Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ethihoff]

I’ve been teaching at a hagwon since 2014, and I’m thinking of changing to public school in Seoul. I know about SMOE, GEPIK and EPIK. To teach in public school, is the process different if I’m already living in Korea on an E2 visa?

Also, do they typically renew contracts for several years? The director of my hagwon really likes me and we’ve worked well together so we’ve renewed my contract for 5 years so far. Is that also common at public school?

I googled all of this but I’ve been having trouble finding information! Thank you so much for your help

[isitts]

GEPIK might be your best bet as EPIK has more of a formalized timeline with its application procedure. GEPIK also prefers in-country hires. But even with GEPIK, you’ve only got about three weeks before the new school year starts.

The only ting I’m uncertain about is how easy it is to transfer documents from a hagwon to a public school. I would contact a recruiter and maybe ask them about it. I personally recommend Korvia.

If it does end up being too late to transfer, maybe you can try next year or in the fall. Depends on when your hagwon contract ends (or would end, if you stay on).

Whether you can stay on at the same school, it depends. Teachers are transferred as often as two years (though generally four years), but as long as the new teachers like you as much as the old teachers did, then you should be fine. Budget is another issue. Though the only remaining GEPIK schools are those funded by respective city halls (the other provincial schools hire under EPIK now), they can sometimes pull their funding for foreign teachers…though it’s probably more stable these days.

[ethihoff]

Thank you for your reply! I wasn’t clear enough. I am definitely planning on changing my job in the fall - not in March. I emailed two recruiters on Friday when I Made this topic but haven’t heard a response yet.

In any case, thank you. My biggest concern is transferring documents, so I’ll get in touch with Korvia and see what they have to say.

[isitts]

Oh, ok. Then there’s time. Maybe send Korvia an email with a subject heading something like, “Question(s) about transferring from hagwon to public school” or something like that. I believe they may also have information on their website.

[ttompatz]

Walk into a few schools near where you want to be.
Ask for the English department.
Give them your resume and tell them when you want to start work.
It is harder to find work in the 2nd sem but can be done.
It is easy to get work in the 1st sem this way.

You would still be under the auspices of EPIK or GEPIK even if the school hires you without using a recruiter.

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