Most of what is here has been put together by Dave Sperlings at his website "ESL Cafe" (thanks again Dave!) but I thought I'd add a few things here and there...
- First of all, there are 2 types of schools here in Korea; Public Schools and Hagwons
There are pro's and cons to both of these schools, but I have heard far fewer cons from Public Schools, as well as far more pro's. Basically Public Schools function through the Government: this means that you are paid via the governement and there are therefore very few errors or things that can go wrong. With Hagwons, these are private institutes, and you are paid by the Principle of the school (I have heard some horrow stories about Principles withholding pay cheques/passports/degrees etc but again, just stories).
Public schools:
These are the schools that are run by the Korean Government. They are all under the English Program in Korea aka EPIK and are standard throughout South Korea. If this is your first time applying/teaching in South Korea, we definitely recommend coming to a Public school :)*longer holidays (18 days of paid leave) as well as all Public holidays
*you decide which days to take as your holiday
*rent free apartment
*one way/return airfare (depending on your contract)
*salary ranges from W1.8 million -W2.6 million ($1800 - $2700 or R18 000 - R27 000) depending on your experience level and where you choose to teach
*school hours are between 08:30-16:30
*Usually you are the only Native Teacher at the school
Hagwons:
These are the Private Institutions/Academies that are privately owned. The parents who send their kids to Hagwons pay a lot of money to have their kids go to these institutions. The kids go to Hagwons AFTER school.*Month salary of W2 million - 2.5 millon ($2000 - $2900 or R20 000 - R29 000) depending on your qualification and experience
*6-10 days holiday
*school hours are usually from 14:00-21:00
*rent free apartment
*one way/return airfare depending on your contract
*Usually there are more than 1 native English speaking teacher
As Farmboy and I are both at Public Schools, the following info will just be pertaining to Public Schools...If you are interested in working for a Hagwon, drop me an email and I will happily put you in touch with some friends who are currently working/have worked there.
What are the requirements for teaching English in South Korea?
The following is taken from "I Love ESL" and are the requiremnts for the Recruitment Agency called EPIK, but these requirements pretty much the same as all other agencies...
Basic requirement (Qualification)
* Be a citizen of a country where English is the primary language.
-By E2 visa law, EPIK teachers should have a citizenship from one of the following countries:
Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, and South Africa. Must have studied from the junior high level and resided for at least 10 years or more in the country where English is the primary language.
-Ethnic Koreans with legal residency in a country where English is the primary language can apply, but must provide proof of English education beginning from the junior high school level.
* Hold a minimum of Bachelor's degree
(ANY degree: Farmboy has his BSC honours and I have my undergrad in English Literature~ basically neither of us have studied English Language apart from what basics I did in my first year)
- Applicants with a 2 year associate degree or who have completed a minimum of 2 years in university can apply to the "TaLK" program.
* Be mentally and physically healthy (they ask you a lot of these kind of questions on your application form hehe)
* Have a good command of the English language.
* Have the ability and willingness to adapt to Korean culture and living
Should I come over and then just find a job?
In my oppinion, this isn't the best way of finding a job over here. With the economy as it is at the moment, there are more and more teachers already here that are renewing their contracts thus making it harder (not that much harder) but still harder to find jobs.My advice is to go through a recruiter...they do all the hard work for you (getting your visa, flights, schools, placements etc) and you don't pay them (as they are usually working with the Korean government who pays them for getting you to come over here). We came over both times with TeachKorea who were wonderful to deal with, you can chat to Cliff or his wife YunOck.
With an agency you are also covered in case anything does go wrong, you always have an English speaking person to phone/email about problems that may arise.
How much will I get paid?
This was taken off the EPIK website on 7th May 2014. Please note:
Offices of Education are not currently hiring level 3 applicants. As such, all applicants MUST qualify for at least a level 2 on the pay scale BEFORE signing the final contract.
| Level | Requirements | Monthly Pay (million KRW) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan City | Province | ||||
| Busan/ Incheon | Other Cities | Jeju | Other Provinces | ||
| 1+ |
After 2 consecutive years as Level 1 with the renewing province
| 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.7 |
| 1 |
2 years of full-time teaching experience plus one of the following:
Bachelor’s degree in Education, English* or Linguistics
Teacher’s license
TEFL/TESOL or CELTA certificate(100+hours)
Master’s degree in any discipline
After 1 year as Level 2+ with the renewing province
| 2.3 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.5 |
| 2+ |
1 year of full-time teaching experience plus one of the following:
Bachelor’s degree in Education, English* or Linguistics
Teacher’s license
TEFL/TESOL or CELTA certificate (100+hours)
Master’s degree in any discipline
Master’s degree in Education, English* or Linguistics
Master’s degree in any discipline with Bachelor’s degree in Education, English* or Linguistics
| 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.3 |
| 2 |
Bachelor's degree in Education, English* or Linguistics
OR Bachelor's degree in any discipline plus ONE of the following: - Teacher's License - TEFL/TESOL or CELTA certificate (100+ hours) - 1 year full time teaching experience - At least 1 year TaLK Scholar experience** - Master's degree in any discipline | 2.0 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.2 |
| 3 |
Bachelor’s degree in any discipline
| 1.8 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 2.1 |
How do I apply?
