Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Lparsons7641]

Doing some research on the internet and reading up on EPIK and public schools, am I right in assuming this whole thing is one big roll of the dice?

It sure looks that way from my end.

I am mainly doing this for two reasons, a desire to do something out of the box/travel, and to pay debt. The teaching is not a main reason, but I certainly will spend the energy required to do my absolute best.

That being said, I know rural pays better. And my primary reason for doing this is money, (my lifestyle is simple, I mostly spend time writing, reading, working and playing computer games TBH) But it sounds like EVERYTHING about this is a roll of the dice.

"Rural" could mean 1000 people, no amenities, living in a barn, and isolated and lonely.

It could mean a city of 100,000. (Not "rural" to me, my city is smaller, I grew up in a city of 30,000).

It could be right near Busan, Jeju (both my preferred areas) or it could be 4 hours from everything. I could have no access to a store, I could have a quick trip.

Your apartment? Small. Small is fine. I live in a single dorm room, built in 1909. Communal bath, communal kitchen with a roach and ant infestation. I don't have many friends here, but I keep sane my calling my family and talking to my out of state friends online. At least Korea has great internet, and I might even splurge on a smartphone

But it could be a(another for me) rat hole with no AC, no furniture, no desk (really annoying for me) and a complete mess.

Or it could be a modern building with nice bright laminate floors and a "cozy" feel. Clean, modern, safe. Near school, or 45 minutes away.

Am I right in my assessment? Am I basically rolling the dice if I decide to do this next March? There seems to be no consistency.

[salutbonjour]

Yes, but do keep in mind that you read more horror stories online than good stories.

[newb]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[hiamnotcool]

[Skippy]

Careful rural United States is different from rural Korea. Some teachers have been suckered into locations with the adage of small city using population. Then they find out the small city would be more isolated then an large town in Canada or USA.

Adjust estimates. What you may consider large is actually quite small for Korea. Remember this is a small country that is pretty crowded.

And yes it will be a role of the dice.

One rule I think I need to add is

Korea is not for (similar word for kitties)! OP you seem to have a head on your shoulders. Do some more research and read some more stories. Actually for stories in relation to public school check out waygook.org.

[Threequalseven]

[Lparsons7641]

Thanks for all the advice experts!

I suppose it wouldn't hurt to "prefer" a ideal location on my application.

But at the end of the day, a province posting gives me the best opportunity to save what my end goal is. (an ambitious 30K) by the end of 2 years.

Though that is not likely as I want to also travel to Japan/Vietnam when I'm in K-Land.

Well, I still got a year to think about it, do research. For now I should worry about my existing job/course work

[World Traveler]

[joelove]

[busanSK2012]

yes it is a roll of the dice, but don't let that scare you off.

I remember on the airplane here I actually knew next to nothing about my job except that it was in Busan, which is a huge city and has lots of variables in working conditions. I realized I knew everything about the other jobs I turned down and NOTHING about this one.

And....everything is good. Not perfect of course, but what is? My apartment is great -tub, stocked, and great view, but far away. My school is awesome, but a bitch of a commute you wouldn't believe the hike I have every morning. My CT's all speak english very well, but one is a cranky -----! My principal is a riot and funny, but my VP is a prickly one-to everyone not just me.

So that is EPIK, but that is life too. You can entertain yourself and I think that you will find things in Korea and enjoy them...my main complaints are tI really can't stand the food and most things look the same, same, same. If you actually like Korean food then all is golden and if you aren't into aesthetics no problem.

Good luck. BTW I saved 15000 in 10 months here while going out moderately on weekends and I have been to Japan 3 times(Air Asia is the awesome) and Thailand once very cheap country once you are on the ground- so all is doable. seems to me like a no brainer for you.

Contact Korean Horizons-they are the bomb. and I do not work for them-just happy with the service and everything after that.

[Threequalseven]

[Lparsons7641]

[joelove]

^
Yeah, makes sense. I understand there are quite a few more foreigners than there used to be and this will probably help someone adjust, in the beginning at least. It helps to be outgoing even if you gotta put on an act of sorts, which is also what teaching can be like for the more introverted among us. I was combining experience in China in my above post. There are cities of millions there that you may never have heard of, and they are like small towns in some ways. For a foreigner it is possible to feel pretty cut off from a somewhat normal social life.

[Weigookin74]

Let me tell you a little secret about Asian cities Kiddo. You want comparable features, attitudes, perks, amenities, etc take off a "0". So, an Asian city of "100,000" people will be like a North American city of "10,000". I came from a city of 150,000 people aproximately and went to a city of around 90,000 here when I first came over. I thought how bad could it be? Wow. Not much going on. Tiny marts, no wal mart equivalent. Was a tiny emart, but it was more like a mart on two floors in the basement of an apartment building. No escalator. Had to be the smallest one in Korea. Think of emart express but two and a half of them on top of each other. A rosebud coffee shop, a lotteria, and a bunch of Korean stores and small shops. Think more has gone there since I left. But sill not much going on. My city of 150,000 had large bookstores, shopping malls, museums, large fitness centers. This town in Korea, some gyms which were tiny rooms with no air con. No large indoor venue to go on a rainy or cold or hot day. I think you've got to be in a metropolitan city to get anything close though still not exactly the same.

So, a city of 1.5 million is like a city of 150,000 in Canada. Seoul at 10 million but with Gyeong-gi surrounding it bringing the true metro population to 23 million is a bit of an exception due to being the capital city. So, better than a North American city of 2.3 million people? Though I'm sure Toronto at 6 million may have more going on in terms of amenities. But Seoul's not bad. Always something to do and I don't mean drinking.