Considering teaching English in South Korea for a year?? My goal in this entry is to give an unbiased yet thorough review of my one-year experience living and teaching in Daejeon, South Korea. I am an American (St. Paul, Minnesota to be exact) in my late 20's. I am optimistic, love kids and love travel. All of these factors played a major role in sculpting my experience here. Yours will be unique to your personality and perception of the world (of course), but I hope that you might benefit from hearing mine.
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IS IT FOR YOU?
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I have met every kind of person from all over the world during my time here and it seems that most fall into one of two major categories. The first type is someone who comes here looking for adventure, cultural immersion, travel, new people and teaching experience. These are the optimistic open-minds that love the idea that everything here will be totally different from any lifestyle they might be accustomed to. People in this category generally have wonderful experiences here and get exactly what they came for. These are the kinds of people who may discover that a year is not quite enough to take it all in.
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Conversely, many people come here expecting to find out that another version of their hometown exists in Korea. They aren't interested in exploring Korean culture, they don't embrace change - hell, they may or may not even like kids! They often subtly rank themselves as superior to Koreans (or maybe everyone). This type of person may be running away from problems back home or just has just come to find that they aren't the same god-like being now after college as they were to their little frat-buddies.
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People in the second category rarely last a few months in the country. They are miserable and make everyone around them the same. Search your soul for a moment and make sure that you're in the first category before continuing to consider this kind of lifestyle change any further.
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So, you're still reading? I guess that means you've passed what I believe to be the ONLY thing really necessary to absolutely LOVE your experience here!!! You might have the same major concerns that I had when I was pondering this decision.
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1. "I have no teaching experience, isn't that a big problem??" NO. I have a degree in Hospitality and Tourism. All of my professional experience has been in casinos and other service industry positions. I had nothing to suggest that I would be a good teacher other than the fact that I love kids and that I dedicate myself fully to any job that I take on.
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When I first got here, my boss told me at a dinner, "The only thing that will matter is that you truly want the children to learn. With that piece in place, you will be successful." I took that to heart and buckled down to work. Not just for the sake of bragging, but my kids love me, the parents love me and my school loves me! I have never had a job that offered this kind of satisfaction and pride in what I'm doing!
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2. "I don't speak a word of Korean." When I arrived here, my friend gave me a piece of paper that showed me how to say "Hello - an yeong ha say yo" and "thank you - kam sam nee dah" and I made my way through just fine. Now, would learning some tidbits of language have been extremely useful before I came? Absolutely!! ... but it's far from a deal-breaker if you don't get the chance to do so.
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People here generally know a few key words of English, especially those in service industry jobs. People who work at airports and train stations almost always know enough to get our dumb-asses to where we need to go. One important thing to remember though of course - it's your fault you don't speak the language; don't get upset with them when the communication breaks-down!!! As obvious as this seems, we all need reminders sometimes.
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3. "$2000+ a month cash, furnished studio apartment, no experience required, airfare, bonus month salary after your contract, vacation time to travel around Asia... come on, what's the catch??" My dad asked me this when I was considering my decision and my best answer was... "They really like native English teachers." I was kind of guessing (hoping that I was right) when I said that mainly to alleviate his concerns, but I would later find out I had nailed it. Are there some things you will have to get used to? YES. Occasional chaos and disorder in every school I have heard about? YEP. Sporadic worries about border tensions? YOU KNOW IT. etc... but, hey. You're a 'type-1' person from above, right?
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WHERE TO LIVE.
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Maybe you're considering Daejeon specifically and wanting some feedback? Truth be told, Daejeon is a pretty good place to live! There is decent night-life, a solid foreigner (that's us) contingent, and enough to see and do. It doesn't have the super-bustle, pushy nature as much as Seoul and being located directly in the center of the country makes it super easy to get anywhere in Korea within a couple hours (or much less). Also, Daejeon is the ONLY city that I've ever seen to provide a free, full-scale outdoor climbing wall! (If you're into that sort of thing.)
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It's downfalls are there as well however - only one subway line, no coast and no real MAJOR attractions to boast. Every city you'll find will obviously have a different set that it's offering, and I find Daejeon to be a nice average balance. Some other wise choices might include:
1. Seoul can be overwhelming a bit (more people and nearly twice as dense as NYC), but is a really fun and exciting option. All the friends that I've had there seem really satisfied with their choice.
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2. Busan if fabulous down on the beautiful beaches and with its slightly milder weather; but it comes at a price. The average monthly wage for a teacher there is about 200,000 won lower (almost $200) than less-popular inland cities. With the lower wage, it's still easy enough to make a nice living though, so if money isn't a major factor, think beaches!!
