Teaching ESL in South Korea

[GuGu]

okay, i wasn't sure if i was going to put this in the travel section or in this section, after thinking about it i ended up here. since it's a job.

so i'm trying to figure out what i'll be doing in a few years. not that i don't like my job right now, but i feel like i need a break. my current job is flexible so i can go supplemental, but still need to put in at least 80 hours a year, so i've been seriously thinking about teaching. i looked up some stuff online and found that it's not very hard to get a job as an english teacher in asia. i'm interested in south korea if not then thailand. i can even pack my bags and go right now if i get accepted, cleared up my current job, paid off my house, etc. yeah right, it'll be a while before i do that. so i'm planning on selling my house and then paying off my bills before i do go.

have anyone done something like this? teaching in asia? what do you guys think about it, is it a good opportunity? the qualifications are that you have at least a 3 year college degree, native english speaker, have a visa from any native english speaking country, and be able to try out new things. and i heard that the trying out new things part is the hardest. my friend went without knowing much and she was in for a major one. supposedly when koreans get comfortable enough with you, they tend to feed you with their hand or untensils. i'm a little iffy on people touching my food. -_-

please share your opinions and experience if you've done something like this. i'll really appreciate it. and also how long do you think i should do this? most contracts want a one year agreement.

[oGaKirA]

So your decision has nothin to do with YunJae correct?

[GuGu]

So your decision has nothin to do with YunJae correct?

well....... they're the reason i'm picking south korea over thailand.
but going to asia for something like this has always been one of my goals. so i guess the original idea has nothing to do with yunjae, cause back then i didn't know of dbsk. but now that i know them, they've been a tiny force that's been pushing and motivating me to accomplish this goal. see! not everything is bad about my addiction to yunjae!

[Trinie]

I am still deciding and planning out my trip to teach EFL overseas too since that is my only option right now. I don't want to go to Korea because I can't speak Korean at all. However, if you don't mind the language barrier, Korea is a good place to go. Since that is my field, I always get advertisements about it that are pretty nice. THey offer to pay your airfare, housing,etc.. in some cases too. They even offer you to renew your contract if you want after your 1 year contract is up. Yea, the requirements are not hard if you are a "native English" speaker, are a citizen of an English speaking country(USA, Australia,UK,etc..), have at your BA/BS in any field, have good mental and physical health,etc... Experience in teaching ENglish in mostly not really required(which is a BIG plus for me, speaking of all this, I need to get back into my planning too... I have been lagging... I am so bad...).

Yea, most contracts are for at least 1 year and I think if they like you a lot, they will let you renew it one year at a time. I want to do it for at least 2-3 years but lets see. I have not done it yet, but my friends in my program have done it. One of my English professor who was from England taught in Japan for 6 years!! He really liked it and said that it was hard at first but after he got used to it, he really liked it so he stayed for 6 years. He even knows Japanese now. One of my other friends taught for a year in Japan and really liked it. She told me that it will be hard and overwhelming, especially at first. However, that is normal and expected. She said that it was one of the best experiences in her life....I plan to be doing this sometime soon too so I encourage you to go for it....

[GuGu]

oh! you should totally do south korea! the language barrier is not an issue! my friend that went to south korea didn't know a word of korean! there are other english teachers that'll be there if you choose to go to a private school. most public schools only have one english teacher but there are other things like paid vacation and stuff that are attractive. but she said if i wanted to do this i should pick a private school so that i can have other people to talk to at the school. and also with private schools you can negotiate with them to get other things in the contract.

my friend got free housing, airfare, and her apartment was in walking distance to the school. she only paid for electricity which was very cheap cause she was barely at home. they drink a lot there she said. ^_^ after school she would always go drinking with the other teachers and then somehow end up at a noraebang [karaoke room] and then won't get home until 3 or 4 in the morning. but if she didn't have to teach the next morning, she'd be out until 7 or 8 in the morning.

and she also had another friend who went to japan. she said it was great in japan but for me i don't think i'd like it. just because i find japanese culture too weird? i know i'd have some kind of culture shock when i first get there but i think korea would be better for me. and anyways i do have a korean friend there who could help me out if i really did need help. if i can't go to south korea then i'd try for thailand next. i'll be better off in thailand, well language wise, cause i speak thai fluently.

you know if you do go to south korea then you can tell me how it is?
and maybe we can meet up there!

[oGaKirA]

Doesnt the threats towards S. Korea from N. Korea discourage you girls at all?

I would definately do Thailand. I would like to teach them girls in Bangkok. Gosh in their school uniforms and all. Plus it's prolly more secure then S. Korea atm that's for sure.

