Looks like I'm headed for Korea

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

A one year contract to teach English in a Hagwon. I checked them out online, and they seemed on the up and up, which is to say that they didn’t turn up on any blacklists, and even if it tanks, oh well, what the hell, I speak the language, and it would have to be pretty bad for me to even start missing my old library job.

It was pretty rushed. They need teachers in Korea now, and as soon as I was accepted, they started asking me if I could come the week after. I declined because I wanted to give my old job two week’s notice.

I’ll be doing this alone (Mrs. Fresh has to mind the fort while finishing her degree), and while I’ll miss her terribly, reading some of the horror stories on the Dope about finding jobs has convinced me that I am lucky to have this option. Hopefully the experience and skills I gain in Korea will translate into something in the states, or at least give me enough money to finish my masters in education.

I haven’t seen Korean in almost 15 years, and I was on an army base at that time. I’m in for a wild ride!

2

Good luck over there. Hopefully it’s a profitable experience for you, both in terms of money and in your ongoing learning experience of being a human.

Try the kimchee, I hear it’s fabulously spicy.

3

Good luck Linty Fresh, and after you settle in, would you please let me know how it is going, as I am giving serious thought to doing something similar…

I have a B.S. and taught here in Salt Lake for 6 years (in addition to my bachelors degree, I have taken all the requirements for a Utah State Teaching Certification, but no ESL/TEFL certificate)

I need work, and would love to continue my travels, and while the Eastern Europe market is my 1st choice, the current options seem to be much broader in Korea, China etc.

I looked into an ESL position pretty seriously last year, but then my dad found out his chemo would need to continue thru this August (his final treatment is in 2 weeks!!!) but now I will be free to take a teaching position starting as soon as September.

If your school needs additional experienced instructors, please give me a heads up— I would really be grateful for a foot in the door…

Thanks, Matthew

4

This message board might be of interest to you.

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/

5

Pretty cool. Wishing you luck in your new adventure.

6

Wow, thanks for the input. I was actually stationed in Korea for a year, where in addition to meeting my wife, I managed to pick up a little bit of the language and develop a physical addic . . . errr, taste for Kimchi. We both still love Korean food, and I’m definitely planning on hitting the first decent restaurant after moving into my apartment.

Imasquare, thanks for the link. Someone brought Dave’s to my attention back when I started this thread, and it proved to be very helpful.

MPB, I will definitely keep you in mind. Right off the top of my head, I would say that with your excellent qual’s, you should definitely think about teaching at the university level, unless you want to work with children. I’m not sure about Eastern Europe, but I loved Korea back when I was here last. Still, it’s a pretty big adjustment. I can’t give you much advice as to your actual career other than the teach at a university thing, but if you wind up teaching in Korea, I’ll give you the following two pieces of advice: Learn the hangul alphabet (very easy) and after you get that down, start learning a little basic Korean (not quite so easy as learning the hangul alphabet. I plan to stay on the SDMB, because it’s going to be my only link with the states other than my wife, so if I find out anything else, I’ll keep you posted.

7

If you get nuked can I have your computer?
Oh- and good luck.

8

I would teach in Korea, except that I hear it snows there. Paul does not do snow.

best of luck. Tell me if you need supplementary material

9

Good luck, and hopefully for you and Mrs Linty Fresh a temporary absence will make the heart grow fonder. Try and get versed in the art of romantic letter writing, even if it is thru e-mail. :slight_smile:

10

Sure. You might even be able to use it safely in 50 or 60 years! :stuck_out_tongue:

11

Linty Fresh, thanks for your willingness to keep me posted if you hear of any promsing opportunities, and my best to you and your family in your new situation.

After my dad’s final chemo next month, I will again be free to seriously look into my options, and hopefully land a position that will be a good fit for myself and my employers.

I look forward to reading your upcoming posts, and I am sure that you will be a great asset to your school.

Have a cold Kirin for me!!!

Matthew

12

Sounds like quite an adventure. Good luck, and much success, and all that. :slight_smile:

With the obvious disclaimer that I don’t know either you or your wife, might I suggest that you not confine your romantic letters to e-mail? There’s just nothing quite like actual hand-written love letters once in a while. Sometimes tangible is a very good thing.

13

In 60 years time I will need a computer that works underground.

14

I spent about 9 years teaching in Seoul. I returned to the US in 2003… I’d be happy to try to answer any questions you might have (though my info may be a couple of years out of date).

What hagwon are you going to?

