#WorkingInKorea | How to Find Non-Teaching Jobs in Korea + What to Expect

How to get non-teaching jobs in Korea, is a question that I see all over the Internet. People who are on the job hunt for non-teaching careers often find themselves stuck when it comes to finding professional opportunities here. Teaching English is definitely an easy way to get your feet on the ground in Korea since many schools sponsor some of the moving costs if you sign a one-year (extendable) contract. However, not everyone is interested in teaching English and/or qualified to do so.

That doesn't mean that it's impossible to find job opportunities here in Korea. There are many foreigners who transferred to Korea to work at the Korean branch of their company, but there are also quite a number of foreigners who work in Korea that got their jobs after moving to Korea. I am one of the latter. I'm currently interning at a marketing agency, I previously interned at a skincare company, and I also have been contracted by a tourism and culture-related non-profit.

I've compiled some tips to hopefully help others who are going through this same job hunting process!

Side note: every individual's job hunting experience is going to be different. There's no magical formula to land you jobs, and finding a job does take some amount of time whether that's a week or a few months. So, please remember that the advice I give is purely advice.

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I. Use Your Resources

Take full advantage of job hunting websites (for those that can read and understand some Korean already), LinkedIn, Facebook groups, recruiters, and even Craigslist. Many Korean companies that are searching for foreign workers post ads on non-traditional job hunting sites hoping to reach a wider audience.

Check these sites several times per week to make sure you are up to date on all postings!

Specific note on Craigslist: on the home page, click on "Jobs" and then filter out "Education/Teaching" to look at all non-education jobs. Also filter out any other categories that are not specifically what you're looking for. However, beware of some the shady job ads. If the poster hasn't included any identifiable information about the company, such as the name/address/contact information (aka something you could find by Googling them), keep scrolling!

Here are some links to the top Korean job sites!

Saramin

JobKorea

Incruit

Lonely Seoul - Your Questions Answered: Adoption

About three months ago, I posted on Facebook asking people to share questions they had about either my personal adoption story or just questions about adoption in general. This post is to answer those questions as well as to share a few questions that have been commonly been asked.

The answers to these questions are, of course, going to be influenced by my personal story as an adoptee and shouldn't be seen as an answer or all adoptees since every story is so different. There is no way to generalize an entire group of completely unique individuals. However, I hope the answers I've provided can give you a little bit of understanding or at least insight into adoption.

Questions

What was it like growing up with a family that doesn't look like you?

Growing up, I knew I didn't look the same as my family. However, I didn't really care. I was lucky enough to be adopted by parents who treated me the same as their biological children, and I was also in a healthy environment unlike many other adoptees. As an adult, looking different from my family still isn't something that bothers me.

      One thing I can say, though, is that there have been times when I've completely forgotten I don't look like my family. I've seen other adoptees say similar things, and as I get older I've found it rings true with me. What I mean is that sometimes I completely forget I'm Asian. It's kind of hard to explain what I mean, and I know that this kind of thought manifests itself differently in each person. Essentially for me, I often feel as if I am of no particular race or ethnicity. It's kind of an "I'm here, and that's it" kind of feeling. I feel that I'm just something undefinable. Long story short, I'm still figuring this out for myself.

Were you ever made fun of for being adopted?

I was never personally made fun of for being adopted. Interestingly enough, it wasn't until I entered university that I started realizing how little people really know about adoption and how infrequently people have interactions with people who have been adopted, whether domestically or internationally.

      My first year of university was actually as a post-secondary student. (Note: post-secondary means taking university level classes while still in high school to complete both high school and university requirements.) After that first semester, I was left feeling really out of sorts with people, and I felt off-centered. I had never before experienced almost daily comments about my race and origins. I had also never had to explain the fact that I was adopted before to so many people. (Not that I technically owed anyone any kind of explanation.) It kind of felt like a daily routine: go to school, get asked by some stranger about my origins, go to work, get asked by some stranger about my origins, go home, and repeat. It felt like I never got a break. It built up a lot of frustration at other people and self-consciousness and self-doubt inside me about who I was and where I belonged.