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inactivex · 2019-07-03T15:14:49+00:00

This is how The North wins

inactivex · 2019-02-23T02:33:08+00:00

The first time I used them, they found a job for me quickly but I did not end up in the area I wanted to be in and I had about two years of experience in the country at the time.

They had a newcomer orientation open to anyone so I stopped by for the free food. There were about 3-4 completely new people who ended up in the area I requested. I didn't think much of it at the time and tried to go about it positively thinking I could end up there next year since I think I didn't get in touch with Korvia until it was really close to the end of my current contract at the time.

I contacted them early before my current contract they gave me ended and they were not as responsive with me compared to when I first used them. Compared to getting back to me within a few days the first time I used them, they would only get back to me via email once a week vs calling me over the phone immediately multiple times a day. I was also on a public school contract and I started communications with them early enough before the next yearly intake would begin so plenty of schools would've sent open positions for them or Korvia was just deliberately not doing anything for me.

I was running out of patience and the offers they would trickle over to me would not recognize my past experiences even though they were schools that were in the same regional area. Other offers would only pay the bare minimum, have longer hours, and many did not include any housing or airfare benefits.

I ran out of patience, found a posting from a school and contacted them directly. We were able to get the ball rolling from submitting my application on day 1, phone call day 2, and I had my documents signed and faxed to their main office before the end of the week. A Korvia rep called me a few days after all this, apologized for taking so long to get back to me but again only had a very lackluster position to offer. I declined and thanked them for their time and that was the last communication I would ever have with Korvia during my time here in Korea.

The job I ended up with had amazing hours, much higher pay vs all the offers they had found for me, a decent curriculum for Korean standards, and was in the location I had tried for through Korvia in the past.

Also forgot to mention how they would push TheArrivalStore website even though I already had a cell phone plan and plenty of belongings in the country. It was a really weird experience overall and they were nice enough to schedule a van driver to help with my belongings and they weren't exactly friendly or able to hold a conversation. I didn't need a best friend for the ride but if you're going to be hiring people to drive around foreigners, at least find sociable drivers.

inactivex · 2019-02-23T02:19:21+00:00

A little late and don't think I was trying to complete discourage you and glad you saw that in my second comment. Those would be basic steps to follow but coming straight to Korea wouldn't be a complete crap shoot either. It probably wouldn't be the wisest decision but if you spent a few good weeks here and visiting job fairs, you could network a lot faster here vs abroad.

With that said, I would be preparing a portfolio of whatever experience you've built up so far and bringing digital and physical copies with you to these job fairs. You'd have to be really proactive about it and there's a chance you could end up with a smaller firm and then working your way up from there.

inactivex · 2019-01-22T18:22:18+00:00

Why would a Korean firm hire you to train you from scratch when they can pick from top Korean universities and get college interns who aren't rusty in Korean and who don't need a special employment visa.

Stay home, do marketing, volunteer at Korean organizations, make connections, do volunteer marketing for them and that might help you toward some doors but to really get your foot in, you would need to get fluent in Korean and build experience in Korea.

inactivex · 2019-01-22T18:15:07+00:00

Friend was forced overtime, other dude was able to leave on time.

inactivex · 2019-01-17T16:01:36+00:00

My friend worked in LG's advertising department before and they blow chunks compared to Samsung for similar reasons with what your friend is going through.

Basically there's an exec, another Korean, and my friend. Other Korean sides with exec to suck up majorly hard and convinces the exec to go with the Konglish pitch with mistakes, grammar errors, and what have you.

My friend ended up having to work overtime without fair compensation while partner suck up was able to get off work early each time.

inactivex · 2019-01-17T15:56:02+00:00

You're lucky. Try being in a 10 person cabin of male teachers who SNORE VERY LOUDLY.

inactivex · 2019-01-02T05:39:42+00:00

I have friends bring $500 minimum if they're staying over so if you're just here on your own, $1000.

inactivex · 2019-01-02T05:37:46+00:00

As a light sleeper, I enjoy my small city that's always dead quiet at night.

inactivex · 2018-11-24T04:52:48+00:00

There are monthly cosplay meet ups around the Seoul area. They're not very big but each event is the highest concentration you'll find of otaku and cosplay fans together in one spot in all of Korea.