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3. Daegu is similar to Daejeon in many ways but just slightly bigger and seemed like some better night-life in my very short time that I spent there. The couple of Daegu friends that I have love it!
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Everywhere else will just depend on what you're looking for. I've met people who live and teach on barely-inhabited islands where they are the only foreigners within 50 miles. Some people pick their location based on their hobbies. For example, the rock-climbing, outdoorsy type might want to consider somewhere like Sokcho up in Kang-wan-do (which I'm told translates to something like 'Lakes and trees Province'). You'll have to do some more homework in this category though - I don't want to over-step my bounds on stuff I know little about.
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Everyone is different and hoping for certain things. Think about what exactly YOU WANT in your Korea experience and try to choose a city accordingly. Your location WILL play a massive role in the unique experience that you have.
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PRIVATE SCHOOL (Hag-won) VS. PUBLIC SCHOOL (Hak-gyo).
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Ah, the great debate. I think everyone you talk to will tell you something very different on this one, but I would estimate that public would be the more-sought after. I personally think private is the way to go, but I'll do my best to outline the pro's and con's of both as I see them through talks with friends. Remember that these are only based on generalizations so you'll have to scrutinize your own contract offer for the specifics.
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Private pros: higher pay and significantly smaller class-sizes (my main class has 2 students!!)
Private cons: less vacation (you should be able to find an offer with 2 weeks a year), evening hours, and can sometimes feel more like a business than a school
Public pros: more vacation time (often up to 6 weeks a year!), usually day shift hours and a lot more prep time for your classes
Public cons: significantly larger class-sizes (up to 30) and slightly less pay
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University: Of course, if you can score a university job, it generally would demolish either of the other two options above. I have friends that get 5 months a year paid time off and work 20 hours a week the other 7 months of the year. These jobs often require ample experience, certificates, a bit of luck and sometimes just knowing the right person.
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MISC ADVICE.
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Getting off the ground may be nerve-racking! The process of my arrival was shoddily organized at best! I was lucky enough to have a good friend here already who could steer me in. Without him, I would have bailed last minute due to the confusion... AND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A MISTAKE. He convinced me to just get on whichever plane they bought me a ticket for and that everything would be fine.
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You may not be lucky enough to have such a friend here, so I'll fill that role (if I may be so presumptuous). When it's time to go, you'll have already made up your mind. Don't let the butterflies steer your path. My best advice to you is to echo what my friend told me: "Get on whatever plane they buy you a ticket for and everything will be fine!" :)
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Prepare to be frustrated. There will be a lot of things you'd change if you could. Work days can (and frequently do) range anywhere from incredible to impossible. You will find some days that kids don't have the right books, the schedule changed for no reason, the science kits for the month haven't arrived and you have class in 2 minutes, etc.... It took me a while to get good at this, but RELAX; roll with it!
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This job is easily the most frustrating AND most rewarding I've ever had! The relationships that you will develop with these awesome little kids, the way they run up excitedly and give you hugs each morning and the little pictures and cards they draw you will pay you back for all of your frustrations ten-fold or better!!
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It all comes back to what my boss told me when I first got here. Do the best that you can with what's in front of you! 'If you truly want the children to learn, you will be successful.'
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Fight for your rights. First though, I should point out. If you're here, you're likely over-paid and under-qualified. It's also likely your boss can't really afford you. If your boss (who is generally good and fair to you) has to ask you a favor or two to help the school, DO IT! And don't complain - join the team!
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However, many bosses here (it seems to be cultural) recognize and toy with the line that they can cross with you. They may see how much they can milk out of you before you start to complain. Knowing when to (professionally) put your foot down will be a major asset to you. Watch for the big things: trying to skip out on buying you health insurance (which is required by law and your contract), chomping into your personal time by adding duties, taking away vacation time, adding hours without adding pay - these are the kinds of things that you may be wise to squash out or they will continue to expand.
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Be smart here. Realize that there's a fine line between being a team-player and just blatantly getting pushed around and dumped on. I'm not sure if I know anyone whose contract was followed with pin-point accuracy. Be an optimist, but choose your battles.
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CONCLUSION
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There is so much more I could say, but I think I've already written too much. Much of the fun for me this year has been learning, exploring, making mistakes and embarrassing communication mishaps. I feel like I would be robbing you of that experience to tell you any more. If you like what you've read, have no strings attached and you're ready for an adventure; 'Just get on whatever plane they buy you a ticket for!!'
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I hope you found this useful and would love to see any feedback, questions, other experiences and opinions (complimentary or contrastingly). Feel free to comment below or send me an email at andrewwind83@gmail.com.
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CHEERS!
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