Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Mr_Anderson]

Hi,
About EPIK paying native english teachers their airfare home.
What I know so far is in my area, the local MOE pays the native english teachers back the cost of the airfare, after it has been bought.. And currently, it is to be paid after we leave the country.

But what I'm wanting to know is if they'll reimburse me on a type of airfare that doesn't take me directly home.

I've reserved a one-way ticket to fly home (New Zealand) via Thailand on Thai Airways. But I want a holiday in Thailand for a few weeks straight after I finish up in Korea, so I've requested that my stopover in Thailand be for 25 days.

As my travel agent explained, the stopover in Thailand is free, even if it is for 25 days.

So my itinerary goes something like this:
Busan -> Bangkok
[1 month later]Bangkok -> Auckland, New Zealand.


Would Epik reimburse me on this type of airfare? I don't want to buy the ticket and have them not reimburse it! I have asked them but have got no response as yet. The thing is the ultimate destination is my home country, albeit a month later.

Or is it better just to get the most direct flight to New Zealand come end of contract time, and go to Thailand some other time? I simply don't know what airfares EPIK will and will not reimburse. (It's my first year here).

My reasoning is that Thailand is a lot closer to Korea than New Zealand, and it would be cheaper to make the detour there on the way home to New Zealand, rather than simply get a return ticket from NZ to Thailand sometime later in the year.

Any help would be appreciated on this. Like, has anybody wanted to do a bit of OE directly after their teaching in Korea stint has ended, instead of going back to their home country directly?

[cruisemonkey]

No, they will not reimburse you for those flights.