Korean Job Discussion Forums

[theevilgenius]

Hey! I'll hopefully be teaching in Daegu in a couple of months and as a guy was wondering what should I wear when teaching. I'm more of a jeans and t-shirt guy than slacks and shirt guy. I just want some opinions so that if it is slacks and shirts than I should bring some with me. Cheers!!

[Nadia_M]

I wear dress pants with a decent looking shirt. On Fridays I usually wear jeans and a nice shirt. I work at a hogwan. Shoes don't matter, because we wear slippers. Look nice and clean. You don't have to wear formal clothes, although you might want to bring some snazzy shirts for special occasions.

[InDaGu]

That's really something you need to ask your employer. A lot of people on here will tell you that everyone should dress business-casual, but that's simply not true for every situation. I find teaching in a hagwon that dressing business-casual can sometimes make you seem less approachable to the students. I currently teach in a kindergarten, and it would just be silly for me to dress that way, especially considering that I have P.E. and other classes where those type clothes aren't practical. I regularly wear shorts and T-shirts to work.

[northway]

^^^^

Really depends on the school. Teaching kindergarten, I range from shorts and a t-shirt to jeans and a button up. I only go beyond jeans and a button up if I know I'm going to talk to parents that day.

[Radius]

whatever you do dont wear a suit. i laughed everyday at my Canadian co-worker/friend who would wear a suit everyday to our hagwon

[laguna]

[sigmundsmith]

Depends were you are working.

For my first gig at a hagwon I wore slacks and a polo shirt. Relatively presentable.

Three years for a public school in Seoul I wore dress pants and a long sleeve business shirt.

Now for a university I wear a tie as well.

It all comes down to what you feel comfortable with and what the people you work with wear.

Some people at public schools wear jeans and a t-shirt. Others dont. This is the same with universities.

Again with hagwons it also depends. If it is small chain (mum and pap hagwon) they probably dont expect business atire. But other bigger chains may expect some form of professional dress.

[jonpurdy]

Public elementary school: suit some days, jeans and t-shirt others. Mix it up. You can get away with the jeans and t-shirt if you balance it with the occasional suit.

[southernman]

It does depend on where you work i.e Kindergarten.

I've always dressed business casual at hagwons and PS unless its Wednesday, teachers volleyball, then its trackpants and t-shirt.

For me, its about appearance and presenting as a professional.

I've known Hagwon teachers to wear clothes that I would wear for gardening or painting a house. They invaribly complain about not being taken seriously or not getting shown respect

[chellovek]

Shirt, man, shirt.

[nathanrutledge]

I wear jeans and a dress shirt every day. Nice suit for important days. I keep a sports coat and tie at the office that go well with either dress slacks or jeans so I can be anywhere on the spectrum pretty easily. I teach at a public high school.

Gotta say, I find tee shirts really unprofessional, shorts too. Some people find jeans unprofessional, but as long as they are clean, no holes, not baggy skating jeans or something of that nature, it would be okay, IMO. But yeah, check with the employer.

[RMNC]

Chinos and an Oxford shirt for anything but Kindergarten, in which case there's no rules.

[le-paul]

ask your boss - ive had a few jobs and they all asked diffent things of me.
I just wear my vest and shorts now...

[Illysook]

Pet hair is the perfect accessory. It's like taking your cuddly creature where ever you go!

[stephorama]

Is it OK to show arm and leg skin? If so how much? (Not planning on micro-mini's, just curious.) On average, how many people wear jeans to work in your school? I am looking at early elementary or kinder in a hagwon.

Shorts are OK? Interesting!

When will cooler weather attire be needed? Is that more location specific?

A lot of what I am reading on these boards is very different from a lot of websites suggestions, particularly regarding attire. Very confusing but I'd rather hear from people who are actually working in schools than from a recruiters website.