15

Yeah, my wife is helping me develop the art of romantic emails before I go:

“I love you and miss you more each day, and I can’t wait until I’m in your arms again” plus some shit by Shakespeare = romantic

“Wish I could chew on your panties over teh interntz” = not so romantic

With practice, I’ll be a master of the art of seducing my wife all over again through emails. Or at least convince her to take the divorce lawyer off speed dial.

I appreciate it, Astroboy. I’ll be in a hagwon south of Seoul (I purposely decided not to choose a Seoul hagwon, because I didn’t want all the distractions, and also because I’m trying to save money to finish my masters in education, and Seoul’s expensive.).

Thanks to the army and my work at a large college library, I actually know a couple of people in Korea. I can also read hangul and even a little hanja as well as speak a little Korean thanks to some helpful KATUSA’s way back in the day. It was boring being stationed in Korea, and I decided to learn a little of the language, which I managed to keep up with over the years. I’m not as good as an actual military-trained linguist, but I think I’ll survive.

I’ve begun to feel the butterflies. This is a big step for me. Away from my wife for the first time since the army almost 15 years ago. Total immersion in a foreign environment. Hired for a professional position I have next to no real experience doing (They knew this when they hired me), and a hell of a lot is resting on my ability to save up enough for grad school for when I come back after a year. I’ve been waiting for something like this for a few years, and now that it’s here, I find myself wondering if I’m up to the task.

But I think I am. Underneath all the nervousness (It isn’t actually *terror *yet.), I know that I was born to teach, and that I was an absolute fool to get sidetracked out of that back in my undergraduate days about 300 years ago. This job allowed me to leave my boring stress-burger job for something I might actually like doing someday. The nerves are just a sign that I care about doing a good job.

Sigh . . . That’s not going to change the fact that I’m going to be freaking for a while.

16

Holy crap, I’m in Korea.

Got in late last night, and here I am. I’ve just started to realize what I’ve gotten myself into! :smack: :smack: :smack:

There is a world of difference between thinking about being separated from the wife for a year and actually BEING separated for a year.

It’ll be OK. In the fifteen or so years since I was here last, Korea has changed, and so have I, but I think I can get through. Once I start working, I’ll be fine.

Sigh . . . It’ll be a few days before I have Internet access, so I can add SDMB withdrawal symptoms to jet lag and homesickness. 'Til then!

17

Korean War ditty to the tune of I’m Looking Over A Four Leaf Clover:

I’m looking over a well fought over
Korea that I abhor
One for the money
And two for the show
Ridgeway said stay
But we want to go.
There’s no use explaining
Why we’re remaining
We’ve got what we’re fighting for
Korea, Korea – and diarrhea
To make the rice grow some more.

18

LintyFresh,

Good luck, and I hope you enjoy the experience. You’re doing it for a worthy reason, keep focused on that! I hear that internet cafes are very cheap there, so keep posting. Don’t eat too much bibimbap!

My son taught there one year, though not in the Seoul area, on the east coast, a place called Kangnung (very approximate transliteration). He loved it, travelled, and still saved quite a bundle. Mastering hangul is not an asset in teaching ESL-- don’t do it in the school, never, or you’ll have a hard time convincing the kids or adults to speak English to you.
One of my nephews is teaching in Korea, in Inchon; another nephew is in Bucheon. MPBinSaltLake, if you’re still around and still think you’d like to go teach there, let me know and I’ll give you their coordinates.

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Yes, please keep in touch. It will be interesting to see how you are doing and hearing of your experiences.

20

Ohhh, I intend to. This board is one of my few connections to my old life (I’m already starting to think of it like that, though I fully intend to return to that life).

MoodIndigo1, thanks for the info. I actually already know hangul and can even get by in Korean, but it’s a different world from Boston. Something tells me that this will be my last year doing this. I’ve been here for under 24 hours, but I’ve been walking around, and it’s not the same as it was back when I served. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not complaining. I think it’s a wonderful country with wonderful people, but I can sort of tell I don’t belong anymore. I can hack a year no problem, but after this . . . well, perhaps by then, the economy back home will have improved, and I’ll be back in the states. I could even get certified to teach my undergraduate major in biology if worse comes to worse. Get a job in New Mexico or Arizona, or someplace with little or no humidity.

I know what you mean about using Korean in the classroom. As soon as the principal learned I spoke a little of the language, he warned me not to use it in front of the kids, and his expression told me that He. Wasn’t. Kidding. I’ll save it for Seoul.

And I absolutely intend on eating all the Bibimbap with Gochujang my colon can take without melting. That’s great stuff!! :slight_smile: