A Glimpse Inside Korean Educational Administration

A Native English Teacher's Experience Interviewing Selected Candidates for Hire at a Korean High School

I had the opportunity to be a part of the interviewing process for hiring new teachers at a Korean high school in Seoul. It is a unique experience that the majority of other Native English Teachers in the country are not usually a part of, for various reasons (I'll let you ponder those on your own). Following the day of interviews, I took some time to reflect upon the experience and thought I would share with you all a brief overview. I've refrained from posting personal comments [on this blog] on the matter, but those interested in learning more, feel free to contact me. Although I have had this post written and saved for a few months now, I am choosing to post it now because the official interviewing process has concluded, and the new school year has safely started. Even though the likelihood of this post having any effect on the entire process, I did not want to take any chances by posting this publicly ahead of time. For privacy concerns, I've refrained from including any names of candidates, interviewers (besides myself), and the school.

Where:

• A private, vocational, co-educational high school in Seoul, South Korea
• Inside of a large conference room; the four interviewers seated on one side of a table, the solo interviewee seated opposite

When:

• Tuesday, January 24, 2017, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Why:

• The final process in selecting and hiring new teachers for the 2017-18 academic school year
• The school already conducted sample lessons with a larger group and narrowed down the selection to the top candidates in each subject

Interviewers:

• School Principal
• School Vice Principal (VP)
• Retired Korean Supreme Court Justice (SCJ)
• English Native Teacher (ENT)

Interviewees:

• 3 English Teacher Candidates
• 3 Math Teacher Candidates
• 6 Business/Commercial Teacher Candidates
• Breakdown: 2 Male, 10 Female Candidates

Format:

• 30-minute structured interviews
• 4-panel interviewers seated across from the candidate
• 5 minutes: Ice-breaker and Resume-related questions asked by SCJ
• 10 minutes: School/Teaching-related questions asked by VP
• 10 minutes: Potpourri/Trivia-esque questions asked by Principal
• 5 minutes: Test of English Proficiency conducted by ENT

Types of Questions and Statements:

• (In Korean): How well can you hold your alcohol? How will that affect your teaching? 
• School dinners/outings are a common occurrence in Korea, often including large amounts of alcohol. These types of questions were regarded towards the male candidates.
• (In Korean): You're so young... when do you expect to get married (/ have a baby)? Why aren't you married yet? 
• These types of questions were regarded towards the female candidates.
• (In Korean): You look so ________ (young, old, nervous, timid, insert numerous other adjectives here). 
• (In Korean): Why haven't you been considered as a permanent candidate before now? What caused a delay between ______ and ______? 
• In Korea, many professions contract their employees on a year-by-year basis. It is difficult to obtain a permanent position within a school system.
• (In Korean): How well do you know Greek and Roman mythology? Who is Pythagorus? What can you tell me about ____________ (time period)? 
• These questions were asked regardless of the subject content they were being interviewed for.
• (In Korean): Questions related to education and prior work experience; Why was your GPA ____? What factors accounted for that? How does your experience at ______ relate to the position for consideration?
• (In English): Tell me about your classroom management strategies. How do you prevent students from sleeping in your class? 
• (In English): What has been the most rewarding/challenging aspect in your teaching career thus far?
• (In English): What makes you stand out from the rest of the candidates today?
• (In English): Please read the first two paragraphs from the article laid beside you.
• The article was written in English.

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Hualien, Taiwan

Ticket to Hualien

Hi everyone! This is part three (of three) in my Taiwan travel series blog posts. To read parts one and two, click the attached links. For the last leg of my trip to Taiwan, my friend Nikki and I headed to the central-eastern side of the country to visit the "countryside". We wanted to explore a more nature-filled part of Taiwan, so we headed to Hualien, expecting to go hiking at one of the country's most renowned national parks.

The trip from Taipei to Hualien was about three hours, but the train ride was beautiful! Riding along the coast, we saw the East China Sea, mountainous landscapes, and pure country. I met a few nice older Taiwanese ladies who had moved to Canada and California, respectively, and they chatted with me and told me all about the beautiful things to see and do in Hualien.

Taroko National Park

Upon arrival, we checked into Big Bear Hostel, which seemed to be popular with the Europeans. We set our bags down and set out to wander around the small town. Funny story: as Nikki and I were exploring the street markets later that day, we stumbled into a tea shop, where we saw two Western-looking women struggling to speak with the shop owner. The shop owner was sampling different teas for them, and she seemed adamant about having Nikki and I sit down too. We booked it out of there immediately (LOL). Later that evening when we were back at the hostel, the very same two women walked into our room and that's when we realized they were our roommates for the night! Haha. We were laughing about the situation for quite some time.

