Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sluggo832004]

I got an offer for a international school but it was for 34,000 dollars a year.

Thats quite low for a school. The school requires a E-7 visa and the vacation is descent enough, but it seems to be all korean students who have alot of money.

Alot of the staff speak only Korean as well.


Im starting to think its just a expensive hagwon. Not to mention its a boarding school and teachers must live together in a dorm.

Do these conditions sound normal to you guys?

[Swampfox10mm]

Is that what international schools pay?

If so, that really sucks!

[Waygeek]

[kneezah~]

I don't think many legit international schools house their teachers in dormitories. I know the KIS in Jeju has boarding, I also think Branksome Hall does, too (for students). Is the job you're looking at for a teacher or a resident manager?

[faeriehazel]

I've never heard of a hakwon with dorms.

I know legit elite schools in the boonies, like Minsa, have dorms for their teachers, so that's neither here nor there.

How much paid vacation do you get?

[Canadian Club]

Some schools have on-site housing for teachers.

Is the school accredited with CIS? What curriculum does it use? Those will be better indicators of its status than the pay.

Or you could post the name and your fellow posters will do the judging for you.

[thebearofbundang]

34,000 seems really low.

I'm also not sure about the housing situation. Neither international school I've worked at had that policy, and actually a lot of the teachers have had families, meaning living in a school dorm would be inconvenient.

Things to look into as a way to tell if you are being hired as a teacher at an accredited international school are the following in my experience (have worked at 2). None of these will guarantee you the answer, but if there are more than a few no's, than it's likely not an international school in my opinion.

-Did you need to show proof of being a Certified Teacher in your home country? This doesn't necessarily simply mean having a B.Ed, but having a teachers license and number and usually a couple years of teaching experience.

- Do the same students attend classes M-F from 8ish till 3:30ish.

- On the school website is yearly tuition in the neighborhood of 20,000,000 Won?

-Do they offer free (or highly discounted) tuition for your children to attend?

- Are you teaching all the core subjects to your class (LA, SS, Science, Math, Health etc.? (If it's elementary)

- Will you only have 1 class of students? (If it's elementary)

- Do you get around 12 weeks of vacation per year?

- Are your work hours around 8-4 M-F?

- Do you get paid a yearly salary of 45,000,000 or more? (You've already stated it's much lower than this).

- Was there a lengthy hiring process including an in person interview to get the job?

- Are the facilities nice? (Gym, Swimming Pool, Playground, Soccer Field, Smart Boards in each classroom, Auditorium etc.)

- Is there an English Only policy for the entire school, with the only exceptions being the Korean, Mandarin, German (etc.) Second Language classrooms?

It should be pretty easy to tell after you meet the students as well, but by that time it might be too late.

[Canadian Club]

Look the school up on the Internet and try to find some of its teachers to see what the situation is. You could even look them up on International Schools Review if you are ready to read with a hefty grain of salt.

I know for a fact that more than one of the IB World Schools in Korea would have "no" for four of the questions above.

I've also been at IB schools in other (cheaper ND/or non-taxed) countries with pay scales a fair bit lower than 45,000 (excluding benefits).

International Schools are supposed to have a few things, such as an international student body, students that move to and away from the country, international accreditation and curriculum, and instruction in English.

International Schools in Korea (in my experience) tend to have low pay for the cost of living, and student bodies made up of Koreans with foreign passports.

[PatrickGHBusan]

Lots of schools use the term "international" in their name. If you want to be sure, check their accreditation (should be very easy to find on their website), check the faculty, staff and admin. Look at the curriculum (should be partially available on their site).....

As for IS in Korea there are some very good ones who pay well and some who pay less. Much like Universities and PS there are varying levels of quality from institution to institution.