[cafechoc]

There are a number of illegal jobs you could get, but before doing so I'd recommend reading this teacher's account: http://www.expatkorea.com/bbs/showthread.p...highlight=flash (and bear in mind that she's a qualified, experienced American teacher who only worked illegally for one week). If you do want to pursue the illegal 'camp' route after reading all that you'd do better to come to Korea about a month earlier.

The issue of SE Asian teachers in the immediate future is very ambiguous. I keep reading and hearing of plans to bring over thousands of Filipino teachers but I haven't seen any evidence of it yet. It's interesting that the government keeps discussing Filipinos, Malaysians, and Indians, but not Singaporeans, despite the latter having probably the best average level of English in Asia. I think this is very telling. What it tells me is that the whole underlying point of hiring SE Asians is to get teachers on the cheap, and the reason for not considering Singaporeans is that they can't afford them; for salaries that would attract qualified Singaporeans they could just as well hire Americans.

At any rate I'm sorry that Singapore doesn't make the official list, but I guess the government has to draw some arbitrary lines.

I definitely would love to teach in Korea for a while and to experience a bit of life there, but not so much to do anything illegal, heh.

Oh well, I guess there's nothing much can be done. The closest I can get to experience living in Korea is probably spending vacation there then (which in my opinion, vacation and living in a place are 2 different things). Hopefully a miracle would happen in the near near future. Or my next best bet is to have my future employer to transfer me to Korea for a short period of time, heh.

Yubumsuk, are you teaching English in Korea? How has it been for you?

[Yubumsuk]

I definitely would love to teach in Korea for a while and to experience a bit of life there, but not so much to do anything illegal, heh.

Oh well, I guess there's nothing much can be done. The closest I can get to experience living in Korea is probably spending vacation there then (which in my opinion, vacation and living in a place are 2 different things). Hopefully a miracle would happen in the near near future. Or my next best bet is to have my future employer to transfer me to Korea for a short period of time, heh.

Yubumsuk, are you teaching English in Korea? How has it been for you?

I've just started my fifth year at my middle & high school. I love it. It has its moments when it can be a chore, with certain students who seem interested in everything but learning English, but there are more often days like today and yesterday when my students have just been so delightful to teach. If every class were like the one I had this morning I'd probably keep doing this job even if I won the lottery and didn't even have to work to make ends meet. Of course there are also plenty of schools in Korea where the majority of students are not nearly as nice as mine or where idiot coworkers screw everything up for you. So I guess I've been quite lucky over-all.

If you really, really feel the desire to teach at a Korean school or academy for whatever reason you could always look into teaching at a Korean school outside Korea. I'm sure that Singapore and Malaysia must have at least a few Korean schools. Do you have a qualification to teach any particular subject? How's your Chinese / knowledge of Chinese characters (한자 as we say in Korean)?

[cafechoc]

I've just started my fifth year at my middle & high school. I love it. It has its moments when it can be a chore, with certain students who seem interested in everything but learning English, but there are more often days like today and yesterday when my students have just been so delightful to teach. If every class were like the one I had this morning I'd probably keep doing this job even if I won the lottery and didn't even have to work to make ends meet. Of course there are also plenty of schools in Korea where the majority of students are not nearly as nice as mine or where idiot coworkers screw everything up for you. So I guess I've been quite lucky over-all.

If you really, really feel the desire to teach at a Korean school or academy for whatever reason you could always look into teaching at a Korean school outside Korea. I'm sure that Singapore and Malaysia must have at least a few Korean schools. Do you have a qualification to teach any particular subject? How's your Chinese / knowledge of Chinese characters (한자 as we say in Korean)?

Your teaching life sounds interesting. I hope things continue to go well for you.

About teaching in a Korean school outside Korea, it's not just about teaching Koreans English, but I wanna do it in Korea and take the opportunity to live and experience the culture and life in Korea. Teaching Koreans outside Korea do allow me to come into contact with Koreans, but it doesn't quite allow me to live and experience much.

There are a couple of English academies around my area by Koreans for Koreans, and they don't pay very well. I'm better off giving private home tuition, which I have been doing for the last 7 years. (wow, time really files).

