Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Real Reality]

Is this what most Korean professors do?
They teach 3 - 4 courses (total 9 - 12 hours) each semester
And they receive,
a salary from 40 to 64 million in Korean won per year, commensurate with experience.

And, what about most foreign professors (with graduate degrees and teaching experience)?
Teaching Load: 16 - 20 hours each week
Salary: 24 to 32 million won per year (experience rarely influences salary)

[kimcheeking]

Yeah but most ESL teachers at universities are not professors. A masters in anything does not qualify you. Now for the few that are qualified this is a bum rap, but for the rest there is nothign to complain about.

Yeah, a Masters in basketweaving and I can teach ESL at a Korean university, but I'm underpaid 'cause the fully qualified Korean profs make more than me. Oh yeah, and I get a free house too.

cry me a river.

[Ody]

[Len8]

I've heard that the native English teachers in Japanese universities get the same paye as their Japanese counterparts i.e 40 to 50 thousand dollars per year. All they do is teach the same basic conversation like us here in Korea.

The teachers there though have a Masters degree, and must have publications in some relevant or unrelevant journals. Those who do get those positions usually hang on to them for as long as they can.

[Real Reality]

So, twice the hours and half the pay is appropriate?
Little or no job security is appropriate, too?

Do you think that Korean professors never receive free (or reduced cost) housing from universities?

[kimcheeking]

[bourquetheman]

I beg to differ that most universities "provide housing" because while mine has what is called a "guest house" it is by no means "provided" as my wife and I pay 600 000 won a month for it. I know quite a few other university teachers and while some are in a similiar situation such as myself, most universities do not provide it. So while the hours are great (I get Fridays off) and the pay is alright, having to pay for housing makes it a challenge. Oh and for Chusok, the Korean staff all got bonuses of 300 000 won, but because foreign staff aren't considered "real staff" we got shafted from that.

[rapier]

These generous govt. grants to korean professors are what make them crooked. Government depends on "impact assessment reports" etc from professors to legitimize and push through plans for environmentally harmful development projects. If a prof. wants to keep his job as a public figure and authority living in the lap of luxury, he has to toe the line on anything govt wants to do. Hence, the "zero environmental damage" assessments for harmful schemes such as building a road through the nesting grounds of rare and threatened bird species.
Most korean professors rely more on their acting abilities and prestigious TV lectures, than any real knowledge, commitment to, or love of their subject and its implications in the wider world.
Korea is obsessed with image- substance is irrelevant.

[steroidmaximus]

Rapier does have a point, that being the actual ability and qualifications of most Korean profs. At my school, there's only one prof who I think is actually qualified, and puts the hours and effort into his position. The others get 2 days off a week, release textbooks chock full of errors, cut class early, steal (ahem, borrow) research material from part timers, foreign profs and the internet which they in turn call their own, etc etc et al. I don't begrudge the pay and benefits to those who earn them, but the attitude is that they deserve it, far more so than someone like me, who doesn't attend meetings and can teach a bazillion won worth of privates every month (so they think). uh uh; as far as I'm concerned, considering the amount of work I do and the amount most of em do, I deserve more, plain and simple.

[Real Reality]

The government is investigating illegal ghostwriting businesses that write theses and dissertations for college and graduate students. According to the prosecution, these services are becoming increasingly popular, attracting customers through the Internet. Many academic degrees have been conferred upon unqualified students, the prosecution said. A professor who was part of an examination committee that accepted several ghostwritten theses said, "The quality of the theses was poor, but I didn't want to disqualify them. I never knew they were written by others." The prosecution suspects that at least 30 illegal ghostwriting businesses are in operation.
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200303/17/200303170205221879900090409041.html

Professors must maintain a certain SCI in order not to be discriminated against with regard to promotion, personnel allocation and funding. To do this it was reported many manufacture or co-author papers on work they have had little to do with or replace students on colleagues' work. A professor of engineering said it was common for there to be up to ten co-authors on a paper, most of whom have had nothing to do with it. Last year, Professor Han at "E" University who had failed to be promoted managed to do so after his name was appended to his student's paper.
http://www.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200204/200204251020.html

According to the Samsung Group's chairman, Lee Kun-hee, to succeed globally, Korea must forgo the thought that Korea and being Korean is superior, and foreign specialists must be treated with respect.
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200206/14/200206142349223599900090109011.html

[Real Reality]

Regular professors work about 6 - 9 hours a week,....

There are 2,268 non-tenure track professors working in 104 universities, including the ones appointed in 2003. The average teaching time is 10.9 hours a week, which is relatively more than regular professors, but they are paid only 79.3 percent on average compared to regular professors. However, this result is calculated based on basic pay, and it is known to be only half if considering an actual pay including allowances.... Only 64.4 percent of the universities provide their non-tenure track professors with research funds, and 58.7 percent allow them to attend faculty meetings.
Two Thousand Two Hundred Sixty-eight Non-tenure Track Professors on the Edge
Donga.com (October 18, 2006)
http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2006101884668

[ttompatz]

[Real Reality]

Regular professors work about 6 - 9 hours a week,....

There are 2,268 non-tenure track professors working in 104 universities, including the ones appointed in 2003. The average teaching time is 10.9 hours a week, which is relatively more than regular professors, but they are paid only 79.3 percent on average compared to regular professors. However, this result is calculated based on basic pay, and it is known to be only half if considering an actual pay including allowances.... Only 64.4 percent of the universities provide their non-tenure track professors with research funds, and 58.7 percent allow them to attend faculty meetings.
Two Thousand Two Hundred Sixty-eight Non-tenure Track Professors on the Edge
Donga.com (October 18, 2006)
http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2006101884668

Foreigners Experience Difficulties in Living in Korea
by Jae-Dong Yu and Soo-Jung Shin, Donga.com (July 4, 2004)
http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2004070522448

For Housing Rentals, Foreigners Easy Victims
By Byun Duk-kun , Korea Times (August 28, 2003)
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200308/kt2003082818233111970.htm

[jmbran11]

I think a better comparison would be: could you earn more teaching at a university in your home country? My (uneducated) guess is that many either could not secure a university position outside of Korea or would not make substantially more money in real dollars (e.g. U.S. community college professors). From a purely economic standpoint, if "professors" weren't better off teaching here, they would most likely be teaching somewhere else.

[PRagic]

I'm in the 10 contact hour, +40 million a year area, and this is my first position since finishing my Ph.D. I'm hoping for a step up when I move, too. Will keep you posted if interested. The downside is, of course, the lack of tenure opportunity. Hoping that that changes, too.

No real use in comparing salaries with the Koreans. I have never worked with a Korean who has not had their Ph.D., although I understand that their may be some out there.