Anyway, after we wandered around awhile, we decided to crash early so that we would be ready for our big day the next morning! Nikki and I were heading to Taroko National Park, where we would spend the day hiking and exploring natural landmarks. Unfortunately, the transportation system of getting around the park was not as easy as described to us at the hostel. We bought a day-pass for public buses where we could get off and on as we please throughout different areas of the park. Unfortunately, the bus times listed were not accurate with when the buses actually showed up to different stops, so Nikki and I ended up walking from hike-to-hike at some points throughout the day, which cut back on our plans for the day and where we wanted to end up at.

Our monkey friend

Transportation aside, the park itself was beautiful! Nikki and I explored four different areas of the park, completing two major hikes and spending time at areas with various landmarks to see. The park is very vast and open, so we never felt rushed or annoyed by people around us (hooray). The only scary part was when we met a [domesticated] monkey friend who came too close to our lunch and tried to swipe it away from us.

I'll describe a little bit about where we went and what we saw. Some descriptions are courtesy of the Taroko National Park website.

Baiyang Trail
The Baiyang Waterfall Trail is characterized by the number of tunnels. Some of the tunnels are as straight as a pencil and we could see the light at the end, but other tunnels were curved so we were enveloped in pitch-black darkness for a short time. The trail was originally built by Taiwan Power Company in 1984 during the early stages of their plans to develop hydroelectric power in the area, plans that included damming many parts of the gorge. The hydroelectric project for this area was eventually cancelled. At the end of the 5km trek is a series of three waterfalls, making the winding and blinding path along the way worth the view at the end!

Baiyang Waterfalls

Changchun Shrine

Nikki and I were actually on a bus when we passed by this shrine because we didn't have enough time to do the trail itself (transportation issues). The Changchun (Eternal Spring) Shine commemorates the 226 military veterans who died during the construction of the Central Cross-Island Highway (1956~1960). The spring water adjacent by the Eternal Spring Shine flows all year round, and the Highway Bureau named it after "Changchun Falls."

Changchun Shrine

Tunnel of Nine Turns

This is the most magnificent part of Taroko Gorge, where the sheer cliffs face each other. During the exploration stage, it is the especially difficult and dangerous part to explore. When the wind comes from the broad river valley to the narrow valley it is forced upwards when it hits the cliff face.

Tunnel of Nine Turns

Cimu Bridge

An H-Shape hanging bridge with marble stone lions on each end and with marble lotus stones on two sides. The rock beneath the bridge looks like a frog. The frog-like rock is composed of black layer of schist at the top and white marble at the bottom. A pavilion was built on this frog rock, becoming the crown on the frog.

Cimu Bridge

Xiangde Temple

Xiangde temple is a Buddhist Linzizong temple. After the Central Cross-Island Highway opened, the main temple was completed in December of 1968. The Daxiong Boudian temple-the main temple, Tianfeng Pagoda, and the White Robed Guanyin were then successively built.

Tianfeng Pagoda

Xiangde Temple

Overall, my time in Hualien was a blast. It was definitely more mellowed out than Taipei, which I enjoyed for the second leg of my trip. I wish I had planned another day to spend in Hualien to explore even more of its natural beauty, but I will just have to put that on the to-do list for the next time I visit!

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Taipei, Taiwan: Day Trip to Jiufen

The lanterns of Jiufen

Hi everyone! This is part two (of three) in my Taiwan travel series blog posts. To read part one, click here. This post will focus on a fun day trip that my friends and I took, just outside of Taipei to a small village named Jiufen.

Walking along the narrow streets

Jiufen has recently become a popular tourist attraction because of its resemblance to the popular anime movie, Spirited Away. It is a beautiful village situated abreast Taiwanese mountains, and it is equipped with a street market of its own. On top of that, visiting Jiufen at night allows tourists to see the decorative lanterns lit up all around the village.

Panorama of Jiufen

My friends and I decided to head to Jiufen in the early afternoon and stay until sunset so that we could see the lanterns! The bus was a bit confusing to navigate, with private taxi owners trying to rip us off and take us there privately (with jacked up prices). We opted to wait for the public bus, which we eventually found and no harm done. The bus ride was about two hours long, but we made friends with other passengers on the bus, so time went by quickly. 

Lanterns and Crowds

When we got off the bus, we started walking around Jiufen, weaving our way through the narrow streets. Of course, we tried tons of street food, bought souvenirs, and stopped for a coffee to take in the beautiful views. 

Narrow Staircases

It started getting pretty crowded towards late afternoon, assuming everyone wanted to see the lanterns lit up in the evening. To be honest, I was starting to become a bit annoyed by all of the pushing and shoving going on, but I made it through. 

A day in Taiwan is never complete without dumplings

It was a rather simple day, but tiring nonetheless. A great sight to see, and I recommend visiting if you ever find yourself in Taiwan. 

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