I don't have any qualification to teach any particular subject. I can read and write Chinese character, been learning since I was a kid. Kinda rusty now though coz haven't been using it for the past few years, esp. since there's no need for me to use it in college.

[Yubumsuk]

Your teaching life sounds interesting. I hope things continue to go well for you.

About teaching in a Korean school outside Korea, it's not just about teaching Koreans English, but I wanna do it in Korea and take the opportunity to live and experience the culture and life in Korea. Teaching Koreans outside Korea do allow me to come into contact with Koreans, but it doesn't quite allow me to live and experience much.

There are a couple of English academies around my area by Koreans for Koreans, and they don't pay very well. I'm better off giving private home tuition, which I have been doing for the last 7 years. (wow, time really files).

I don't have any qualification to teach any particular subject. I can read and write Chinese character, been learning since I was a kid. Kinda rusty now though coz haven't been using it for the past few years, esp. since there's no need for me to use it in college.

If you want to work in Korea I'd imagine your only hope would be to find a Singaporean company that does business here. However I don't think I've ever met a single Singaporean in Korea, come to think of it.

One *possible* route that might possibly work if you really, really, really want to teach Koreans in Korea might be to get a one-year teaching certificate from Australia or NZ and work at an international school here (some of which have mostly Korean pupils). But even then you might need a passport from one of the select seven. Even so, you might have more luck trying to work as a Chinese teacher.

[cafechoc]

If you want to work in Korea I'd imagine your only hope would be to find a Singaporean company that does business here. However I don't think I've ever met a single Singaporean in Korea, come to think of it.

One *possible* route that might possibly work if you really, really, really want to teach Koreans in Korea might be to get a one-year teaching certificate from Australia or NZ and work at an international school here (some of which have mostly Korean pupils). But even then you might need a passport from one of the select seven. Even so, you might have more luck trying to work as a Chinese teacher.

Yea, guess my best bet now to experience life in Korea is for my future employer to transfer me to Korea (for about a year), heh. If not, will just travel to Korea for holidays. =)

[bbe_bbe_ro]

Hi, I'm new to this thread, I just had a couple of questions. So I'll be graduating at the end of this year and I'm considering taking some time off to go to Korea. I currently live in New Zealand (but I'm not a citizen of NZ, I'm a Korean citizen) and have done since I was 2 so English is essentially my first language (I'm Korean but I'm not completely fluent).

I know cafechoc asked this question before, but I was wondering if it would be possible to work for a 6 month period, specifically the february semester, rather than a full year.

I know TALK has a 6 month program but as with a lot of people I would prefer to be based in Seoul (although I wouldn't mind working in a rural school). Are there any school programmes in the Seoul or Kyungido area that have a contract period of 6 months (as far as I've found, they all seem to be for a year)?

Also, another concern that I have is that I've heard that there is a bit of discrimination from other teachers, someone I know of who has just started the TALK program has mentioned that she's gotten seme catty comments directed towards her (she's also korean). I realise that there will be some discrimination regardless, however, I just wanted some insight as to the degree of discrimination experienced by people, preferably from those who are of Korean descent teaching English.

Also I'm a little nervous about getting accepted into a program and the teaching itself. I'm graduating at the end of the year, but my degree is not related to teaching at all, (I'm actually an engineering student. I know it seems like a completely random direction, one of the main reasons I'm doing this is to reconnect with the Korean culture, however, I'm definitely not one of those people who are looking at this as a means of getting to korea and paying for their night out, I would be committed to the job and embracing the entire experience).

Also I look quite young for my age (I'm 21), I have a bit of a baby face and I'm a little on the short side which I assume will hinder my chances of getting accepted.

If anyone with experience in teaching in Korea could direct me to any programs they know (I know I'd have to apply relatively fast, I think TALK is accepting applications around now) or have any advice they could give me, I'd be really grateful, (also thanks for reading this whole thing lol).

[i n c _ m p l e t e]

cafechoc, I'm in a similar sort of boat. I am a permanent resident of Australia and was raised and educated here BUT I've got a Malaysian passport, which is essentially ruining all my plans to teach English overseas. It's frustrating, because having Australian citizenship doesn't even mean fluency in English!

