Does anyone know if Korea accepts degrees mentioned on this forum.

[nomaduser]

It's because you didn't say it was done online. South Korea is extremely strict about their own college education btw.
Average South Korean middle school and high school students spend $12k per year on personal & private education just get into better universities.

[rachel83az]

It's because you didn't say it was done online. South Korea is extremely strict about their own college education btw.
Average South Korean middle school and high school students spend $12k per year on personal  & private education just get into better universities.

Dunno why you dislike online universities so much and yet continue to hang out here where we discuss almost nothing but online unis, but that's another subject entirely.

Most people don't bother to state (nor ask) whether you got your degree online. And Asia, in general, is notorious for being hyper-competitive regarding university. People DIE when they get a lower score than expected on entrance exams. Thankfully, we don't have to deal with that here!

[nomaduser]

I think some distance learning programs are OK but in Japan or South Korea, they may see it differently. To them, the only valid degree is traditional 4-year university education.

[collegecareerstudent]

I found my job through a job forum. I went to Dave's ESL Cafe. I enjoyed working there, and I even got engaged to a Korean boy at one point (his family was not open to foreigners and took every opportunity to say as much, and I don't recommend really dating there). If you're there to make money and get experience, great. Just keep in mind, although Korean people are nice, the experience might be isolating. I firmly believe it is safer and more comfortable for foreign men than women. There is no one size fits all experience. Some hagwons, or private academies, like YBM ECC are pretty good, but there are others that are pretty bad. Proceed with caution and check any institution you interview with online before you apply. Sending money transfers back home is time consuming and must be done through the bank. When I lived there, I had to pay my bills through ATM devices, and despite being a very connected country in terms of wiFi and tech, faxes are heavily relied upon.

It really depends on what you're trying to get out of the experience. I did adopt a samoyed while I was there, so I guess I can say I brought a man home either way, hahah.

It's a good start if you want to save money or continue teaching, or are saving to fund your education. Most schools provide housing for you but most housing units will be small.

They will check that you have an accredited degree. You will have to get an FBI background check with fingerprints. Although getting online degrees is frowned upon, there's no way for them to know without you volunteering that information. In most cases, a qualified degree is a qualified degree. I hope this helps.

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Also, I wouldn't worry where you get your degree from in the US. Even people who go to Seoul National University or Tsinghua here in Beijing, the two top universities in South Korea and China respectively, often would rather have a US diploma. That's the perception.

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They likely won't accept ENEB and will likely raise questions over it. Like, why would a South African go to a school in that country, you know? They want people from those countries who have degrees from those countries. That's the appeal.

Also, even though your half Chinese, at least in China, even if you were born elsewhere, you'd still be treated as Chinese. That'd mean lower wages for you and not as many opportunities as other people. There may be an opportunity here or there, but it'd be a struggle. I hope this helps.

[davewill]

I suspect that it's a lot like here, if you didn't graduate from one of the top ten or so U.S. universities that everyone knows by name, it probably doesn't matter very much where in the U.S. your degree came from.

Fresno State University vs Northern Arizona University vs Thomas Edison State University? Meh.

[Personherebb9]

I found my job through a job forum. I went to Dave's ESL Cafe. I enjoyed working there, and I even got engaged to a Korean boy at one point (his family was not open to foreigners and took every opportunity to say as much, and I don't recommend really dating there). If you're there to make money and get experience, great. Just keep in mind, although Korean people are nice, the experience might be isolating. I firmly believe it is safer and more comfortable for foreign men than women. There is no one size fits all experience. Some hagwons, or private academies, like YBM ECC are pretty good, but there are others that are pretty bad. Proceed with caution and check any institution you interview with online before you apply. Sending money transfers back home is time consuming and must be done through the bank. When I lived there, I had to pay my bills through ATM devices, and despite being a very connected country in terms of wiFi and tech, faxes are heavily relied upon.

It really depends on what you're trying to get out of the experience. I did adopt a samoyed while I was there, so I guess I can say I brought a man home either way, hahah.

It's a good start if you want to save money or continue teaching, or are saving to fund your education. Most schools provide housing for you but most housing units will be small.

They will check that you have an accredited degree. You will have to get an FBI background check with fingerprints. Although getting online degrees is frowned upon, there's no way for them to know without you volunteering that information. In most cases, a qualified degree is a qualified degree. I hope this helps.

