Korean Job Discussion Forums

harri2002 · Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Location: Earth

does anyone have any information on this or where i can get it? Very Happy

muggie2dammit · Joined: 28 Oct 2004 Location: Ilsan, Korea

jajdude · Joined: 18 Jan 2003

This question was up a while ago. Search the number "10,600"

chronicpride · Joined: 16 Jan 2003

Yes, the E2 quote looks to be solid, considering that Immigration will have it on file. Where it gets grey and murky is on the amount of F1s, F2s, F4s, E1s, E7s and tourist visa folk who are teaching english. Confused

kangnamdragon · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Location: Kangnam, Seoul, Korea

Last night MBC reported 30,000.

chronicpride · Joined: 16 Jan 2003

They are probably going off the results of that oft-debated article, then.

that guy · Joined: 29 Feb 2004 Location: long gone

Totally by chance I found this:
http://kosis.nso.go.kr/cgi-bin/sws_999.cgi?ID=DT_1B2451&IDTYPE=3

They say there were 22,345 E2s in 2003. I'm not sure how reliable the site is though.

Here's the home page for those that are interested.

www.stat.go.kr/statcms/main.jsp

chronicpride · Joined: 16 Jan 2003

Look at how many B-2s and C-3s there are!! Laughing

2.8 million people a year enter on tourist and short-term visas. Shocked

Blind Willie · Joined: 05 May 2004

I wonder how many guest workers and temp visas get processed back home?

JacktheCat · Joined: 08 May 2004

Yes, but that E2 data doesn't show you how many illegal teachers there are here in Korea teaching on tourist visas.

I'll wager that there are more than just a few.

Yu_Bum_suk · Joined: 25 Dec 2004

chronicpride · Joined: 16 Jan 2003

FWIW, I don't know of many people that will come out and casually say that they are here illegally, to everyone they meet. At least not until close trust is formed. Or if they eventually learn that you're in the same boat. When I was teaching on a tourist visa, it's amazing how many illegals come out of the woodwork. There's a good chance that you've, unknowingly, met a fair bit of people on a casual basis who happen to be illegal.

On the other hand, the reporter of that article has said that the majority of illegal teachers in the 20,000 quote were rumored to be GIs and businessmen. So, if that article was spot on, maybe you just haven't met a lot of GIs and businessmen in your travels, who have entrusted you enough to talk to about their illegal practices.

Yu_Bum_suk · Joined: 25 Dec 2004

Ihavenolips · Joined: 22 Sep 2004 Location: Korea

I'll put my two cents worth in here. Part of this message has been posted elsewhere, but you asked the question. Maybe this information can help you out.

I don't know if anyone is interested. But, I have wondered how many teachers live in Korea. I couldn't find the exact number, but my research sheds a little light on the subject. The following list is of the top 10 western visitors by nationality for 2004 (from the Korean National Tourism Organization):

1) USA 511,177
2) Russia 156,876
3) Canada 77,597
4) Germany 68,851
5) UK 65,975
6) Australia 57,839
7) France 41,231
Cool

Netherlands 18,165
9) New Zealand 16,050
10) Italy 14,722

If you eleminate the non-native English speaking countries the order would be: USA, Canadian, UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Of course, the United States is bumped so high because of its military presence. So, the list should probably start with Canada as #1.

What is important is to look at this stat by ratio. The population of Canada is only around 30 million. The second place, UK, has a population of nearly twice that size. The number of visitors by ratio is also very high for Australia (population around 18 million) and New Zealand (3.5 million). Also, for those interested, there are 4,324 South Africans who come here every year. Many of them teach. I hesitate to guess the percentage of how many visitors are teachers, tourists, or businesspersons.

It is hard to extrapolate how many of these visitors are teachers. I don't live in Seoul, so it would be difficult to research E-2 visa permits. However, in contrast to popular perception, many of these teachers are working without permits. There are probably a fair share of English teachers from India, the Philippenes, and European countries. However, that is an entirely different story.

Many of the Europeans are in Korea as engineers. Germany, Italy, France, and Slovakia are high on the list.

Well ... that is the best that I could do. Hopefully, that might answer some of the age old question about the number of teachers in Korea and where they are from.