Korean Job Discussion Forums

[formulaic]

Hi,

I'm coming back to Korea after being back home for the summer and am going to be looking for a job in Busan in September. However as I have some cash saved I'm wondering whether it's a better idea to go to Busan independently and look for a job while I'm there than go through the lottery of applying from my home in the UK. Has anyone any experiences of trying to get a job quickly after arriving in Korea? I will have enough cash to live on for two weeks or so while I look for a job I like the look of, but am wondering how I would go about my search while there - wander from hagwon to hagwon, have a recruiter set up interviews for when I arrive etc. Also are they likely to pay for the flight you took to get there, or not?

Cheers for any feedback.
Ben

[ScottyG]

This gets asked a lot. I am of the opinion its better to go to korea in person, and have done it twice like this. the first time was a bit stressful for a month or so, but it was also a lot of fun and an adventure. i lived in a hostel with a buch of other people doing similar things, met some great people, and had a smorgasboard of high paying jobs to choose from. that was a few years ago when there was a lot of private work available, and in all truth i could have stayed on a tourist visa and made more money doing much less work than signing on at a hakwon. i ended up meeting people who were hardline negotiators with the PT scene who were making up to 4 or 5 mill a month, and taking off when they had their fill. i think seoul is definetely a place to go on your own, as their is so much more out there than what you will find on dave's. smaller places like ulsan or the like it wouldnt be worth it as much. pusan is probably worth going in person. but if all you want to do is work safely in an average hakwon there might not be much more to gain or know than what you could find over the net. it helps if you have friends to network through, and it really helps if you play hardball about getting your ticket reimbursed. you could always arrange to meet up with a few recruiters who can promise this.

[Ya-ta Boy]

[ScottyG]

I disagree. I came to Korea with 500 dollars one time. I worked a camp to get my airfare paid, and when that was done I had 1000 left over. My hostel was 13,000 a night. As it turned out, my recruiter(s) always called me to substitute for someone or take a temp PT until I found a job. So, I had more than enough income to keep afloat. If recruitors know you are in Korea, you will have them calling you to help them out and not just for FT permanent.

[bellum99]

Your advice is for the person to do illegal work. Good way to start off on a bad foot.

[ella]

For those of you who stayed at hostels, what did you do about your suitcases while you were there?

[ScottyG]

illegal work? yes, but illegal like speeding or not wearing a seat belt. safer if you don't, but not a real crime if you do. illegal, but still done. just like lots of other things in this world, not just in korea. if schools and recruitors post adds on that 'other site' and others everyday constantly, and don't seem to be in fear of immigration reading it, there is probably a reason. seoul is a different ball-game in many ways. even YBM and other big chains hire PT teachers more often than you would think. the illegality of teaching in korea is so hard to define. like when you come into korea and work before you go to japan to get your visa. this is done all the time, and most schools do it as a trial period to see if you are actually going to last. that is illegal, but rarely does a school get busted for it. working at a camp on a permission letter while on anything but a C4 is also illegal, but its done all the time. teaching privates in someone's home is illegal, but done all the time (immigration has better things to do than kicking in someone's door usually (but not all the time). parking your scooter on a sidewalk is illegal, but people do it all the time. the list goes on. samsung and hyundai have business classes taught every morning by teachers who are here PT, some on visas, some not, and immigration won't touch them. all in all, the E2 visa is the enemy. we know it, a lot of schools know it, and immigration probably knows it to some extent. korean law is all about who, when, and where.


ella, about storing luggage, i never had any problem. one hostel in jongro has a locked storage room, and others still have private lockers. valuable stuff might best be kept with you. the airport also has long term storage options if you dont want to drag a bunch of stuff. korea for the most part is pretty safe, and the hostel crowd is not like what you would find in thailand or amsterdam. the hostel owners will likely be willing to help you especially if you are staying for more than a week.

[jinju]

[JennyJJ]

[ScottyG]

i don't think i was lucky. to be honest, it doesn't get talked about much on this site as most people here found their jobs on this site. but PT work is very very common to do in seoul, gets advertised on most other sites excluding this one, and most teachers never have any problems. you are of course better off having a visa if you are working PT.

[endofthewor1d]

[formulaic]

Thanks for your info - I think I will come by myself with enough cash to last two moths if necessary.

[jacl]

Come with lots of cake. Cake is the key. You'll have more confidence that way.

Yes, the best way is to come here and look. With all the free time and money you can check out all the schools. A lot of leg work, but would pay off in the end. You'll be so busy job hunting that you won't have any time to spend on anything else but food an lodging. It might cost you a million Won or so, but so would living back home.

[StAxX SOuL]

You can live very frugally in Korea if you really want to... but it involves having little to no social life

2 weeks money isn't enough, purely because you'll be waiting around 4 or 5 weeks from starting your contract until you get paid... then again, you could always ask for an advance from the employer

[bobohawke]

i decided to come to Korea instead of applying from my home. I got a job in two days, contract signed and all. Only thing was i had to wait 8 days to move into the flat and stayed in a guest house for 30 k won a night.

So if you can spare the money then you will be fine or even better if you have friends here with them...