I want to start with full transparency about who I am and why I’m writing this guide. I completed my Ph.D. in History at Yale University in 2014, and it took me six years to secure my first tenure-track position in Korea at the Academy of Korean Studies. Four years later, in 2024, I moved to my current position at Yonsei University. This means I’ve spent a decade navigating both the American and Korean academic job markets—a journey marked by WAY MORE failures than successes.
The numbers tell part of the story: 126 applications in the United States, 19 in Korea – at least the ones that I have some record of. I probably missed a few. And again, of those 145+ applications, only two secured tenure track jobs. Behind these numbers lie countless hours of preparation, numerous rejections, and gradually accumulated insight (if not expected) about how these two very different academic markets operate. During this period, I held positions ranging from postdoctoral fellowships at NYU Shanghai and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to research positions (the strange title “Researcher (연구원研究員)” at the Academy of Korean Studies. Of course, NOT going through this experience might have ment a more pleasant life for myself, and my family. It also might indicate that I’m not that good of a scholar (no shame here, but I still could have hoped for better). After all, I know personally many friend and colleagues who have had a higher success rate. Good for them – I wish I could have been better scholar, and maybe a more informed applicant.
To quote Nietzsche, or actually, American comedian Conan O’Brien’s brilliant mockery on Nietzsche’s words, “whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, but it almost kills you.” Some might be strong enough not to go through the same procedure that I had (maybe they were forced to experience it earlier). I wasn’t – so I probably needed the “almost kill[ing]” experience.
So then, why am I sharing this experience? Simply put, I’ve come to the realization there’s a critical information gap about the Korean academic job market. While American academics have excellent resources like “The Professor Is In” (both Karen Kelsky’s widely-read blog and book) that provide detailed guidance for navigating the U.S. academic market, no equivalent exists for the Korean academic market. The lack of available sources and guides doesn’t mean there are no rules. Those who successfully navigate it often understand intuitively what worked for them, but they rarely articulate these insights clearly to others. The unspoken rules, the implicit expectations, and the practical strategies that make the difference between success and failure often remain hidden. I hope this guide can serve as a first step toward addressing this gap, much like how “The Professor Is In” (among many, I have to emphasize) has helped countless scholars navigate the American academic market.
I had to learn everything the hard way, through trial and error, through rejections, and through careful observation of my experience, and also being at “the other side.” In other words, the information I have gathered once I been on the hiring committee, officially and unofficially. While my path was particularly long, I don’t believe it had to be. Much of what I learned could have been known earlier—if only someone had shared this information.
Of course, this guide comes with an important disclaimer: what I’m sharing is based on my personal experience in humanities, particularly in history. Every field has its quirks, every university its preferences, and every hiring committee its priorities. There will always be exceptions to what I describe. However, I firmly believe that having this information, even with its limitations, is better than navigating the Korean academic job market blindly.
My goal isn’t to present a guaranteed formula for success—such a thing doesn’t exist. Instead, I want to share practical insights that might help you avoid some of the mistakes I made and better understand the terrain you’re trying to navigate. If this guide helps even a few scholars find their path more efficiently than I found mine, it will have served its purpose.
In the following sections, I’ll break down the key characteristics of the Korean academic job market and offer specific preparation strategies. But first, it’s crucial to understand that this market operates fundamentally differently from its American counterpart. The rules are different, the expectations are different, and consequently, the preparation must be different too.
Finally – I’m writing this piece in English to actually limit exposure. I don’t want to make this a full discussion thread on what to do/what works/what doesn’t on the Korean Academic job market. Fell free to join the discussion at “하이브레인(https://hibrain.net)” where there is a whole bbs where communication is conducted in Korean. My main audience are Koreans who studied abroad (mostly the US) and have come back. Those who have been severed, intentionally or not, from the Korean academia by studying overseas and being saved from the distractions of the Korean graduate school life, but then suffered in a place where English is not your mother tongue. Not to say that everything is a zero-sum game, but what you were able to gain overseas means that you missed a lot by leaving Korean. I hope to fill some of that missing portions, since you have decided (or like me, run out of options and hence) to come back to Korea.
Wonhee Cho 