job without an interview....would you look for a job in your home country without going for an interview? Of course not....so, why do it in korea. You have a better chance of finding a decent school by interviewing in person.
You'll see the housing, the area and the school and talk with the boss.
So...if you have the financial resources to fly over, get a hotel room for a few weeks and scout out a job...you are better off!
Rent an inexpensive hotel room; many "flee bag" joints in korea for $25.00 a night. Even less if you look around. Restaurants are all around.
You might or might not secure positions at the same school. Depends on the timing and your luck.
Winters in Jeju are almost the same as in seoul. Not much difference in the cold.
In fact, sometimes it's warmer in seoul during the winter than in Jeju. Busan is also sometimes warmer than Jeju in the winter. Not always, but sometimes.
You're from Canada???....the cold should not be a problem. Because it's not as cold in korea as in most of Canada during the winter!
Seogwipo, the south side of Jeju is warmer than Jeju city in the winter. But not by much.

[kprrok]

Jeju is a great place to live, at least I think so. Finding a job is easy here as I know of at least 5 or 6 openings in the next 3 months. And after the new year, at least another half dozen. The Jeju winter is nothing. I'm from Missouri in the states where it can get cold, and I was never very cold. Just had a good coat, a nice blanket and I was fine!

If you really want to, come on over, find a cheap place as hellofaniceguy said. Food is cheap, so is everything else (at least to me it is). I lived for my first 3 weeks here on about $250 US (but that didn't include apartment. So for two of you, if you really had to, $1000 CAN would do fine for living for a month or so if you can do it on the cheap.

Another point, as a couple, most of the couple gigs I've heard of in Jeju have royally sucked donkey balls. Most of them end of not getting paid fully, or whatever. My recommendation to you is to get separate jobs, but see the apartment they're offering. Take the better apartment for both of you and then take a couple of hundred thousand extra from the job where you don't have the apartment. That gives you some extra cash as well as the choice of where to live. And if you don't like either apartment, take the cash from both and get a place on your own.

If you have any questions about Jeju, just let me know and I'll answer whatever I can.

KPRROK

[new horizons]

I came over with my wife to look for a job and having a cell phone made the process about 1000 times easier. It's not too hard to find a job if you look like what Koreans think are the typical North American (i.e., white, not over wieght, and being a blond female with big *beep* will get loads of offers). My wife is African American and it took us a long time to find a couples position. I think we just lucked out and found a great school in Seogwipo.

The whole process of getting a job is really easy. Good luck.

[cdnguy]

Thanks for the replies.

For those of you living in Jejudo, what are the living conditions like? Do you sometimes wish you were in the big city...or are you living in a concrete junge wishing you had more green space.

I am comming to korea on spec and it seems more likely I will start looking in Seoul.