When you processed the huge paperwork and the internal selection process was done a maschinery starts to work with a precision of a Swiss Watch: You will fly in and out if your Airport of choice to Seoul and after you arrived here you go to the Hyatt Hotel at the Airport. There you will get all you need to make it thru the 3 days process. Everyone who wants to pass the medical should take the time and have a look at your condition before you come to Korea, Blood pressure, Colesterol and Blood Sugar should be as low as possible. If you ever had a laser surgery on your eyes you will find it difficult to pass the employment Check. SIM is straight foreward for any Type. Interview is 20 to 30 min average. If you had a Ex-Pat expirience before it is a plus, if you worked in Asia before you have a fair chance to know what you might expect.
After the 3~4 days in Seoul you fly back and about 10 to 12 days later your Agent get`s a feedback and you either get a Job offer or you are denied. That is the hiring process. People will show the best side to attract you and make you feel welcome somehow. KAL needs more Pilots of any Race and Gender to cope with the planned grow. It is imperative that you fit into the system to make yor life reasonable during the 20 days you are on the road per month. Bear in mind: Ex-Pats will never be part of the Airline, they are needed to fill a seat to fly the Plane. Therefore Airlines are using Agent`s to place you where the gap is. If you join and think you know it all you will learn one thing fast: Culture is priority not commercial. Efficiency is not that important when the Culture is in the loop.
On the other side some things had improoved since the last 10 years. Pilots where held responsible for theire actions. Most of the Guy`s who cooked something up recently where just "dismissed" or if you want to say fired use that expression for it. Ex-pats more then Natives.... but equal treatment is not in the book. Money is secondary, Yes there are some eager plans to safe and cut expenses but down the line they are not forced into your operation. For example: You find yourself hot and high in the approach - Go around! If you see one of the Chief-Pilots and you chat with him about that they will welcome your action and say it was good to fly another pattern and be on the safe side. There will be no word towards the amount of fuel/money that was adding to the bill. Airplanes are well maintained, seldom any open item when you leave for a flight. Somebody saight KAL has the will to get into a World-Class Airline, in the long run yes, funds are there to support that side. A downside is still the luck you need during the training, if any of the Koreans find you not appropriate to fit in:you are toast, period, no other option left.
Language is still a barrier, the younger generation of Pilots are better then those 10 years ago. Most of them left Korea for a while to study anything aboad and they are used to Westeners and diffrent cultures, they can be tolerant and understanding. KAL has a long history of having Ex-pats, some of the Cannucks have almost 18 years in KAL on contract.
As a resume`I have to say: It may suit some people, the more tolerant you are the better you cope with the working condition. If you are able to accept that fact it may help you in coping with it. There are always two side`s of the coin, it also up to each individual to make one side brighter then the other to set your ownn priority`s what is important. Maybe after 5 to 10 years you see a change, Korea is also known as the Land of the Morning Calm, changes take alot of time, months, years decades and century`s.
Fly safe and land happy
NG