Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dtulluck]

hi, I am currently an undergraduate student in the Seattle area earning my BA in Linguistics and completing TESOL certification. I have been working as a teaching assistant for Korea University in an exchange program that they have with my university and I really love working with Korean students and I've been studying the language for over a year now, and I really want to experience living and working in Korea. I have some questions about what I can do to prepare for going to Korea next summer after I graduate.

1. Where is the best place to live in Seoul? Why?

2. With my education and experience, I feel like I should be able to land a teaching job at a university, but some of the hagwon jobs don't really seem that bad. In your opinion where is the best place to work?

3. What do I need to legally teach private lessons? How much could I realistically make teaching private lessons?

4. If I am hired by a university and wish to pursue graduate studies or perhaps, a degree in Korean, will the school pay for that?

5. How are the free furnished apartments really? How much money are you saving in rent because of the free housing offered by the school?

6. What is your monthly budget? What is the real cost of living? If anyone could show me how much they pay for food, transportation, phone, utility, etc., that would be great. I would like to have a realistic idea of how much money I can save, invest, and pay off my student loans with.

7. What is the cost of real estate in Korea? Have any of you decided to stay in Korea permanently and get married and buy a house/apartment and everything?

8. If I marry a Korean girl and choose to stay in Korea, does my visa automatically change, do I become a permanent resident, do I risk losing my US citizenship or what happens exactly?

9. Have any of you considered the possibility of opening your own hagwon? How much would it cost to do it and what would the process be?

10. If I am hired by a school, will I be allowed to legally work outside the school at all. For example, if I am only working 20-30 hours a week and want to work part time at a restaurant or something to practice speaking Korean and make more money, would that be allowed?

11. Are there any schools in Korea that offer a MA TESOL? If so, what is the cost and length of the programs, and links to the websites if there are any?

12. What are the best programs for studying Korean? Are there free classes available?

13. Are there any American banks with locations in Korea? What is the easiest way to deal with banking issues, paying off student loans, etc.

14. How much does it cost to travel to nearby countries such as Japan, Thailand, China, Philippines, etc.?

15. Are there any Brazilian Jiu Jitsu schools in Seoul?

16. What things should I bring/don't need to bring with me?

17. Do the schools offer very good teaching materials? Do you ever need to spend your own money to put teaching materials/classroom supplies?

17. What else can I do to prepare myself for coming to Korea to teach English?

I'm looking forward to hearing your advice. Thanks!

[seoulsucker]

[Bibbitybop]

I replied in your thread in the job-related forum. Don't post the same thing in multiple forums.

[SeoulShakin]

Holy questions Batman!
At least you are putting thought into this though...

Just for a few of them.

2) Most University's will not hire someone from overseas, and usually choose a candidate who is already in Korea. Those jobs are high in demand, so they usually don't have too much trouble filling them with candidates who are already here.

3) To legally teach private lessons, you must have an F type visa, which means be a native born Korean, or be married to Korean. If you are neither of those, you will get an E-2 visa most likely, and it is NOT legal to teach privates, no matter how you go about it. You get caught, you will face heavy fines, and deportation.

5) Every school provides a different level of "furnished". Ask to see photos of your place before you go. You save A LOT of cash, mostly because you don't have to front the key money (deposit) here, which can be between 2 and 10 grand.

9) I'm not sure of the legality of this, especially if you are on an E2 visa. You would likely need an F-type, and go through tons of paperwork stuff at immigration. I'm not sure if anyone has done it. My guess is, you'd likely need a Korean business partner.

10) Short answer, no. Your E2 visa is for teaching English. You could technically get another part time job teaching English, IF you get permission from your visa sponsored school, get permission from immigration, and get it marked on your alien card as a second place of work. I doubt you could work at a restaurant on an E visa, since it isn't teaching.

[pest2]

2. With my education and experience, I feel like I should be able to land a teaching job at a university, but some of the hagwon jobs don't really seem that bad. In your opinion where is the best place to work?

Dont work in a hakwon. They aren't all bad, but many are. It's risky... more importantly, though, you will almost never find a hakwon that will give you as much vacation time as a Uni or public school.

