[ipaul]

if you have a hs diploma and attending college as of now without a degree, are you still able to teach english in korea? are there any short-term teaching?

[ginger]

hm I actually worked in a more rural area.

And people were pretty flexible despite how ugly or beautiful you looked.

Plus she a female boss, and she was quite nice.

And the job offering i got was from a Church blog site. But I can see this happening in most hakwons as well.
She kind of was desperate as well, since I gave her a call when I first arrived in Seoul and she requested if I could meet her in person as soon as possible.
So I just went their with normal clothing and attire, just like any normal person walking in the street.

Plus, to be honest I'm really not much too look at. But when it comes to being socially interactive and good conversationalist I'm good at initiating those.
And making people more than welcome to invite themselves into my life - sorry I did get a little personal there.

And this didn't really hinder my lectures or teaching in the hakwon. There was no actual workload for me either. Since the kids I taught were 5-7 years old.
Basically my Boss told me, they need more tending after and the learning to follow that in a recreational way.

So I made it fun for the lot of us. But it's really sad to hear that, because it can be quite discouraging to those who want to earn money and actually teach kids for both the experience and enjoyment.

@1lasthope:
Could you PM it to me please? I'd like to read up on it =]

here you go. This a great place to start off
http://www.onnurienglish.org/community/

Yeah, I can understand rural areas being more lax and fun. But in Seoul, there are honestly English hagwons on every freaking corner. I work in a low-class area and I still pass about 8 of them just on my 13 minute walk home!! It's insane. With so much competition, bosses are always trying to one up the other places, even if it resorts to really dirty tricks (stealing pension from their workers, not paying them in full, lying in the contract, etc). There are so many hagwons in Seoul that I guess they can afford to be choosy with appearances, since that is where most people apply to work.

-ginger

[DarkWaltz]

Would it be possible to teach for a period of 3-4 months only?

[AngelBlaize]

I look really young because i'm short. I'm Asian and I'm about 88 pounds. People say I'm pretty but I don't think I'm THAT pretty or pretty enough. Auuughhh now I have low hopes for Korea...

Thats how I feel right now. I've been searching for jobs and so far recruiters have told me that Kindergartens won't want me because I am Asian. I have my heart set on teaching kindergarten/elementary in Seoul but it all looks pretty pessimistic at the moment.

[buffyfan]

Hey i was really wanting to go to korea and teach english. Im a black guy and 21 years old. I dont really speak the language but i plan on learning it and i really wanted to experience life outside of america before i get too old. Do you guys think it might be doable for me to teach english in Korea?? I have a bachelors in psychology and some couseling experience. Any kind of help what so ever would be greatly appreciated. thanks alot guys. P.S. i didnt read this whole thread yet but i get the feeling looks might have something to do with getting a job. And im not ridiculously attractive but im def not ugly and im in pretty good shape

[mstar]

Hey i was really wanting to go to korea and teach english. Im a black guy and 21 years old. I dont really speak the language but i plan on learning it and i really wanted to experience life outside of america before i get too old. Do you guys think it might be doable for me to teach english in Korea?? I have a bachelors in psychology and some couseling experience. Any kind of help what so ever would be greatly appreciated. thanks alot guys. P.S. i didnt read this whole thread yet but i get the feeling looks might have something to do with getting a job. And im not ridiculously attractive but im def not ugly and im in pretty good shape

I'll give you the short answer: Yes, you can.

Long answer: Yes, you can. If you're still interested, you can then read some in this thread and look around .

--

Personal Rant: Maomaoamoamoamoamoamo, I'm going to kill these little kids. I teach small groups, but how come my seven year olds are like angels, and eight year olds are like mini-devils?

[Psyche81]

Question to all current SMOE teachers:

When was your medical checks done? Was it done during the week-long orientation or afterward? Was it on site (meaning in the orientation venue)? What did they check you for aside from HIV and drugs?
Were there people to translate Korean to English for you during the check up?

And during the orientation, how many people do you have to room with?

Thank you so much for your help! ^^

[1lasthope]

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[&rea]

I just applied today to a program with the Korean Consulate and actually have a phone interview tomorrow night. Any ideas what I should submit for a lesson plan outline? I work at Kumon Math & Reading Center, so I do have a lot of teaching experience, but I was just wondering what kinds of stuff I should plan when English is a second language to the students. Thanks for your help!

[BlissX]

Three questions and one personal to Ginger.

1. How do you go about retaining your American Citizenship? If I read correctly, you just have to visit the US Embassy? Do you just walk in, register, walk out?

2. How does US taxes go about? If I also recall correctly, you won't be taxed for up to 2 years worth of income. Beyond that, however, you'll start to pay taxes? (Which I assume you'd pay at the US Embassy?)

3. Having an F4 Passport (Male) would make me eligible for being drafted into the 2 year Korean Army service?


Lastly to Ginger, I've noticed you seem to be on a downward spiral in terms of how satisfied you've been at work (due to the kids and the administration). You hinted you might not renew your contract and look elsewhere for a job. What job opportunities would Korea have for a foreigner other than teaching English? Or have you decided 2 years is enough and plan to come back home?

