Korean Job Discussion Forums

[porkchopsammich]

Thanks for reading everyone!
My girlfriend and I are planning on teaching English in Korea in Feb/March of 2012 and we've set our hearts on teaching in Busan. I have many friends who have taught in Korea in the past and some have recommended a placement agency out of Toronto called Canadian Connection (C.C.). The two of us have met with the people at C.C. for an interview and got lots of excellent information. The problem is that we've recently also come across EPIK online and are very impressed with their website and the information that we've been able to gather through them (their site also states that they have 140 available jobs in Busan!).
How many people have dealt with EPIK vs. C.C and can the people of Dave's make any recommendations for my girl and I? We've tried to start this process early so that we have as much flexibility as possible and aren't rushed into any big decisions, any help would be appreciated!
Thanks again.

[wjf1]

The odds are against you landing an EPIK position in Busan now as you need apply early.

[itiswhatitis]

Frankly speaking, EITHER you OR your girlfriend landing a public school job ANYWHERE within Korea would make you very lucky. You probably know this but the 140 position in Busan are for all of the positions which are in Busan, this DOES NOT mean that that specific recruiter has 140 positions for Busan. For EPIK you list your preferences of location and you find out your location after you have been hired. Busan would be a first choice for a good chunk of the applicants.

To get a position with EPIK in Busan:

1) First of all you must pass the EPIK interview and he hired

2) EPIK will assign you to any location within South Korea (you would be VERY lucky to get Busan)

As for you and your gf BOTH getting Busan.....all of the above AND you and your gf both randomly being assigned to Busan. The odds are against you.

As an aside, it will be next to impossible to get ANY EPIK postion for February 2012 at this stage. Never mind Busan and never mind the 2 of you both being in Busan.

My advice:

Talk to a recruiter about both getting a job at a hagwon which are close to each other. I've been at the same hagwon for over 2 years now and before that I did a public school for 1 year. Don't beleive all the bad stuff that you hear about hagwons, public school jobs and hagwon jobs both have their pros and cons.

Feel free to ask me any questions.

Best of luck!!!!!

[ttompatz]

[porkchopsammich]

yikes!
This is all actually very upsetting, I was under the impression that we were on top of things and as it turns out we're not at all.
This certainly isn't a good start for us, but it's great information. Thanks again, and I'll be sure to come back to Dave's with any questions that I have in the future.

[ttompatz]