Job Discussion Forums

[babyblue135]

Ther is a really good recruiting company in South Korea. If you are thinking about teaching in Asia I recommend this place. I worked in korea for 5 years and I will now go back for a year or so.
Why so great?
--Highly organized
--Friendly
--They listen to you for proper job placement according to your wants
--honest
--fair about negotiations
--no nonsense with the schools where you connect

In any case, if you are looking for a safe recruiter I suggest you use

Morning Calm Recruiting
The best speaker there is Natalia Kim
There office is in Jeolla province but she ofetn travels to seoul
www.morning-calm.net

Good luck with all of your Asian adventures!

[DavidSmith101]

I was recruited by morning calm recruiting and i thought that they were terrible! The lied to me about a whole range of things including salary, location, my apartment (which i was promised to have to myself but had to share with 3 other people), and even the hours were wildly inaccurate (130 hours instead of the promised 90).

The actual apartment was a dump and have gotten sick a lot from the mold spores on the ceiling and walls. The person at morning calm recruiting, natalia kim was a total psycho! she acted all nice and friendly when i was being recruited in the states, but as soon as i got here she like didnt even return my phone calls! i thought that i would have the time of my life but its really depressing here. i have made friends but i still cant change my situation very easily.

[valley_girl]

I used a recruiter when I went to Korea (not the one mentioned above) and again when I went to Taiwan and was also lied to, both times, about various things, including accommodations, working conditions, and salary/compensation issues - not small things! I would never use a recruiter were I to go overseas to teach EFL again and I don't recommend using them to any newbies.

The Internet is a great tool. Use it to make contact with foreign teachers (not local teachers, school directors, or agents/recruiters) and get the scoop on different areas and schools. What is the reputation of the school? What are the hours? Do they pay on time and in full? Do they treat their staff with courtesy and not as chattel? Approximately how many other foreign teachers live/work in the area? What do they do for fun/hobbies/exercise/etc.? What are the accommodations like (cost, quality, distance from school, roommates, etc.)? Find out as much as you possibly can before you go and if at all possible, sign nothing until you get there. Doing a blind search can leave you in an extremely vulnerable position and might get you into a bad situation.

I would also advise newbies to negotiate well. Working 6-7 days a week might seem doable now, but it really can wear you down. Teaching is exhausting work, especially when you have kids who want to be entertained by their foreign teacher! Negotiate weekend and holiday time (more than a week!). Ask for more money, particularly if you have any teaching credentials. Don't shortchange yourself! If you are offered less than what you truly want, move on. There will be other - better - offers. Don't be afraid to say "No, thanks". Make sure everything is in writing and keep a copy of the original contract. One employer in Korea showed me a copy of my contract showing a salary lower than the one I'd agreed to. I showed my copy of the original and told them that if they don't honour it, I would be taking a walk. They honoured the contract, but we haggled over travel money and overtime every single month. I never backed down (and you shouldn't either).

That should be about 2 cents' worth (if not more) so I'll stop there.

[jay-shi]

[Guy Courchesne]

Recruiters in Korea are getting a bad rap overall. Must be hard for the good one to compete, especially with recent events.

[quebnat]

I've been recruited by Morning Calm last year -- the only thing I can say about this agency is : fantastic!!

Natalia Kim took good care of me, she answered all my questions, sent me my visa documents and flight tickets promptly and she found me a perfect job in Iksan, South Korea. I'm even renewing my contract for a second year! The school was exactly as she described it, so was my apartment. I haven't had any bad surprises!

I know finding a teaching job abroad can be risky, and I've been very lucky to deal with someone as thoughtful, competent and nice as Natalia Kim. I recommend anyone who wants to teach in Korea to deal with Morning Calm Recruiting Agency.

[DavidSmith101]

Everybody knows about MORNING CALM. Avoid Morning Calm as if they were the plague! Apparently they�ve been under investigation by at least two embassies for about 6 months that I know of. They also wrote me directly as I made an application to them and theyh told me one thing, while they told another applicant (my friend) something about the same school, totally different. Wages, hours, ages of students, housing, visa, airfare, and more, one big whopping lie after another. Get smart, fish around, and soon you will see, the entire world of ESL is one big game. Now and then you get lucky and find a great job that you will love. But overall, those days are long gone.

Natalia Kim likes to blame things on "communication" or "cultural" differences. Minor things mostly. Such as 40 hour work weeks versus 25 hours, or 1.8 million won versus 2.7 million won. Paid housing, actually means that YOU PAY for it, nothing too serious. Just any and all information that is essential and required to make an informed and educated decision regarding employment.

I can see why there are so many negative reviews on here! Smoke, Fire, Hello?

[Jetgirly]