Korean Job Discussion Forums

Ramalama · Joined: 14 Nov 2006

Hi guys,

I have a couple of interviews lined up next week with some recruiters and schools in Korea. I'm excited at the prospects of going to Korea to teach english, however, I'm also very apprehensive about the whole thing.

I was supposed to go to Taiwan a few months back, but changed my mind last minute because I was hearing really negative things regarding the teaching conditions of some schools, poor contracts, mistreatment of teachers and so on. It completely turned me off.

But I have a real strong desire to teach in Asia, so my eyes are now set on S. Korea. I have an interview with YES Youngdo, which I hear is pretty reliable most of the time. But I'm getting turned off, yet again, after hearing some serious horror stories about the institution. For every one good thing I hear about YES, I hear 10 nightmarish accounts about how terrible it is. Every school that I am interested in, I find out soon after, is actually some abusive hell hole.

I realize though that every teacher will run into some problems, and I am not going to Korea to slack off and treat it as an exteneded holiday. But I would like to avoid as much trouble as I possibly can.

In short, I'm asking, which school is the most reputable, most reliable? I cannot discern, with my limited knowledge of Korean ESL schools, what schools are good or bad.

Hater Depot · Joined: 29 Mar 2005

Most schools are not hellholes. The vast majority do have problems but they are typically problems that you can work around.

This is a great place to start before you come to Korea.

http://wiki.galbijim.com/Portal:Teaching_in_Korea

Captain Corea · Joined: 28 Feb 2005 Location: Seoul

Aye, good link. Snoop around there and lots of questions will be answered.

query29 · Joined: 12 Dec 2006 Location: right behind you

At some point, you just have to accept that there is some risk to teaching in South Korea. Of course, you can minimize that risk by doing your homework and it seems you're doing that.

I am also looking for a contract, and while I will do all I can to minimize my risk, I'm looking forward to the new and exciting things that I'll soon see.

My advice to you is to think of the absolute worst case scenarios. Are they great enough to keep you from coming? If not, take a chance while you can!

Gamecock · Joined: 26 Nov 2003

As a former YES Youngdo employee, let me say this in its favor: If you come to Korea with YES, work there and decide it's not for you or you find a better job, they are very good about letting you walk away without a hassle (If it's before 6 months you must pay back the airfare, but they won't give you any other b.s. about leaving). It's even written in their contract that they MUST give you a release letter if you give the proper advanced notice before leaving. This is more than 99% of hogwans offer in this area.

You will work hard there and it could turn into a hell depending on your manager. But I often tell newbies it's a pretty good place to start if you don't have a public school gig set up. Guaranteed pay, and guaranteed release letter.

Fresh Prince · Joined: 05 Dec 2006 Location: The glorious nation of Korea

Novernae · Joined: 02 Mar 2005

As for the 1 to 10 good to bad story ratio, remember that people are more than willing to spend time complaining about their problems if they have them than detailing the good points of their jobs. I've worked for two different hagwons and have not had any major problems. I'm currently at a great school, but I also don't start a thread about it, so chances are you'd never hear about it unless you asked.

Hotpants · Joined: 27 Jan 2006

There will be bad schools in Taiwan. There will be bad schools in Korea. There will be bad schools wherever you go.

You'll probably never find a single school which is 100% problem free. Yet, why do so many teachers stay here year after year? There surely has to be something good about this place, right?

It may well be that you will start off in a not so good place first time around as many do who come here as a first time teacher. But, once you become familiar with the scene and have some experience behind you, you can work your way up into 'better' positions.

Even if you are unfortunate enough to land a not so good school, spending as much as 12 months there is not your entire life. Just come over and take what you can from the experience, and if you don't like it, just move on.

I do recommend reading the Galbijim link above, as it tells you a lot about what to look out for.