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haninging-blog · 6 years ago

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teaching in korea: step 1

1. pre-applying

before filling out the application or asking some references to write a letter of recommendation, you need to think about yourself for a little bit.

there are a lot of people (and i mean A LOT) coming to teach in south korea for the “wrong” reasons. here are some questions to ask yourself that you really need to answer. i urge you to be honest to yourself -- blatantly, unbiasedly honest.

do you like teaching?

why do you want to come to south korea?

how long do you plan on staying in south korea?

where do you want to live in south korea and why?

do you have the money to do this?

do you like teaching?

EPIK stands for “english program in korea”, meaning that you will be, obviously, teaching in south korea. it may seem redundant to point this out, but there are many cases of people rejecting a job offer because they weren’t placed in their preferred location (mostly seoul), leaving during orientation because it finally hit them that this is a job and not paid vacation, and people even dip out in the middle of the night within the first couple of months of working without even saying anything to their school or to EPIK.

to avoid being in any of those situations, you need to think about if you actually like teaching. if the answer is “yes” then move onto the next question. if the answer is “no”, let’s talk about it.

do you have teaching and/or tutoring experience and genuinely hate it? then do not apply to EPIK, because teaching is all you’re going to do. do you not have teaching and/or tutoring experience and you do not know if you would like or hate it? then think of situations where you’ve have to teach someone something (how to cook, dance, etc.) and assess whether you enjoyed do it or not. if the answer is no, then you probably won’t enjoy being an english teacher. if the answer is yes, then why not try it out?

why do you want to come to south korea?

there could be a range of answers, anywhere from something simple (you like k-pop) to something some complex (you are a south korean adoptee and wish to learn about the place you came from). in orientation, or even in kakaotalk group chats, you’ll learn that the reason for people picking south korea over any other country is really diverse… and you’ll also notice that some people want to come to south korea for some odd reasons.

story time 1. there is someone who is a current EPIK teacher who lives in the southern part of the country and travels to seoul practically every weekend just to sit in a cafe near an entertainment agency and wait for their idol to pass by. through her actions and the way she talks about korean celebrities (and her lack of enthusiasm in regards to teaching), i think it’s safe to assume the only reason she came to south korea was to stalk her favorite celebrities. do you think wanting to stalk celebrities is an ok reason to live and work in south korea? i pray that you answered no.

story time 2. there is someone who is a current EPIK teacher who is absolutely obsessed with japan and has stated repeatedly in separate occasions that japan is better than south korea, that south korea stole a lot of food, culture, and other items from japan, and has said that the only reason that they applied to EPIK was because the JET program is harder to get into and korea is close to japan so they can travel there whenever they want. they also want to use japan as a topic for lesson plans. now, there is nothing wrong with having a preference, but if you know the history between korea and japan, then you know why these statements are absolutely absurd and blatantly offensive. do you think it is alright to be completely ignorant of korea’s history and unabashedly promote japan (a brutal colonizer of korea) in lesson plans and in everyday life? i hope you answered no.

in my opinion, it doesn’t matter if the reason you want to live and work in south korea is “shallow” at first (hell, my initial reason was because i think the language is pretty and the food is amazing). but, i do think you should do research on the country and figure out more things than just something as basic as “food” (and probably in most people’s cases, the music). i also think that if your reason is harmful or offensive (reference the stories above), then please do not come to korea. the next few questions are less serious, so let’s get into them.

how long do you plan on staying in south korea?

this question won’t make or break you, but it’s great to plan ahead for multiple reasons. if you only want to stay in south korea for a year or two, your preparations are going to be a lot different than someone planning on staying for five years (we’ll get into how to prepare in later guides). whoever interviews you will more than likely ask you this question, too, so it’s good to have an answer. know what you want out of the experience, or at least what you hope to learn and how you hope to grow.

where do you want to live in south korea and why?

from my experience, around 70% of applicants want to live in seoul and put seoul down for their preference. however, seoul is just one city in korea; there are plenty more with a lot of culture and things to do. do some research on different cities and different districts, find things to fall in love about different places and locations. now, i’m not telling you to not try for seoul, but i also want to warn you that not that many people get their preference (and, as stated at the beginning of this gude, some people even reject a job offer from EPIK because they didn’t get seoul). if it’s either seoul or nothing for you, perhaps go back to the question “why do you want to come to south korea?” and think about it again.

do you have the money to do this?

this entire process is not only stressful, but it is also expensive. applying to EPIK is free, but gathering all of your documents, doing your TEFL (if you don have a teaching degree), applying for your visa, getting a plane ticket, phone plans, packing, moving, exchanging money to have korean cash on you, the medical exam at orientation, storing your things you are leaving in your home country, buying things for your korean apartment... it all costs money. i recommend having AT LEAST 3,000usd to work with -- you could need more or less, it depends on your situation, but this is what i had to work with. i’ll make a whole other post about money and the expenses of the application process later, but you should know now what you’re getting yourself into.

now that you’ve thought about your intentions, let’s talk about starting your application.

there are two ways to go about the application process: directly through EPIK or with a recruiter. there are pros and cons to both, but it’s really up to whatever you think would work best for you.

going directly through EPIK

pros: - your application typically gets processed faster (in regards to the actual application, interview, documents, and placement) - you actually get to meet your EPIK coordinator

cons: - if you have any random questions (before you get a coordinator), you’re on your own - if you are the kind of person that needs someone to guide them and hold their hand (before you get a coordinator), you’re on your own

going through a recruiter

pros: - they can help you on your application, a practice interview + tips, and double check your documents - some have pre-orientation orientations where you can get sim cards and open up a bank account - if you don’t get a job with EPIK, some will help you get a different job in korea (still primarily teaching-focused)

cons: - a recruiter is a middleman to the middleman, so things will progress slower (EPIK is the middleman between you and DOE/NIIED (department of education / national institute for international education development))

there may be more pros and cons depending on your circumstances and your own personal needs (as well as pros and cons between different recruiters), so i urge you to do your own research. i went direct and had no problems at all (and actually prefered going direct), but i have had friends say that they really liked going through their recruiter and wouldn't have done it any other way! there are arguments for both ways, it is just up to what will work for you.

here is a list of some recruiters and links to their websites:

Korvia https://www.korvia.com/

Korean Horizons https://www.koreanhorizons.com/

Reach to Teach https://www.reachtoteachrecruiting.com/

CIEE https://www.ciee.org/

TEFLUK https://www.tefluk.com/

Greenheart https://greenhearttravel.org/program/adult/teach/teach-in-south-korea

Canadian Connections https://www.canconx.com/

Gold Key Education http://www.goldkeyeducation.com/GKE/WelcomePage.html

please remember that you are your own person and can do whatever you want; don’t let some stranger on the internet (aka me) tell you how to live your life. the purpose of this guide is simply to help you make an informed decision on whether or not to apply to the EPIK program. the entire process is long, stressful, and can wear you down. if your heart isn’t in it, then it isn’t worth going through the trouble of applying and dropping loads of money on something you don’t even really want to do.

#epik #english program in korea #teaching in korea #expat #korea #south korea #living abroad

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