Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Anachanda2005]

Hello-

My husband and I are in our mid 20's, we both have elementary teaching degrees, and we will have completed 1 year of teaching in the states in May.

We were hoping to get a rural position teaching kids. We were both raised on farms in rural communities. We were also hoping to start in June or July of 2013.

Where might be a good couple of rural locations to look out for? Are we being too picky? What kind of salary might we hope for? Is there a recruiter who specifically works with rural schools?

Thank you for taking your time to answer my questions. I want to make sure to be as informed as possible for this journey.

[newb]

For a married couple with your qualifications, I'd recommend that you apply for EPIK jobs which is public school positions. With your qualifications, each of you are looking at level 2 pay rate which is around 2.2-2.4 million if you end up teaching at two rural schools plus free housing, airfare (round trip) and benefits.

Also, rural positions are easier to get.

[Otherside]

Good news,

There are lots of rural positions in SK and they are definitely much less in demand than the urban positions.

The public school programme you need to apply with is EPIK. They don't like to place couples much anymore, but they will still place married couples. It's almost certain that you won't be placed in the same school as your husband.

One thing to note with rural schools, is that are often very small schools, this means that a teacher often works in multiple schools and as such has to visit a different school every day (you be assigned to 1, 2, 3, or in rare cases even 4 different schools).

As for location, Gangwon-Do is the most rural part of Korea, but bare in mind, Korea is about the same size as Indiana, with a population of 50million, so few places are truly rural, especially compared to places like the US, Australia or Canada.

As for recruiters, I'd recommend Korvia. I've used them before for a public school position (not rural) and have nothing but good things to say.

The main public school hiring periods are for March and September starts. Trying to start mid-Semester is possible, but reduces your chances, especially so if you are working on a dual placement with your husband. I'd recommend waiting for the main September intake. This means you'll want to start contacting recruiters and getting your docs in order around March/April next year. No recruiters are going to be interested in an applicant who is looking to start in 9+ months.

Salary-wise, you'll be earning between 2.1-2.3 million won a month (based on the fixed EPIK pay scale).

Good Luck.

[Anachanda2005]

Thanks for the quick reply. I don't think we would have to go to a public school. What about an international school or a Hagwon?

Thanks again!

[Rutherford]

You're overqualified for most hogwan jobs. Having a good knowledge of and experience in elementary education is likely to drive you nuts at a hogwan.

Most international schools aren't in rural areas since there aren't many wealthy foreign residents there. There are a few exceptions like Geoje-do which is a gorgeous rural island with two major shipyards that bring in a lot of foreign residents.

You might try this place: Okpo International School
http://www.oiskorea.com/sub01.php?PHPSESSID=13ee5e6a244be78d90823616b757b78e

[ttompatz]