Korean Job Discussion Forums

[pjmancktelow]

Hi, Ive been dealing with somebody who works for BCM Educational group but is recruiting me for a GEPIK position. I know BCM are a large franchise, but im a little concerned that they are recruiting me for GEPIK position. The contract they have sent me is a GEPIK one. Im not too fussed about sending of my documents I have multiple copies. Though I only have one criminal record check in hand, I dont wish to lose this.

can anybody shed some light on this for me please, id be most thankful

[Atavistic]

What, exactly, are your questions or concerns?

[Bibbitybop]

I'm confused by the OP's message, too.

OP, are you concerned you aren't being hired for GEPIK? If it's a GEPIK contract, you are bound to GEPIK, not the recruiter or another school.

[wylies99]

OP- Who is the recruiter?

[pjmancktelow]

sorry guys, my concern is why is a large franchise such as BCM, which as far as i am aware have a chain of schools, not recruiters, recruiting for GEPIK?

[Paul_Zerzan]

Next time you're talking to this person at BCM, ask them.

[yeremy]

I used to work at a BCM in Gyonggi-do. I have seen BCM ads advertising BCM openings and GEPIK openings, too, on Dave's. The ads I have seen said that they were part of the BCM HR department in Seoul and they were recruiting teachers for both BCM and non-BCM jobs. You should call them, but if they were recruiting you for a BCM job I am sure they would have sent you a BCM contract to look over. That they sent you a GEPIK contract to look at means that they are looking to place you in a GEPIK job. However, as another poster said, you should call them and confirm it.

A GEPIK job would be much better than a BCM job any day based on my experience. I went from the aforementioned BCM in Gyonggi-do to a GEPIK job, which I like a whole lot better, and where I have been for three years.

It would be a very good idea, too, if you do take a GEPIK job from a BCM recruiter to read the contract very carefully, and make positively sure that there is not a clause requiring you to work at a local BCM franchise after your public school classes are done for the day. BCM teachers tend to work long hours. I worked 35 X 50-minute classes a week. It wasn't always a good time.

I hope this helps. However, since I don't have any affiliation with BCM except for bittersweet memories, you should call them posthaste and find out what the story is.

BCM was the third largest EFL hagwon franchise chain in Korea, when I worked there. It was started by Min Byung-chul, Dr. Mim to BCM'ers, who has a PhD in English Education, I believe. BCM'ers work long hours each week in a split-shift teaching adults, college students and some public school classes. You will have to punch in with a time clock and I have seen the Korean teachers, I used to work with, running up the stairs in order not to be late.

[pjmancktelow]

thanks for that, i will email her and ask her about it. my other concern is that they want my documents but give no idea about where ill be teaching. ill be a first timer and would rather be in a large city with at least some other foreigners. the day to day at work, me the only foreigner doesnt bother me. what do you reckon as a first timer, go for this gepik job or wait for a hagwon in seoul or incheon, its prob better money

[I'm Seoul Lost]

I also got my GEPIK job going through BCM. Only issue I had was that the school I was ultimately placed in was different from what we had talked about on the phone. (That switcheroo happened before the signing of documents, so I wasn't yet locked in, and the change was actually good for me)

This was my first time dealing with a recruiter, so I'm afraid I can't compare it to anything, but my experience was satisfactory.

If you want to be close to other westerners, you probably want to be in Uijeongbu or Seongnam. I also wouldn't send anything until you get some word on where you will actually be.

On the P.S. vs Hagwon question, it depends. There is less risk of going through hell in a PS. On the other hand, in a hogwon, the other westerners there will probably help you figure things out (cell phone, transportation card, western hangouts, etc). In a PS, there is a teacher assigned to help you out, but he will probably be less likely to think of the "extras" that will make your life easier.

In short, there is no good answer to that question. I am much happier working in the PS than I was in the hagwon, but for a newbie, PS is more like jumping into the deep end. You would have to figure more things out for yourself. Just like in a hagwon, other GEPIKers would be happy to help you get settled down, but you wouldn't see them every day.

