Teaching English in South Korea

Teachers' advice / South Korea

Bring your game face and be prepared to smoke at least 2 packs of second hand smoke a day and reduce the strength of the liver due to copious amounts of brews and soju from the wiles of Itaewon."
Angler, 04/03/06
South Korea is a challenging place to live and work because of the language barrier. One year is a good enough period for you to learn and understand the teaching style here. I don't recommend this country if you are into serious teaching. S Korea is for those who just want to have fun and have no prior teaching experience."
Anonymous, 18/04/06
If you are coming to South Korea, make sure you will be living somewhere along the Seoul subway line. I'm stuck out in the middle of nowhere and bored senseless most of the time! Also try to get a job in a public school or a university. A lot of Hogwon's are really dodgy. After 6 months my boss has only just started paying my pension, I still don't have medical insurance and I frequently have to remind him to actually pay me!"
Kille-chick, 17/01/07
Everyone's experience is different. My best advice is to ask plenty of questions. Find out about everything. Many of our teachers have found themselves in sub-standard housing (bugs, mold, no heat, no hot water, etc.) Don't be afraid to find out what your whole situation will be like before you go. It is important that you have a good living situation.

Be careful, as my recruiter told me not to ask questions as it was considered rude. Don't follow this advice. Even a co-worker here who has been here for over nine years says plainly: Ask questions!! If you don't, you open yourself to a lot of problems.

It's equally important to find out as much as you can about your work situation. The school I work at has a manager who is only interested in making money for the school. This includes giving low grades to students (even if it's not deserved) in an effort to prevent students from leaving the academy. He also has a definite bias against foreign teachers, feeling they don't work as hard or as efficiently as our Korean counterparts. Our staff is about half and half.

Our manager also pushes quantity over quality. In other words, he doesn't care as much about the students learning the material as he does about them getting through the book.

I'm a former Peace Corps volunteer, I've had considerable experience living and working abroad. My experience in Korea (from a work standpoint) was not very satisfactory. I hope your experience will be better and that this bit of advice will help you."
Sean, 20/01/07
There will be a lot of things that might faze you when you first come to South Korea. A year here will definitely toughen you up!

You should get to grips with the alphabet early because even though you might not be able to speak or understand Korean, if you can read, it helps a lot. A lot of the words are 'Konglish' which means English words phonetically translated into Korean so if you can sound out a word you'll probably be able to understand what it means.

The most important advice I can give is to check stuff out fully before you commit to a job here. Aim for a school with a good rep, good holidays, a boss who can speak English etc.

Research the school and you'll probably find something on the internet about your area. Post any questions on forum websites. There are a lot of dodgy places here that are just interested in making money so watch your back. Get things in writing like promises to pay bonuses or flight money.

It also pays to get a job at a university if you can get one. The pay is maybe not as good but it works out much better for holidays and overtime rate. And you don't have to do crappy extra things like market days and speech contests.
Good luck!"
Anonymous, 04/03/07
Living in Korea is hard especially if like me you are not in what I call a "foreigner friendly" place. I live and work in rural South Korea up near the DMZ and the people here are very warm and welcoming. However, the administration doesn't know how to deal with the needs of a foreigner, especially with regards to living conditions. The Korean culture and professional behaviour are very different from what one experiences in many Western countries. My advice is to not judge them on your own value system. This I find greatly reduces the frustration levels one feels. Also if possible try and find work in either a public school or university, though the money may be less there is more job stability. Doing your homework about your employer and being aware of the possible pitfalls can greatly reduce your chance of running into problems in Korea. Enjoy the opportunities this country can offer though. Good Luck."
Anonymous, 04/03/07
Working in a public or government school is alright, but be careful accepting a position with a private school, hagwon. There's a saying among hagwon owners in S Korea, "If I could make more money selling kimchi..." English schools are big business here. They don't all necessarily have the interests of the students, or teachers, at heart. I would suggest getting references from previous teachers, and have everything in writing. Contact the embassy as soon as you arrive."
Anonymous, 15/04/07
Well, I have been teaching in Korea for about 4 years now. I have had good moments and bad. I have taught at private schools and in companies. I suggest teaching adults but I was lucky I guess, because some people say that they don't like to teach adults so it's mostly up to you. Right now I am teaching in a public school. I have a co-teacher but I do most of the teaching, the only problem is most of the books at public schools are written in Korean which brings up a problem with making lessons. If anyone knows some good ways to handle large groups of students and some handy lessons that would be great."
Kenneth, 18/06/07
I haven't been teaching long here in South Korea but my impression of the country, the people and the schools so far is excellent. Both my husband and I are teaching in public schools, which are not only well organised, but very welcoming and helpful to new teachers as well. People have helped me out with so many things so far and I have found the whole process of getting here and settling in to be really smooth. I have heard that there are a lot of problems with private langauge academy owners and poor conditions for teachers. In this case I would thoroughly recommend getting a job in a public school."
Anonymous, 11/09/07
I have been in Busan for 7 weeks after leaving a very boring and unsatisfying job in London. I am working in a public elementary school and from what I've heard from other people working in the academies I am extremely lucky. The academies give less time off and my school is actually closed for normal lessons for 12 weeks per year. With this in mind I will be doing a winter camp which I will be paid extra on top of my normal salary. This is one of the perks of being in a public school.