---

Also, I wouldn't worry where you get your degree from in the US. Even people who go to Seoul National University or Tsinghua here in Beijing, the two top universities in South Korea and China respectively, often would rather have a US diploma. That's the perception.

---

They likely won't accept ENEB and will likely raise questions over it. Like, why would a South African go to a school in that country, you know? They want people from those countries who have degrees from those countries. That's the appeal.

Also, even though your half Chinese, at least in China, even if you were born elsewhere, you'd still be treated as Chinese. That'd mean lower wages for you and not as many opportunities as other people. There may be an opportunity here or there, but it'd be a struggle.  I hope this helps.

Interesting.. In terms of race. I'm ethnically half Chinese, but I probably know as little about Chinese culture as the rest of South Africa. My grandparents who immigrated (refugees) to South Africa unfortunately already passed by the time I was born. At the time my mom was born, apartheid was still a thing, however laws in regards to Asians were very case-by-case. Most South Africans didn't view Asian people as non-white and because of that many of the discriminatory laws weren't really applicable. (However obviously some laws were). From what my mom told me; her grandparents were given the decision. They could either let my mom grown up in the "white" educational system or no system at all. At the time the educational system was only Afrikaans. So my mom was forced into an Afrikaans school with other white Afrikaans people and hence also didn't really retain any of her Chinese culture or language (other than what my grandparents shared with her before they passed.) I believe she and my dad met their final year in High school and then bam I was born. 

My original plan was to move back to Cape Town, attend UCT and do a bachelors with a double major in CS and Chinese (Mandarin). However, for many reasons that plan did not work out, a part of me still wants do some form of Chinese classes, but since I'm moving to Korea it seems kind of pointless. 

In terms of being a "wasian", I find it really weird and I'm quite interested to see how people would treat me in an Asian country. I'm extremely pale, practically whiter than my entire white-side of the family. While I do have fairly "lidded eyes", I don't really think I have any physical characteristics that would "give me away". Everyone in South Africa just treats me as a white person, which I mean fair, I honestly couldn't care less. But I'm interested to see when I move to Korea, whether or not people would see me as white or Asian. It's like a fun little experiment. 

And as you said "lower wages" why would my ethnicity lower my wage? Does Korea have something against Chinese people? Technically I'm not Chinese (ethnically: yes. Nationality: No), I'm South African, I don't even qualify for Chinese citizenship. Or is that just associated with ethnically Chinese people or maybe Asian people in general? 

This might sound a bit weird, but considering I grew up in South Africa where the only real population of Asian people are Malay, Indian and Chinese, I might be very ignorant in regards to this. BUT, can people even tell apart different Asian ethnicities? Like I'm sure if I said I'm half Korean people wouldn't raise an eyebrow. (At least in South Africa), maybe Asian countries just KNOW when someone is a certain ethnicity.

[PrettyFlyforaChiGuy]

The general pay ranges for local hires vs. foreign are different, like in many countries. Foreign hires tend to command higher salaries in East Asia, but it's not always the case. In Korea specifically, you can search for gyopo positions and compare.

If you enter China with a foreign passport as opposed to a Chinese one, the places I've worked at here would place you on a foreign pay scale. There would be no reason to hire from outside of the country otherwise, because foreign talent wouldn't jump through the hurdles. Your appearance simply wouldn't really affect it, unless if you're aiming for some kind of janky private cram school with narrow-minded parents who demand their child's teacher to look like Snow White.

If you just want the cultural and teaching experience, you'll get it. If curious about the pay scales, I remember going through the application process for some English Lit hagwon/academy place in Gangnam years ago. Ivy diplomas plastered on the walls, multiple interview rounds, the usual long hours. The pay was only like 3 million KRW a month. EPIK seems to have the same pay scale ranges of 2.2-2.7 million that they had years back, with private hagwons still thereabouts or less. JET is 3.36 million JPY now, which is less than a decade ago when there was a more favorable exchange rate and less inflation. This all may be more than enough, but if not, I'd suggest taking a look around to see what all is out there now.

[Personherebb9]

The general pay ranges for local hires vs. foreign are different, like in many countries. Foreign hires tend to command higher salaries in East Asia, but it's not always the case. In Korea specifically, you can search for gyopo positions and compare.

