Korean Job Discussion Forums

[StrayCat]

Returning to Korea next month. Lined up a decent post with a British company called Orbital. They have an international kindergarten school in Hannam-dong (UN village area) called British International Kindergarten School (Seoul). Everything's been done by email plus phone interview.

They've just asked me to send my original degree (something I never do). Now, for some reason something is niggling at my mind. I know there are lots of dodgy places about and even scams (I was almost taken in by one a few years ago).

I need to know if my fears are unfounded and this is indeed a real (and expensive) British kindergarten school. I'm in Asia so will move to sunny Seoul soon with family. The school is only a year old but I need people already in Korea to confirm that this is a school! I can reward you with lashings of booze at a later date!

Anyone heard of it/know anything?

[ontheway]

Never heard of the school, sorry, but some advice about your degree:

You don't have to send your original. Get a certified photocopy at the Korean Embassy and send that. You can keep your original. If they insist on the original, you can just send the certified photocopy anyway. Unless there is a real time crunch, use a certified photocopy.

Many schools ask for the original because it's faster than going through the process of getting a certified photocopy and then sending that, and/or it's just easier to explain to the teacher. Usually there's no problem. You get your visa, come to Korea, they give your diploma back on your first day or so.

But, some schools have been known to hold on to your diploma. Some bosses see it as a kind of insurance to prevent runners.

There have been a number of accounts of teachers having difficulty getting their original diploma back. A few apparently never got it back: it was "lost" or "misplaced" by some owner or manager or, more likely, destroyed as an act of revenge or in anger.

Now, honestly, I've never personally witnessed this problem. I've worked at many hogwans, and every teacher got their diploma back immediately. But, these schools always said to send a certified photocopy, and the teacher sent the original anyway, because it was easier.

In addition to the problems with dishonesty, your original diploma could disappear in the mail, or get held by Immigration by mistake. And it is very likely to get folded, torn, worn, damaged, stapled, or otherwise abused.

I got a bunch of certified photocopies before I came here, on the advice of my recruiter. I'm still using my original batch. I have never shown my original diploma to anyone in Korea.

[cdninkorea]

That's a good idea. What you could also do (what I did) is get an extra 'original' from your university (wasn't expensive for me, but may depend on your school). Frame one and put it up on your wall, and use the other one for job applications- that way you won't care if it gets dog eared or otherwise damaged. And should it get lost or not returned you can always order another one.