The Complete Guide For Working as an ESL Teacher in South Korea

As you step out of your element and habits you have in your home country, you need to look at a country where you feel safe. Make sure you research the country and do not use the media or people you know as your primary information. I know when I selected my country, South Korea, one of my friends began to worry because they thought I was going to a Communist country (which is the North...not South).

You should keep in mind that most contracts are for a year. You need to research on the web for more information on how people from that country handle contracts. They may say they will give you something or pay in a timely matter in the contract, yet the contractor may look at contracts as mere guidelines and nothing set in stone.

One of the most popular places to teach is South Korea. This is due to all the benefits of being able to make the most money as a first time teacher. Many people will come to South Korea for the first year and get their feet wet, then move on to another country. Some of the other popular places for ESL teaching positions are: China, Japan, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Israel, and places throughout Africa.

When you leave your home country, you should make sure that you are informed about what's going on in your new home. Below are governmental websites to inform the Embassy at your new home that you are there. They will then begin to e-mail you information and warnings that may affect your stay living abroad. Living in South Korea, this has been beneficial to hear about what's going on when there is a North-South conflict and what they are doing.

SMART Traveler - Australian Citizens
Voyage.gc.ca - Canadian Citizens
ROSA(Registration for South Africans Abroad) - South African Citizens
LOCATE - United Kingdom Citizens
SMART Traveler Enrollment Program - United States Citizens

**I will gladly find and add more countries if anyone needs them**

Some jobs will have a requirement that you have your TEFL/TESL/TESOL Certification.

TEFL - Teaching English as a Foreign Language
TESL - Teaching English as a Second Language
TESOL - Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

These certifications can be taken online or in a classroom. They basically certify your knowledge of teaching English as a second language in a classroom environment. There are many types of organizations that sponsor certificates and they usually take about a couple weeks to complete. If it is not a requirement for a contract, you can usually get a little bit more money for having it (so it maybe worthwhile to get).

I have known a couple teachers to use this TEFL program because of its reputation. It is an accredited program and you can do it all online if you want to.

The remainder of this lens will be dedicated to finding a position in South Korea. After all my research of finding the best positions for someone new to this type of job, South Korea was the best choice for me. On average South Korean contracts offer:

2.1 Million Won (approx. 1,871.24 U.S. dollars) a Month - This is the standard for a new teacher. You can counteroffer for more if you have a TESOL/TEFL/TESL certification or prior experience.

Free Flight To and From South Korea - Some schools will ask you pay the plane ticket there, but will reimburse you in a month. If you complete the entire 12 month contract they will give you a free ticket home.

Free Apartment - A really nice benefit is that the apartment is provided and you do not have to go searching for one in a foreign land.

A One Month Bonus - If you complete your 12 month contract, you will receive an extra month bonus. This is to deter you from leaving early.

Health Insurance - Be sure you check with your employer who is paying for the entrance physical. A lot of employers will pay for it, however there are a few who won't. It cost around 40,000 - 50,000won for the physical (around $44.00 USD).



Optional Items

Pension - If the employer participates in the pension program, you will receive your pension back at the end of the year. You contribute each month and this money earns approx. 4% when you receive the funds in 12 months. It averages to be approximately 450,000Won (about 400-500 U.S.dollars).

Cell Phone/Internet - An employer may take out the hassle of finding a phone and an internet provider by putting you on the school's plan. The cost of having a phone/internet with a multi-year contract are far cheaper than a phone/internet plan with a one year contract. My employer currently has me on the schools plan for less than 50,000 won a month (approximately $48.00 U.S. dollars) versus some of my friends paying 100,000 won a month (approximately $83.00) for a one year contract.

Time-Off - Usually public school teachers are the ones that receive Summer and Winter breaks (which is a couple weeks) off. However, you can ask your employer ahead of time to put time-off in your contract. Some of my friends have done this and were able to go home during Christmas or other holidays. Usually though, time off is not included in the contract.

South Korea hires thousands of ESL teachers each year to teach due to their rigorous education system. Below are the types of positions you can find in South Korea for ESL Teaching:

Hagwon (Private School) - These are the most common and one of the easier jobs to get in South Korea. They are owned privately and are in business to make a profit. This is why you will find positions all year round. Depending on the type of students you have, a teacher's schedule will be from 2pm - 10pm, since children will usually come after public school. When the children are on Summer/Winter break, an ESL Teachers job will usually change to 9am-7pm. Since these are private schools, you will see most contract disputes from these types of places.

