Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Conrad B Hart]

Okay, so unless a magical job appears in the near future, it's likely that I'll have to wait it out (and endure an English winter) until the 2010 public school season accepts applications. So I have several questions which I may as well post in a new thread rather than digging up several other threads. Ok, here goes....

From what I can make out there are 3 recruiting companies;
GEPIK (which deals with the provinces surrounding Seoul)
SMOE (deals with jobs in Seoul
EPIK (deals with everywhere else, including the Islands)

Are there any more public school recruiting agencies or just the 3?

I have heard that you can only put in one application for a public school position, is that right? Does that mean one in total, or that I can apply once for each of the different recruiting agencies? As If not, then what if I wanted to have say, Busan and Seoul down as my preferred choices?

About the location choices. I've seen the application form and if desired it seems you can request 3 specific locations, then there's a box that asks if you would be prepared to work anywhere else. If I really do want to just want to work in 3 specific places I'm better to answer no to this right, as logically speaking I'm more likely to get shoved somewhere else if I answer yes to this where other people might answer no.

Do prospective teachers learn where (at least in which City/area) they'll be placed in before accepting a job or are you just asked to come to the orientation and then jobs are kind of allocated on arrival?

Regarding the co-teacher in public schools. What's the general rule? I know the word co suggests it's kind of a level playing field, but in reality who is supposed to have the most control in the classroom. Am I to act mostly as a teaching assistant or am I expected to take more of a lead role?

I also have a question about the accommodation, is this fairly standardised or a bit hit and miss (I mean for the actual working positions rather than the orientation) . I heard it's not possible to see pictures of the accommodation beforehand.

I do realise there's more often than not no direct and fully correct answers to some of my questions, but any info and shared experiences would be more than super duper.

Cheers.

[laoshihao]

I would recommend trying different agencies, not just the big dogs SMOE, GEPIK, and EPIK themselves. Sometimes teachers are on odd month contracts and a public school opening will come up during the fall months. You can get a lot of interest from non-government recruiters just by posting your requirements on Dave's resume board.

As for location, put down only where you want to go, otherwise you could end up being placed somewhere else. I am not sure how GEPIK and EPIK work, but SMOE rarely ever tells someone where they will be placed before the end of orientation. I'm not sure how it works if they hire you to replace a cut-and-run teacher at some other time during the school year.

Co-teachers run the gammit from good to bad. I had a very hands on co-teacher who was very helpful and did just as much work as I did within the class. Others teachers have been treated as native English speaking puppets to show pronunciation. Other teachers do all the work while their co-teacher barely speaks a word of English or helps them outside of keeping discipline. I've heard of co-teachers sleeping in class, and even of co-teachers undermining the NSET's ability to keep discipline within the class. What you get is like playing the lottery, and unfortunately from what my friends have told me about their experiences, there are very few who hit the co-teacher jackpot.

Accommodations are hit and miss because schools don't always know you're coming until a few days before your arrival. My school had three days to find me a place. A few people have gotten great apartments with an actual bedroom while most of my friends are in lofts or officetels. Most officetels are rather small. It takes me six steps from my farthest wall to my front door. Be prepared to live small, like in a box. E-mart sells a wonderful drying rack that is floor-to-ceiling like a bookshelf rather than the one that resembles airplane wings. Daiso (a dollar store) will be your best friend for small living. Over-the-door hooks can be your best asset. I hang them off of everything. I use an over-the-door shoe rack from the states to keep my shoe cabinet free for other things. I also use a lot of suction cup hooks on the kitchen wall and in the bathroom. You can find magnetic hooks for your front door or refrigerator.

Good luck with everything. You will need it.

[climber159]

There are countless recruiters in Korea. What you listed in your post are the school boards. SMOE is the Seoul schools, GEPIK handles the schools in Gyeonggi province; and, EPIK handles all the other schools in Korea. You can apply to all three programs at the same time because they are different entities. But, apply only once to each program. If you get a job with SMOE you will not find out your school placement until after the week-long orientation. If you work with GEPIK or EPIK you should be able to choose which city you'll be in, but you will likely not know which school you'll be at until after you arrive to Korea.

Housing is hit or miss. I worked for SMOE for a year and had a great office-tel with a loft. It had about 110,000KRW in monthly building fees but it was clean, had a security guard, was quiet, and in a good location. I worked for GEPIK too and was stuck with a smelly, moldy, shoebox of an apartment.

As a general rule for co-teachers, there is no rule. Some will dominate the class, some will never show up, some will not speak much English, and some will be wonderful to work with.

[thoreau]

I'm not an expert. This is my first time going to Korea but I'll share my experience so far.

[blonde researcher]

Many real public schools in Gyeonggi are filled directly by recruiters who have 'deals' for areas such as Goyang or Bundang. These schools will put you on GEPIK contracts. These jobs are processed all year around by the immigration office.
GEPIK - (Gyeonggi office of education) also does many public school jobs. You take pot luck in getting a school you want , but you are guaranteed a job and you get a notice of appointment from the office of education.

In a few provinces such as Geyongsangnam do, with cities such as Changwon and Jinju, the local office of education does all the EPIK public school contract recruiting themselves and only takes a few casual teachers from the main EPIK hiring in March and Sept.
These provinces use a few contracted recruiters only and you cannot go directly through the Office of education. These provinces have vacancies all year around. Why not phone all the offices of education directly yourself and ask who their agents are?
Some bigger cities such as Daegu and Busan only take their teachers from the main EPIK hiring in March and Sept and dont like taking casual applicants or using direct recruiters

[lifeinkorea]

PM sent for a job offer

[D.D.]

[definitely maybe]

[Conrad B Hart]

Hey hey hey. Cheers for all the feedback so far.
I have one more question regarding the 'CV photo' that you have to send. Would a public school be expecting, or prefer a more 'formal' or smart photograph? Currently I'm sending a casual one with my 'applications'.

[andrewchon]

First impressions are very important in Korea. Try to have a suit and tie, looking sober and professional looking. If you can't afford that, try to look presentable. Do not joke with your photo and send a grunge-rockstar or a porn-star picture. I'd go a notch higher than 'casual'. Also, no dirty facial hair (if applicable).

[Conrad B Hart]

Looks like I'm going to have to get the camera out, and then do a bit of subtle photoshopping.
Are there any colours I should avoid? (i.e. - black tie = funeral).

[andrewchon]

Funeral colour in Korea is white. I don't think there's any problem with colours as such.

[andrewchon]

There is a superstition in Korea: Dead person's name is written in RED. So, writing a living person's name e.g. a student's name in red is a boo-boo. Or worse, wishing that person dead. So now maybe there will be stacks of curse ridden slips of paper, names of hagwon owners written in red, like autumn leaves.