The title says it all. I have a passport now, and I’m thinking about teaching ESL or doing something else in Korea. I have a couple of advantages: I’m conversant in the language, I was stationed in Korea for a year, and I still keep in touch with friends there.
I’ve started to read about what I have to do to get a work permit and a visa, as well as browse sites to apply with. Does anyone have any experience in this sort of thing? Are there great sites to apply or sites I should avoid? What order should I do it all in, and without meaning to sound impatient, how long does it usually take to sort the visa paperwork out and find a decent job? Or even a not-so-decent-job (Is my love for my current job coming through at all?).
Is teaching ESL about it? Don’t get me wrong, I’d have an excellent time doing it, but are there other options like training adults in corporations in business-specific situations, or would I need an MBA for that?
Advice, experience, anecdotes, warnings, good wishes, bad wishes, death wishes, let me have it ALL!! Thanks in advance to all who respond.
I have no personal experience to offer you, but you might enjoy reading the Love In A Foreign Languageseries, about a Canadian young man who goes to Korea to teach ESL and falls in love.
I don’t think there are any websites to avoid when looking for jobs, exactly, but do be careful. There are a number of foreigners who get screwed over every year because of dishonest agencies and hakwon owners. For the most part, if you stick with the bigger academies you should be okay.
No, you don’t need an MBA to teach business English. I think the only jobs that require qualification beyond a BA are university jobs and jobs in the public sector.
Most schools won’t give you a visa before you come into the country. You’ll arrive here and they’ll send you on a visa “run” to Japan over the weekend.
The background/drug checks have become more stringent than before. For the drug test they just ask you to pee in a cup, but you should still be aware of this - I wasn’t and it was only by chance that I hadn’t partaken of any herbal refreshment the week before I came to Korea.
Try Dave’s ESL Cafe (Korean Job Discussion Forums :: Index) - the forums can be helpful, but know ahead of time that it’s nothing like the SDMB - I hung around for less than a week before becoming disgusted with the people there. You can find some good advice, but take it all with a grain of salt.
I have a friend teaching english in korea, and I’m teaching in Japan right now. You don’t need an MBA, you do need a bachelors usually to teach in schools or to business-types. Both can be quite enjoyable, and there will be opportunities for both in most countries (English is the international business language so many companies send their employees that have to deal in foreign relations to classes to brush up on their skills. Plus there’re a lot of stewardesses and pilots who need to learn English just to properly do their job). I’d definitely recommend hitting ALT (assistant language teacher) forums and getting a feel for peoples opinions of companies, especially after-school language companies (as opposed to teaching in-school) as some of them can totally screw you over. That said, there will always be people with bad opinions of every company, so sort through it with a grain of salt. I love my job, though, I love teaching kids, and I’d highly recommend it.
Paperwork and such took about a week for me, including getting approval from the Japanese Embassy in San Francisco. I had to have job-in-hand to get a visa, though, my company actually sent me paperwork I had to give to the consulate in order for them to process my visa, so you definitely should look into jobs before starting on your visa (if you have the job already it’s pretty easy to get the visa).
I can get in touch with my friend in Korea and see if she has any recommendations on specific companies, if you like. Or if you need any other tips or advice, just let me know. I love my job and I think everyone should try teaching in another country for awhile, it’s great fun
You rawk, Hazel. Could you name some of those academies? I’ve tried two online registration sites, and both had technical glitches that prevented me from even registering. Also, is there a separate application process/website for business English jobs?
Good God! Is this system foolproof, or do a lot of would-be teachers get sent home?
I’ve spent two minutes on this forum. I hate them already.
Oh, and just for purposes of the discussion, I have both a bachelors and an MLIS.
If the sites don’t work, trying emailing or contacting them directly. Usually that works.
The bigger names in Korea right now are CDI and Avalon for children. I’m not sure for adults - maybe Si-sa. A lot of jobs are advertised on http://www.worknplay.co.kr/ so you might want to try those, although a good number of them are for people already in Korea.