If you enter China with a foreign passport as opposed to a Chinese one, the places I've worked at here would place you on a foreign pay scale. There would be no reason to hire from outside of the country otherwise, because foreign talent wouldn't jump through the hurdles. Your appearance simply wouldn't really affect it, unless if you're aiming for some kind of janky private cram school with narrow-minded parents who demand their child's teacher to look like Snow White.

If you just want the cultural and teaching experience, you'll get it. If curious about the pay scales, I remember going through the application process for some English Lit hagwon/academy place in Gangnam years ago. Ivy diplomas plastered on the walls, multiple interview rounds, the usual long hours. The pay was only like 3 million KRW a month. EPIK seems to have the same pay scale ranges of 2.2-2.7 million that they had years back, with private hagwons still thereabouts or less. JET is 3.36 million JPY now, which is less than a decade ago when there was a more favorable exchange rate and less inflation. This all may be more than enough, but if not, I'd suggest taking a look around to see what all is out there now.

I'm really not that worried in regards to pay. I mean that might seem like a low salary to an American, but in South Africa that's quite a generous salary, especially considering that a lot of the times you get other benefits such a housing and healthcare (50%). Realistically I'd just like to earn enough to support my studies. Plus since I come from SA I should be able to apply for tax exclusion which is nice.

My plan is to get my degree before March of 2024, so that I can apply during the Fall 2024 intake (most likely EPIK, since I believe it should be easier for someone that's going abroad for their first time) applications timeline. If I end up not being placed or bomb my interview, I'll try and apply for JET during August/September of that same year and hopefully get placement for that for the spring intake of 2025. If neither works out... well then I guess its hagwon time. 

I'm considering EPIK over a hagwon, simply because of the horror stories that I've seen about them. 

Also just asking, how did you adapt to a place with a completely different language? Like how did you learn it? I already speak quite a few languages and the idea of learning Korean/Japanese seems VERY daunting.

[PrettyFlyforaChiGuy]

...you get other benefits such a housing and healthcare (50%). Realistically I'd just like to earn enough to support my studies. Plus since I come from SA I should be able to apply for tax exclusion which is nice...

I'm considering EPIK over a hagwon, simply because of the horror stories that I've seen about them. 

Also just asking, how did you adapt to a place with a completely different language? Like how did you learn it? I already speak quite a few languages and the idea of learning Korean/Japanese seems VERY daunting.

You'll be in fine shape then and can cover your studies. Housing is often included, yes. You should also be able to apply for the pension payment reimbursement upon leaving.

I remember there used to be a hagwon blacklist website, but EPIK had a better rep overall. Reddit can help you discern quality opportunities too.

Languages: I actually started out with Portuguese in university before studying in Brazil, where I was researching immigrant social networks and push/pull factors leading them to the USA. I had done a lot of unstructured practice in chat rooms, but there are apps now that would be much more effective. I learned about all of the migrants from Japan living in São Paulo, interviewed some, and started learning the Japanese syllabaries there through pictographic books. This serendipitously led to JET and a placement in the area of Japan with many Brazilian immigrants, so everything came full circle. The Genki textbook series and Pimsleur audio lessons actually helped a lot. Used the Heisig system to at least recognize a few hundred kanji, took the old JLPT, but only ever became conversational at best in Japanese.

You can learn to read and write Korean in 20 minutes, even if you don't know what any of it actually means. I taught hangul to Japanese students when doing international exchange events, and it felt like linguistic Tetris. I never really progressed much beyond that, since I lived in an isolated forest with foreigners. Hopefully you'll come out of it much better.

[collegecareerstudent]

The entire time I was in Korea, I just knew how to say "Take me here" "Hello" "Thank You" "Don't do that" "Don't speak Korean" "Come here" and "Sit" and how to count to ten. That's literally it. You'll be fine. Most foreigners tend to stick together, and honestly with good body language a translation app or a menu, you really don't have to talk much unless you want to. I still don't know Korean or Chinese. However, even if you know one of those languages, it's not usually encouraged that you speak it. Schools and parents want the students to be forced to speak English, even if they find it difficult.

I spent most of my spare time shopping or at the dog cafe or Olympic Park (I was in Seoul near Bangi-dong). I managed to adopt a samoyed from there and it was the best investment I ever made. You will have a great time!