I am wondering if earning a Bachelor's degree in Australia counts for anything. Does anyone know? Is it dependent on the school or is this governmental requirement stringently black and white?

cafechoc, if you're interested in Japan, the JET Programme in Japan is open to applicants from several countries including Singapore. I've looked at teaching in China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, and so far Japan is the only nation that states visa eligibility for countries beyond those few commonly listed.

[Yubumsuk]

Hi, I'm new to this thread, I just had a couple of questions. So I'll be graduating at the end of this year and I'm considering taking some time off to go to Korea. I currently live in New Zealand (but I'm not a citizen of NZ, I'm a Korean citizen) and have done since I was 2 so English is essentially my first language (I'm Korean but I'm not completely fluent).

I know cafechoc asked this question before, but I was wondering if it would be possible to work for a 6 month period, specifically the february semester, rather than a full year.

I know TALK has a 6 month program but as with a lot of people I would prefer to be based in Seoul (although I wouldn't mind working in a rural school). Are there any school programmes in the Seoul or Kyungido area that have a contract period of 6 months (as far as I've found, they all seem to be for a year)?

Also, another concern that I have is that I've heard that there is a bit of discrimination from other teachers, someone I know of who has just started the TALK program has mentioned that she's gotten seme catty comments directed towards her (she's also korean). I realise that there will be some discrimination regardless, however, I just wanted some insight as to the degree of discrimination experienced by people, preferably from those who are of Korean descent teaching English.

Also I'm a little nervous about getting accepted into a program and the teaching itself. I'm graduating at the end of the year, but my degree is not related to teaching at all, (I'm actually an engineering student. I know it seems like a completely random direction, one of the main reasons I'm doing this is to reconnect with the Korean culture, however, I'm definitely not one of those people who are looking at this as a means of getting to korea and paying for their night out, I would be committed to the job and embracing the entire experience).

Also I look quite young for my age (I'm 21), I have a bit of a baby face and I'm a little on the short side which I assume will hinder my chances of getting accepted.

If anyone with experience in teaching in Korea could direct me to any programs they know (I know I'd have to apply relatively fast, I think TALK is accepting applications around now) or have any advice they could give me, I'd be really grateful, (also thanks for reading this whole thing lol).

Why not just work at a hagwon? Korean citizenship plus a degree from a NZ uni should = no problem. Yes, hagwons are a minefield, but if you do your research and check them out carefully, you might be able to land a really good job that pays way more than TaLK. A lot of hagwons that focus on American SAT prep prefer gyopos and some of them pay very, very well (like double what TaLK does).

As for discrimination, well, at least 80% of English teachers in Korea are still Korean and if anything they'll likely just be jealous of the fact that you can actually speak English completely fluently.

cafechoc, I'm in a similar sort of boat. I am a permanent resident of Australia and was raised and educated here BUT I've got a Malaysian passport, which is essentially ruining all my plans to teach English overseas. It's frustrating, because having Australian citizenship doesn't even mean fluency in English!

I am wondering if earning a Bachelor's degree in Australia counts for anything. Does anyone know? Is it dependent on the school or is this governmental requirement stringently black and white?

cafechoc, if you're interested in Japan, the JET Programme in Japan is open to applicants from several countries including Singapore. I've looked at teaching in China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, and so far Japan is the only nation that states visa eligibility for countries beyond those few commonly listed.

That's a very good idea, actually. Just be warned though (I've met some people who've done the JET programme) many JET jobs are an absolute joke. Many positions might be very easy with lots of time to kill at school, but don't expect to feel or be treated very much like a teacher at a lot of Japanese schools..

[cafechoc]

cafechoc, I'm in a similar sort of boat. I am a permanent resident of Australia and was raised and educated here BUT I've got a Malaysian passport, which is essentially ruining all my plans to teach English overseas. It's frustrating, because having Australian citizenship doesn't even mean fluency in English!

