Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ginger7]

I recently received an email from a guy saying he is finishing his contract at the end of September and is looking for a replacement teacher. I have been following this board for a few weeks and asked him all the questions that you might suggest I ask and was surprised to find out that he is the only native English teacher at the school. This will be my first time teaching...is this something I should be weary of? Suggestions, comments?

[PaperTiger]

Depends on the school and how honest the current teacher is being with you. I'm the only foreigner at my school right now, but one teacher is actually the English teacher for several other classes, and two others speak well enough to help out and have pleasant conversations. My boss can also converse. I lucked out, my coworkers and boss are sweethearts for the most part.

If you can't speak Korean and no one else can, that is definately not a situation a newbie should put themselves in unless they have all the poise and diplomacy that years of travel and living abroad grant you. Plus, unscrupulous bosses and co-workers have ways of exploiting communication gaps that will leave you packing your bags and flying home after the first month.

Scour this site for posts about what kind of questions to ask this guy and make sure he's not just trying to find a scab because he's breaking his contract is under obligation to find a replacement for what he may have discovered is a hateful situation.

[kat2]

As a newbie, I wouldn't suggest it. Its really nice to have foreigners that can show you the ropes, not just about work, but also about life in korea. Sure after a couple of months you will have made some foreign friends outside work, but that first month is when everything seems most confusing. And Koreans don't understand what the things that are so baffling to us.
For example, trash and recycling are extremely complicated in Korea until you get used to it. When foreigners see a new whitie at school, they know to forewarn them about that. Koreans never would and you wouldn't find out about how to sort you trash until you already have a ton of stinky trash. Then the adjossi sees you and yells at you adn you don't konw why. It can get pretty embarrassing. Obviously, i speak from personal experience.

Anyway, thats a long post to say that, as a newbie, I would try to work in a school with at least 2 other foreigners.

[bobohawke]

i am the only foreign teacher in my school, been here about 4 months now. I have to agree with the previous posts it would be nice to have some English speaking natives around at the start to show you the ropes and go for a beer with after work.

Now i am getting used to the Korean ways, you are on your own if you have a communication problem. I had a problem in my apartment and i asked the supervisor about it and he did'nt understand. It was a simple question and after four days they got it.

Also they stick to themselves in my place, no effort to make conversation in general, "hi how are you", "how was your weekend" etc.

Couple of weeks ago i came into the staff room to begin the day and said "Hi" and not one person looked up at me or said "Hi" back, i could'nt believe it, wanted to quit there and then. But i smile through it, seems they got wind of this website and did'nt like it.

Anyways think about it , i know i will not be doing another year in a school on my own.

[Milwaukiedave]

I agree, it really depends on the school and if you have Koreans that can speak English well to help you out.

Either way, you should really do some research on the school before you sign to find out if there's anything posted on here.

After they send you the contract, you can post in in this forum and someone (usually Grotto is one of them) will take a look at the contract and give you some feedback in terms of what they think.

[mswiftansan]

I agree, it totally depends on the school AND the location.
I am the only native speaker at my school and I would say that it has it's pro's and con's.

Pro's
I am given special accomodations as the foreigner.
I am appreciated, for the most part.
I have been forced to spend time with korean's.
Because of that:
I have had the chance to really get to know Korean culture, as all the teachers in my school (52) want to give me the "korean experience".
Also I have had the chance to learn the language and use it.

Con's
It can be lonely at times, but I have foreign friends in my city and in Seoul to turn to and engage with socially on the weekends.
Communication can be hard, and sometimes it's hard to press what you want as it is against the norm.
You have no one to vent to, although I can vent to other teachers in the area, but we can't really pick on the same person!

Overall I would say that being the only native teacher has not been a problem. I think that this has added greatly to my korean experience, for if I had been with other foreigners I would have relied on them for friendship and would have missed out on the great korean relationships I have formed.
I must say, though, that my school is close to Seoul, therefore I had an outlet not more than an hour away.
I don't think I would have felt this way had I been in a remote community.
Hope this helps! Good luck!

