Going to Korea

lorents
New Member



Joined: 23 Nov 2003
Posts: 1
Location: Guelph/Burlington, Ontario

Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2003 12:36 pm

 

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Hi I'm in my last year of university and am going to teach English in Korea next year. I'm wondering if there is a best time of the year to start. And how long does the process usually take. I'm thinking of Starting in October or November. Would it be advantageous for me to wait until Jan, or go in September or earlier on?

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ATW180
New Member



Joined: 25 Jan 2004
Posts: 4

Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2004 5:00 am

 

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Hey Lorents.
Jobs in Korea are plentiful. Anytime of year is ok, although March is the beginning of the school year, so if you are looking to teach in a school and not at an after school academy (where most people work) this is the best time to apply. Just remember when you sign a contract make sure it is a big school..meaning at least five teachers and alot of kids. Best to look for corporate schools or head office schools not small franchises bcuz english schools are popping up like crazy here(as there is alot of money to be made in the ESl market), but closing down just as fast due to poor money management skills and too much competition! Hope this helps.

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jenated
New Member



Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 1
Location: South Korea

Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2004 4:12 am

 

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Dear Lorents,

You'll find Korea to be a place of good food, dirty air, and stressed-out people. ATW180 is right when he says that you should look for a big school. Too many ESL teachers are ripped off here, and don't ever, ever sign a contract that doesn't expressely say that you have Saturday and Sunday off. You should also get around 2 million won, ten days vacation per year plus all the national holidays, an apartment with a bed and television and microwave (all paid for by the school), one-month's salary as a severance bonus after a year of employment, and return tickets.

These are the standard contracts, so if some things are missing I would be wary, because as ATW180 pointed out, the small twisted hagwons will try to rip you off. Anyways, just do your research. Cheers![/i]

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esljunction.com
New Member



Joined: 24 May 2004
Posts: 1

Posted: Tue May 25, 2004 12:17 am

 

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I would suggest that you avoid recruiters at all costs. They come accross as having a caring attitude but when the **** hits the fan they don't care.

Also, if you find yourself in trouble, don't listen to rumors. Find out the facts for yourself. e.g. there is a vary common rumor (probibly started by institutes and recruiters) that you need the school to sign a release letter if you quit. This is not true, if a school refuses to sign a release letter you can go straight to immigration, tell them the reasons why you are leaving and they will sign the release letter for you.
_________________
http://esljunction.com

http://esljunction.com/jobs - ESL/EFL Jobs in and around Asia

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CanuckAbroad
Site Admin


Back in Victoria after living in Budapest

Joined: 04 Mar 2003
Posts: 481
Location: Victoria

Posted: Sun May 30, 2004 2:49 pm

 

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CanuckAbroad has a recruiting service, and believe me they take care of you. Check out the teaching english in korea section for more details.

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Blue and White Army
Senior Member


Back to Vancouver in March!

Joined: 10 Dec 2003
Posts: 110
Location: West Sussex, UK

Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2004 3:38 pm

 

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I did a year in Korea, and honestly did not enjoy it much at all.

Korean bosses are infamous for lies and BS. Contracts are only worth the paper they're written on... your relationship with your boss is what counts, so put your foot down and hold your ground.

Most people greatly prefer Japan over Korea, but you can save more coin in Korea. It depends on if you want an experience or some financial savings.

Also do keep in mind that you are there to work, and are there to work as a teacher, usually to small children who don't speak English. It's no vacation.

Keep in mind that because of the language barrier, you may feel very isolated for the first few months, and will need help from your Korean friends/co-workers to get things done (especially things involving paperwork and bureaucracy). This can be one of the biggest blows to people who are fairly independent in nature, especially people who grew up as only children.

The language is an absolute bastard to learn. The written script is incredibly easy, but the grammar is difficult (very similar to Japanese), and I would say Korean is the hardest of all the Northeastern languages to master the unique sounds not found in English. Japanese and Mandarin have a couple sounds not in English, but they're similar. Korean, meanwhile, has soft and hard consonants. In English we start a "d" word with a hard "d", but it becomes a soft "d" in the middle of words. But Koreans use hard and soft sounds both at the beginnings and middle of words. It's tough.

Koreans are fairly friendly to foreigners.... if they're white. They're incredibly anti-Japanese, and have a low national self-esteem issue, causing them to constantly trumpet every small achievement they make.

But despite all that, I do not regret going at all. It was great to see Asia without the usual romanticized lens. Korea is incredibly cheap as well, so that you can live quite nicely (especially if you're used to the North American student life and the poverty that generally comes with it), and yet still save a significant amount of money fairly easily. I also came away with the manuscript of a book, as well as my life partner.

But do realize that it is NOT a year-long vacation, that Korean bosses will test you to your limits (we would see it as lies; they see it as testing the relationship to see how far they can push), that you WILL hit periods of depression (even if only mild), and that you will be linguistically isolated (at least for the short term).

If you can handle all this, I'd highly recommend it. If not, don't bother, as you'll return even more sour than me.

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ejmlab
New Member



Joined: 25 Oct 2005
Posts: 2

Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 11:00 pm

 

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The first year can be pretty tough but Korea is definitely becoming more of a long term option for many. Years ago it was odd to meet someone who had been in Korea for over a couple of years. Now more and more people are staying for the long haul. Try to get a job at a good school with alot of other foreigners in a big city. This will help to buffer you from culture shock. If you can I would suggest coming late february because even if you're working at a hagwon you may decide to stick around for another year at a public school, college or university and they all start in March. Good luck.

Cheers,
ejmlab
_________________
http://www.bidrok.com--The English auction site for expats in Korea

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