I am wondering if earning a Bachelor's degree in Australia counts for anything. Does anyone know? Is it dependent on the school or is this governmental requirement stringently black and white?

cafechoc, if you're interested in Japan, the JET Programme in Japan is open to applicants from several countries including Singapore. I've looked at teaching in China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, and so far Japan is the only nation that states visa eligibility for countries beyond those few commonly listed.

Hi i n c _ m p l e t e =)

I somehow got a feeling that a bachelor degree from Aussie would not make much difference, I'm getting my degree from Monash, heh.

I sent out countless of resumes, and only a small percentage replied. Out of those replies, they basically let me know they can't accept me coz of the passport I hold, bleh. You might have a higher chance than me due to being a PR of Aussie. If you really want, no harm sending out resumes.

Japan is nice, but not that keen to teach and live there. I wanna teach in Korea mainly because I want to take it as an opportunity to experience the life there for a while, understanding and learning more about part of my roots. =)

In regards for the citizenship and ability to teach English in Korea, I doubt much would change in the near future. Even so, I guess it will also take a while for it to be carried out.

Anyways, I'm putting the whole teaching-English-in-Korea on hold for now, just planning to travel to Seoul early 2009. =)

[JiHye]

When I first came here, I had a tiny hole, although it was brand new with a tv, dvd player, rice cooker, microwave, etc. My school also took me shopping and bought me anything else they thought I'd need (extra towels, plates, drying racks, etc). They all felt terrible about small it was, though, so for the second year, they got my fiance and me a huge 3 bedroom apartment that is just 10 minutes walking from both of our schools. A family of FIVE had been living there right before we moved in! The space is awesome.

If you pay your dues to the tiny office tel life and you aren't an ignorant, rude, or lazy teacher, your school has no reason to upgrade you as long as it's not too expensive for them. My school and my fiance's school both put in 600,000 a month, which is really nice of them because they're only required to pay 500,000 a month.

However, I had some friends with office tels who worked for hagwons and there rooms were a LOT bigger than mine.

-ginger

Sorry about the late reply. All this 2PM nonsense made me want to stay away for a bit. You are really lucky. A lot of people I know do end up with good places, but some people have ended up with shietholes and it's great your school cares about you. I've been fighting my BF's school to let him get a new place that costs the same as the old, but their accountant is this old fart who's too lazy to do anything that doesn't directly benefit him.

Also, it depends on the district, really, ginger, I'm sure you know this. Someone who works in Anyang is bound to have a bigger place than someone in Kangnam. Because, really, it's all about the money.

I know I sound pretty bitter about Korea. Don't get me wrong. I've had some good times here. But a lot of times, I'm ashamed that I'm even part Korean.

[twinkl]

I'm most likely leaving the US in October to teach in Korea for a year, and I'm really flooded with a mess of conflicting emotions. On one hand, it's exciting to get a chance to live/work in another country--especially since it's my "motherland" and I'll be able to reconnect with my roots. On the other hand, it's only been a little over a month since I started considering living/working in Korea and it makes me super anxious to leave my comfortable little US life behind (actually, it's pretty uncomfortable, but more familiar--the status quo is easy, right?). I know I'll keep in touch with my friends and everyone I care about (and cares about me), but... I just tense up... and wake up feeling sick to my stomach when I think about leaving.

I think I'm essentially trying to wade out the recession. This teaching position is aligned with my career interests, but if this were 2~3 years ago I would definitely not be considering teaching anything in Korea. Of course, this could be a blessing in disguise because it's forcing me to be creative with my career. It's such a weird feeling because it's great... and scary. Anyone want to try to explain to me what it is I'm feeling? And tell me everything will be okay? ....

[Yubumsuk]

In case anyone's wondering what a typical teacher's studio apartuh is like this fascinating guy will tell you in all the detail you could possibly want to know: http://www.youtube.com/user/EngrishTeacherRyan

[ginger]

Sorry about the late reply. All this 2PM nonsense made me want to stay away for a bit. You are really lucky. A lot of people I know do end up with good places, but some people have ended up with shietholes and it's great your school cares about you. I've been fighting my BF's school to let him get a new place that costs the same as the old, but their accountant is this old fart who's too lazy to do anything that doesn't directly benefit him.