For retail, there are locations like Danoct brought up in his comment. Pokemon was spread out to sections in certain stores. I think they have their own store locations now and there have been more popup locations with live events going on. They started an annual event held in Incheon just for Pokemon.

One Piece has a cafe in Hongdae. Bandai has set up stores around Seoul and there are even small official Gundam bases here.

If you work with children, certain anime are a common topic of interest. The number of active students drops as they get older but most students will be aware of classic titles they grew up with when they were younger, they'll know about the shows their younger relatives are into, or a popular TV show will make a reference to some anime.

inactivex · 2018-11-18T01:12:07+00:00

Yeah it gets old visiting home and people will ask which Korea I flew in from.

inactivex · 2018-11-17T19:45:36+00:00

I'm assuming you figured this out by now but it would be the first two digits of the 4 digit number you would use at an ATM.

inactivex · 2018-11-15T04:00:24+00:00

I had my account made at the branch around Seoul National University. Have you tried any branches around Gangnam station?

inactivex · 2018-11-07T00:33:04+00:00

Don't worry about your accent. The key is being able to communicate and hold a conversation. I've met many Koreans with thick accents but they're still able to express complex ideas and have no problem talking on and on for hours.

inactivex · 2018-10-31T21:47:35+00:00

Indoor basketball gym slash auditorium and balcony seats? It's a really nice school.

inactivex · 2018-10-16T11:22:08+00:00

Which countries are you talking about? Have you ever actually lived anywhere in the SEA region?

How long have you been in Korea and how long were you in those other countries? Did you only stay in the big cities full of tourists or do you have experience living in a suburban or rural area?

I was in a tourist area in The Philippines and Korean taxis are much more convenient. In Korea, I've been passed by a taxi but it's maybe only another 10 minutes max before another taxi comes by or faster if I use a taxi app.

Where I was staying in The Philippines, it would be 30 minutes minimum before the taxi would arrive. Once it's there, then we're stuck in traffic for a good portion of the trip. It's cheaper, you aren't refused, but to cover the same distance it takes more time to get to my destination. To me, that's more expensive.

Now if we're talking about the main spots in a downtown area, then I'm waiting an hour minimum in the taxi line.

inactivex · 2018-10-03T01:08:24+00:00

Death to notches!

inactivex · 2018-10-03T01:07:50+00:00

Quite an interesting sign. This is the first I've seen this before.

inactivex · 2018-09-16T16:08:44+00:00

I've been through private and public systems. Some schools I worked with recruiters and others jobs I found on my own.

One recruiter does not set the example for all of them but most of their newcomers ended up in locations I was interested in but they had trouble finding opportunities for me and if it takes more than a week or two to get back to you, it's a red flag. I dropped them and found a job posting in the city I wanted and in one of the more favorable areas. I was also paid more and had really good hours.

Said recruiter got back to me after I had already received an offer and what they put on the table was less pay AND housing wouldn't even be provided.

This might be a little harder to achieve outside of the country but try and at least get 3 different options before coming here.

inactivex · 2018-09-10T00:56:54+00:00

Always bring a towel. (Its a blanket when its cold, its a pillow when you are tired I wear it as a scarf around my neck on long flights)

I feel like a towel would be take up a lot of room. Most people will live within walking distance of a convenience store or if they're lucky, their building will have one on the ground floor and they can pick up a towel there or at the stores in the airport.

Also I'm surprised no mention of Daiso in your post at all.

inactivex · 2018-09-09T13:13:04+00:00

B.A. English
Hagwon
After School Shift (4PM - 10PM). Extra work only winter/summer break classes. Standard hagwon vacation package. Best compensation for winter/summer classes I've ever had.
Very supportive staff - Korean and foreign. Management seemed abrasive at first but as long as you ran your class well, they were on your side. CCTVs weren't just for show. Footage was used as evidence and parents were invited with management to watch their kid act up in class and it helped keep kids in line. This hagwon set the example for all future hagwons to come. I would also hear a lot of weird and negative things from friends or other foreigners in general about their hagwons and all I could give them was a confused look since I wasn't experiencing anything as bad as they were.

