thursday morning, i had a job interview and once i stepped into the academy, i felt like i had just walked onto the set of an awkward movie. and by awkward, i also mean a bit creepy. korea, not unlike america, is very image focused. however, koreans tend to take that focus rather...gratuitously. as part of the application, you must include a recent photo of yourself. in america, they call that discrimination. in korea, they call that part of the application process.
this past week, i've sent out over 15 (maybe even more than that) applications to various academies and recruiters. i've received phone calls and emails to set up interviews. i love immediate responses, i find them thoroughly satisfying. this past week has reminded me of how tiring the job process can be...the emails, the cover letters, the resumes, the interviews, the bullllllshit. finding a job in addition to finishing a job is a double whammy. i've been trying to remain focused during my remaining days (countdown: 7!) but, it's cumbersome.
with the reality of the continuously sinking job market in america, many recent college graduates have caught on to the growing trend of finding work abroad. teaching english overseas is certainly no new idea, however, the influx of people in korea has presented new challenges to candidates like me, who embody a duality that is difficult to grasp or understand for older koreans: the duality of identity. korean AND american.
boundaries in korea tend to be more rigid than flexible and for some korean natives, meeting people like me, who are so obviously culturally american yet so physically korean, is confusing. the english academy industry in korea falls into two main camps: those that prefer korean-americans and those that prefer caucasians. during my job search, i have encountered blatant racism due to my korean-american status. at first, it really upset me--i felt defeated, enraged, intensely sad. let's save that for another blog post!--but after letting that reality sink in, i know that i, at least, have a niche. i just need to find it and work it to my advantage. which is why the positive feedback from my applications have felt that much more rewarding.
enter the creepy interview. there were many immediate strikes against this particular academy:
1) the director was 10 minutes late for the interview and didn't even stay for the entire duration.
2) the assistant director gave me the creepy stare. oh you know what i'm talking about. that focused, intense, inappropriate for the work environment stare.
3) the explanations that the director and assistant director gave did not match. that equals serious disorganization.
4) my gut gave me a firm and resounding "NO."
the gut knows.
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