Also, it depends on the district, really, ginger, I'm sure you know this. Someone who works in Anyang is bound to have a bigger place than someone in Kangnam. Because, really, it's all about the money.

I know I sound pretty bitter about Korea. Don't get me wrong. I've had some good times here. But a lot of times, I'm ashamed that I'm even part Korean.

Er, Anyang isn't even in Seoul, so comparing it to a place IN Seoul doesn't really count. But anyway, I have had friends in my district with tiny ass apartments and friends in Gangnam area with much, much bigger places...both at public school. It really is a toss up. I, too, have a friend with housing issues right now. He recently got married and his wife came over to teach here, too. He had told his school all year that they were going to need a place together, and his school agreed but never seemed to get on the ball. So finally, his wife shows up from after orientation, she is placed at a school close to his, BUT her school had neglected to look at the papers where it said she was MARRIED and had a HUSBAND nearby...so they bought separate housing for her. Now, he's trying to get his school to get them a place together but his school is like, "We didn't know this and we just signed another 3 month contract for you to stay in your officetel, so can't you and your wife just live separately for 3 months?" W...T...F? They are a MARRIED COUPLE in their mid-30s and their schools are asking if they can live apart just because they don't want to pay a cancellation fee. That is soooo messed up. You know they wouldn't dream of asking a newly wed (literally, he had been here for a year, went home for a month, got married, and then she came to Korea. They've been married for less than a month) Korean couple to just live in separate apartments. I can't believe his school. Freaking terrible.

-ginger

[Trejiiten]

Er, Anyang isn't even in Seoul, so comparing it to a place IN Seoul doesn't really count. But anyway, I have had friends in my district with tiny ass apartments and friends in Gangnam area with much, much bigger places...both at public school. It really is a toss up. I, too, have a friend with housing issues right now. He recently got married and his wife came over to teach here, too. He had told his school all year that they were going to need a place together, and his school agreed but never seemed to get on the ball. So finally, his wife shows up from after orientation, she is placed at a school close to his, BUT her school had neglected to look at the papers where it said she was MARRIED and had a HUSBAND nearby...so they bought separate housing for her. Now, he's trying to get his school to get them a place together but his school is like, "We didn't know this and we just signed another 3 month contract for you to stay in your officetel, so can't you and your wife just live separately for 3 months?" W...T...F? They are a MARRIED COUPLE in their mid-30s and their schools are asking if they can live apart just because they don't want to pay a cancellation fee. That is soooo messed up. You know they wouldn't dream of asking a newly wed (literally, he had been here for a year, went home for a month, got married, and then she came to Korea. They've been married for less than a month) Korean couple to just live in separate apartments. I can't believe his school. Freaking terrible.

-ginger

this is rather cynical, but in all honesty, that sort of thing does not surprise me whatsoever in a country that preaches "friendliness" and yet pulls off something like what happened to your friend.






Housing is a pain, literally. You can have an awesome place, or you can have the tiniest hole in the wall ANYWHERE in Korea. These schools don't really care where they put you. they see it as "you're here to work, we're providing all of this for you, so don't complain." In a sense, that's true and we SHOULD be happy about it. However, this also harms their image for the rest of the world (which Korea cares SO MUCH about yet isn't really doing anything to change their image) as the teachers say how they got screwed over.

Many places, public and private combined, will always say "ok," and then when the time comes say, "you never said that."

If you get a crappy place, and they don't bother to try and move you, then you'll have to take things into your own hands and find your own place. It's very hard to do, and it costs a lot, but it's better simply because if you change jobs, you don't need to move out.

[Yubumsuk]

this is rather cynical, but in all honesty, that sort of thing does not surprise me whatsoever in a country that preaches "friendliness" and yet pulls off something like what happened to your friend.






Housing is a pain, literally. You can have an awesome place, or you can have the tiniest hole in the wall ANYWHERE in Korea. These schools don't really care where they put you. they see it as "you're here to work, we're providing all of this for you, so don't complain." In a sense, that's true and we SHOULD be happy about it. However, this also harms their image for the rest of the world (which Korea cares SO MUCH about yet isn't really doing anything to change their image) as the teachers say how they got screwed over.

