ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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 Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 4:59 am Post subject: Re: where to work in seoul |
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| miss mamie wrote: |
| i am looking for a job in seoul starting in october. most of the jobs i have come across are from recruiters and i am a little wary of them. i plan on living and hopefully working close to city hall. can anyone recommend some good hagwons or public schools in the area (as well as the not so good ones)? i may end up going to seoul and just try to get one there. is it better to do that? cheers! |
How high is up? How can you explain colors to a blind person?
This is NOT mine but quoted from plattwaz in another thread.
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=57901&highlight=
It seems so appropriate here/
I always find this post interesting, as lots of people who aren't yet in Korea ask the same thing -- "Can you tell me the name of a good place to work?" There are never any specific answers, no matter how many times it is asked, and I think that the reason is hard to understand when you have not yet been to Korea.
In a Korean city, say Seoul, there are English language academies on EVERY street. One small neighbourhood of the city will have about half a dozen, perhaps more. There are, literally, THOUSANDS of English language hagwans (academies) where Korean children study and English teachers work. Then, add to this mix, public elementary schools, middle schools, and adult academies....the result is huge.
To ask a few hundred people on this board, who are scattered across the country, to name one specific place to work that is good, is near impossible. After almost five years here I know I could not say "Joe Schmo's Super Duper English Academy in Kimchi-dong, across from the Family Mart is a super great place to work! Here is their address and phone number!"
Aside from the fact that it would be impossible to do this, there are a few other factors involved. (I suppose a lot of these are just my opinions/observations, but that's the point of answering a question).
1 - If it really is a great place to work, many teachers are renewing, meaning fewer positions become available.
2 - Most really "strong" academies prefer to hire teaches with Korean experience, and/or who are already in Korea so they can be met face to face for a proper interview.
3 - When teachers have a high opinion of their workplace they are more inclined to refer friends or acquaintances to fill available positions
4 - Just because you have found a great place to work doesn't mean they are hiring right now. Joe Schmo's Super Duper English Academy may not need another teacher until next December.
And finally,
5 - What one person thinks is a great place to work, there are ten other people who wouldn't go near it. For example, you will find lots of threads on here about franchise or chain academies that one poster will say to avoid, and then a response from another person saying they worked at one branch that was perfectly fine.
I'm in no way being rude or anything with this post. I'm just trying to explain why it is very unlikely you will get the kind of response that I think you are looking for.
Instead, the best thing to do is to decide what you are looking for, and what you are not willing to do (ie/ adults or kindie, Seoul or elsewhere, city or country, morning or evening hours, shared or single housing, start date, etc., etc). Search for jobs that meet your criteria, and see what you come up with. If there is nothing, then perhaps you can wait another month, and see what comes up then.
You will have better luck in getting responses when you post about a specific place of employment (ie/ "Can anyone tell me anything about Joe Schmo's Super Duper English Academy in Kimchi-dong?"), and there are lots of people on here who are good at helping with contract advice.
Sorry if that's not the answer you are looking for, I know what it's like to be overseas and just want a list of good places to work. But it's probably not going to happen. Again, I'm not in any way trying to be nasty, just trying to help.
Good luck with your search, and keep in mind that as much research as you do, you won't have a 100% guarantee....coming over here to teach sometimes requires you to take a bit of a risk!
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