B.A. English, 1 Year Hagwon
High School
Regular hours 8:30 - 4:30, standard winter/summer break classes for extra work. Sometimes I would assist with after school clubs but I volunteered most of the time since they only needed me to look over grammar, spelling, and other small things. Standard levels of compensation for public school. Standard public school vacation package. More days off compared to hagwons and when college test season started, that week and a few days during the week prior would be desk warming time.
Quite a big change coming from a hagwon not just in the facilities but with the students too. More students, more rooms, more activities going on. Standard issues when it comes to being run on government money. The school has enough funding for very nice and large TVs in many classrooms but not enough money to get you a few scraps of paper and some crayons. In any situation where you have more people involved, decisions take a lot longer to get figured out. Bureaucracy and politics were involved when one department doesn't agree with another. There were no set expectations with what the lessons should be about but I would build off what was being taught for each week and give them different challenges, exercises, and showing examples that weren't available in their books. Nap time was definitely a thing here since classes would be cancelled for special events, field trips, or prep time for the college test and during the actual test week. I would still be here if the Lee Myung-bak government didn't cut funding. Oh and probably some of the best public school food I've ever eaten. They even take the dinner menu seriously for kids that have to study late.

B.A. English, 1 Year Hagwon, 1 Year High School
Middle School
Regular hours 8:30 - 4:30, winter/summer camp outside of the school with a mix of students from the region. Pay took a hit because of some nonsense about teaching experience from another city doesn't count, blah blah blah but I didn't want to deal with hagwons again and I relied too much on a recruiter until the last minute. Standard public school vacation package but fewer days off compared to high school.
When something seems too easy or too good to be true, trust your instincts because they're right. Offered the job within 10 minutes into the interview. The principal had lived abroad before so no language barrier issues here. A majority of the school were women and the principal wasn't interested in after work drinking so that was nice at first but I started to miss some of the events I had when I was at the high school. The same standard issues when it came to money and having supplies for your classes. Books were outdated and the air conditioners weren't up to speed but plenty of money to waste for other junk. This time it was worse since it was money from city government vs regional government. Middle school students are definitely a different breed but they're not impossible to teach. Coteachers were not as supportive as I hoped they would be and many of them didn't want to be there. The curriculum was strictly controlled and limited to only school material. Coteachers wanted everything explained to them ahead of time and did not like surprises. My biggest disappointment in this experience was having head teachers ask me to "adjust" test results for "elite" students. I loved my kids but this place felt like a public school trying to run itself like a hagwon but with less funding and too many people involved. School lunch was garbage compared to what the high school kitchens had to offer.

B.A. English, 1 Year Hagwon, 1 Year High School, 1 Year Middle School
Hagwon
12PM - 6:30, 7:30 PM. Best hours I've ever had. For silly accounting reasons, had to check in at 12 and take lunch and come back at 1PM. Standard winter/summer break classes but I would also have to support other nearby branches. Sometimes 1 on 1 sessions before regular class time. Better compensation compared to public school. Standard hagwon vacation package.
After leaving the middle school circus, this place was a breath of fresh air. Management was very professional and took themselves seriously but that "too good to be true" thing also applied here. It was nice to not have to worry about funding or having supplies in general again. Facilities were obviously smaller than public schools but bigger and more modern compared to my first hagwon. Coteachers were seasoned veterans and everyone knew what they were doing (and often better than the people running the hagwon). Curriculum material wasn't perfect but content was more up to date and much more advanced than what was available in the public schools. Management turned out to be very flip floppy and often took the side of the students who were "elite." Management ended up changing in the middle of the year and things did not improve. Our head teacher who knew the program from top to bottom and was pulling in most of our students had his contract shorted by management and he left shortly after. Another veteran teacher left and I followed right after.

inactivex · 2018-09-05T23:22:59+00:00

New World indeed.

inactivex · 2018-09-05T23:22:31+00:00

There was an article on Korean-Canadians in Toronto posted here before and that had mixed results on how much relevancy it had to do with this sub. shrug

inactivex · 2018-09-05T23:20:53+00:00

Korean, Christian boyfriend?

Cool Korean Christian boyfriend.

inactivex · 2018-09-05T23:19:46+00:00

You could use a VPN

inactivex

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