This is perhaps Korea's greatest irony - it's so obsessed with projected a 'good' image, but so hopeless at doing the things that actually would impress foreigners, unless it's a matter of treating visiting Asian businessmen to a night on the town with bargirls.

Mr Kim: I hear the foriegn teachers in our school district are unhappy and have a bad impression of us. I think there's still a few million won left in the waegook petty cash fund after we finished skimming a bit off the top.

Mr Park: What could we do to create a better image of Korea for them?

Mr Lee: Why don't we take them all to a kimchi-making festival on their day off.

Mr Kim: That's a great idea. Mr Park, you charter a bus to leave at 7AM on Saturday. Mr Lee, you send a notice around to all the schools telling the foreigners to show up by 6.45.

Mr Park: Then in the afternoon we can climb a mountain and they can enjoy beautiful Korean scenery.

Mr Lee: And on the way back there's that restaurant that makes that delicious spicy fishhead soup with extra fish bones. Let's take them there.

Mr Kim: Fantastic. And then after that someone can take the female foriegners to a sauna and we'll take the male teachers to the rooms salon.

Mr Park and Mr Lee: Assah!

Mr Kim: Then I'm sure the foreigners will all really appreciate us.

[Trejiiten]

This is perhaps Korea's greatest irony - it's so obsessed with projected a 'good' image, but so hopeless at doing the things that actually would impress foreigners, unless it's a matter of treating visiting Asian businessmen to a night on the town with bargirls.

Mr Kim: I hear the foriegn teachers in our school district are unhappy and have a bad impression of us. I think there's still a few million won left in the waegook petty cash fund after we finished skimming a bit off the top.

Mr Park: What could we do to create a better image of Korea for them?

Mr Lee: Why don't we take them all to a kimchi-making festival on their day off.

Mr Kim: That's a great idea. Mr Park, you charter a bus to leave at 7AM on Saturday. Mr Lee, you send a notice around to all the schools telling the foreigners to show up by 6.45.

Mr Park: Then in the afternoon we can climb a mountain and they can enjoy beautiful Korean scenery.

Mr Lee: And on the way back there's that restaurant that makes that delicious spicy fishhead soup with extra fish bones. Let's take them there.

Mr Kim: Fantastic. And then after that someone can take the female foriegners to a sauna and we'll take the male teachers to the rooms salon.

Mr Park and Mr Lee: Assah!

Mr Kim: Then I'm sure the foreigners will all really appreciate us.

HAHAHA only if you have male bosses

If it's female, it's more along the lines of: make a year's worth of homework, do report cards with paragraphs of praise and absolutely NO negativity, write tests, create lesson plans, make projects, type plays, fix the computer, mop the floor, clean the classroom...oh, and you will get no overtime for this...BY TOMORROW MORNING (I worked for female employers for 3 years, EVERYTHING was last minute, so much so that it went from ridiculous to down-right "at the sound of the foreigners screaming, it is exactly 2:30 pm"). "OF course they like working for me, afterall, I'm beautiful and I have 10 Louis Vuitton bags. Everyone envies me~" tends to be their mindset







now this doesn't mean "DONT COME TO KOREA" so don't get scared ^^;;

[ginger]

This is perhaps Korea's greatest irony - it's so obsessed with projected a 'good' image, but so hopeless at doing the things that actually would impress foreigners, unless it's a matter of treating visiting Asian businessmen to a night on the town with bargirls.

Mr Kim: I hear the foriegn teachers in our school district are unhappy and have a bad impression of us. I think there's still a few million won left in the waegook petty cash fund after we finished skimming a bit off the top.

Mr Park: What could we do to create a better image of Korea for them?

Mr Lee: Why don't we take them all to a kimchi-making festival on their day off.

Mr Kim: That's a great idea. Mr Park, you charter a bus to leave at 7AM on Saturday. Mr Lee, you send a notice around to all the schools telling the foreigners to show up by 6.45.

Mr Park: Then in the afternoon we can climb a mountain and they can enjoy beautiful Korean scenery.

