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| *Travel Tips>>>Korea Travel Tips |
I want to teach English in S. Korea....does anyone have any advice?? |
Travel Info I want to teach English in S. Korea....does anyone have any advice?? Travel Tips Teaching English in Korea can be a wonderful experience or a horrendous one. Korea is an extremely scenic and welcoming place to live. The people are generally friendly. (just make sure you are friendly back) The public transportation is second to none, and the nightlife is eclectic. There are many nice schools in Korea to teach at. You can teach at several different types of schools. Private Language Institutes: There are Kindergarten and Elementary institutes. You usually have to teach from 9-5 or 2-9 depending on which group you are teaching. This is the ever-famous babysitting job that most of us teachers experience when we first come to Korea. You can't come here expecting to be on top, right? These can be long days sometimes, but it can be very fun and enjoyable if you are a creative person and good with kids. There are also some middle and high school institutions, usually offering afternoon shifts. Expect to work at least 30-35 hours per week. (in class) There are also many adult education institutes. The schedules for these are usually blocked together. Usually 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours at night. ie 7am-10am and 7pm-10pm. You will teach people ranging from univeristy students up to businessmen and executives. The schedule is appealing to some people because it gives alot of time during the day to do PT work. These kinds of schools usually pay 2-2.5 million won per month. $2000-2500 USD monthly. Public Schools- Some people are lucky and can bag one of these jobs the first time they come here. You would be working in a public elementary, middle, or high school. The hours are usually very low for this type of teaching. Expect to work from 12pm-5pm. Probably no more than 20 hours of teaching per week. But the pay is the same if not better then working at private language institutes. You will get 4 weeks of vacation a year at least. Universities- To become a university professor at one of the univeristies in Korea, you need to be MBA qualified at least. The benefits and schedule are about the same as public schools. Negatives: There are alot of scamartists in the private English school industry over here. Alot of teachers have compared it to a "meat market" of foreign teachers coming in and going out. Be careful of schools that offer extremely high salary and benefits. I would recommend to come over here first as a tourist and meet potential job offers in person. Many people sign contracts while overseas and come over here to a whole different picture than what was described to them over the phone or internet. It's important to read any employment contract carefully. Go over every section of the contract before you sign and accept a job. Do not trust anyone fully, it's very easy to get backstabbed in this sort of environment. After all, the school will be your sponsor in order for you to live here. They will be responsible for all of your benefits including housing. One more negative; there are alot of headhunters in Korea, and they will do anything to sell a position to you. i.e. offer bonus payments, more then normal salary, bogus vacations and benefits. Unfourtunately you are new to the business, so to get a job over here you might have to go through one of them. Don't get me wrong, there are some great Recruiters in Korea, but there are alot of scammers too. Alot of foreigners get caught doing private tutoring while working a FT job. This is illegal. You can only do this if you report to immigration and your sponsored school that wish to do so. Here's what you will need to have before applying for a job Orginal Bachleors degree from any accredited university (it is illegal to teach without one) Original Sealed transcripts Valid passport Full resume Here's the benefits to be expected from a basic teaching job: 2-3 million won per month salary paid once a month, usually between the 1st and 10th. $2000-3000 USD Furnished housing- could be anything, always check out the housing before hand. Usually a studio or two room apartment. They will pay the rent, you will have to pay the utilities. (around $100 a month) Insurance plan- 50/50 medical (dental is not included) This means the school will cover 50% of your medical costs when you are under contract with them. Pension plan- You can elect for this in your contract or not. You can claim the pension at the end of your contract. Taxes- make sure they don't try to hamstring you on taxes. You should be deducted no more than 3.3% for Korean Government taxes. Some schools try to say its 7 or 8%. Of course your benefits are extra. If you have any further questions drop me a line jaymiae@yahoo.com Source(s): I used to be a recruiter for foreign teachers. (FTUNION) Been in Korea 8 years. I AM a foreign teacher. Other Travel Tips just make sure you dont end up in N. Korea... Check out Dave's ESL Cafe on the internet - he maintains a ESL website for Korea. It has lots of good information on the site. Be prepared to meet the unexpected. Koreans are generally friendly, but Korea is definitely a very different culture. It might take a while to get used to it. Do your best to check out the school before you come. Some schools are very good and some aren't as good. Try to talk with other foreign teachers at the schools you are considering before you decide to sign a contract. Sometimes positions at public schools are better than ones at private schools and have better vacations--not always, though. Don't believe everything the school or recruiter might promise you. If things sound too good to be true, think again. I don't mean to sound negative, but it is important to be cautious. I have been in Korea for a long time and have had very good employers, but I've heard lots of stories. I think it is better to take a job in or near Seoul. You might be very isolated if you take a job in the countryside. Koreans are still surprised by foreigners. They will sometimes stare at you and say things like "Oh, there's a foreigner." It takes a little getting used, too. Actually, I'm not sure I'll ever be completely used to it. Good luck. |
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