If I was in your position, I'd take the PS job, and plan on some minor teething pains as a new arrival.

[yeremy]

If you want to make more money, I would go for the hagwon route. Look for a hagwon in Daechi dong in Gangnam in Seoul, or in Apgujeong, which is also in Seoul. Those are two very affluent areas, whose EFL salaries seem to be higher than usual. Those are also areas which are more expensive to live, too, so if you do go there be sure to ask for a high enough salary so you can have a decent quality of life. You should ask for 2.2 plus, I think. BCM in the burbs will try to get you to sign for 2.0 and the split shift from hades. Don't do that. A hagwon is also a good place for an EFL newcomer to get their feet wet ahd learn a lot about how to teach in Korea. You will teach by yourself and you will have small classes, so you can get to know your students well.

If you want steady hours and a steady paycheck with bankers hours, then a public school is for you. You would have to co-teach with a licensed Korean public school teacher, whose English probably isn't good enough to really teach in English on their own, but you can learn a lot from them, too. I teach in the GEPIK program and I really enjoy watching the kids grow up like weeds almost before your eyes both physically, socially, linguistically and academically. It is a good experience. Working in a public school will have a better chance to be accepted for some experience requirement later at home, but you will have more time for yourself, which your school will want you to use for class prep and professional development.

Also, if you do work in a public school, which would probably be in the EPIK, GEPIK or SMOE programs, getting an EFL certificate of at least 100-hours will help you to qualify for a higher salary and classification than not having one. This is another debate by people on this site but you will have a choice between TEFL, or CELTA. As one poster maintains, if you're not going to make a career or teach long term, then an EFL certificate is not worth the money. The better programs will have you studying in a classroom where you will also have a supervised and critiqued (criticized) teaching practcum. This is an area you have to decide whether it is worth it or not. I have my opinions, but I want to stick to what I think are the facts, and not my opinion, here.

The main three knocks, as I see it, on working in a public school is that first of all, you will have to stay at your school, even when you don't have classes, from 8:30 to maybe 5. Some of the others on this site have, reportedly, negotiated the right to go home, but that is uniquely a case-by-case situation. My hats off to them, but a newcomer isn't likely to be able to do that. It's contingent upon being professionally prepared to teach every day once the bell rings.

The second knock is that you will likely be the only foreigner in the school, so it will be more challenging socially and linguistically unless you can speak Korean. Public school teachers work in a real Korean work environment, which means that many decisions are often relayed at the last minute down the pipeline to you. The public school hierachy is usually very strict, rigid and age/experience oriented. You as an EFL teacher will be at the bottom of the teacher's hiearchy in a category all by yourself. Some people don't like feeling isolated, but others revel in it. I like being left alone to prepare, study and work on EFL related projects.


The third knock on public schools, is that if you work in an elementary school, you will probably have to use the severelly challenged official textbooks. This is the real burden you will, in my opinion, have to carry. I spend a lof ot my free time in the afternoons preparing supplemental communicative (activities, games, quizes, role-plays, flashcards, dialogs, listening exercises, etc.) and lexical (mainly crosswords and vocabulary lists and other vocabulary related materials) for my classes. You will also not be the boss, either. Whatever you prepare, or propose to do, you will likely have to pass by your co-teacher, or co-teachers for their approval, which is no different than workin in the US in a public school there.

I do not believe that a public school job is always a good job for an EFL newcomer to Korea, for the reasons above, but it's a great experience.

If you want to be a longtime EFL'er, in Korea, for example, it is probably best to go out and work your way up the EFL chain and get as much experience teaching as many different kinds of students as possible, while getting an accredited MA in TESOL or Applied LInguistics or Education or even English Literature at the same time, for example. Whatever EFL related degree you may get should always be accredited and accepted in whatever EFL market you wish to work. However, buyer beware: Distance MA in TESOL, etc are reportedly not accepted by EFL schools in the Middle East.


Good luck and always keep smiling.