Mr Lee: And on the way back there's that restaurant that makes that delicious spicy fishhead soup with extra fish bones. Let's take them there.

Mr Kim: Fantastic. And then after that someone can take the female foriegners to a sauna and we'll take the male teachers to the rooms salon.

Mr Park and Mr Lee: Assah!

Mr Kim: Then I'm sure the foreigners will all really appreciate us.

AMAZING.

I don't know why there is such a confusion about how to promote a good image for Korea. For instance, I was watching one of those Korea Sparkling tv programs on Discovery Channel, where it is supposed to show modern, dynamic Korea to the rest of the world. Um...it went on FOREVER talking about the freaking subway system engineering and that was about it. Lame. Seriously, they pay all this money for this hour long documentary for Discovery channel and we get endless, badly dubbed topics about how the GPS in the taxi works? Who is APPROVING this stuff?


Also, I work at a public school, so we have lots of cool activities that the students do. They do cultural things, like special cooking classes, learning how to make traditional Korean toys, visiting museums/temples, watching Korean dance/drama performances, etc. These are ALL on Saturdays or on special school holidays. So I have voiced multiple, MULTIPLE times: I would LOVE to do this stuff. No one has to look after me or babysit me. I just want to bring my camera and have the opportunity to do these things. And they NEVER tell me. They keep going, "Oh, wait, you wanted to do it!?! I'm sorry! I didn't think you'd want to wake up early on Saturday morning!!" I have told them so many times that I would gladly sacrifice a few hours of morning sleep if it meant seeing a really cool performance or learning how to make traditional Korean dishes. People within my district have complained about this during the meetings that we have with the Korean co-teachers, and all the Koreans are always shocked that we WANT to participate.

It's like...HONESTLY...we are living in this country. Do they really believe that we have no interest in doing these cool, cultural things? I really don't understand. It's like I'm talking to a brick wall.

-ginger

[Trejiiten]

AMAZING.

I don't know why there is such a confusion about how to promote a good image for Korea. For instance, I was watching one of those Korea Sparkling tv programs on Discovery Channel, where it is supposed to show modern, dynamic Korea to the rest of the world. Um...it went on FOREVER talking about the freaking subway system engineering and that was about it. Lame. Seriously, they pay all this money for this hour long documentary for Discovery channel and we get endless, badly dubbed topics about how the GPS in the taxi works? Who is APPROVING this stuff?


Also, I work at a public school, so we have lots of cool activities that the students do. They do cultural things, like special cooking classes, learning how to make traditional Korean toys, visiting museums/temples, watching Korean dance/drama performances, etc. These are ALL on Saturdays or on special school holidays. So I have voiced multiple, MULTIPLE times: I would LOVE to do this stuff. No one has to look after me or babysit me. I just want to bring my camera and have the opportunity to do these things. And they NEVER tell me. They keep going, "Oh, wait, you wanted to do it!?! I'm sorry! I didn't think you'd want to wake up early on Saturday morning!!" I have told them so many times that I would gladly sacrifice a few hours of morning sleep if it meant seeing a really cool performance or learning how to make traditional Korean dishes. People within my district have complained about this during the meetings that we have with the Korean co-teachers, and all the Koreans are always shocked that we WANT to participate.

It's like...HONESTLY...we are living in this country. Do they really believe that we have no interest in doing these cool, cultural things? I really don't understand. It's like I'm talking to a brick wall.

-ginger

Instead of asking, you might just have to show up on every 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month and either ask your students, or on the off-chance get lucky to see something like that. They will probably never tell you unless they're told to tell you by the principal (or complaining parents). Those classes are primarily tests, extra material covered, and club meetings. There's probably something going on next Saturday too. Ask your students next week what's going on that Saturday with their clubs, they might tell you something if they're excited about what they're doing.


ALSO....

