If you have plans about moving to S Korea for teaching English, doing business, studying in a Korean University or working for a Korean Chaebol then you can use any of the book listed below to guide you with your decision and preparation about relocating to S Korea.
Korea Calling: The Essential Handbook for Teaching English and Living in South Korea
by Allegra J. Specht, Jay W. Freeborne
Korea Calling is a convenient guide for potential English teachers in South Korea. Separated in three sections:
1) Getting a Job
2) Teaching English to Koreans; and
3) Surviving Korean Culture,
The book is easy to use and very thorough. The Teaching section itself is a “greatest hits” of teaching ideas for the classroom, time-tested methods for teaching English to the Korean Market.
This book is a punchy, well-written overview of teaching English in Korea. It contains a very practical introduction to Korean culture and the EFL teaching environment. it is an essential addition to a Korea-bound EFL teacher’s toolbox.
Learning to Think Korean: A Guide to Living and Working in Korea
by Robert L. Kohls
Perhaps more than any other East Asian country, Korea adheres to the traditional collectivist and Confucian traits of harmony, hierarchy, status and proper behavior. In Learning to Think Korean: A Guide to LIving and Working in Korea, Robert Kohls demystifies Korean culture for people who encounter it in business and in everyday life. The book explores Korean modes of thinking and behaviors in juxtaposition to American society. Learning to Think Korean discusses the cultural patterns and practices of the workplace and goes beyond business interaction as the book explores Korea’s culture of private life, providing notes on proper etiquette in non-business settings and Korean history and social customs. Understanding the complex tapestry of influences, tradition and deep cultural values inherent in Korean society is essential to effective and mutually rewarding intercultural communication.
Bob Kohls’ book, Learning to Think Korean, is ostensibly written for the American businessman who plans to go to Korea and engage in a business relationship with corporations there. The book is a very useful contribution to cross cultural understanding between Korea and the United States.
Faces of Korea: The Foreign Experience in the Land of the Morning Calm
by Richard Harris
The first book of its kind to document the lives of foreigners in Korea firsthand, Faces of Korea is a collection of 47 interviews with people from more than 20 countries on five continents. Set up in a narrative format, which makes reading the interviews as enthralling as it does educational, subjects in the book include working in Korea, romantic relations with Koreans, people of Korean descent, teaching in Korea, learning in Korea and people who have made Korea their adopted home.
You won t find a more accurate and moving expose of the expat experience in Korea, at least one that not only bridges the foreign community but also one that gives the community a strong, resonant voice.” –Jeffrey Miller, Korea Times
For newcomers, the book will be an indispensable account of what life is truly like here [in Korea] from all different angles. On the other hand, people who have been living here for a while will find it interesting because they will be able to relate to the stories.” –Lisa Lebeda, Seoul Classified
Harris s latest book…show[s] a broad array of reactions to the Korean experience…and [is] at times evocative of what…foreigners encounter during our stay in the Land of the Morning Calm.” –John Hoog, Joongang Ilbo
Meeting Mr Kim: Or How I Went to Korea and Learned to Love Kimchi
by Jennifer Barclay
The world knows more about secret North Korea than the free society of the South. As a peace summit heralded a new era for a country divided for 50 years, Jennifer Barclay searched for the spirit of South Korea, discovering a land full of passion, tradition and spirituality, good humor, and great food. Jen quit her high-pressure job and followed her musician boyfriend to South Korea, where his band had a contract to play funk at a luxury hotel. But life in Seoul was lonely and bewildering.
Desperate to connect with Korean life and the people, she said goodbye to the capital and set off alone to explore the country. With patience and determination she found her way to ancient tombs and Buddhist temples, strangers’ homes and forest-covered mountains, where people’s kindness and pride in their culture began to work magic. They were on a mission to ensure she left with happy memories—and perhaps a new set of values.
Chopsticks and French Fries: How and Why to Teach English in South Korea
by Samantha D. Amara
If you’re thinking of joining the thousands of English-speaking teachers in Korea, this is the book for you. Samantha Amara guides you through the maze of contract and cultural issues that confront the first time teacher. She offers a checklist of things to ask for and to avoid. And she gives you realistic expectations of life halfway around the world.
This book contains some practical knowledge. For example, a list of things that aren’t readily available, and therefore worth taking; other items that are available, but a lot more expensive.
But most important, though no one expects to need it, she includes a list on phone numbers. You can find numbers for embassies easily enough elsewhere, but the true gem is an assortment of phone numbers for Korean government agencies that deal with foreign English language teachers.
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