Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Travelingirl68]

HELP! There is sooo much information on these boards and others (EFL-Law, English School Watch, Fatman in Seoul, Prisoner of Wonderland, etc., etc., etc.) that it is easy to be overwhelmed with data.

Maybe I am getting ahead of myself - introductions are in order first! (Since I have had the luxury of "getting to know you" by reading the boards, it only seems fair.) My name is Carolyn, I am a 36 year old American female, and as you can tell by my avatar, I'm a John Cusack fan.

Between 2002-2004, I was in the Peace Corps in Kazakstan and taught EFL/Business English/American Studies at a university. Prior to that, I was a corporate trainer for a publishing company for 8 years, and prior to that I was a professional Girl Scout - setting up programs, doing training, etc., etc.

Having been back in the States for the last 9 months, I am ready to get out again and am really interested in Korea. I worked with volunteers from Korea (KOIKA) in Kaz., and had a few students from Korea in my classes and became interested in Korean culture. Anyway, now my search is the wonderous process that is finding a non-hell job in Korea.

Sorry about the long intro., I will get down to business now...

I have done searches on the following topics and have not found anything, or not enough information...

SnB recruiters - Matthew Kim. I could SWEAR I saw somewhere that he did some rather shady things, but now I can't find the links. (This was AFTER I had already sent him my resume.)

Korea Connections Recruiting. They are now working with the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education/Public Schools, and I am curious if anyone has any information about this recruiting company. (I thought I read that public schools do not use recruiters??) If you teach for the SMOE, could you please share your experiences?

POLY Bundang. I am very interested in Bundang - clean air, little more quiet, etc., etc. I thought I would try again and ask if anyone is there now or would like to share experiences with me.

I am really torn regarding the age levels to teach. I am most accustomed to working with adults and agree with Tiger Beer about that being a great way to learn the culture, make some connections, etc. that can't be made working with children. BUT, I love the idea of teaching kindies and elementary, and even high school (but the raging hormones of middle school are not my cup of tea.)

OK, this is already way too many requests for one posting, I will also be searching the 'PM for help FAQ Sticky', but appreciate responses from everyone. I will wait to see how many replies it will take before this turns into a flame war, and will be very curious to see what points set the flames a burnin'!

Thanks for your help

[peppermint]

My advice- don't worry too much about recruiters- they're more like paid matchmakers than anything else. Individual public schools might not use recruiters much, but the boards of education are starting to get involved, and they do tend to use recruiters- check www.worknplay.co.kr

[Zark]

Welcome from another RPCV (Botswana 89-91).

Most people will tell you that you don't need a recruiter to find a good job quickly in Korea. That said - that's how I first came here (in '92) - and it worked out fine for me. It is choppy water though so you should check out EFL Law at http://efl-law.com/ebook.html - they are pretty good at getting you up to speed on potential problems.

Do you have a graduate degree? (I know you have at least a BA/BS since PC requires - or used to require one)

Others can help you much more with specific schools and recruiters - I've only been here a couple years (this time) and work at a university, so am not up to date on the hogwan scene.

Good luck - and welcome!

Z

[Demonicat]

Peace corps Mali, 'sup cuz?

Anyway, Recruiters- doesn't matter, like its been said before the are machmakers- but watch out, some are VERY shady and can make a wierd contract- read that thing over and over and over.
Ages- Personal choice, but if yiu teach kindy you tend to be able to find a job quicker and withot split shifts.

Overall- remember your unofficial PC training- be friendly but wary.
Remember, that its a different culture and you can be f'd over if you're not careful.

EDIT: ooh, and that Kim dude is CONSTANTLY being hated on

[Derrek]

I live across the street from POLY Bundang. I have not worked there, but there have been several warning posts about the director there. I know for a fact that they seem to be looking for teachers a lot. I also know that POLY works their teachers harder, and some have complained that they can't sit down while they teach, etc. There are also those who probably weren't up to POLY's "higher standards" and were let go.

Just do a search on POLY Bundang to learn more. It is in a nice, clean area though.

[R. S. Refugee]

Regarding SnB, a sleaze ball there promised me a public school job and tried to get me to sign just the signature page and send that to him. Said it was "similar" to another public school contract that he sent me and not to worry, he would fill in all the details.

That sleazeball's name is Peter Yang and he has an New York accent.

Does this sound like a reputable company to you?

[Ya-ta Boy]

Welcome to the public stage.

I think your first step is to decide what level you want to teach. That will have a big influence on how you go about locating a job.

There seem to be thousands of jobs for kindie teachers, so you may not want to go through a recruiter.

If you decide you want to teach adults, then you need to think about hakwon/split shifts vs universities. The lifestyle will be quite different. What is important to you?

Once you've made that initial decision, the road ahead will be much clearer for you.

Good luck.

[Travelingirl68]

Thanks for your feedback and welcomes! It is good to hear from other RPCV's - but I guess we are not really RPCV's if we leave the US again?! Did you find that having lived abroad before Korea, it was easier to go through the culture shock, etc. in Korea?

I know that I would prefer teaching adults, but not sure if I would like the split shifts. On another thread I saw a posting about feeling like you could never quite relax because you knew you would have to teach yet again in a few hours - that, and I can be a morning person or a night person, but not both at once.

Thanks for the warnings about SnB - when Matthew Kim called here the other night at 11:00pm and out of the blue, I just got a bad feeling... That used car salesman kind of feeling...

Zark, I am just a lowly BA'er with a lot of training certs. A part of the reason I am going to Korea is to stash money away for grad school - I have never been in debt, and don't want to start now.

I have been reading "Culture Shock Korea" and in the section about universities, they say how students work so hard to get into the better universities because there they will make connections to help them through their entire lives. While in university the socialization process is more important than studies, and it is like a break between the stresses of school and work - have you found that to be true?

Speaking of universities, has anyone had a connection to Gyeongsang National in Jinju?

Once I looked at the sample contract offered by the SMOE, I saw that it is EPIK, and has one other listing - ETIS?? I have heard of EPIK (unfortuntely), but not ETIS - time to hit the search function again...

[ajuma]

I was researching working for the Peace Corps....and wound up teaching English in Korea instead!!!

[Zark]

Travelin'Girl,

I'll second Ajuma on the students. Once here you will understand the cultural trap that is Korea - and your students need to be able to deal with it. And your encouragement.

Check out my EFL FAQ at http://phuketdelight.com/EFL-FAQ.htm
I would encourage you get your MA/MEd as fast as you can. Distance Ed is semi-OK and there are some reputable and inexpensive (relatively!) Aussie schools worth looking at.

I wish you all the best - your PC training and experience will put you in good stead to survive the EFL world. The PC changed my life - I've only been home briefly since '89 - and EFL is an occupation that can treat you very very well - if approached carefully and correctly.

Any way I can help - I would be glad to do so. PM me if I can be of assistance.

Enjoy!