I’ve been getting a lot of questions from people from India and the Philippines- in regards to teaching English in Korea.

After searching for a couple of hours this is what I came to the conclusion to:

Short Answer: No.

Long Answer: Yes, but…

The “official” stance is that they allow teachers from countries that have English as their official language. According to Wikipedia both India and the Philippines consider English as an official language. However, when you surf the job boards you’ll notice this:

Requirement: Native English Speaker from (Canada, US, Australia, New Zealand, England, Ireland, South Africa) 

My guess is that after all of these countries they may pick people from India or Philippines.

Unfortunately, its tough luck to those with citizens of those nations not on the list at the moment.

Even if there are more qualified teachers in other countries that may teach English better its not going to be happening any time soon with the bureaucracy.

There is a preferred hierarchy for English teachers (skin color, accent)… but that is an entirely different post.

Photo: Stuck in Customs

One way to make it big in Korea is to be a foreigner who knows how to speak Korean. Make appearances on Korean TV. It also doesn’t help if many people find you attractive.

Hey Guys,

I’ve run out of stuff to write about. What are your top questions about Korea you would like to know?

What kind of stuff should I write about?

For a little incentive, I’ll give away 50,000won to the best question via “Moon Hwa Sang Poom Kwon” (Culture Gift Certificate: good at bookstores, movie theaters, and restaurants)

Thanks for the help.

I got this from one of our readers. Enjoy. Its cool to see that there are creativity amongs us Waygooks.

Living in Korea. I definitely need my English fix. So I surf the web a lot.

I just wanted to share with you an interesting video ad on the net I saw today.

While living in Korea, its easy to forget to focus on the important things.

 Everyone digs jobs with a good reputation and high income, but who doesn’t?

Here are average salaries for jobs in South Korea.

Jobs and Average Salaries in Korea

This table assumes the average English teacher salary is 2.1 million a month without any benefits.

However, according to a recent news paper article via the Marmot’s Hole- some English teachers rake in 5 million a month.

Source: http://know.work.go.kr/know (Korean)

There’s discussion going on the Marmot’s Hole about a Foreign English Teacher’s Union. Personally, I don’t think its going to happen, but I would happy that I be wrong here. You can join the discussion here.

http://www.rjkoehler.com/2008/02/27/an-association-for-foreign-english-teachers/

Super Junior’s (슈퍼쥬니어) ”U.” I guess its cool that other people are getting into the Korean wave.

Photo: cbellphoto

If you have been in Korea for a while, someone has bound to have asked you of what your blood type is. Here is the English explanation. I don’t know if its accurate or not, but its fun.

The Traits

Type O – The Warrior

•  trendsetter
•  loyal
•  passionate
•  self-confident
•  independent
•  ambitious
•  vain
•  jealous

Famous O’s

•  Queen Elizabeth II
•  John Lennon
•  Elvis Presley
•  Liam & Noel Gallagher
•  Paul Newman

Type A – The Farmer

•  calm
•  patient
•  sensitive
•  responsible
•  overcautious
•  stubborn
•  unable to relax

Famous A’s

•  Adolf Hitler
•  George Bush Senior
•  Soseki Natsume
•  Ringo Starr
•  Britney Spears

Type B – The Hunter

•  individualist
•  dislike custom
•  strong
•  optimistic
•  creative
•  flexible
•  wild
•  unpredictable

Famous B’s

•  Akira Kurosawa
•  Paul McCartney
•  Mia Farrow
•  Leonardo Di Caprio
•  Jack Nicholson

Type AB – The Humanist

•  cool
•  controlled
•  rational
•  sociable
•  popular
•  critical
•  sometimes standoffish
•  indecisive

Famous AB’s

•  Jackie Chan
•  Marilyn Monroe
•  John F Kennedy
•  Mick Jagger
•  Alain Prost

What’s your blood type?
Source: Wikipedia, Theppn, Japan Times, Japan Visitor

Mr. Gary Lee has a fascinating posts for Asians and those close to Asians. I’ve quoted it here just in case, but you can find the original post here: http://www.mrgarylee.com/my-most-asian-post-ever/

What Kind Of Asian Are You?

Young Asians in America come in many forms. Below are the major categories. Most Asians fit into multiple groups. For example, Rice-boys can also be Fobs and many Tabs are Fobulous. The only groups that are never part of another group are the Twinkies and the Asian-Americans. Claim your Fobbiness! When you see your Asian friend, greet them with “Wassup Fob!” And if your Asian friend says something ridiculous, say “Fob please!” Of course, when a non-Asian calls you a Fob, that is grounds for a fight. Ahahaha… The categories below are to be taken lightheartedly. Read, recognize and laugh.