3. What do I need to legally teach private lessons? How much could I realistically make teaching private lessons?

You need to marry a Korean. Or be a Korean. Otherwise, it will be almost impossible to do private lessons legally on the visa you get to work at your main job. Now, if you go to China, Taiwan, or Japan, this is not the case....


5. How are the free furnished apartments really? How much money are you saving in rent because of the free housing offered by the school?

In a recent poll, about 33% of the people here had an apartment that consisted of more than just 1 room. The rest had single room studio places. Also, about 3/4 of the people here dont have bathtubs. Just a room with a toilet, a shower head, and no shower curtain. Conditions of the apartments vary greatly. The best thing for you to do is get your prospective place of employment to show you pictures and specify details about where you are going to live before you live there.

However, you do save alot of money because rent in Seoul is pretty expensive.... maybe about 4-800$US a month?

6. What is your monthly budget? What is the real cost of living? If anyone could show me how much they pay for food, transportation, phone, utility, etc., that would be great. I would like to have a realistic idea of how much money I can save, invest, and pay off my student loans with.


My non-loan, non travel-related expenses each month are about 900$ each month.... I save 1500$ each month after some loans and whatnot... Money saving here is good considering the work you do.



8. If I marry a Korean girl and choose to stay in Korea, does my visa automatically change, do I become a permanent resident, do I risk losing my US citizenship or what happens exactly?

I know someone who did this... the visa changes, you dont lose your citizenship, and I believe you can become a permanent resident. Others might be able to clarify better....



9. Have any of you considered the possibility of opening your own hagwon? How much would it cost to do it and what would the process be?

Non-Korean citizens cannot own businesses in Korea. You need to marry a Korean and open it in your spouses name or something like that...

10. If I am hired by a school, will I be allowed to legally work outside the school at all. For example, if I am only working 20-30 hours a week and want to work part time at a restaurant or something to practice speaking Korean and make more money, would that be allowed?


no its not allowed.





12. What are the best programs for studying Korean? Are there free classes available?


If you are in Seoul, there are plenty. Live in the countryside, almost none....

13. Are there any American banks with locations in Korea? What is the easiest way to deal with banking issues, paying off student loans, etc.

You can actually set up your US student loan payments to come out of your US bank acct automatically... and then what I do is just transfer a big sum of cash home every so often.... Your USA visa may work in certain Korean ATMS but not most. You probably have to open a Korean bank acct. There are some banks in Korea owned by US Companies - ie citigroup - but they are managed and run by and for Koreans.



14. How much does it cost to travel to nearby countries such as Japan, Thailand, China, Philippines, etc.?

Korea is the worst Asian country to live in for travel expenses to other nearby Asian countries. Japan might be the cheapest at around 400$ on a ferry boat. China (shanghai) next cheapest at 500$. The others could all cost over a grand.


The thing you should know about teaching here is that the koreans here might not be the same as the koreans you know at your uni in the usa....

[seoulsucker]

To be honest after reviewing your post, you should focus primarily on the job, and the apartment. The rest of the stuff you can deal with if you make it through the first month here.

You're getting way ahead of yourself with the marriage/business owner/real estate thing. It's nice to have goals once you're here, but dude...make sure you can actually stand living here before you start planning your retirement in Seoul.

[dtulluck]

Hey thanks for all the advice! You guys are awesome! I know I am probably a little ahead of myself, but I am just curious.

I do have another question actually. My hope is that I will get hired by a university, but it's very probable that I may have to start out at a hogwon and then work my way into a uni position after a year or two, or maybe even longer. Which private schools are the best to work for?

[CheeseSandwich]

Heres how you should prepare for coming here.

Get a giant hat, with like flashing lights, and crazy sounds coming out of it.

Now go walk around town.

Do this until you are comfortable with people staring at you.

If you plan on dating a korean girl. Build a time machine, go back to the 50s, and study how black men dating a white woman were stereotyped and profiled and the hostility they faced.


Also disregard everything I say becuase I am a filthy liar and jerk

[hubba bubba]

[pest2]

[CheeseSandwich]

I know alot of people in uni jobs but they aren't gonna hire you till you put some time in Korea. I think the quickest I heard of some one hired was like 3 years. Most of them are in their late 20s to mid 30s so age plays a factor.

Also, it is blind dumb luck some time, you gotta either know some one who will give you a heads up or just stumble into one. open positions go fast