Speaking of complaining parents (not really related with teaching or whatnot), my friend (who's a 위국인 교수님 at 한국외국대학교) told me a rather interesting story. He's got a friend who's an officer in the army (ROK soldier) here in Korea. Here's a basic run-down of some things that go on:
1. new recruits are basically all babies who've never done anything physical and don't want to do anything (there's always a select few who actually ARE men in the traditional sense).
2. Superior officers cannot cuss at or belittle their soldiers. They can't do anything to make the soldiers feel the least bit shamed for not doing something properly. Now you might think that's not a bad idea, but the fact of the matter is recruits and all that need to hold a certain level of respect and a certain amount of fear for their commanding officer. If there is none of that, then they will never follow orders. That's a reason why people like drill sergeants curse so much.
3. Physical Training (PT) is more or less a joke of a punishment.
4. If someone is punished, and tells mommy or daddy, the officer in charge could get demoted or fired. Of course for this to happen, the parents must have some sort of sway or be of important families.

Sounds to me like this is a 2-year day camp if parents have sway over the friggin MILITARY. It explains so much as to why there are guys who do 3 months of basic training, then get desk jobs for the remainder of their military service period (ex. 하하, from 무한도전 and other variety shows. he's got a desk position because of his father's religious relationships and his family's connections). I wonder if they even have arts & crafts (hehe). The weirdest thing about all of this is that they come out as "men" yet they did nothing nearly as taxing and demanding as their counterparts in other countries

[ginger]

^ I don't know...I had a lot of Korean friends who had been in the Korean marines and they all said that they hated it, their officers were Tom Cruise, etc. However, they all also possessed an insane about of self-discipline both physically and mentally, and were really good about getting their jobs done without complaining.

-ginger

[Yubumsuk]

Instead of asking, you might just have to show up on every 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month and either ask your students, or on the off-chance get lucky to see something like that. They will probably never tell you unless they're told to tell you by the principal (or complaining parents). Those classes are primarily tests, extra material covered, and club meetings. There's probably something going on next Saturday too. Ask your students next week what's going on that Saturday with their clubs, they might tell you something if they're excited about what they're doing.


ALSO....

Speaking of complaining parents (not really related with teaching or whatnot), my friend (who's a 위국인 교수님 at 한국외국대학교) told me a rather interesting story. He's got a friend who's an officer in the army (ROK soldier) here in Korea. Here's a basic run-down of some things that go on:
1. new recruits are basically all babies who've never done anything physical and don't want to do anything (there's always a select few who actually ARE men in the traditional sense).
2. Superior officers cannot cuss at or belittle their soldiers. They can't do anything to make the soldiers feel the least bit shamed for not doing something properly. Now you might think that's not a bad idea, but the fact of the matter is recruits and all that need to hold a certain level of respect and a certain amount of fear for their commanding officer. If there is none of that, then they will never follow orders. That's a reason why people like drill sergeants curse so much.
3. Physical Training (PT) is more or less a joke of a punishment.
4. If someone is punished, and tells mommy or daddy, the officer in charge could get demoted or fired. Of course for this to happen, the parents must have some sort of sway or be of important families.

Sounds to me like this is a 2-year day camp if parents have sway over the friggin MILITARY. It explains so much as to why there are guys who do 3 months of basic training, then get desk jobs for the remainder of their military service period (ex. 하하, from 무한도전 and other variety shows. he's got a desk position because of his father's religious relationships and his family's connections). I wonder if they even have arts & crafts (hehe). The weirdest thing about all of this is that they come out as "men" yet they did nothing nearly as taxing and demanding as their counterparts in other countries

I don't know - I think it really varies from unit to unit. I had a friend who did two years in a special forces unit and he literally has the scars to prove it (including a cigarette burn). That was about ten years ago, though. Four years ago I was up by the DMZ and saw what looked like a platoon of soldiers in the push up position with an officer standing over them with a stick, looking exactly like a class of high school students who'd pissed off their teacher.

BTW, does your friend at HUFS know a colleague named Douglas from Canada (shorter guy with a long pony tail and glasses)?


PS: I also work Saturdays (every 1st, 3rd, and if there is one 5th Saturday of every month) like regular Korean teachers do. I don't know about other schools but I can tell you not much happens at mine. We teach CA classes, which most students regard as time-killing, and once in a while have an assembly, but for the most part all it accomplishes is making everyone get up early and torpedo a weekend.