Korean Job Discussion Forums

vallillo · Joined: 20 Sep 2009

Hey guys... HAve any of you worked in Europe? Lets say Spain, Italy, France, Greece etc... How does it compare to Korea?^ Which do you prefer? If you prefer Europe what made you go to Korea?

mc_jc · Joined: 13 Aug 2009 Location: C4B- Cp Red Cloud, Area-I

I think you meant Korea, not China- but its all good.

Anyway, if you have a chance to work somewhere in Europe, go for it. That is, if you are looking to go there for the experience.

vallillo · Joined: 20 Sep 2009

Thanks! Actually, I am in Europe... Just wanting to hear of others who made the move and regret or dont regret it!

I love Europe ... Downside about ESL here is the money... Hard to live of 1200� in Italy!

mc_jc · Joined: 13 Aug 2009 Location: C4B- Cp Red Cloud, Area-I

If you want money and love traveling, then come to Korea for a year or two, save as much as you can and use it to travel around Europe.

But if you are thinking about money, then you might want to check out the Middle East. There are jobs there that pay on average about $2100 a month for only 5-7 hours a day (mostly in the morning because it gets hot in the afternoon) and they pay for the flight and housing costs.

I'm not an ESL teacher, but I am hearing that next year the public school system in Seoul might do away with the housing clause, which will put a huge bite into teacher's pay, especially for the deposit. But if you don't want to live in Seoul (which has 10+ million people living in it), you might be able to fair better.

Anyway, good luck!

Also, I'd advise you to average the pay advertised for some jobs here and find out the exchange rate. In some cases, the pay might be similar to what you have right now.

ThingsComeAround · Joined: 07 Nov 2008

hey, OP

have you ever thought of doing private classes?
Working in Korea you will find many things just don't fit.
For example, bread. Bread here sucks. Same with cakes.
They copy things and do a poor job at that.
But they will claim that things are "just as good as" the European style.

If you do come here, you won't understand what i mean until you try a pizza with a sweet potato crust Rolling Eyes

Juregen · Joined: 30 May 2006

D.D. · Joined: 29 May 2008

Julius · Joined: 27 Jul 2006

shocking · Joined: 19 Jan 2009 Location: Busan

I worked all over Italy for just over two years in Bari, Siracusa and Torino and I had a really good time. Yes, the money is bad but by the end of my second year I had private lessons and I had become an oral examiner for Cambridge ESOL. If you can do this in Europe it can bring in an extra 1500-2000 euros a year depending on how many exams you are an examiner for.

The thing I miss most is working with diverse abilities and different age groups. The exam prep classes I did at the public schools were some of the most rewarding classes I've ever taught. I was involved in every step of the syllabus design, delivery and decision making process. The Italian staff all appreciated my effort and asked my opinion with respect and understanding. This pales in comparison to my Korean experience. Italy is expensive and low paid but the people are fantastic, the food is divine and the majority of schools both public and private really know how to teach ESL properly.

When I finish here, I'll be heading to Japan for a short term contract then heading back to Italy to do my DELTA. Korea, you won't be missed.

misher · Joined: 14 Oct 2008

I lived in northern Germany, France and Denmark. It was good times and I would go back and teach English in a heartbeat if it paid enough money to save and jobs were in abundance. Sadly that is not the case.

Moldy Rutabaga · Joined: 01 Jul 2003 Location: Ansan, Korea

I don't mind teaching and living in Korea. But if the EU ever permitted North Americans to teach in Europe easily without an EU passport I think there would be a stampede out of here. Who would not prefer living there if the pay was reasonably similar?

mc_jc · Joined: 13 Aug 2009 Location: C4B- Cp Red Cloud, Area-I

crossmr · Joined: 22 Nov 2008 Location: Hwayangdong, Seoul

shocking · Joined: 19 Jan 2009 Location: Busan

Dude Ranch · Joined: 04 Nov 2008

I lived in London after graduating in 2007-08 and had the time of my life. Mind you I wasn't teaching; I worked for a head hunting firm in The City of London. I'm Canadian so I got the two year working holiday visa. I HIGHLY recommend this experience. I met tons of other commonwealth foreigners who had the same feelings. The only downside is that it is harder to get a job there now with the economic downturn. I lucked out as I was there right before it got really bad. Even though london was expensive I saved up enough to travel Europe during (28 days of paid vacation by law in the UK) and after my working holiday

I went through www.swap.ca

Overall to me Korea doesn't even compare to living in Europe. In London I was going out almost every night of the week as there are tons of things to do in that city, I met people from around the globe and came back with job experience and an outlook on life I would have never gotten back home in Canada. To me this year in Korea seems more laid back, nothing too special as last year was my big year abroad. The only thing better in Korea for me is the amount of savings.