[1lasthope]

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[j00n]

Three questions and one personal to Ginger.

1. How do you go about retaining your American Citizenship? If I read correctly, you just have to visit the US Embassy? Do you just walk in, register, walk out?

2. How does US taxes go about? If I also recall correctly, you won't be taxed for up to 2 years worth of income. Beyond that, however, you'll start to pay taxes? (Which I assume you'd pay at the US Embassy?)

3. Having an F4 Passport (Male) would make me eligible for being drafted into the 2 year Korean Army service?


Lastly to Ginger, I've noticed you seem to be on a downward spiral in terms of how satisfied you've been at work (due to the kids and the administration). You hinted you might not renew your contract and look elsewhere for a job. What job opportunities would Korea have for a foreigner other than teaching English? Or have you decided 2 years is enough and plan to come back home?

1. Your US citizenship doesn't "expire". All you need is to get the F4 Visa which you just go to the Korean Immigration office and pay a fee to renew every 2-3 years (indefinitely).

2. For TAX you can file for exempt from Korean TAX if you work at a public school, but it means your earnings in Korea are subject to US taxation, and vice versa. Since US tax rate is higher than Korean one, i don't know why you'd want to file exemption from Korean taxes...You do not have to pay any federal income taxes if you made less than approximately $80,000 last year, but you still have to file it. If you are staying less than a year you don't have to file. If you work a full year in Korea you have to file in the US but don't have to pay tax unless you made over $80,000 in that year.
http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=154390

3. No, if you get approved for a F4 VISA (not passport) you are not required to be drafted into the military. However in order to get the F4 you need to make sure you're not on the Korean family registry. Check it: http://www.hikorea.go.kr/pt/InfoDetailR_en...;showMenuId=378

With an F4 Visa you have all the rights of a normal Korean citizen except you can't vote in Korean elections...yet, they've introduced legislation to allow that though. This means with a F4 you can feasibly work in any company that will hire you. I have plenty of friends working at Samsung, LG, KBS, etc...their Korean is passable though. If you don't speak any Korean than your options are pretty much limited to teaching unless you can find a foreign company that has a branch in Korea. You could try to seek out the coveted jobs at either English radios, TV stations that cater to ex-pats, or take up correcting/editing jobs. There are some limited journalist jobs but you need to have experience.

[BlissX]

That's very informative, j00n. I appreciate the time you spent on that reply.

My Korean is pretty weak at the moment, but I hope to finish up some Korean Courses at my University to improve it. I'm more into techy stuff than anything (majoring in Comp Sci.). Are you teaching English or are you involved in computers? I get the impression you work for an Apple Store in Korea,

[Gaijin101]

Hi!

I thought this was a very interesting forum topic. I thought I should give some comments. If you want to live in Seoul & work at a Public school apply with SMOE. If you apply with multiple recruiters for a SMOE job, it can make the paper work even worse! If you can't get an SMOE job, my recommendation is go through GEPIK! GEPIK is for the Gyeonggido Province. It's the province that surrounds Seoul. Also transportation into Seoul isn't that bad & you can actually save more money since you don't have much temptation during the weeknights.

I've worked in Korea for almost 2 years. There are always good & bad things about working at either a public School or Private Institute (Hakwon). I will let you figure them on your own or you can read the previous postings! Also people who posted earlier about looks & how it's related to jobs, unfortunately most of the stuff they said is true! If you plan on trying to apply for a University job, good luck! If you want to teach in Seoul, the minimum they require is either 5+ years teaching or a Master Degree. You have a better chance to obtain a university job outside of Seoul!

PS On a side note. I've ran into way too many stupid foreigners, who just graduated & coming to Korea to teach. I just wish they knew that since they are in Korea & are being paid, IT'S A JOB! Not an extension of going out & partying like they are still in college. Being a teacher is still considered a highly respected position in Korea! My biggest advice, THINK LONG & HARD BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING!

[NoRefund]

I recently applied to a program called Aclipse but after some research and discussion with other people, it seems that a bunch of people got screwed over with their start dates being pushed back up to half a year. They also told me that they for some reason this year they had an increasingly amount of applicants which could be part of the reason start dates are being pushed back. I agree with Gaijin101 that a teaching position is most definitely a respected profession in S. Korea and not an extension of our college fun times. As a recent grad I looked long and hard into this before applying... but that doesn't mean we can't have our fun too hehe.

[talula]

Has anyone heard of Education Adventure? just wondering if this company is legit

[1lasthope]

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[yelieu]

Does anyone know of any programs or jobs that would allow me to work there either this december/january to september? I've just finally started to look at teaching English abroad and I heard of some places that I should check like TALK and SMOE but are there other places I should look as well?

[thyun]

Question:

What advantages does one gain by getting a TEFL/TESL certificate? Is it worth it?

If one does seek to get a TEFL/TESL certificate, do Korean institutions, in particular the private ones, care about from which program one obtains it.

[kennesu]

I'm not certified but I do see the merits of getting the certification if you've never taught English before. Most people come here with no background in anything teaching related and then they're plopped in front of a group of kids and it can get kind of messy.

I'm not sure if many places look for it but I think most employers would think of it as a plus.