Is Korea Worth it? You be the Judge, Part 2

An update to my previous post about the new visa regulations and the hassle it was.

Is Korea Worth it? You be the Judge, Part 1

About 6 months after starting the whole process to get my diploma certified (I'm Canadian so no Apostille, instead my process is different) and my Criminal Background Check certified, I received the package yesterday from my mother. 

And the EXTREME annoyance that I felt at the start of the process has greatly dissapated and the moderate annoyance I felt part-way through when I wrote that last blog entry has fizzled out into a buzzing mosquito amount of annoyance.

So it's probably time to re-visit the question of whether Korea is worth it or not.  My answer is that it depends.  The paperwork is a huge hassle, but much less so if you're actually in your home country doing it.  Like say you've finished uni and have your degree and transcripts and want to go to Korea 4 months later.  It would definitely not be too annoying and I would say to go for it. 

However, if you're in another country besides your home one and are looking for the basic level ESL Job at a hagwon, then no, it would not be worth it in my eyes.  Hagwon jobs are notoriously bad and salaries have been stagnant for the past few years while the cost of living keeps increasing.  And does anyone know whether interviews at the consulate in your home country are still happening these days?  If yes, I wouldn't fly back home just for that rigamarole. 

If you have your eye on the prize though (a Korean Uni Job), then jump through all the hoops and get it done, because once you get one of these jobs, life is pretty good here in the ROK in terms of salary, teaching conditions, vacation, and OT opportunities.  However, it's hard to find one of these jobs without a Masters and experience, so don't get your hopes up, newbies to the ESL Teaching world with only a BA!

I'm been blathering on.  To sum it up, is Korea worth it?  Yes, in some situations.  In others, probably not and look at some other countries first (Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, Middle East).