Korean Job Discussion Forums

[LateBloomer]

I arrived in Korea on July 1 to teach at a public elementary school in Incheon. So far, I have just been obseving classes but I could be starting to teach this coming week (there's some uncertainty about "who, what and when" but thanks to spending hours on this site before I left home, I'm not really surprised by that.)

I am the first foreign teacher at my school and only two teachers speak English well enough that we can have a "conversation". A bigger concern is that one of my co-teachers speaks no English (I can see lots of potential problems in those classes). However, everyone has been really kind to me and the kids are very excited.

I like my place and all the "set-up" stuff has gone smoothly--in fact, setting up a bank account and getting phone and Internet service were easier and faster than in Canada. However, I am having trouble adjusting to the heat and humidity and have had my air conditioning on every minute that I've been home. I have no idea of the cost for that kind of AC use. Also, I'm not clear about whether my KT Internet service allows unlimited use or whether there is an additional charge after a certain number of hours. I'd appreciate any information about hydro and Internet here. Thanks!.

[pet lover]

Internet is a flat charge no matter how much you use it.

a/c....that's different. What size is your place? What kind of a/c? How much are you home?

[elynnor]

...

[LateBloomer]

Pet Lover, thanks for the information about Internet. I expect to be home a lot.... so I'm happy to hear that there are no time limits.

Sorry, I forgot to mention the size of my place--a rather important detail. It's just one room (a studio?)--a galley kitchen and an area big enough for a bed, table, desk, and a tv stand...don't know the exact size. The air conditioner is on the wall--not in the window--and the "mechanics" of it are in a closet.

(By the way, I was "observing" classes, not "obseving" them.)

[inspector gadget]

Sounds like your apartment is about 8 or 9 pyung same as mine, you will likely have an air con that is rectangular in shape and sits high on the wall.

Don't worry too much about the cost for these, its not that expensive, I think my increase last month was about 10,000 won and I used it every night.

About the co teachers, if you think you need them in your class use them. Or you can do what I did and gently explain to them that you would rather teach alone, if you need help for a specific class you will ask them. I for one don't think kids will learn english by simply haveing things translated for them. If you need something translated into korean use one of your higher level kids in the class to explain.

Of course that depends on the age of the kids, I am in a girls middle school and it works well for me.

the last thing I want is some Korean teacher in my class all the time.

[LateBloomer]

Elynor and Inspector Gadget, thanks for the replies.

My air conditioner is rectangular and set high on the wall. Glad to hear the cost won't be prohibitive. Will also try the fan and cold showers.

About co-teaching...I didn't get the impression that I would have any "say" about how it will work. (I'm in the EPIK program.) In fact, I was presented with a sample lesson plan that called for a "I say"xxxxx"...and then she says "yyyyyy"... routine. It would dumb in the best of situations and impossible to do with a teacher who doesn't speak any English--I'm not kidding. She can't understand anything I say and vice versa.

I did express my concern to one of the two English-speaking teachers and she said the co-teacher who doesn't speak English is also concerned. I heard the head teachers are discussing the situation.

[Mr. Pink]

Just a FYI about electricity in Korea.

You get charged a flat fee per kwh upto a certain point. Then they add 50% and 100% surcharges to your bill.

If you have the airconditioner on 24/7 + computer + fan and tv/stereo, chances are you might run into the surcharge for your electricity.

I've had that happen twice to me...both times the bill was over 300k won a month.

I usually go with a fan + air conditioner combo now. Turn the air on for about 15-20mins and then have the fan blow around the cold air till it gets warm, then repeat.

At night, it isn't healthy to sleep with the air conditioner on...easy to catch a cold as you are sweating and have that cold air hitting you. I'd suggest, cold shower before bed and just sleep with a sheet or nothing...and have the fan on you all night.

[eamo]

Air-con can jack up your electricity quite a bit if you use it a lot. In Korea, if you go over a certain point, your electricity starts getting charged at a higher rate per unit.

Don't be surprised if your electricty bill is 150,000 or so for just one month.

[LateBloomer]

Thanks Mr. Pink and Eamo. I just turned off my Air Con for awhile.

[mole]

As long as I've been here, I didn't know about the electricity billing system. Thanks for the info.
I had a place here where the bathroom was actually outside on the balcony. I used space heaters to make it bearable for showering in winter.
The electric company guy came to my door to tell me my bill was already 300,000 won for less than a month!
Oops.
I'm winging it this summer with only a fan.

[rumdiary]

[animalbirdfish]

[seoulsucker]

[LateBloomer]

Seoulsucker wrote:

[periwinkle]

I run fans at home. If it gets really bad, I have a spray bottle fight with my husband. Keeping a spray bottle filled with cool water works wonders. You can spray your students, too- I'm sure they'd love an attack from a spray bottle. Har, har