Korean Job Discussion Forums

trinity24651 · Joined: 05 Nov 2006

I will hopefully be leaving for Korea at the first of the year. I would appreciate any and all information that you can give me.

I am looking into the following recruiters: KimnJoe, Morning Calm Recruiting, ETSKorea, Longbridge Pacific, English Channel, GMSC Recruiting, ESL4Korea, ESLDream, WorknPlay.

If you have any experience with ANY of these - negative or positive - please tell me!!

I don't fit into what seems to be the teacher norm. I will soon be 50...I'm on the quiet side. What town/city would be the best for me? Does Korea have roaches? Shocked

Will I feel safe wherever I end up?

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

trinity24651 · Joined: 05 Nov 2006

The word is "coherent" Wink

. I know that all of those topics are there. I start interviewing tonight. I would appreciate up-to-date information and I don't have time to read EVERY single entry (although I have been making a valiant effort!!).

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

trinity24651 · Joined: 05 Nov 2006

I would appreciate any current replies.

Ginormousaurus · Joined: 27 Jul 2006 Location: 700 Ft. Pulpit

Seriously, a lot (if not most) of the info is valid. I don't think there is a better place to look.

crazy tigger · Joined: 06 Aug 2006

I'm not in Korea yet so I can'toffer any help othe than to say I have ben ploughing through the FAQ and there is a mine of information in there on all sorts of stuff it pobablywon't ocur to you to as ka bout or people to tell you about in a context such as this

kat2 · Joined: 25 Oct 2005 Location: Busan, South Korea

I used KimnJoe. They were great. However, recruiters are just head hunters keep that in mind. KimnJoe will go the extra mile in getting everything set up for you though. They even helped us move to our new apartment!

Seoul probably isn't right for you. Try Busan fairly large expat community, including a lot of businessmen which will eb more in your age range. Haeundae has a ton of these types.

Yu_Bum_suk · Joined: 25 Dec 2004

Learn how to use the search engine.

trinity24651 · Joined: 05 Nov 2006

Thank you kat2. I've found that the people that I've talked to from KimnJoe have been very personable.

Smee · Joined: 24 Dec 2004 Location: Jeollanam-do

I spent months reading the site before I started applying. (I wasn't researching, but just getting up to speed). Then I became familiar with the stuff in the FAQ section. Almost everything has been covered multiple times on this board, so spend time reading.

Then, spend time googleing. Google "YBM Korea blog" or "Pagoda Korea blog" or "______ Korea blog" to learn about your school, and then come here to compare notes.

Google "Seoul blog" or "Gangnam blog" or "Gwangju blog" and other variations to get an idea about different locations.

Familiarize yourself with the many "contract" threads in the job discussion forum. Understand what is common, what is bulls--t, what you should accept, what you should reject.

Just because there are seemingly endless job opportunities in Korea doesn't mean you should be nonchalant about this. Nor should you presume you're the only one to apply for jobs . . . thousands of people have already put their advice online, and you owe it to yourself to check it out.

trinity24651 · Joined: 05 Nov 2006

Thank you ttompatz...I actually read some of the references that you mentioned. A lot of them are really dated but there is some good information there!!

Can I get a visa at a Korean Consulate here in the states before I get to Korea?

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

trinity24651 · Joined: 05 Nov 2006

So...once I sign a contract, is that considered actually "having the job"?

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea