Korean Job Discussion Forums

[The Hierophant]

... do you consider your time working in Korea to have been worthwhile?

I am a 23 year old 'white' kiwi male finishing off my university studies in mid November and am now in the process of lining up work for next year. I have a few options, one of which being English teaching in Korea. I have a friend over there now teaching in a Hagwon, and by all accounts he is thoroughly enjoying it. Also, the recruiter I've been talking to assures me that Korea is a great place to work, better than Japan, China, Paraguay, you name it (but of course, he would say that, wouldn't he ).

My main reason for wanting to teach overseas is to be immersed in a totally different culture and be forced out of my 'comfort zone' so to speak. However, from what I gather from this forum, many EFL teachers have ended up in what seem to be nightmare situations (Hagwons going under with no payment or legal recourse, unfair dismissal, extreme racial discrimination etc.). Of course, this forum probably attracts the horror stories (if people are enjoying themselves they probably arn't going to come online and ask for help/advice). But still, if the cons outweigh the pros with regard to working in Korea I might be better off pursuing other options....

Or am I just being a sheltered, overly-cautious, hesitant pansy?

Any feedback would be most appreciated.
Cheers!

[Freezer Burn]

If you want a break from studying and a chance to earn a bit of cash to take back home to NZ, then just do it.
It's a year, how many of us from NZ take a year after uni and go to Europe, a lot of us...
It's russian roulette as far as getting a good school goes, but do your research and use Dave's to see if the school you are going to work at is scum or not.
Most of us here are annoyed and venting online, some of us have terrible experiences and some of us have awesome experiences.

[peppermint]

for every major complaint here, I'd guess there's at least 20 or 30 foreigners working here relatively contentedly. I know tons of people who've been here five or ten years now and have no plans to leave.

There are bad situations yes, but do your homework, and use common sense and you'll avoid 95% of them.

[The Hierophant]

Great, thanks for the quick replies guys. You back up what I was thinking/hoping, i.e: if I don't think and act like a reckless dumbass then things should work out fine...

Just out of curiosity, what sort of age bracket would I fall into in Korea? At 23 would I be considered old? Young? Neither? Would it depend on context? I spent an extra 2 years getting my second degree (English Lit), most 'fresh' kiwi graduates would be a couple of years younger than me.

Sorry for the drilling, but like you suggest I'm doing my homework, I want to leave as few things to chance as possible...

[Ya-ta Boy]

At 23, you are a veritable spring chicken. I have socks older than you.

[sheba]

Im 22 NZ age and Im told Im rather young..... I think you get a bit more respect if you are a little older. It doesnt seem to matter TOO much...

[Freezer Burn]

Im 25 kiwi age, but I did a contract in China before here.
Who cares what the public think, you have to get your kids to like you, they are you toughest critics.

[Poemer]

The only significant difference age might make if you were working at my Hagwon, for instance, is low man on the totem pole for a housing assignment. ie, young guys might get stuck in one of the less desirable apts. because older guys and females are seen to be pickier.

[sojukettle]

I'm 29++ kiwi age and I left many moons ago.

Don't put a time limit on being out of the country. There are many options that open to you once you start moving around.

I originally left for 6mths, which grew to four years and still counting.
I've been in Korea now for 9mths and I plan on staying longer.

There will be bad times but the good times vastly outweigh them.

[oldfatfarang]

Hi Kiwi,
I'm a older Kiwi working in sth korea as a teacher. A few things you should know about Korea as opposed to 'God's Own'.
First, you are in the preferred age bracket for teaching young kids (kindy, elementary and middle school). These are the 'tough' ages to teach here. Big classes, some discipline probs - and by all accounts, pretty tiring.

Second, Korean society is controlled by a RIGID Confucian age structure. Because you are younger you are going to be treated much differently here (by everyone) than you would back home. The first question Koreans will ask you is "how old are you?" If you are naive enough to answer this truthfully they will automatically put you in a "age box" that will determine their behaviour towards you. If you are 'young' you are put on the 'bottom of the heap.' Nothing at all like NZ where you can have friends up and down the social scale and from all ages. Beware!

