Korean Job Discussion Forums

[708]

Hi,

I want to go teach in S. Korea starting in early May.

If at all possible, I would like to bypass the recruiters, and just get a recommendation for a school from a teacher on here. Seems like I'll have a far better chance of ending up in a good situation if I can go through someone who is A) familiar with S. Korea and B) happy in their day-to-day situation as a teacher.

So...do you like the school you teach at now? Or did you like one that you've taught at in the past? And...is your school looking for teachers in early May? If so, perhaps you can put me into contact with your boss. Please let me know. Or PM me.

Thanks for the consideration!

Here's my info:

About me: I'm 28, American, male. Did the small liberal arts thing in college. Have taught ESL in Chicago (mostly) and China (a little bit) for some of the time between then and now. Came inches away from gaining admission into an awesome screenwriting MFA program this spring, but no dice. So I want to write more screenplays, save some money, reapply to grad school, and explore Korea for the next year. Why not?

What I'm looking for (of course, flexible):

Very important
-To live in a large Korean city. Busan would be awesome. So would Seoul.
-To be in a place that has a decently-sized population of native English speakers. A community.
-To have total working hours be 25-30 a week.


Somewhat important
-To teach middle school, high school, or university would be preferable. That being said, I'd teach kindergarten.


Basically, I'm just looking for a happy environment with a good boss and numerous, likable English-speaking co-workers. Or at least these kinds of people within walking distance.

I'm not familiar with ESL market conditions in Korea beyond what's apparent on the job boards. I have 3 years of ESL experience, 7 of which were in China. But I assume that if you as a teacher are genuinely happy with your contract situation, I would be too.

So if possible...hook it up!


Thanks, Justin

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[BS.Dos.]

I'd suggest my school, but it falls a little short of your requirements:

[Jubalum]

Justin,

In your situation, I would recommend you check out the public schools. You would be working 40 hours a week, but you'd only be teaching a maximum of 22 hours. This leaves a lot of free time to do whatever you want. Since you're interested in writing, why not get paid to do while at work?

There are some disadvantages such as less pay and less contact with other foreigners, but if you work in a large city, this shouldn't be too big a problem. Anyway, you wouldn't make much above public school salaries at a hagwon only working 25 hours/week. Also, if you live anywhere in Seoul or Busan, there should be plenty of foreigners around.

I think SMOE is hiring soon. You should take a look.

[Lostone7]

Hummm ...........

I have a great job in Busan... Great apartment... great vacation..
Great Co-workers.......... decent students most of the time heheh
22teaching hrs etc...

and I am leaving VERY soon and I would 100 Percent recomend it here!!

But,


I don't know you So, how could I recommend you?
I might want to come back one day heheh

[jinks]

OP - hi
I have been getting a few calls from people at my old school (I worked there 05-06). They are looking for a new teacher and they want me back. It's nice to be wanted, but I have moved on (in so many ways) since then and I am very happy where I am now.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this school to anyone; the bosses are kind, professional and honest and many of the crew who were there when I worked there are still there now. It's a pretty stable place.
However, it does not really fit your wish list
a) small town (40,000 1 hour west of Daegu)
b) Hagwon, not PS or Uni
c) There is a Kindy teacher, but they will be looking to replace a teacher for Elementary / MS afterschool classes
That said; what are you bringing to the table? You may get lucky and land a job in a PS in Seoul or Busan, but don't hold your breath. Do you have specific teaching training, or just some ESL experience? Is your degree BA or higher?
One good thing about thi job was the long weekends, the owners are Seventh Day Adventist, so they closed early on Friday (7:30) and classes started again about 2pm on Monday. It's a 30 hour work week.
PM me if all else fails and you want some contact details

[Insidejohnmalkovich]

A normal job in the West is forty (to fifty hours) a week. If you are looking for twenty five to thirty hours, you should re-examine your expectations about teaching. Good teaching requires some hours outside of the classroom preparing, marking homework and tests, writing report cards and making your own homework and entertaining extra things for class.

[Draz]

[708]

Thank you for the very thoughtful responses.

BS. Dos., Your situation sounds very comfortable with the number of FT�s you have in such a small town. I am looking for fewer total hours than you have at your school, but I�ll contact you closer to August if I�m still looking.

Jubalum, thanks for the insight about the public schools in Korea. I will look into them further. When I was in China, I was not really required to �work� during my office hours as much as I was required to be a �sitting white advertising monkey.� Are you insinuating that this is also par for the course in Korea?

Jink, the total working hours @ your school seems ideal. I�ve done the small-town-in-Asia thing before and don�t know if I could handle it again. But I may contact you down the road just in case.

LOSTONE YOUR SITUATION SOUNDS VERY IDEAL FOR WHAT I�M LOOKING FOR!!!!...Let�s talk further! Unfortunately I haven�t hit the 25-post barrier for this site, so I cannot initiate PMs. Here is an email address I set up just for this thread: [email protected]. If you send me a quick email, I will give you additional information. I can send you a link to my Facebook profile, and give you a call with the Walgreens phone card I have leftover from my last excursion to China if you�re willing I understand your hesitancy, tho. Perhaps you can just pass along your boss�s email to me without telling him you actually know me, since your situation sounds so ideal If not, not worries.

InsideJohnMalkovich, I�m not looking to cram 50 hours of work into a 25-30/week job. I�m looking for a 25-30 hour/week job. A �normal job in the West� is a very relative expression nowadays. Many people that I know hold down two 30 hour/week jobs at once - one job that they like and can pay their bills with, and one job that is currently unpaid but that they are extremely passionate about. This is my situation. But consider yourself lucky if you can get paid for your passion at the same time.

Thanks again anyone still reading this, and if you have any other recommendations please let me know I trust you guys more than the recruiters!!!

[Jubalum]

708,

In response to your question:

There really isn't any "advertising" at a PS. It's just that you have a lot of time and usually there's nothing to do - no homework to grade, no tests to make, no report cards to write. You have to make lesson plans, but, you only see the same group of students once or twice a week (at least in my case). That means I make one new lesson plan a week. I'm at the school 40 hours a week - there is just nothing else to do.

I have my own room with a computer and big screen TV. So, I spend most of my time there. Nobody bothers me. As long as you are at school, you do whatever you want.

[708]

That's great to hear. The opposite of micro-management is an awesome work situation to be in. Especially for most teachers out there.