KE will honour a contract when it suits them, but they do not feel bound by it. They will break it when they want to, but expect the pilots to abide by the contract all the time. The local pilots will take a pay cut if it means a foreigner will be fired. Medicals are horrendous I am glad I don't have to do them any more. Staring into that fish bowl for hours is enough to put me into bed for a week and they take enough blood each year to keep a good sized hospital running. Do not give landings to the FOs they will let you down. It is not worth risking your licence or your job just to be a good guy. If you think the FOs want to learn from you or you can make a difference, forget it. They will stab you in the back in a heartbeat and their allegience will always be to their colleagues. An English Check Captain once told me that I should forget what it says in the regulations and operations manuals, but to copy the local captains no matter how unsafe or stupid it seemed. Otherwise I could not pass my check rides. A Korean pilot has no chance of flying outside Korea, they do not speak English well enough and their personal standards are way less than ICAO. The airline has some strange ideas you cannot break. They pay lip service only to regulations. They have no knowledge of regulations other than their own. The local captains do not let the FOs fly (except if they are classmates from the Air Force) so why should you? All this does not apply to all Korean pilots, some of them are as good or better than any in the world, but as a generalization should help you to know what you are getting into. There are a couple of admin people you will get to know who are absolutely the best guys and girls you will ever work with. Not all, but a couple. The Korean people outside the industry are truly salt of the earth and the food is healthy and tasty. Cabin service is great, although don't expect them to be knowledgeable about safety.
US pilots have a tax agreement with Korea and are not subject to income tax to the US.
" UNITED STATES - REPUBLIC OF KOREA INCOME TAX CONVENTION
Convention Signed at Seoul June 4, 1976;
Ratification Advised by the Senate of the United States of America July 9, 1979;
Ratified by the President of the United States of America July 25, 1979;
Ratified by the Republic of Korea December 16, 1976;
Ratifications Exchanged at Washington September 20, 1979;
Proclaimed by the President of the United States of America October 23, 1979;
Entered into Force October 20, 1979.
GENERAL EFFECTIVE DATE UNDER ARTICLE 31: 1 JANUARY 1980
ARTICLE 19
Dependent Personal Services
(1) Wages, salaries, and similar remuneration derived by an individual who is a resident of one of the Contracting States from labor or personal services performed as an employee, including remuneration from services performed by an officer of a corporation, may be taxed by that Contracting State. Except as provided by paragraph (2) such remuneration derived from sources within the other Contracting State may also be taxed by that other Contracting State.
(2) Remuneration described in paragraph (1) derived by an individual who is a resident of one of the
Contracting States shall be exempt from tax by the other Contracting State if--
(a) He is present in that other Contracting State for a period or periods aggregating less than 183 days in the taxable year;
(b) He is an employee of a resident of the first-mentioned Contracting State or of a permanent establishment maintained in the first-mentioned Contracting State;
(c) The remuneration is not borne as such by a permanent establishment which the employer has in that other Contracting State; and
(d) Such income does not exceed 3,000 United States dollars or its equivalent in Korean won.
(3)Notwithstanding paragraph (2), remuneration derived by an individual from the performance of labor or personal services as an employee aboard ships or aircraft operated by a resident of one of the Contracting States in international traffic shall be exempt from tax by the other Contracting State if such individual is a member of the regular complement of the ship or aircraft."