Korean Job Discussion Forums

[thunderpaws]

I teach ESL in China now (Handan City, Hebei province). I was hoping some people who have taught in both China and South Korea could share their thoughts on the differences between the two experiences as I'm considering heading to SK to teach.

I keep hearing this notion about SK: teachers come thinking the students will be totally pliable only to realize they are little monsters (paraphrased).

My experience here in China has been quite different. Maybe that is because my city is a grimy, working-class joint where foreign teachers aren't very common. Due to this, my kids are legitimately hype to meet me, talk with me, ask me questions, and engage in the lessons. They are far from angels--I have to clamp down on em sometimes, have to drop the hammer--but in general they are eager to get into shit if it's interesting and somehow relevant to them.

It is not uncommon for me to find myself surrounded by 5-10 students (the largest group I held court for was about 40) who ask me question after question about my home, my family, music, movies, etc. To be a foreign teacher here is to be a minor celebrity.

Have the Korean students become bored with the foreign teacher? Is it not any interest to them to have a foreign teacher? Is it, like some people argue, they now feel like the foreign teacher is a nuisance?

I've read many posts here over the last couple years while I thought about heading to Korea to teach. At first I thought the "Korean students are jerks" remarks were by bad teachers who don't bother to make the material interesting or relevant, nor attempt to deliver their lessons with any sort of enthusiasm. Then, as I read more, I thought maybe it's just kinda a chest-thumping thing: "you think YOU got it bad? Well I was in the SHIT in Korea, man!" But now I'm not so sure. Maybe the kids there really do suck. But if they suck so bad, why do so many people stay there to teach?!

I would REALLY appreciate any response to this post as I'm very curious from both a cultural level as well as a personal one since I may soon join the ranks in Korea.

Thanks.

[northway]

A lot of the really awful stories seem to come from public school teachers who work in schools with zero support, teaching classes of upwards of thirty students who don't care about the material. Also, this is largely a forum for people to vent, so typically things seem a bit more negative than they actually are. Korean kids really aren't bad, and if you're experienced I really wouldn't worry about it.

[comm]

[Julius]

kids here are generally pampered on one hand, yet forced to study far too much on the other. So you get a resulting lack of enthusiasm for english combined with a sense of entitlement (they're paying customers).

Its not easy but an experienced or motivated teacher can still work wonders.

Problem in Korea is, often you are working for exploitative and abusive bosses who gradually sap any motivation you may have had.

[thunderpaws]

[The Sultan of Seoul]

I teach in Shanghai.

The kids even here are little angels compared to Korean kids.

I used to need to drink after work every day in Korea do deal with the stress from the kids and silly interactions with Korean co-teachers. Seriously, I had to drink until drunk. I don't here. Honestly do not.

Here in Shanghai I can honestly say (and it was also the opinion of my good friend whom taught 4 yrs in SK and reccomended Shanghai as it was less stressful) that your WORST KID is the same as your average student in Korea. The bad kids in Korea are just something else.

I teach at a private academy in Shanghai no more than 12 kids per class. Give me 12 Shanghainese kids over a class of only 6 kids from anywhere but the deepest Korean countryside - where they can be better behaved - ANY TIME.

This goes for both hakwan kids and public school kids I taught in Korea.

The great thing is, after my 8 years in Korea - working here is a cakewalk! Classroom management is a breeze!

YMMV

[creeper1]

Ex-gepik teacher here and now 2 months in Beijing, China.

There are reasons to go to Korea. Money, paid apartment, maybe better facilities - I'm thinking swimming pools, subways that aren't insanely crowded, that kind of thing.

Well behaved students is not one of those reasons.

And no you certainly aren't going to be special to your students just because you are a foreigner. There are just sooo many foreign teachers in Korea.

You should give it a try though.

A change is as good as a break and I think you have been in China quite a while.

[Dodge7]

Korean kids are spoiled little brats and disrespect you with banmal everyday. I too drink considerably more now than I ever have in any point in my life.
That's called stress having to deal with Korean kids.

[pegasus64128]

[The Sultan of Seoul]

[metalhead]

[YTMND]

When it comes down to it, the good students are the same. A good Korean student will perform well and not be any different than a Chinese student. Where I see the problem lying is with the parents and how the schools deal with their children.

Rich Korean parents bring up their children in an isolated environment, mostly family oriented. Chinese parents and culture adopt a completely different approach. It's not a central family coming together but the extended family. Therefore, you have less independent thinking. Chinese take what society gives them and make the most of it, Koreans on the other hand will base their actions on smaller influences.

This means Chinese students take longer to get out of their shell. Koreans don't have that and the children are more upfront about what they want. As far as their learning goes, Koreans tend to make better sentences but miss out on vocabulary. The Chinese will give the correct words but use only vocabulary words they have memorized. They don't use sentence patterns (What did you do yesterday? Korean student, "I read a megazee!!" - Chinese student, "magazine"). Korean students (and Japanese) are more accepting of you correcting their vocabulary, Chinese just look at you baffled that you have substituted one word that could be construed the same as another. Why not just use the word the student used? They don't want to accept that we use certain words in specific contexts, something the books don't reveal.

[The Sultan of Seoul]

[mayorgc]

China's about 20 years behind Korea in terms of manners.

The Chinese also have no qualms about ripping you off.

[The Sultan of Seoul]