I am extremely interested in applying to be an English teacher in Korea sometime in the near future but I understand that in order to apply for most teaching positions in Korea, one has to "be a citizen from a country where the only official language is English", hence would appreciate it if someone could answer my query and provide me with some insight. =)

My question is as follows:

I am from Singapore where there are four official languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. The younger generation of Singaporeans have been brought up in an Education system where the English language is being used as the main medium of instruction. As a result, it seems that we are not recognized as native speakers of the language for the very fact that English is not our only official language. Hence, that seems to disqualify me from being able to apply for any ESL jobs in Korea at all.

However, I received an A* grade (a score of 91% and above) for English in my Primary School Leaving Examination in 1996 and an A1 (the highest grade) at the Cambridge 'O' Levels examination in 2000. I was further awarded Certificates of Distinction by the Education Testing Centre of The University of New South Wales (Australia) when I took part in their International Competitions For Schools (English) in 1996 and 1998 respectively. In addition, my score for the English component for the American SAT test which I sat for in 2003 was at the 91 percentile for college bound seniors.

While there is certainly room for improvement, I do believe that my standard of English is more or less on par with many others who come from English-speaking countries.Yet, it seems that despite all this, the mere fact that I do not come from a country where the only official language is English will render me choiceless (and hopeless) in terms of applying for ESL jobs in Korea. I wonder if that is true and would really appreciate some advice!

I hold a Bachelor of Business Management Degree with double majors in Marketing and Information Systems Management and used to work in an International Market Research Company. I have since found teaching to be my calling and am currently teaching English in a very established enrichment center where the standard of English is well known to be far more advanced than mainstream government schools.

Would ANY private or public Korean schools be willing to consider an applicant like me?

Would earning a TESOL/TEFL certification help improve my chances?

Hope to hear some advice from you guys soon!

Thanks in advance!