Twinkie
- Besides your nationality, there is little to distinguish you from white people
- Your significant other is not Asian and never has been
- You have few Asian friends, if any
- You are embarrassed at family events because you cannot speak your language and everyone has to switch to English to communicate with you
- You have no idea that the other types of Asians on this list even exist
- You think Hello Kitty is dumb and do not know what Sanrio is
- You are the only Asian on this list that does not know what Bubble Tea is
- You drive a Ford or some other domestic car and if you drive a Honda, it is stock

Asian-American
- You claim yourself as Asian, but real Asians think you’re whitewashed and non-Asians see you as a foreigner. You fit in nowhere
- You have heard of Bubble Tea but have never actually had any
- You are confused about your cultural identity and express this frustration through spoken word performances at your college
- You read A. magazine and think it’s great
- You do not know who Edison, Jay Chou, Ayu, or G.O.D. are
- You are only vaguely aware of the other Asians below

Yap (Young Asian Professional)
- You are in one of these professions:
a) Medicine / Pharmaceutical
b) Engineering
c) Finance
d) Investment Banking
e) Accounting
- Most of your wardrobe was purchased at Banana Republic
- You go to “mixers” on Thursday nights to meet other Yaps and talk about the Dow Jones.
- You did exactly what your parents wanted you to do and as a result, your life is hella boring
- Your apartment/home is decorated almost exclusively with stuff from Pier 1
- Your parents always talk to their friends about how much money you make. If they don’t, then you’re a dissapointment

Fob (Fresh Off tha Boat)
- You were not born in America
- You know who Edison, Jay Chou, Ayu, or G.O.D. are. In fact, you have seen them at Atlantic City or Las Vegas recently
- You speak your native language fluently and so do all your friends
- You do not have any non-Asian friends
- Your parents do not speak any English
- When you speak English, you like to make everything plural
- You get extremely good grades in school
- You cannot dance
- Your fashion sense comes from whatever country you’re from and you incorporate nothing from American fashion into your wardrobe

SuperFob
- Your command of the English language is minimal and you don’t care
- You like dim sum chicken feet
- You do not own a single CD, VCD, Video game, or DVD that isn’t bootlegged
- Your only hangout is Chinatown
- All the lights in your house are fluorescent
- You dry your cloths outside your window
- You need a haircut
- You either smell like cigarettes or food

Fobabee
- You are an Asian-American or Twinkie who has recently “awoken”
- You have a newly found fetish of Asian girls/boys
- You have taken the Asian Studies course at college
- You are trying to learn as much as possible about your culture to make up for your lifetime of trying to be white (Twinkie ; Banana) or Black (Chigger ; Tea egg)
- If you are lucky, you will grow to become Fobulous

Gangsta Fob (Fobsta)
- You have shot another Asian
- Your favorite hangout is a pool hall
- When you talk, you sound like a cross between a Fob and an urban black kid
- Your hair looks silly, but no one will tell you because you’ll shoot them
- You have a serious gambling problem
- You are a Rice-boy, but your mods are cheap and are never painted to match the rest of your car
- No one tells you your rice ride looks cheap because you’ll shoot them
- You want to have a Tab girlfriend, but can only get Hoochie Tabs

Tab (Trendy Asian B*tch)
- You shop at A/X, Bebe and Club Monaco
- You only wear black and will occasionally wear white to “mix it up”
- You do not weigh more than 105 lbs
- You have never paid for dinner at a restaurant in your life
- Platform heels are your favorite
- You are a makeup expert, in fact, you appear completely flawless
- You do not smile in public
- You are the object of desire of all Asian men and you know it
- You smoke
- Your cell phone is completely customized
- Somewhere in your purse is a Sanrio item
- You only date Asian and will only date a boy with a nice car
- You are often seen with Rice-boys
- You never travel alone. You are either in the company of other Tabs or your Rice-boy boyfriend

Hoochie Tab
- You are an import car model
- Your boobs are not real
- There are naked pictures of you floating around on the internet somewhere
- Clear heels are your favorite
- Your role models are Tila Nguyen and Kaila Yu
- Your boyfriend is a Gangsta Fob
- You cheat on your boyfriend
- Unlike most Asians, you do not do well in school

Rice-Boy
- You drive an Asian import. Usually a Honda or Acura
- Your souped up car (known as a Rice-ride or Rice-rocket) is unrecognizable from it’s original stock form
- Your exhaust pipe is big enough for your head to fit in
- The spoiler on your car looks like it was made by Boeing
- The interior of your car also looks like it was designed by Boeing
- You always drive like you are racing someone
- You are not afraid of dying in a crash, but you are afraid of speed bumps and parking lot on-ramps
- The only other person besides yourself who can sit in your car is your 105 lbs Tab girlfriend. If anyone else sits in your car, the entire bottom of it will be touching the ground
- Even though your car is a Honda, it goes faster and is worth more than a Lotus Esprit

Fobulous
- You speak perfect English and you are fluent in your native language
- You have Asian friends as well as non-Asian friends
- You listen to Asian pop as well as American music
- You are equally aware of both popular American culture and Asian pop culture
- You are a good dancer
- You date Asian by choice even though you could rock the opposite sex of any other race
- You are a good designer and have superior Html skills (for that fly MySpace / Xanga page)
- For you, FOB stands for Fabulous Oriental Being
- You have lots of Asian pride