Third, if you teach in a Korean rural city/country town you can expect Koreans to be quite frightened of you. I've been here 10 months, living in a similar situation and every week I still make the mistake (kiwi manners) of looking at people on the street and smiling while walking past. This really unerves many koreans and many look physically repelled by my action. (My students say Koreans just don't interact with 'strangers' and that they are frightened at not speaking english). Perhaps it's my sunglasses and ultra short hair but not wearing sunnies and wearing a cap still gets me the odd 'frightened' look. My friends and I have also been refused service in some restaurants/song rooms and pubs (the owners cross their arms over their chest and say NO FOREIGNERS."

Perhaps teachers in larger cities have different experiences - when I visit Busan the people there are always very friendly and helpful.

Fourth, Forget about ANYTHING A RECRUITER SAIS. HIs/her job is to make money - ie, to get a naive young teacher from a far flung country to come and work for less money and more hours than the wiser teachers already living/teaching in Korea. Put the contract on eslcafe.com BEFORE you sign it. There are a million ways to snow job you and they ALL do it. Cheating (koreans call it 'cunning') is just a game that's expected in the culture here.


Fifth, the truth is highly valued in NZ. We expect people to "do as they say". Just forget about that here. Manners, politeness and 'calm' are highly valued in Korea. Koreans will tell you ANYTHING they expect will make you calm/ happy. If you take their word for anything you are going to get into some interesting situations!

Sixth - and importantly. Korea is a great place to work in another culture. I've been here 10 months - and am currently negotiating my next years contract at the same Hagwon. Fantastic kids, good and kind employers - really nice adult and businessmen students. But very long hours and bugger all pay (that's the Korean way).

Even though I've travelled for 8 years I still get annoyed at the petty bickering over money here. As a Kiwi you will have to get used to small annoyances like: bargaining over purchases, checking your paypacket - always checking information on money given to you by your /employer/director. Not very Kiwi but if you don't they will be short changing you in many small petty ways. It's just their culture.

Seven, learn how to say "NO". That's "NO". Again, "NO". I repeat, "NO." My experience is that Koreans keep asking you to do things (work longer hours, work illegally etc) until you say "NO" at least 6 times. That's "NO".
Not the Kiwi way at all but you'd better learn about "NO" very quickly to survive here. Again: "NO."

Good luck Kiwi. Korea is a great place. The Koreans are a fantastic people - very friendly and kind - although getting used to being called/treated as a 'foreigner' can be hard for us. Use eslcafe.com to find a good school (like mine) and go for it. I've met a lot of Kiwis here and they seem to do well. We are pretty resourceful bunch.

Just do it!

[The Hierophant]

Thanks so much for all of the in-depth and insightful replies. I'm taking everything you guys have said on board. You've made the decision-making process alot clearer for me. Cheers!

I am now in the process of erasing all expectations from my brain... sounds like I'll have to approach Korea with as open a mind as possible

[blackheart]

One comment,

to be forced out of your comfort zone and really immersed i wouldnt reccomend Seoul. There are so many western ammenities here its easy to forget that you are in a foreign country sometimes.

There is definitley a bigger social and of course expat scene which is an interesting sub culture in itself. You still can get korean experiences in Seoul but nothing like u would in a smaller city or town. I suppose its all a trade-off.

This comes from a guy living in Seoul mind you.

[The Hierophant]

[The Kung Fu Hustle]

Two words my man: Je Ju!!

It's a holiday island in the south of the country with temperate weather. Don't worry about the moderate climate; you'll still be plenty out of that comfort zone Simply idyllic, natural surroundings not unlike Godzone, the people I met there are a lot more hospitable and honest too.

Go for it dude, just do your homework and have a very open mind. I'm (just) 24 and I think we're just below average age for people doing time in the hagwons here. I'd definitely recomment Jeju or maybe Incheon / a place close enough to Seoul but without actually being in Seoul.

[john]

Rainbowtrout made some excellent points and I would like to add my perspective to #7 ...