dear new guy,
so you want to come to korea, huh? well.. sure, if thats what you want to do, ill tell you about the place.
you say you want to come out after thanksgiving? well, thats all fine and good and all, but koreans don't really give a shit about thanksgiving. so thats really good thinking on your part about trying to spend it with your family there at home. now, if you don't already have a job lined up, i can guarantee you that you will find a job that would get you here after thanksgiving-- namely, in 2010. hope you've got a decent part time job for the time being.
when i initially came to korea i absolutely felt like it was God that had led me here-- everything was set up, i didn't have any expectations, and every day (except for the bad ones) weren't all that bad. granted, i didn't get paid the first month or so i was here (and since I've been back here i still havent gotten paid-- i've been getting by on the $600USD that my friend was good enough to loan me.) but at that time, it was ok. i didnt care because i felt like coming to Korea was the choice between trying to put out a fire in a burning building or jumping out a window. i jumped out the window, i was away from the fire, so i didn't care about shitty it was to start off with. I was out of the fire. and i jumped straight into a 3'x7' shoe box fully equipped: minifridge, internet, cot. they were even good enough to supply me with some wall hangers too.
the place where i was working wasn't all that bad either. i didnt care that my boss viewed me as an english speaking piece of meat that was a dime a dozen. i was out of the fire, and on top of that most people at home assumed that i was off having the experience of a lifetime. that, well, thats how they would like to sell it to western people. truth was i was an employee at a korean mcdonald's that sold english instead of cheese burgers. and the sad truth about it was that im working half as hard at a place where im understimulated and underutilized, making more money than the average korean citizen would who worked 18 times as hard as i did.
whats also sad about it is that most korean people complain about this system-- they're upset at the fact that western english speaking college grads can march over here, not knowing a thing about the culture and just trash the place, absolutely trash the place and make decent money while they're at it-- but the truth is is that they're victims of their own system. a non-native speaking korean needs certifications and degrees to get this same job whereas we can walk over here with a degree and not much else and be set for that year. granted, having the certifications is understandable-- you don't want someone who can't speak english trying to teach the stuff. as a matter of fact, the only reason you need a degree for this job is because its a visa requirement. any idiot with a high school diploma could do this, easily. and i mean easily.
(as im writing this im supposed to be proctoring my students final exam for the term-- somehow one of the kids managed to marker all over the left side of his face. that has to be a talent, i swear).
that lends itself to the kind of teachers and other foreigners you run into over here. canadian korea-philes are numerous. (i single them out as canadian because for some reason, the weirdest yet most excited to be here people are canadian. i dont get it either.) mix them in with frat boys who are trying to extend their glory years and older folks who are down on their luck and decided they haven't shit to lose and you've got an ecclectic group of individuals here who are trying to recreate themselves or create themselves for the first time. there are those korean-americans/canadians/new zealanders/etc (kyopos) who are trying to get in touch with their roots too. thats cool, im not mad at that. those are usually the more normal of individuals out here.
as for the actual jobs go there are really 4 types: public schools, private academies (hagwons), university jobs, and private tutoring. public schools are usually pretty safe entry level jobs, but they have hiring seasons. you don't get paid as much, but you can get a lot more out of them in terms of benefits, language aquisition, and culture. not to mention you'll be feeling like a much larger part of the community as well.
university jobs are those unicorns that everyone chases after but hardly gets. generally you'd need a masters degree in something. given the quality of individual who is usually looking to teach in korea, ill stop there.
private tutoring is just that: tutoring. now, my experience is at the hagwon. i had mentioned a bit about that before but i'll elaborate on what actually happens in the classroom. at the recruiting center they told me that my boss speaks english. and she does, technically. they just didnt tell me that she'd really suck at it. as far as the classroom goes, the company tries to manage you down to the minute-- literally. they've got this handout for class structure. from 0-5 minutes im doing homework check. from 5-20 minutes they're taking a weekly exam. 20-30 minutes student counseling. 30-50 minutes is lesson 1. break at 55. blah. blah. blah.
working at a hagwon they're taking away your creativity and expressive ability as a teacher. it makes sense too, if a kid has to miss a class and attend someone elses class at that same level they don't want to be lost. its all in the name of customer service. much easier on the student if everyone is doing the same thing at the same time which makes everything interchangeable. which means that you are an expense. keep that in mind when you're looking for a hagwon kind of job out here. oh, and your visa belongs to your sponsor. meaning you're at the whim of your boss pretty much all of the time. and in the event that your boss is a prick, you can choose to quit which is fine. but its up to your boss to release you from your contract so you can get a new job (that only applies to true foreigners like myself--- since you're a korean national you don't have to worry about that.)
as far as the culture goes... well, the women are gorgeous, definitely. if you like your ladies with a little meat on them look elsewhere. they're extremely image conscious too-- you'll never see a woman (or a guy for that matter) scrubbin it just to go to the grocery store. in fact, most of em will be buying stuff up in their heels too. and there will be some shit that will leave you scratching your head (like, the guys on the high rise building washing windows smoking & straddling beams-- the only thing between them and the ground is air and opportunity. and then you'll have the guys wearing orange cover-alls and hard hats just to hang a flat screen tv 5 feet off the ground).
the biggest complaint that anyone person ive met has here (both korean and foreign alike) is that this is definitely a transient culture. this english teaching culture in seoul i mean. people are constantly coming and going-- people you've grown with in this place where everything is just a little off center, but you learn to grow and accept that no matter where you go, it will be off center cuz you're just not at home. some people cant handle the homesickness and even though they're great people they just leave. so now even though they were your friend you're at a loss because you decided you didn't want to give up on something you started. or they can't adjust to korean business culture and they go on a midnight run and leave abruptly. or they simply just finish their contract and its time for them to go home.
that is hands down the toughest part. and thats where i'm at a loss now. i came back to the same academy, same part of town, same everything pretty much-- yet everything is different. people are gone. and the ones that are here.. i'd like to believe the love is still there. i really do. but sometimes it just doesnt seem that way.
anyways... thats about it. thats about all i can say about living and working here in seoul, south korea.
oh, i forgot to mention. as a foreigner, people love it when i can speak a little korean to them. for them, it shows interest in them as a people and culture and that im taking the time to respect them and their history. but for you, a kyopo, its expected that you know it. and if your korean isnt perfect, thats a let down. so theres a different kind of pressure thats going to be on you. my advice to you: get to studying. as sure as you were born, you will catch some shit for that.
if you have anymore questions or anything like that i'll be sure to let you know.
best,
jason
PS-- like i said the women are gorgeous out here. just do yourself a favor and don't get attached. it'll be easier on your heart that way.
