Korean Job Discussion Forums

[amac123]

I have certification with placement, and I'm in the job search for my first teaching position in Korea. I've had 2 successful interviews and 2 official offers so far. I turned the first offer down. Now I'm deciding on the second official offer, and I am going to be interviewing for another position this coming week.

I am interested in an urban area, preferably Seoul or Busan (Who's not, right?) But I am open to location if it is the right position, and there is at least somewhat good access to urban areas.

The position I am deciding on right now is at an SLP in Osan. It is a little over an hour to Seoul by train. Also, one of the main attractions there is the Air Force Base, which I'm not too enthused about. It is a kindergarten/elementary position (I love kids) and the pay is decent. I haven't heard anything about this SLP, but I've heard good and bad things about others. I'm considering accepting this offer, but still looking over the contract. (Not sure if the contract is totally acceptable yet, and that will be a big factor in deciding, as well)

The other position that I will be interviewing for next week is a public school position in Paju. I've heard very good things about public school positions. But Paju does not look that enticing. I've been persuaded to not worry about North Korea and the DMZ, but I've also read about Paju being _very_ rural and desolate. I was told its 50 minutes by train to the middle of Seoul, but from what I've read it might be much longer than that. But if public school positions are what they are cracked up to be, and if they are hard to come by it might be worth looking into.

Since it is my first time teaching, should I take the first offer that's half-way decent that comes my way? Like either of these two? Or should I give myself more credit and wait until I know I have an offer that is closer to exactly what I'm looking for? I don't want to have delusions of grandeur, but I also don't want to be completely overworked and underpaid in an environment I'm not happy in, either.

I've been doing well in the interviews so far, so I'm getting pretty confident with that. I'm also a small, attractive female. (I hate that to be criterion for being hired, but after reading a lot of forums it apparently is) I also feel I'm highly qualified, and am not opposed to being patient with the start time.

Any advice on any of this? Thanks guys!

[cheolsu]

Don't work for an SLP. That's an easy decision to make. Nothing good can come of it.

Paju is a big area, and where you are exactly can make a difference. If you PM me the name of the school, I can tell you where it is and how rural it is.

One way of looking at your decision is that you'll probably spend twice as much time teaching at SLP for probably the same or a little bit more money as at the public school.

[Times30]

Agree with Cheolsu

Generally public schools are much better jobs. I could write the numerous benefits but it seems the thing you are most concerned with is being bored or out in the rural city.

I know Osan and lived sort of close to it. It's pretty boring... However there are bars and Mexican food (huge plus)

Paju I've heard is interesting at least. There are things to do there. I'm pretty sure you'll have a much better time in Paju. I think there are old markets and some museums if you're into that.

But I think you should really the difference between public school and hagwon. Hagwons have a lot of prep and take a huge chunk of your personal life. But public schools give you hours a day to do it. So you never have any take home work.

Public schools are a lot better. Believe us. I've worked both and had the best time of my life at public schools. Worst time at Hagwon. It's a general consensus.

[amac123]

Wow. Thank you! I'm a little concerned about the contract with the school in Osan as well. There's a clause about being covered under private insurance. Also there's a clause about overtime, (which they pay well for) but it states I may have to work overtime, past the amount of hours that is stated during summer and winter vacations, and that it's unavoidable. Red flags?

Looks like I should take the interview for the public school.

Thanks for the feedback!

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

Only ever take a hagwon job if you're in country and can verify through a good friend that the place is good. Good hagwons exist, but they aren't usually found through recruiters�friends take those jobs through word of mouth when a good hagwon job becomes available.

Go with a public school. You'll have far more safety nets for a newbie. You can move on from there, if you decide to stay in Korea.

[Times30]

Hagwons have overtime like you wouldn't believe.

I had to wake up at 9am and basically worked until 10pm. Yeah those are the "extra" hours you have to work.

The reason is during vacation time for the kids you act as the daytime school for them. That's dandy and all but you also have to grade their work on top of all of that. So ultimately you only 8 hours to yourself a day, and that's all dedicated to sleeping.

It's draining and miserable.

Public schools are a walk in the park. You have to make your own material but frankly it's easy. You can make classes about weather, airports, verbs, whatever you want.