Hi again,
Has anyone out there worked as an English teacher in Korea? I have taught Koreans and had a very good rapport with them. If I teach overseas, one of reasons will be to save money. I have heard that cost of living is cheaper there then here in the United States and my housing would be provided for me by the school and would be within walking distance to the school. Please give me your opinions and experience about this. Also, the school would pay for my airfare and also for my passport expenses.
anne1
Boy, do I have questions! Korea... (of course south korea)
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markholmes
- Posts: 100
- Joined: Mon May 07, 2007 10:54 pm
Be Careful
Hi Anne. I worked for 5 years at Seoul Foreign School, and had a very positive experience. However, if you're looking at Korea, be aware of these things:
1) Right now Seoul is the 3rd most expensive city to live in on the planet; if you eat more like a Korean then it's fine, but the odds are is that you could end up living in a very, very small apartment, which is "Korean." Meaning: no oven, but a hot plate. No bed, but a "yo," or mat. Your bathroom would have a showerhead and toilet. It is very basic.
I liked SFS for many reasons, but one was that they gave us Western housing, and treated us well.
2) Only work at an international school: SFS and SIS (Seoul International School) are the two large ones. Obviously, I'm going to be biased towards SFS. However, DO NOT GO WORK FOR A HAGWON, or language school. Yes, some of them are good, but I knew many, many people who worked at hagwons and were quite mistreated by management.
In the sake of fairness, you should know SIS is for profit, and friends I had who worked there mentioned that a lot of decisions centered on profit and not education.
3) Don't just do this to make money; Korea & Seoul can be very frustrating places to work, and some contracts are harder to break than others. Having traveled all over Asia, I can tell you honestly that Seoul is not one of the best places to visit, and it can be very hard living. If you're going to do this, really make sure that you're ready to get in quite possibly over your head. No amount of savings can replace a year or two of a negative experience.
4) If you do this, [u]get everything in writing before you sign a contract.[/u] When you get to Seoul, register with the embassy, especially if you are working for Koreans.
1) Right now Seoul is the 3rd most expensive city to live in on the planet; if you eat more like a Korean then it's fine, but the odds are is that you could end up living in a very, very small apartment, which is "Korean." Meaning: no oven, but a hot plate. No bed, but a "yo," or mat. Your bathroom would have a showerhead and toilet. It is very basic.
I liked SFS for many reasons, but one was that they gave us Western housing, and treated us well.
2) Only work at an international school: SFS and SIS (Seoul International School) are the two large ones. Obviously, I'm going to be biased towards SFS. However, DO NOT GO WORK FOR A HAGWON, or language school. Yes, some of them are good, but I knew many, many people who worked at hagwons and were quite mistreated by management.
In the sake of fairness, you should know SIS is for profit, and friends I had who worked there mentioned that a lot of decisions centered on profit and not education.
3) Don't just do this to make money; Korea & Seoul can be very frustrating places to work, and some contracts are harder to break than others. Having traveled all over Asia, I can tell you honestly that Seoul is not one of the best places to visit, and it can be very hard living. If you're going to do this, really make sure that you're ready to get in quite possibly over your head. No amount of savings can replace a year or two of a negative experience.
4) If you do this, [u]get everything in writing before you sign a contract.[/u] When you get to Seoul, register with the embassy, especially if you are working for Koreans.
teacher at SIS
hi-
as a former teacher at sis, i can also attest to the fact that sfs and sis are the only places to work in seoul. hogwons are a risky business, and i know several people who have been severely screwed over in the process.
as the previous poster noted, sis is for profit, and the owner is very quirky, but the school runs smoothly and efficiently thanks to a relatively solid administration, particularly the ms and hs principals.
seoul is quite expensive, but on salary from one of the aforementioned schools, one can manage to save quite a bit of money while living in a safe and secure country. that said, if you aren't certified, then you don't have a chance at either of these schools.
good luck.
as a former teacher at sis, i can also attest to the fact that sfs and sis are the only places to work in seoul. hogwons are a risky business, and i know several people who have been severely screwed over in the process.
as the previous poster noted, sis is for profit, and the owner is very quirky, but the school runs smoothly and efficiently thanks to a relatively solid administration, particularly the ms and hs principals.
seoul is quite expensive, but on salary from one of the aforementioned schools, one can manage to save quite a bit of money while living in a safe and secure country. that said, if you aren't certified, then you don't have a chance at either of these schools.
good luck.