Work environment in South Korea
Hi, I'm Jackie.
I'm a native Korean who's living in Korea. (Don't ask me are you from North Korea or South Korea! No one from North Korea is allowed to go abroad and talk to you guys) I've been noticed many of my American friends and some of my friends from another country are dreaming about Asian life and so into Korean culture. Yes, we have lots of fascinating cultures like k-pop, pretty little fancy cosmetics business, drastically changing fashion trend, aegyo culture(acting cute), caring relationship culture which is a bit different with western culture when it comes to expressing one's feeling, and what else.. ah, extreme food culture. But putting aside all these, I'd like to talk about a working environment first. I'm pretty sure that this will break your fantasies about Korea!
We were under a dictatorship in 70s. Many people died and we had some national activities that everyone was forced to do. 'The New Town Movement'. It wasn't just a social movement. People at that time actually were forced to wake up at a certain time and needed to sing a song, dance to the music. Pretty funny, huh?
Our people has worked from dawn to dawn. I mean, people couldn't sleep enough because of heavy work. The workers didn't get paid enough..
Since it hasn't been that long from then to now, we still have that work environment. General workers can't earn enough considering our national GDP level or the companies' sales profit. And we still overwork. 'Work and life balance' and 'quitting a job' are the most trendy words talked by many young people nowadays. Especially between people who are between 20s and 30s.
There's a saying, "You can always meet Koreans in any country". That's pretty true. We immigrant a lot. Moreover, here in Korea, English proficiency and a degree from the United States or some other English speaking countries are very welcome. People who studied abroad usually can get a better chance, treated better at their work, get paid more. Even though the person's English or the person's understanding of the field is not better than people who studied in Korea. But very recently, these benefits to international students have been decreasing.
And the unemployment rate is so high these days. There was a war of degree. You study every day to night at school(high school ends at 10pm to 11pm) and not being allowed to do anything else but studying is a pretty common thing for South Korean students. I always went to 3 to 6 different private academies since I was 6 or 7. More than 50% of high school graduators study more than 1 year to enter a university after graduating high school. In the previous 20 years, studying more than 3 years to go to a specific university they wanna enter was not a weird thing. Moreover, University graduated students commonly get hired at least 1 years after graduated.
All this crazy degree, and studying thing happens because of the highest density of population and competition. Everyone wants to get a better position, so people don't satisfy even if they get an admission to a school or get hired. Because that can't guarantee the standard of living.
The point of this long demonstration is, KOREAN PEOPLE ARE HELLA BUSY AND COMPETITIVE. So they want everything to be so fast! And everything is actually going fast here. Like, you'll get your chicken delivered to your room in 30 mins after you ordered it. This is a benefit of high competition and hardworking culture. Everything is so convenient. When you call a customer center, they are very professional and kind like a robot, you get what you want immediately. Not to mention that high level of working ability is expected to the workers in Korea, only except new employees who just stepped into the society.
Additionally, to talk about the capabilities commonly required for English teachers here in Korea is like below.
1. A University degree is preferred than a college degree
2. You need a TESOL certification as a teacher for schools.
(But not a mandatory for private academy teachers)
3. I really don't like to say this, but white people are preferred.
Korean people are not familiar to foreigners who have a different skin tone. It's getting better, but still existing when it comes to getting a
job here. Because your appearance is also a key element in a job market.
4. They want a specific teaching style, and it depends on what kind of language school you apply for.
5. You always should be aware of that Koreans you work with are not your friends. They want to be treated like a boss who has a big power. I'm pretty sure most of them are pretty hard-going people.
6. If you have a chance to have a meal with your coworkers, then you'd better take it. Sometimes it can make your work life much
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