The visa runs can screw you over, but it’s very rare. Most of the time they go through smoothly. You don’t need a visa to enter the country anyway, just to work here.
I’ve heard that there’s a “blacklist” of hakwons floating around on the Internet - if you google “hagwon blacklist” you get some hits, although again, take with grain of salt. Sometimes the foreigners are as much to blame as the hakwons for fucking things up.
OK, so I’ve started applying for jobs in Korea. Based on the answers I’ve received, I have a couple of questions.
They’re asking for a notarized/apo stilled copy of my criminal record. In all prior employment situations, the company has done the background check themselves, but OK, I understand. How do I go about getting my hands on my criminal record, or lack of it.
What does “apo stilled” mean? Is it just another word for notarized?
No idea what apo stilled means, you’d have to ask them. (Sorry, didn’t get the background check myself since I’m Korean!) I think get those things done at the local police station. I’ll check with my co-workers.
Damn, 48 hours after I began to search for jobs online, and I have my first phone interview tonight! And in a recession, too!
So I’ve found some Hagwon blacklist sites, but are there any reputable sites for references in general? I guess I can post in the ESL cafe, but is there something a bit more concrete?
Thank you for the offer. I’d like to take you up on it. Right now I’m looking for all the advice I can get. I love your nick, btw.
I have another question (Sorry, I’m just posting these as they pop into my head.)
When an ad for a teacher mentions “Rental Free Full Furnished Housing” or something like that, they don’t mean in an apartment with anyone else, do they? Will I be living with a host family or on my own?
My husband and I did it, but that was over ten years ago. I’d say overall we had a positive experience. I don’t think I’d do the hagwon thing again. (Though I’m dying to go back to Korea, one of these days, just to visit. I served an LDS mission there, too, before getting married, and I miss it awfully sometimes.)
I’d think you’d probably be given your own (very small) apartment, or room with another foreign teacher. Though I suppose some places might do it differently.
Ohhh, Hazel is a great person, and this is not the first time she’s helped me out, but I’m married to a wonderful woman who has very traditional views on marriage. And an electric hedge trimmer. And she thinks they’ll let her take the electric hedge trimmer onto the plane as carry-on when “paying me a surprise visit” once she explains what she’s going to use it for to the divorced woman at the security gate. And I get to hear all this whenever I make the slightest joke about how I’m going to spend my spare time in Seoul.
No, I’m definitely going to behave myself in Korea.
My friend says that for criminal record stuff you should probably start at your local police department and go from there. If you contact a potential employee or an agency here, they will probably give you more specific directions on what they want.
Thanks for that. I will probably stop over to the police department before our shopping tomorrow morning. Maybe they have experience with this sort of thing and can give me pointers. I’m just hoping I don’t have to run the entire gamut, but if I do, it’s OK.
I’m actually seriously considering changing plans and starting grad school for my masters in education next semester (I was originally going to start it after I got back from Korea) and then applying for positions starting in the summer or fall in Korea to give me more time to get my paperwork in order. It’s looks like it’s going to take me longer than I thought. Oh well, sa-nun geh k’ rohch’iyo!
So I’ve sent off the paperwork for my Mass State criminal record check, and I’m about to send off copies of my birth certificate, etc to get apostilled as soon as I figure out just what the hell it involves. I also have to get a replacement copy of my diploma which got lost in one of many of my parents’ moves in the early 90’s after I’d left for the army.
You know, I was originally planning to get to Korea no later than February, but with the amount of paperwork I need to take care of, I’m thinking of pushing that back to June at least. Well, I’ll get a semester of grad school out of the way that much sooner . . . sigh . . . Maybe my professor’ll write me a good letter of recommendation to one of the hagwons.
Once again, thanks all for the advice, and if anyone has anything to add, I’d sure love to hear it!
