Korean Job Discussion Forums

[AbbeFaria]

I'm wanting to leave for Korea within the next two months to start teaching and have been going through the site off and on for the last few months looking at postings, sorting out which advice/warnings to pay attention to and what to watch out for. The more I look, the more I realize how much there is that I'm missing, and I don't have the time, or the patience to go through every page of this forum and trying to sift information from all the postings.

What I'm wondering is if anyone here can provide a link to either another thread or a website that breaks it down as to what exactly is needed to qualify/apply/get to Korea and start working. A FAQ, if you will. Also, if any of you are up to a little badgering in a more one-on-one fashion through PM chat, that would be appreciated as well. If I make it, this will be my first time out of the country and while this board is a great tool, the advice on the forum is a bit scattered and hard to pin down.

Thanks
��S��

Oh and how do I get me one of those nifty avatars? The FAQ doesn't really say "click this and do this" to get it going.

[Grotto]

You will need your degree, a set of original transcripts in a sealed envelope.

Thats what you need for almost any hogwan job.

For a public school job you also need a criminal record check and a physical(have the physical done here in Korea its much cheaper)

If this is your first time to Korea you should look for a job in a larger city that has a foriegn presence, and go with a school that has at least 2 or 3 other foreigners.

For the avatar find a pic you like...right click on it and find out its properties and then link to it by selecting the address(thats pretty basic)

[jlb]

Look up a few recruiter websites. They will often have step-by-step instructions about what is needed and the process involved. Not that you have to get a job through them but they at least tell you what is required.

[AbbeFaria]

Thanks Grotto. For the transcripts, will my copy do, or do I need to get a fresh copy from my school and leave them in their envelope.

Also, what exactly is this Japan Run thing I keep reading about to get an E2. Is it easier to do that then to get it in the States? What's the difference?

-S-

[Grotto]

transcripts must be sealed in an envelope now. So get a fresh copy. Get several copies in sealed envelopes(for later)

It is better to do your visa application in your home country. Many schools want you here and quick so they get you here and then do a visa run to Japan to file the paperwork.

Be careful though because when they get you here they often want you to start work before the visa run...there is a crackdown on and you really have to tell them that you wont work illegally so until the visa run is completed you wont work.

[Ya-ta Boy]

The Japan Run thing:

This applies only to people who are in Korea when they are hired. They turn their documents in to the employer who sends them in to Immigration. Immigration issues a document and returns them to the employer who gives them to the new employee who takes them to Japan, gives all the papers to the Korean consulate there and gets back the passport with the E-2 visa stamped in it. Then you are legal for work.

If you are hired overseas, it takes a little longer. You Fed Ex papers back and forth. But you arrive in Korea with the E-2 visa already stamped in the passport.

(If you quit a job and move to a new employer, you will have to have a new E-2 visa. This will require the visa run to Japan (or some other country).

[IlIlNine]

May I present to you ...

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewforum.php?f=7&sid=939636789ce70f917f16179d2fe37d4a

The Dave's ESL cafe FAQ forum!

[AbbeFaria]

[pegpig]

I didn't even know who King David of California was until near the end of my first year here when i started to look for another job. I think too many people rely too much on Dave's and treat it like the Bible. Part of the excitement of this adventure is doing stuff on your own. When I first came I had very little knowledge of korea, nevermind my school or where I was going to live or what i was going to eat. Fortunately, things worked out for the most part. I'm still alive.

But, I wouldn't worry too much about where to hide your garbage, whether it'll be alright to bed your co-worker, or how to take care of your mold. Experience it on your own. Or, you could pay someone to come over here and experience it for you. Wasn't there a SNL skit about something like that.

Obviously, you don't want to sign a deal with a shady school. So, you definitely want to do your research on getting into a good school. Check the blacklists, talk to teachers, and read the contract carefully.

Your avatar looks eerily familiar. Wasn't that someone else's awhile back?

[AbbeFaria]