It will get better. Trust me.

It was a busier than usual Friday so didn’t get a chance to post.  Lots of discussion out there regarding the economy and difficulties of finding that ideal position on ESL Cafe (yes, it is my job to cruise the forums).  Don’t worry though.  The party’s not over yet.  Like I said, be resilient and aggressive and NEVER accept an offer if it doesn’t look right.

I spoke with several expats who have been here since the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 and they said right now it’s heaven compared to back then.  Schools were closing down left and right and scores of instructors were out of the job.

I think that this is the worst that it’ll get for this crisis.  November and December are generally low recruiting months as well (it’ll start picking up again in February) so that is compounded with the whole ‘financial crisis’.

There’s also lots of news regarding parents sending their kids overseas to study.  The trend is fading according to this article in the Korea Herald.  They don’t really mention the economy as the main factor of this trend:

“We would have to analyze the reasons for the decline, but we suspect maybe this means the parents’ views are slowly changing on studying abroad at an early age,” an official at the Education Ministry said.

But I think it’s a huge factor.  With that extra cash that parents are saving from sending their kids abroad for a year or two, I’m willing to bet the farm that enrollments in hagwons in-country will rise.   Only a thought but makes sense, no?

To the new (and old) applicants:  stay positive and keep on hunting!