EPIK (English Program in Korea) - Public School - The EPIK program is a little bit more difficult to get into and they do have application deadlines. These positions do receive a little bit more "perks" than Hagwon ESL Teachers.

University Positions - These positions are treated as a real job for people who are looking for a career in ESL teaching. It is the most difficult to receive these types of positions.

Though it seems like they will let anyone teach in South Korea, they do have standard requirements in order to apply for a job.

- Completed a full four year academic degree at an accredited college or university.
- Be a citizen of a country where the primary language is English (UK, USA, SA, AUS, NZ, SA or IRE).
- Be a native English speaker.
- Meet the requirements for an E-2 or F-4 visa. This has to do with a clean criminal background check.

I know some people are disappointed to find that they cannot teach due to being born in an another country and not having citizenship from the UK, USA, SA, AUS, NZ, SA or IRE. There has always been talk about them changing this requirement, but nothing has changed as of to date.

In order to work and receive health benefits in South Korea, you need an E-2 visa. Your recruiter will help gather your information and apply for the visa for you (that's one of the big reasons it's nice to have a recruiter). Below is some of the paperwork your recruiter will ask you to gather:

Preliminary Paperwork (FedExed to your recruiter to apply for your teaching E-2 visa)

- Original College Diploma - You will need to have this notarized and *apostille. (You will receive this back from your school when you arrive.)

- Two Official Transcripts - Sealed and stamped along the seal line to show it was never opened.

- Federal Criminal Background Check (can take up to 12 weeks to get back) - Needs to be Notarized and *apostille - You cannot use an online background check which is what most companies use. This just changed for 2011 from only needing a state background check. Previously, it was easy to get to Korea by only having a state background check done. For example, you could have committed a crime outside your home state and have nothing show up on the background check. (One of the big reasons why they moved to the Federal Background check).

U.S Process You need to print off a fingerprint card from the FBI website and have your fingerprints rolled at a police station (or you can do them yourself). Then, mail the card along with the application to the FBI. It is currently taking about 7 weeks to receive the results. After you receive your results, you need to have the document notarized (which usually your bank does this for free) and sent to be *apostille (you will need to contact the state/country to find the address and there is usually a small fee). Here is the U.S. Federal Background Check to find out more information.

Canadian Process - This can be done either by mailing in an application or through some of their electronic process stations(which is extremely fast-72 hours). After you receive the results, you need have them taken to a consulate to have it notarized More information can be found at Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

- Health form - This information is used to sign you up under the Korean healthcare system. This form is given to you by your recruiter.

- Copy of your passport - This is to confirm you have a valid passport and to check its expiration date.

- 4 Passport Photos - This is for your E-2 visa, health form and the remaining two is for your profile information.

*Apostille - This is done by Secretary of State (authority) to deem a document valid and a true document.

As of May 2011, you NO longer need to go for an interview at the Korean Consulate for some countries (like Canada and the U.S.). Please check with your Consulate to see what you should do in your specific country since the changes were not for all countries.

Instead of interviewing, you have to send the below items to them which is right off the Consulate websites:

- One official transcript
- Copy of your diploma which needs to be notarized and apostille.
- Visa confirmation number OR original Notice of Appointment (copies will not be accepted), provided by the institute
- Copy of employment contract (does not need to be signed by the employer)
- Documents regarding establishment of Korean school or organization (All you have to do is simply write down the address, phone, contact name of the school in Korea. This is nothing official from your school.)
- Completed Consul Checklist
- Completed Visa Application
- Completed Health Statement
- One passport size photo
- Passport- YOU MUST SEND YOUR ACTUAL PASSPORT. THE VISA ISSUING OFFICER MUST STAMP DIRECTLY IN TO THE PASSPORT.
- $45 (cash or money orders only made payable to Korean Consulate. Personal checks are NOT acceptable)
- Resume detailing your work/teaching experience including all experience in Korea
- Postage paid self-addressed Express Mail (USPS) or FedEx envelope for return of your documents & visa- (if you are picking up your visa then you do not need to send the envelope)

Here is a list of South Korea Embassy's. It takes about 2-3 days for them to process everything and return it to you.

Then you are all ready to start packing!