Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Izyb]

Hey there, I'm applying for EPIK - I've got my interview tomorrow.

I've picked Busan and Seoul as my preferences.

I've travelled Asia a bit, but I've never been to South Korea. I made lots of friends while traveling, but I understand moving to a different city/country is a bit harder.

I'm a little worried about making friends. Are there a lot of other western English teacher's in those cities? Sorry if that's a daft question, I have no idea. I understand both of those cities are quite big so there should be haha. I definitely want to make Korean friends, but I feel that having western friends I can fully relate to would make the transition for me a lot easier.

I think I read somewhere about EPIK having a few days of training/big meet up for their English teachers, is this the case? That'd be a lot of fun.

Do you guys do meet ups with people from the boards here who are in your city?

I really hope I get in! This sounds like a really exciting opportunity and I really love kids (and Asia). Any tips for the interview feel free to send them my way too

Thanks!

[Setaro]

Whatever you do don't mention these fears during the interview, it'll make you sound like a 'midnight runner' risk. The ONLY reason people fail EPIK interviews is because either they speak unclearly and the interviewer can't understand them, or because they think you're gonna get homesick and run away, which many people do.

And don't worry about making friends, there's tons of foreigners all over Korea if you're interested in randomly befriending other westerners. You'll meet lots at orientation, then realise 90% of them are arseholes just like back home.

Oh also go to Busan, Seoul is to Korea in the same way that London is to England, E.g different from the rest of the country. It's far too easy to just surround yourself with ex-pats in Seoul. You sound like you enjoy travelling and exploring new cultures. So do yourself a favour and don't live in Seoul for a year.

[robinsoncrusoe]

[towl]

To answer your question; you cannot escape foreigners in this country.

There are so many teachers these days that you will immediately become absorbed into a community, no matter how small the town you go. Trust me, Busan has thousands upon thousands of foreigners. So does everywhere else.

[Izyb]

Thanks everyone! I'm not really worried about being homesick so much as I've always got a really tight group of friends. Even when I was traveling I met a group of people within my first few days and we spent 2 months together.

robinsoncrusoe, how are you liking Busan? It's definitely my first choice because I loooooove the beach and the beach there looks quite nice. I also like being near the ocean (I'm from NZ - so I'm always near the ocean here)

So nervous about the interview but someone said somewhere on this forum that all you need is a pulse and a native English-speaking accent and you're fine. I have both, so fingers crossed

[DaHu]

Having never worked for EPIK I'm not sure, but I thought I read that they can stick you ANYWHERE per the terms of your contract. That you might ask for Seoul or Busan, but get some tiny village of 40 people.

[Izyb]

Yeah I don't really mind too much where I end up. I'm just going to take it as an adventure and make the most of it.

I had my interview yesterday, it went really well. Except my recruitment agency didn't forward on my lesson plan for Seoul so I probably wont find out for at least a week whether I got in or not - sucks being penalised because of someone else's stuff up. Fingers crossed!!!