Thank you Jon for giving one of the means to inform people truthfully about the situation in
Korea. This is a general advice piece to warn experienced people that it's not worth
bothering to apply for ESL jobs in Korea - mostly.

If you have a higher degree (MA or Phd) you might get a shot at a university job. Might is
the word here to keep in mind because like other countries where ESL or EFL is taught, 
in-country hire is fast taking over.

If you're outside Korea, good luck because you'll need something like luck to even get
considered.

For others who have the standard Bachelor of something, think before you even try to apply
for all those jobs advertised on the net for Korea. It sounds great - so many recruiting
companies advertise 'Hot Jobs', 'Tell us what you want!', 'Outstanding Jobs in Seoul' etc
etc. The truth is different.

You've taught English elsewhere (at home, in Asia, other country)? If yes then you think
that your resume with real experience, cross cultural living, participation in other 
societies' cultures etc is going to get you a job within a reasonable timeframe?

Nope, that's not what's up in Korea.

You see Korean employers, Korean politicians, Korean newspapers and Koreans generally when
they think about foreign English teachers think negative, bitching about how foreigners are 
lazy, take drugs, have sexually transmitted diseases and have no damn idea of how to teach 
English even if they have a work ethic which according to these kinds of Koreans, a lot of 
foreigners do not.


Yes, the society in Korea enjoys a false sense of superiority and enjoys dissing foreigners. 
They have baggage about foreigners who come from the US, etc.


At the same time they whine about and slander foreign English teachers as useless teachers, 
hedonists, and mercenaries who go to Korea to earn money (gee of course Koreans never do 
that outside Korea, all the Koreans who are in other countries working must be there doing 
the countries a favor for free)and above all, claim that these foreigners can't teach, 
Koreans............................... have this weird habit of employing untried, 
inexperienced, just a little experienced foreigners to teach English.


You'd think they'd love your resume and be in your email inbox and on your webcam or 
phoneline telling you that your solid experience has made them line up an interview with an 
employer who is looking for somebody to teach at their hagwon (private school) as a native 
English teacher.

Nope, that aint true in most cases. To get a job in Korea when you're not there and even 
most of the time when you're there and have a small window of opportunity after you've 
finished your job to line up another,you must go through a recruiting company.


Most recruiters don't respect older applicants with experience. They want those newbies who 
have little to show in terms of real employment, young (under 30, preferrably under 26), who 
are fresh graduates.


Many of these 'teachers' don't know how to teach. Period. They can't do a lesson plan for 
any age group. They don't think they need to bring anything and then get super freaked out 
when they are told to teach without anything to help them.


Does the recruiter care? Most of them don't. As long as the young person looks good, 
especially if it's a she with light colored hair who is thin, then you can check numerous 
employers on the list as having their positions filled.


But Korean society is all abou the importance of age....I hear some people protest. Yep, 
I've lived there, worked there too as somebody in the plus 35 age demographic with a resume 
showing responsibility and a solid job history with more than enough English teaching 
experience.


But that idea doesn't take into account that Koreans think age is important............for 
Koreans.

They don't give a flying kimchi fart about your age and experience though they spend most of 
their time when they talk about foreign English teachers bitching about their lack of 
teaching expertise, inability to do their job correctly (though you should take a Korean 
saying this about non Koreans with a huge salt mine)and lack of ability to fit in quickly 
etc etc.


Then when they've fired the teacher they think is a problem or have let the teacher see out 
their contract but bitch about them non-stop and try to wriggle out of paying them what's 
due, they go to another of the recruiters who promise you a 'Hot Job' etc in their ads and 
they say to the recruiter, get me a good teacher this time.


'Good teacher' usually = more of the same because when your culture stresses appearance 
above what you are as a person and what your skills are, then you don't give your hagwon the 
opportunity to get someone who may not look whitebread, blonde, like a model, like a 
stereotype, young, etc, but is experienced, has proved their abilities in other jobs, and 
will actually do the job in your hagwon.


Recruiters are just as bad. They're too busy chasing a commission to say, 'Wait a minute, I 
have the resume of an experienced teacher who has been successful. Sure they're not that 
young and they look fine but they don't look like somebody out of a movie or on tv. But 
their track record shows that they're gonna come in the first day and show you what they can 
do with the minimum of fuss'.


Yes, you can keep the students and parents happy. You know how to lesson plan and keep 
records. You know how to assess. You stay calm under pressure. You can cope with the 
students rude though some of them are.


You will keep the parents happy and when something does come up from them, you can keep the 
problem down at a certain level and it goes away soon enough.


But believe me, most Korean employers of English teachers and schools don't want you. A lot 
of the problem is the flood of unemployed newbies and this has fed the usual Korean problem 
of incompetence mixed with arrogance.


Save yourselves the stress and frustration of putting other things on hold while you run 
around getting expensive copies of documents notarised, with apostilles, etc etc because now 
most recruiters won't consider you without these documents demanded by yet another E-2 visa 
change.

The catch is you usually will be left hanging on waiting for an expression of interest, a 
referral from a recruiter to an employer so you can hook up an interview. So you have these 
documents but you won't be able to use them. Mostly experienced foreigners will just be left 
hanging on, wasting their time.


It aint a thing if you've already worked in Korea. They don't give a damn in most cases. 
Experienced teachers are not wanted in most cases, and a lot of this is because Korean 
recruiters and employers also don't want you because you know what's up. You can't be 
railroaded, cheated easily.


Experienced foreigners - go elsewhere. The horror stories about working in Korea before 2005 
or so aren't heard so much but the problems told here are so institutionalised now, they're 
a new horror story in themselves.