[LuNaR]

Doesnt the threats towards S. Korea from N. Korea discourage you girls at all?

I would definately do Thailand. I would like to teach them girls in Bangkok. Gosh in their school uniforms and all. Plus it's prolly more secure then S. Korea atm that's for sure.

im not so sure man... in bangkok... its hard to identify girls from guys

thailand's gov seems unstable i would choose south korea over thailand too.

[GuGu]

Doesnt the threats towards S. Korea from N. Korea discourage you girls at all?

I would definately do Thailand. I would like to teach them girls in Bangkok. Gosh in their school uniforms and all. Plus it's prolly more secure then S. Korea atm that's for sure.

not really. i know i would be sent back if anything happened and plus i would go to the south of south korea.

dude, you're teaching little kids! even the high school kids are still illegal for you to touch! aish, you'll definitely get put in jail so fast!

[GuGu]

im not so sure man... in bangkok... its hard to identify girls from guys

thailand's gov seems unstable i would choose south korea over thailand too.

i don't think ogakira cares about that. he'd be too drunk to even notice if that 'girl' was really a girl or not.

and yes, the protests are scary, but i wouldn't teach in bkk where the protests are going on. i'd go north where it's a lot nicer and less polution. but the thing is a have so many relatives there that i wouldn't be left alone.

[oGaKirA]

im not so sure man... in bangkok... its hard to identify girls from guys

thailand's gov seems unstable i would choose south korea over thailand too.

The Jedi master makes no mistakes. I usually perform the touch then taste test first.

not really. i know i would be sent back if anything happened and plus i would go to the south of south korea.

OMFG! Girls are sooooo freakin cute. As if you'll be safe from nuclear rockets.

Another reason not to go to Korea...


















Godzilla!!!

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[jay_z]

Before signing the contract to teach in S. Korea, talk with the teachers who are teaching over there right now and read the details of the contract. I heard many horrible stories. They can work you to death for little to no money, like working 6 days a week with very few holidays.

http://www.lilith-ezine.com/articles...uth-Korea.html

[GuGu]

Godzilla!!!

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ummmmmm isn't that japan?

[GuGu]

Before signing the contract to teach in S. Korea, talk with the teachers who are teaching over there right now and read the details of the contract. I heard many horrible stories. They can work you to death for little to no money, like working 6 days a week with very few holidays.

http://www.lilith-ezine.com/articles...uth-Korea.html

yeah, i have heard of horror stories too. supposedly koreans don't really like chinese people. there was a chinese girl who came to teach at the same place as my friend's place. she got played only half of what my friend got, plus her apartment was anything but liveable. she didn't even get a mattress! my friend knew her neighbor was moving out, they were regular korean people, so she bought the mattress from them to give to the chinese girl. and when my friend tried to take the chinese girl to korean classes, the owner of the private school wasn't so happy about it. she even told my friend to stop hanging out with the chinese girl! and made the chinese girl stay at the school until 6:30pm just so she couldn't go to korean class with my friend! so my friend did warn me about the owners of the private schools. she told me to get in contact with the current teachers there first and ask them for their opinion.

[Trinie]

oh! you should totally do south korea! the language barrier is not an issue! my friend that went to south korea didn't know a word of korean! there are other english teachers that'll be there if you choose to go to a private school. most public schools only have one english teacher but there are other things like paid vacation and stuff that are attractive. but she said if i wanted to do this i should pick a private school so that i can have other people to talk to at the school. and also with private schools you can negotiate with them to get other things in the contract.

my friend got free housing, airfare, and her apartment was in walking distance to the school. she only paid for electricity which was very cheap cause she was barely at home. they drink a lot there she said. ^_^ after school she would always go drinking with the other teachers and then somehow end up at a noraebang [karaoke room] and then won't get home until 3 or 4 in the morning. but if she didn't have to teach the next morning, she'd be out until 7 or 8 in the morning.

and she also had another friend who went to japan. she said it was great in japan but for me i don't think i'd like it. just because i find japanese culture too weird? i know i'd have some kind of culture shock when i first get there but i think korea would be better for me. and anyways i do have a korean friend there who could help me out if i really did need help. if i can't go to south korea then i'd try for thailand next. i'll be better off in thailand, well language wise, cause i speak thai fluently.

you know if you do go to south korea then you can tell me how it is?
and maybe we can meet up there!

No, I actually plan to go to Taiwan and I have always wanted to go there. I also speak Chinese as well so it will be a lot easier for me. Well, I think everywhere there is good and bad so we all have to be careful when we research and stuff. We also need to read the contract very carefully and look into the company as well.

