Korean Job Discussion Forums

[DomesticPelican]

For the longest time, I was really only looking into private schools. Recently, a public school position came up and I am definitely considering it.

I've never lived in a big city so I don't feel like I HAVE to be in the middle of Seoul or anything like that. I do like to go out for drinks occasionally and I don't mind shopping and eating at some decent places (obviously). I would like to be in an area with some other foreigners, but I don't need to be surrounded by thousands of them by any means. I intend to travel a little bit when given the opportunity. This will be my first teaching experience in Korea...

Anyway - the position is a public school in Changwon. I honestly don't know a lot about the area, but I know it is relatively close to Busan. I would be teaching middle school. 8 hours per day, 22 teaching hours per week @ 2.3 million won per month. There is a settlement allowance of 300,000 won and an entrance allowance (for airfare) of 1.3 million won.

I guess there are about 30 students per class and I would have a Korean co-teacher. Obviously this is more students than you'd ever seen in a private school, but that is kind of what I expected since it is a public school.

Also, for anyone familiar with Changwon, the housing is located near City Hall.


Like I said, I am not very familiar with public schools. Is this a pretty decent gig? What can you tell me about the area? I've read a little bit about Changwon in some other threads, but I'd love to hear more.

By the way, I also could look into a position in Jinju or Masan. Would you recommend either of those places over Changwon?



Thanks in advance.

[Rory_Calhoun27]

Changwon has a pretty good teacher community... if you can put up with the soccer (and there's a lot)... seriously though, there's a few good bars there, Obrien;s being one of the in spots from when I was there.....

I'm still kicking myself for not taking an afterschool gig there from the summer, but no reason to dwell on the past.....

and Masan is right next to Changwon, so there pretty much the same.... but all things being equal, go with the PS.

[DomesticPelican]

Thanks for the advice.

Anyone else have any tips and/or advice?

[djsmnc]

Nothing but gangsters and bumpkins in the south

[DomesticPelican]

[DomesticPelican]

bump

[timmayyyyy]

Public school is generally an easier/better gig than hakwon, if you don't mind the long hours being physically at school (often doing nothing) and getting up early. Plus much better vacation time.

Also, are you okay with middle schoolers? They can be harder to teach/get to speak and a little obnoxious, but that's just my opinion. I worked in a middle school hakwon last year in Seoul. Your co-teacher and your compatibility can also influence the quality of the job, but that's really a crapshoot.

Jinju is slightly smaller than Masan and Changwon (340,000 people as opposed to ~450,000 and 500,000 respectively). It's also further West so more isolated/farther from Busan. I haven't visited it yet so I can't say much about it. I haven't heard anything bad about it though.

Changwon and Masan are sister cities but Changwon is cleaner/has more parks/is more foreigner friendly. The buses have English voices on them whereas Masan doesn't. Changwon strikes me as a bit wealthier than Masan, which seems more working class. Changwon has more foreign workers. A bit more variety of food as well it seems. Changwon was Korea's first "planned" city so it's more organized in its lay-out. The industrial area is on the south side of it, and parks and apartments seem to be on the north side. Also, the streets/sidewalks seem wider/bigger. Changwon also has a place called City 7 which is a big shopping area with lots of food places. It's pretty nice.

I live on the outskirts of Masan, outside the city and near where the country starts. I can tell you that English is definitely more of a "foreign" language here than a 2nd language in a place like Seoul. Changwon might have better English speakers, but you shouldn't "expect" to have much English conversation in Masan from my experience. Brush up on your beginner Korean And definitely learn Hangeul to read signs...it's not hard to learn at all.

Buses to Busan are very cheap and take about 45-60 minutes depending on where you're going in Busan I'd say.

If you have more questions, let me know!