[ChopChaeJoe]

I came to this country w/o a lick of Korean. the taxi-driver couldn't even get me to remember how to say, thank you.

I was a novice teacher, teaching my first class solo only a few hours after a looooooong series of plane rides.



I regret nothing. I'm staying for awhile.

But hey, some foreigner friends, please...

[Yu_Bum_suk]

I'm the only foreigner at my (public) school and I rather prefer it that way. However, I don't think I'd want to be the only foreigner at a hogwan where I was only on show as the token whitey and games teacher for 'fun' and photo-ops. It all depends on the school, and what role they see you taking. You could end up rather isolated and in a very exploitable position if you end up the sole foreigner at a bad school.

[ginger7]

Thanks for all of your helpful advice. I emailed the teacher expressing concern, so I will judge what all of you have said and compare it to his experience.


This board is so helpful!

[craigwalsh]

Its the same for me too, im the only one here and im a bit of a change from the previous teacher, so they are getting used to me and the fact that im younger and want to go out more seems to be rubbing off on them and we all try to go out once a week.
Cant agree with you more on the whole rubbish thing, makes you feel like an alien from mars having to ask really silly questions on something that is so easy back home, but all part of the learning process!
Im lucky that i managed to meet some great people thru these very message boards, otherwise i would be feeling very alone in a strange country right now.
Im one month in and the time has just flown by, so many places to go and lots of things to see, trying to do more while it isnt 15 below or whatever silly temperature it hits in winter here.
Take it easy one and all
Craig

[jacl]

It could suck even being the only male teacher. Especially if a female co-teacher already has a boyfriend. No one to go out drinking with.

I had a co-teacher who was something like 56 years old and had been here for 5 years. He taught me a lot about how things work in Korea. It's good to have someone like that to show you the works and to get hammered with.

[sheba]

As an absolute newbie, I went to a job in a small town where I was the only foreign teacher..... and I love it! I am into my second year here now. I wanted to work at a school with other foreingers, but now Im kinda glad I dont. The Korean teachers and my boss really look after me and help me out with anything I need. I made other foreign friends easy enough too, dont worry too much about that.

My friends who work with other foreign teachers havent really had many positive experiences - they are so different from eachother in personality that they dont get on. They are compared at work - the kids like Jane because she always plays games, the teachers like Sally because shes a good teacher etc Both get complaints that the other teacher is better... It can be very difficult living, working and socialising with someone you dont like! If a school has a lot of foreigners, then Ive heard its like being back in high school - groups, gossip, this person hates that person, hes sleeping with her blahblahblah

It may be different if you dont share an apartment, or maybe you will get on really well with the other people.

Different situations for different people though.

I like being the only foreigner at my school. I wouldnt be opposed to working with other foeigners, but I dont think you should let it be a deciding factor. If its a great job, it would be a shame to turn it down.

My 2 cents anyway!

[mindmetoo]

If you can't deal with isolation (or you're not the type that thrives on isolation), it can be a bad move. On the flip side, there's no being dragged around by your fellow foreign coworkers to pubs every night. There's no worries having to deal with mercurial and possibly socially retarded foreigner coworkers. My experience is you're treated as special and left alone. Then again, the school might not be fully aware of your needs. You have to do a lot of your own leg work.

[inkoreafornow]

It all depends on your Korean coworkers: if they see you as a necessary evil, the job could seriously blow; however, if they are outgoing (ask you what you want when they order lunch), understanding, and generally good people (i.e. not trying to screw you over nor blaming you for every problem at the school), it can be a truly amazing cultural experience. Talk to the person you could be replacing when they are NOT at work and see if you can get an honest appraisal of the situation.

Korea can be a great place to work but be sure to get as much info as possible.

[kiwigirl :O)]

im the only foreign teacher at my hagwan and its ok...my kt can speak english and one of them speaks english almost fluently and always helps me if i have any issues (like getting the arc/bank account/cell phone and the net)
my school is also quite small so there is no demand for additional teachers....
i dont mind it at all as i took over a friends old job which she loved (but she is setting up her own school with her korean husband)

kg