May 1st: now it gets serious

The time stamp says April 30, but it's now May 1 in Seoul. I'm leaving Korea on May 19, which means I have only about eighteen days to make some magic happen. While I continue to check Dave's ESL Cafe and Seoul Professionals (recommended by Dr. Farrand, who just sat for his dissertation defense and left with a good feeling; to my mind, he's effectively Dr. Farrand at this point) and Seoul Craigslist (recommended by commenter John from Daejeon), I think I've trolled the ads enough to have caught and responded to the plum jobs. Here's where I've applied to, and what I plan to do as a followup:

1. Seoul National University, English conversation/composition instructor, 12 hours/week, amount of vacation unknown, salary of about 30-45 million won, depending on experience/qualifications. Application deadline: May 3, 2013.

Followup: I have informed SNU's search committee that I will visit them on May 8, five days after the application deadline, if I hear nothing from them.


2. Chonnam National University (Yeosu), English instructor for adults (and possibly children—gack), teaching materials generation, approx. 20 hours/week, 8-10 weeks' paid vacation, 2.4-2.6 million won/month salary, depending on experience. Application deadline: May 21, 2013.

Followup: Here, followup is a bit difficult because the app deadline is May 21, i.e., two days after I leave. Normally, a university doesn't start interviewing people until after the app deadline has passed. I've written, in my cover letter and email to the university, that I'd like to interview earlier rather than later if possible. I'll give Chonnam until May 9 to respond, then I'll email them on the 10th to say I'm going down to Yeosu to see somebody about my application. I'll train down on the 13th (Monday).


3. Seoul National University, full-time proofreader/editor/researcher, 40 hours/week, 4 weeks' paid vacation, 33,960,000 won yearly salary. Application deadline: March 6 (whoops). Job start date: May 1.

Followup: None. I saw the deadline back on April 23, after I'd been made aware of the Seoul Professionals job-listing site (where this ad is located), and decided I'd try to apply, anyway, despite knowing it'd be a lost cause. Today is May 1; if I had been accepted for the position, I'd have started the job by now. So we'll write this one off as a loss.


4. Daegu University, full-time English conversation instructor (freshman English conversation + hagwon-type classes), 12 teaching hours + 4 office hours/week, 16 weeks' paid vacation (holy fuck!), approx. 2.0 million won/month salary for MA degree-holders, with the opportunity to work during vacations. Application deadline: rolling. "Application materials will be accepted until the positions have been filled."

Followup: I have a good feeling about Daegu University. They're interviewing on a rolling basis, which means they're flexible about when they call people in for interviews. I can take the train down to Daegu the night before an interview, find a decent yeogwan to sleep in, shower up, iron my clothes, and taxi over to the university the following day. I didn't issue an ultimatum to Daegu U. about when I'd like to interview with them, but my preference would obviously be to interview before I leave (I did state that in my application). If I hear nothing from Daegu by May 14, I'll fire an email down to the university to say my ass is coming for a visit, then I'll visit the uni a day or so later. We'll be cutting things close by then.

So, to sum up my action items:

1. SNU teaching job: visit the campus on May 8 if I hear nothing before then.

2. Chonnam U. teaching job: email the uni on May 10, then train down to Yeosu on May 13, the following Monday.

3. SNU proofing/editing job: do nothing.

4. Daegu U. teaching job: send an email on May 14 if I've heard nothing by then, then train over to Daegu on the 16th to make my presence known. If Daegu does get back to me with an interview date, train over the night before the interview, stay overnight, then interview the following day.

And that's where things stand right now. Unless a real beauty of a job comes up on the job ads in the next few days, I'm committed to moving on the above three universities: SNU, Chonnam, and Daegu. Of those three, I like Daegu the best, despite the low pay; SNU comes in second, and Chonnam (I really don't want to teach kids) comes in a distant third.


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