Is it possible to teach english in South Korea without a degree?
I'm a Korean-American, and I have a American citizenship. I had taken a year of college to volunteer in south korea but due to family circumstances I cannot volunteer. Now after declining my scholarships I have to wait a year for school. I already have a place to stay but making some money to pay for school would be very helpful.
Teaching - 3 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
I'm not going to pretend to know the specifics, but I highly doubt that South Korea is so different from the USA that you can teach without having a degree. Why not try getting a part-time job in the meantime?
2 :
it is quite difficult to get a job without a degree. but if you can, that's not a stable job at all..
3 :
If at least one of your parents or even one of your grandparents are Korean AND held S.Korean citizenship at one point in time then you are eligible for an F4 visa. This is the Korean Heritage Visa. It gives you all the rights of a Korean National with very few exceptions. (You can't vote in national elections; if you get married, your spouse will not be eligible for a spousal visa, etc...) With an F4 visa you can work any job in Korea but not heavy manual labor and a few others I don't remember. There are plenty of Korean/mixed-Koreans on F4 visas who are teaching English in SK. However, Your parent(s) or grandparent(s) must renounce their S.Korean citizenship(I believe this must be done at a S.Korean consulate). Also, if you are male and 35 y/o or under(Korean age), unless you have renounced your S.Korean citizenship before the month of March(?) of your 18th birthday, than you may have a problem with military service(conscription). You MUST understand this and get it taken care of before you EVER set foot on S.Korean soil. Talk to the nearest S.Korean consulate about this. If you are female then no worries. Yes, you can teach English in S.Korea without a degree, but in your case it's because you don't have to deal with Immigration. Considering that you already have a place to stay, with the F4, you can also teach "privates" which can be very lucrative. Technically "everyone" who tutors is breaking the law because no one registers and pays income tax on private lessons(not even Koreans)... and they also charge a LOT more than what the law legally allows... but, YOU don't have to worry about getting deported if caught. Others do have to worry and some have been caught, jailed and deported. Get the F4 visa or complete another year of college. Korea is hiring/granting work visas to native English speakers with either AA degrees or 2 years worth of college credits to work in their "rural" areas. Good luck. Edit: As far as the military issue, this would only be an issue if you were ever registered with the Korean Family Census registry. Didn't mean to scare you but if you are male then you need to find out for certainty about this.
