Where to Work?

For my money, as an English language teacher, I'd avoid working in Korea since all the governments of English speaking countries receive so many complaints about workplaces that take advantage of their teachers. Maybe there are a few good schools, but you can do the same work and save as much, probably more, money by working in another Asian country.

Here are some of my reasons:

1. Obtaining a visa is now a big hassle. The teacher will have to spend lots of time and money getting documents apostilled, and if you're unlucky like me your future workplace will give you the wrong information so you waste time and money going to the wrong agency in the wrong city in your state.
   
   
2. The won's value is a joke. It's very weak now. Japan's yen is strong as are other currencies.
   
   
3. The cost of living is high. Going out for a simple meal of Korean food costs nearly $15, whereas my meals in Jinan, China cost $1.50.
   
   
4. The art of management is in its infancy in Korea. They just don't know how to lead. Yelling is a favored management style. Some may have read a management book, but they don't understand the concepts or apply them.
   
   
5. The apartments are usually crap. My Korean apartments, in Seoul and the countryside, were tiny. The one at Korea National University of Education in Gangnae was dirty and the furnishings would be rejected by a second hand store. You'd think they'd realize they should clean an apartment for a new teacher or that a college educated person, or any person would want a comfortable chair to sit in. These squalid apartments just show that the management thinks the teachers are sub-human. If you do get a crappy apartment, leave the job immediately. This is a sign. Every aspect of the job will be crappy.
   
   On the other hand, in China, Japan and Indonesia my apartments were furnished humanely with new furnishings and appliances on par with what the typical middle class worker had. Now I grant you we had problems, lots of them with the Indonesian house, but it was as nice or nicer than what our Indonesian colleagues lived in.
   
   
6. Right now there's a lot of xenophobia in the Hermit Kingdom. A friend who's married to a Korean and has biracial children told me that, "It's becoming more and more clear that foreigners are regarded as a necessary evil." An insightful professor from America was quoted in the Chronicle of Higher Education as saying that Korea's push for globalization is actually driven by nationalism. That sounds ironic, but what it means is that Korea wants to appear international so it can continue to tell itself that Korea is the best.
   
   
7. Unlike in the other countries I've worked in, when I arrived in Korea this last time the orientation for teachers was dreadful. Usually, there's a cordial walking tour of the whole campus, followed by a trip to the bank, grocery store, and post office. Of course, is normally picked up upon arrival. In Gangnae, I had to beg 5 times and offer to pay the secretary myself to get picked up after traveling 12 hours by plane and 2 by bus.
   
   
8. There are few good travel opportunities in Korea and traveling internationally can be expensive. In Japan and China, I never ran out of festivals to see or temples to visit. The cultures were vibrant. Korean culture just didn't do much for me. You can test this out by reading some books on the country. I now have promised myself to only work in countries that have one a Nobel Prize in literature. That's my sign that the country has enough sophistication to interest me. I need more than a steady flow of beer. I like to see and explore. There isn't much worth seeing in Korea.
   

So my advice is to teach elsewhere as it'll be more profitable and interesting. You'll probably be treated better.