You can apply with EPIK directly {CLICK HERE} or you can do what we did and go through an agency. We are South African, and both times we came to Korea (2010 & 2013) we used TeachKorea. We were very happy with the service we received from the husband and wife team (Cliff & YunOck) and will always recommend them to our friends.
To give you a rough idea of what you need to apply:
First Round (this is like the preliminary application)
*A completed application form with a passport size photo attached,
*A personal essay (included in application form)
*Medical form - self evaluation (included in application form)
*Two reference letters (Any format. Must contain contact/title and organization of the referer. Click here for more info)
Second Round:
*Authenticated Police check report (Criminal Record)
*Original university diploma or a copy notarized by Korean overseas consulate office.
*An official university transcript sealed by appropriate school authority.
*A copy of the passport (photo page)
*Copies of certification (teacher certificate, TESOL, etc),
*(If applicable) Proof of teaching/work experience
ALL of the above need to be notarized & apposilled (local police/post office certification is no longer viable)
We used a great agency called Docs4Expats to get all our documents sorted out. You can contact Noma from Docs4Expats by clicking here. Here is the Facebook Page with more info on their services.
Once you have filed your application forms, you will be scheduled for an interview with a Native Korean person to ask you questions etc about your application form/reasons for applying/ etc basically to see if you are a good candidate for the job. Once your interview has been successful, then you will need to submit the rest of your documents (the ones listed under 'second round' above).
Click here for the link to the EPIK website with a sample of their contract.
What does the Interview involve?
The interview is usually done by phone or skype. You will have to choose a time that would be easier for you.
Here are a few tips from Teach Esl, If you go the the site you will see something about "americanising your accent"~ what nonsense! FarmBoy and I have very strong South African accents, and have friends with all kinds of interesting accents (Afrikaans, Brittish~both posh and not so posh etc)...and I have also heard rumours of Teachers beinf asked to put on an American accent...this is not on. If this happens to you, just tell them NO (if they want an American accent they should hire an American! This really gets to me :) and I mean no disrespect to Americans...but I mean, really!
*Speak slowly. The interviewer is listening to make sure the students will understand you when you are speaking. Force yourself to slow down.
*Speak in full sentences. Even if it seems like the interviewer doesn?t understand exactly what you are saying. Avoid yes/no answers.
*Be ready for anything, even a very casual interview. I am always asked for tips on the types of questions in interviews. It can vary dramatically. You might be asked about class control, culture shock in such a different country, or even if you have ever seen anyone do drugs (always deny any drug use or knowledge, since Korean culture is not accepting of drugs). Sometimes teachers email me later saying they must not have done well in the interview, since it was so short. This is not the case, it was just a casual interview.
*Be energetic, sincere and flexible. This is what every school is looking for in an applicant.
*Be ready for the call. The times for interviews will be consistent, depending on your country. If you live in North America, the schools usually call around 11am, KOREA TIME. This is 10pm EST, when it is not daylight savings time. If you live in England, South Africa, New Zealand or Australia the schools generally call around 5-6pm, KOREA TIME. You must always make sure TESLK has the best numbers to reach you at for an interview.
*Be energetic, sincere and flexible. This is what every school is looking for in an applicant.
*Be ready for the call. The times for interviews will be consistent, depending on your country. If you live in North America, the schools usually call around 11am, KOREA TIME. This is 10pm EST, when it is not daylight savings time. If you live in England, South Africa, New Zealand or Australia the schools generally call around 5-6pm, KOREA TIME. You must always make sure TESLK has the best numbers to reach you at for an interview.
*Expect a job offer. Keep in mind we have an extensive number of schools we deal with in Korea. In Korea, the school will look at a few resumes, but generally will only interview the candidates they are most interested in hiring.
*Be prepared to make a decision. For the most part, schools in Korea will expect a decision in no more than 2-3 days. Once they start the job hunt process, they want to secure the best teacher quickly, so if you delay too long, the job might be gone.
Some more tips from Teach English In Korea:
Okay so you have an interview for a teaching job in Korea coming up.
Are you nervous?
Don’t be!
Directors are looking for candidates who are energetic and outgoing.
Since we hire for elementary schools, directors want candidates who love working with children. If you can express this to the director, you will have a good chance of getting accepted. Directors want teachers who will enjoy teaching their students.
They will probably ask you why you want to teach in Korea.
They will ask what university you went to and what subject you studied.
They will ask if you have any teaching experience even though it is not mandatory.
Interviews are very important because you only have about 10 minutes to make your first impression. They will decide if they want to hire you based on your 10 minute conversation.
Also remember ESL jobs in Korea are competitive. Sometimes directors are interviewing a few candidates at a time before they make their final decision.
What questions will they ask you during the interview?
They just want to get to know you.
Don’t worry. No brain surgery is involved.
Also remember ESL jobs in Korea are competitive. Sometimes directors are interviewing a few candidates at a time before they make their final decision.
Be friendly!
Be polite!
Also be prompt! If the director sends you any follow up emails after the interview, make sure your respond quickly so they don’t think you are not interested in the position.
In Korea, we say “Fighting!”…which means try you best!
Farmboy had his interview on a Thursday morning, very early, at about 07:00, and he was was informed of his acceptance that afternoon. I, on the other hand, had my interview on a Friday morning, and still hadn't heard anything by Tuesday. By which time I called my agency (EPIK) and spoke with the Director, who immediately went to the office, phoned me back and said that I had been accepted but they had not got round to phoning me yet (strange) but there you go!
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