It all depends on our preference. Maybe I will try Korea after I go to Taiwan(but lets see since I am still fighting with my family about going anywhere right now) I have a buddy from Korea too. She told me to come and visit her when I am in Taiwan but lets see. My buddy from Korea is also from my field so she would know a lot about Korea.It would be great if we can meet up somewhere. Speaking of Thailand, my friend just came back from there. She didn't like it much but said it was ok. She goes there every year for vacation because her husband is from there. I think you would like Thailand if you are originally from there.

Speaking of scary stories, it happens everywhere and can happen to anyone at anytime. That is what my family uses against me to prevent me from going. But if we are just scared of this and that, then what can we do in life?? I am lucky that I still have my 4th brother to support me since he has been to Australia before and said that it is one of the best experiences in his life. My family constantly has fears of me being raped... Gosh, that can happen anywhere.. even in the US.

[Trinie]

im not so sure man... in bangkok... its hard to identify girls from guys

thailand's gov seems unstable i would choose south korea over thailand too.

My buddy just came back from Thailand and said that it was ok. She said the weather is really hot and once there was a thunder storm that nearly set her building on fire. The building next to hers was on fire... There were also riots and protests so there was a period of time when she could not go outside at all. But the food and shopping was not too bad...Maybe I should share some of those pix from Thailand if you guys want to see(the ones of the just the buildings and stuff).The malls there look really nice.

[GuGu]

if i do go to thailand i will tell them i don't speak thai. just to see how much crap they're talking about me cause my friend said they did talk about her. she didn't teach there but she went for the exchange student thing and she was there for a semester. she understands thai but can't speak it well so she tells them that she doesn't know it at all. she said people from just the markets to taxi drivers to professors all talked crap about everyone around. and i know they do that so i wouldn't ever stay in a big city like bkk. i'd go up north to chiang mai and around there, the cities are smaller, cost of living is less, and you actually don't breath in the polution. but that's the thing, i know thailand pretty well so i want to go some place i don't know of like korea. i know my mom would freak if she found out i was going, but she'd stop complaining when i give her my car.

[kay &!*]

my cousin is over there now.
for a year..coming back in a few days.

funny, i'm actually going next summer to korea to teach english too. just for 3 - 4 months.
*that is IF, all things goes as planned.

[duguxiaojing]

would love 2 do taiwan or japan for a year after graduation... especially taiwan...lot of pretty girls from what i hear

[duguxiaojing]

My buddy just came back from Thailand and said that it was ok. She said the weather is really hot and once there was a thunder storm that nearly set her building on fire. The building next to hers was on fire... There were also riots and protests so there was a period of time when she could not go outside at all. But the food and shopping was not too bad...Maybe I should share some of those pix from Thailand if you guys want to see(the ones of the just the buildings and stuff).The malls there look really nice.

Im in bangkok atm...friken awesome down here lol....it is very hot...and the humidity was killer at first...but the people are all sooooo friendly(minus the guys tryin 2 rip u off is tourist places)...food is soooooooo good. I had the best japanese food ever when i was down in patong and it cost me around 16 dollars(split with friend (bill about 940 baht)...lovin it....unfortunatley was overbudget about a week ago lol....have 2 go home soon and face reality


fyi...u most likely wont even see the riots unless u around parliment buildings....thai's in general are a very lax and laid back people...u wouldnt even know it was goin on...i think most of the people were still having water fights during new year even during the riots...

[oGaKirA]

ummmmmm isn't that japan?

aww...my babe so smart. But ya....as an Asian American....i sometimes like to stereotype other asian countries. Korea, Japan, what's the difference.

Im in bangkok atm...friken awesome down here lol....it is very hot...and the humidity was killer at first...but the people are all sooooo friendly(minus the guys tryin 2 rip u off is tourist places)...food is soooooooo good. I had the best japanese food ever when i was down in patong and it cost me around 16 dollars(split with friend (bill about 940 baht)...lovin it....unfortunatley was overbudget about a week ago lol....have 2 go home soon and face reality


fyi...u most likely wont even see the riots unless u around parliment buildings....thai's in general are a very lax and laid back people...u wouldnt even know it was goin on...i think most of the people were still having water fights during new year even during the riots...

Exactly why I would Choose Thailand. Cost of living is cheaper, great food, tropical fruits, etc.

Now ultimately, I would choose, Japan. I love their culture from Anime, History, technology, etc. Only thing is....cost of living is prolly expensive. And im claustrophobic, and everything I ever see about their living space are like apartments and hotels with like 2 feet wide hallways and 10 sqr. ft of living space. I'd prolly go crazy and jump out the window!