If you decide to come here be prepared for the initial culture shock but don't be put off by it. The people are really friendly most of the time and very willing to help in any way they can.

Money for teaching is low compared to England but the cost of living here is so cheap. The beauty of working in Korea is that you can do all the things you want to do and still have money left at the end of the month to save. Now is definitely time to come here with the schools paying for your flights and accommodation for a year, I don't think anywhere else in the world does that but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

Overall I would say if you're not happy doing what you're doing now go for it!"
Anonymous, 25/10/07
Korea is the best place to make money while teaching ESL. Unfortunately I see so many people here squander all of their money on drinking and partying every night of the week. You don't have to party to have a good time in Korea. You can travel for very cheap, dine at good restaurants for prices a little better than US prices.

Advice on picking a good school: Talk to one of the foreign teachers who already teach at your school. Get a VERY GOOD account of all aspects of daily teaching life that will be important to you, such as do you get paid on time, do you work a split shift (pain in the @$$), is there anything to do outside of work, are you close to public transportation, how is the residence?

My school provided me a very comfortable residence and it's very clean, my boss cares about her employees and takes care of us all whenever something goes wrong. In return, we have to be flexible with her. We stay late some nights, maybe once a month I'm at work from 9 am to 6 pm, then a school function til 8:30 pm then mandatory staff dinner and beers together until 11 pm. You have to be willing to scratch their back.

A lot of schools and employers take advantage of foreigners. A lot of residences are terrible. But a lot of employers want to make this as easy as possible for you because that means making it easy for themselves, too, so do your homework and find a good school. Don't rely on blacklists, etc. Talk to someone who works there. Talk to the person you are going to replace. If your potential school won't provide you with that contact, move on. There are too many jobs available here to put up with that kind of nonsense.

It's SO WORTH IT to teach here.
TW, 28/02/08
Yes, the E2 visa is strict. You even have to take an HIV test, this is just wrong, would they ask tourists to do this?"
Lei, 28/04/08
Ladies, my South Korean employer let me know that I didn't dress conservatively enough (and that just means a v-neck sweater!). Be sure to pack some non-questionable clothes, especially if you're not a small person. Korean sizes tend to be too small for some westerners, and you certainly need to think about bra and shoe sizes."
Sarah, 09/08/08
Many of these people have said to ask questions before coming. Bare in mind that you will not get a straight answer. Koreans will do whatever it takes to get what they want. If they want you they will promise the world to you, only upon you arrival you will see not a single percentage of what was told holds true. I was told that my school had 6 other foreign teachers and we all would be living in the same apartment complex. However, not only did my school not have 6 other foreign teachers, I was the only and the first. I'm not going to say anything for my living arrangements, hey it's a roof over my head, but it isn't even close to the pictures they sent me. Don't believe what people say about the pay, they will not pay you what they promise you. They won't even pay you what it says in the contract you sign. There are so many loop holes along with no legal repercussions. My advice, if you aren't going to be teaching in a Seoul public school, don't go, find another country."
Bummed in Korea, 05/05/09
I've been in Gwangju for 180 days today, and am ready to return home to the USA. My schools are good and my pay is regular; I have never had issue with those... it is my neighbors. I live in a very decent flat, but it is populated by Koreans who are all attempting to emulate the hard-partying frat lifestyle that I am told is actually very common here - stomping and screaming and careening around literally at all hours of the night. Between February and March I literally slept less than 2 hours a night, and became susceptible to hallucination. When I ask local police or my co-teachers for assistance, they ask around the building and report back to me that "[all of the other residents] say there is no problem," and just walk away! Nope, can't be the loud, drunk, inconsiderate locals... must be the foreign guy!

Again, my school environment is generally ok, my pay has never been slighted and I live in a nice place, but am simply unable to function because of a lack of rest and no assistance for to acquire any. I will likely be returning home in a month or so as a consequence."
Brandon, 10/05/09
If you're a recent university graduate, Korea is a great place to teach. You can pay off student loans, and still live a comfortable lifestyle. Hagwon's (private academies) are extremely sketchy, and I would advise you to accept a position at your local McDonalds before working at a private institute. As for the public school system, it can be worthwhile if you plan on only staying in Korea for a couple of years. It's a shame that Korea's public school system offers no real incentives for serious or qualified teachers. As you gain more experience and become more qualified, (ie: CELTA, TESOL, B.Ed, M.A etc..) the opportunities to find teaching jobs where the benefits are commensurate with one's experience and qualifications are few and far between. Even with a teacher's certificate and 10 years of ESL experience, you'll almost never make more than 3 million won a month ($30 000 USD per year). If you do happen to make more than this, be sure to expect long working hours, very basic accomodation, and very little vacation time. Pretty insulting if you ask me (especially considering the fact that Korean "English teachers", most of whom can barely speak 3 words of English, can expect to make about 5 million won per month with the exact same experience and qualifications. All in all, Korea's a great place to teach for people who want to gain ESL experience, pay off student loans and party like a rock star. For those who are looking for a real teaching career, I'd suggest that you look for employment elsewhere."
Anonymous, 06/07/09
My advice is research, research, research. Don't leave anything to chance. Contracts are a year long and if you have to break that contract you can probably forget about being able to work in Korea again until that visa has expired. I have started making audio recordings of my experiences of living and working in South Korea that can be obtained at www.hagwonreflection.000a.biz
Hagwon Reflections, 12/11/09

Teaching English in South Korea

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