Korean Job Discussion Forums

[smartwentcrazy]

Hey everyone, just wanted to clarify a couple things before I start applying to schools in Korea. I am primarily interested in working for a public school, however, I've talked to a couple recruiters and they've informed me that all the public school positions for September have already been filled. Is this accurate? From what I understand, the Korean public school semester begins on September 1st. Is there any leeway to this date?

The reason being is that I won't be available until September 21st, which causes a dilemma in the public school scheduling. I would really like to work in a Seoul public school, but given that I won't be able to be in Korea by September 1st, is this still possible? Are there any public schools in Seoul that accept teachers after the semester has begun? Any input or feedback would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

[mai]

I've been looking myself. EPIK closed applications in ealy June I think, and SMOE for the most part is full unless you have some teaching experience/certs (maybe someone can confirm this?). Any decent public school position within Seoul is probably tough to find at this point.

GEPIK, which represents public schools in the area surrounding Seoul, may still have positions open. There are satellite cities nearby with foreigners. If this is something that might interest you then you may be in luck; just look around on job posting sites like this.

Private schools, on the other hand, might have something to offer you in Seoul. They're not all bad and you can get paid a little more.

If you worked in a public school in Seoul as a newbie you can expect a salary of 1.8 million won. GEPIK starts at 2.0 just to give you an idea. They can offer such a low salary because they know people won't have to deal with private school BS -- But there are plenty of good private schools too.

Best thing I can tell you is to use as many recruiters as possible and try to get something within the next week or so. Don't accept a position unless you're confident they won't screw you over.

Sorry I can't be of more help; I'll be teaching in Seoul next month.

[ChinaBoy]

Even if you could find a position, you probably couldn't get a visa on time. Public schools seem a little slow on the process. Not really in a hurry. Don't really care if they have a teacher or not.