Originally Posted by
v.rodasc
I wish you all the best, I have a question.
My wife is Korean and we have been talking about about the possibility to move to ASIA, while I hold a frozen ATP with 1500+ hours and 2 SIC turpoporp type ratings I understand this is not enough to join an airline in Korea as an "expat" pilot. But I could get a Korean passport and permit to work because of my wife. My question is:
Will I be considered by any Korean airline for a direct "local/national" entry even though I was not born in Korea and I do not look Korean at all?(I just married the prettiest Korean of them all) I think I already know but, Will I have to serve their military for 6 months before being able to request employment as a pilot in Korea? Do I need to be fluent in Korean?
I know that right now COVID19 is affecting the industry, but this is not an immediate move, and more like a long term, future possibility.
I want to settle for a good jet job so if you have any alternatives, I would appreciate it too.
Cheers.
Victor.
You don't need to serve 6 months in military as you are the first generation migrant. Your kids will have to. Mixed kids were exempted from military service years ago but that is no longer the case.
Yes, you need to speak Korean fluently. You can do your license conversion in English but all tests done in Korea for local recruitments are done in Korean. Oh, and you need a 4 years bachelor degree.
Your hours are enough for local Korean Air FO position (they are only asking for 1000 TT). Personally I have never seen any naturalized pilot from overseas getting a job as a local. That's because probably there are none applying as a local.
You need to speak Korean to a certain degree to be naturalized anyway and you will have to give up your original citizenship.