Updated: 7/10/09
The primary purpose of this blog is to share personal stories from my year in Korea, but I understand that many people finding such stories are looking for practical advice on embarking upon a year or two (or three) in Korea. I know there's scattered information with Korea-related FAQ on the web, but I decided since you're here, I might as well provide my own perspective.
So, what follows is a collection of Korea questions I've received, followed by my answers. Hopefully this can help you on the journey from thinking about going to Korea to actually, well, going to Korea!
Disclaimer: This advice is based on my experiences teaching at a language institute in Bundang (Leadersville English Institute, formerly Seoul Language Institute) from October 2007-October 2008.
I. JOB QUESTIONSWould you recommend a recruiter? If so, which?I actually came through a
friend.
(This link to his blog provides 10 additional going-to-Korea points you should also look into.) If you have any friends in Korea, I'd suggest contacting them and trying to go through the referral route. The reason why I enjoyed this route was because I knew EXACTLY what I was getting into. Plus, I already had a friend in Korea, which gave me a jumpstart in my social life.
That being said, if you don't have any buddies currently in Korea, my friend who invited me came through the services of recruiter Don Park. Don Park is actually based in Atlanta. For an introductory interview, he treated my friend and another person who'd go on to teach in Korea to a dinner at Chili's. By all accounts the guy will certainly place you in a school. (However, I did hear from several sources that he's not always 100% honest with prospective teachers. So there are some ambivalent feelings out there towards him. Keep this in mind as you do your research.)
Would you recommend public or private?From what I understand, public school positions are more difficult to get. I think (and I stress I think) that you will make less money at a public school, but you will absolutely get more vacation time. Take that for what it's worth. The pay at my hagwon (language academy. Some people use the pejorative "cram school") is about 2,300,000 won a month (about 2 grand American, but with the exchange rate these days, it fluctuates.) Our vacation time is minimal; mainly the big Korean holidays. I still managed to use the days wisely and took trips to
Beijing,
Fukuoka,
Bangkok, and
Phuket over the course of the year.
For a more detailed listing of differences between public and private schools, check out Chris Snyder's very comprehensive FAQ
here.
E2 Visas? HUH? What the hell am I supposed to do?
Is my contract okay? How do I know if it's okay?
That's tricky business. Too often, Korean schools renege on contract stipulations. In Korea, spoken word easily overrides the written contract. Since they're usually better relegated, I believe that public schools and universities will generally keep to their contract more than hagwons (English academies). Still, at the risk of being a downer, that's not always the case. I've had friends who've taught at universities who were screwed on their pensions. I worked at a hagwon, and my friends and I were screwed on room deposits which we were supposed to get back and never did.
So, research all you can, but there is a certain leap of faith involved with signing. To ease your worries, the best way is to somehow, some way find teachers who teach or who have taught at the school you're considering. If that means trolling Facebook and running into some unproductive corners, so be it. Talk to somebody at the school. Ask that somebody if his work experience is what he expected given his contract, and ask to speak to somebody who's recently completed his or her contract. It's good to talk to a foreign teacher who's worked at your school, finished the job, and lived to see the day. Sometimes recruiters will give you the runaround, so you may have to find those avenues yourself.
Is the curriculum very flexible or does your school give you exactly what you have to teach and tell you how to teach it?
At Leadersville English Institute in Sunae, I had a certain roster of classes; sometimes they changed depending on the month. My smallest class was like five; my largest was maybe eighteen. There were certain guidelines on how to teach...but once you got in the classroom...you're on your own to develop your own style and personality as a teacher. As long as you're staying pretty faithful to the book assigned for each class, you have some leeway to experiment and find outside material to complement your classes. At LEI, since it's a hagwon, the parents rule the roost. That means if the kids like you and think you're doing a good job, well, that means you're doing a good job for all intensive purposes. (I can't stress this enough. At hagwons, PARENTS RULE THE ROOST!) At most hagwons, the kids expect homework. No matter what they tell you, they expect homework. You can afford to be generous and not give homework on a random holiday here and there, but generally, you're expected and specifically ordered to give homework every day. But aside from CCTV cameras on the ceiling, nobody is in your classroom watching you. For me that's a big relief. I felt very relaxed in my classrooms.
Do teachers at LEI tend to work split shifts?
At least at LEI, we work about 4pm-11pm every month aside from January and late June-July, where it's "busy season" (students don't have reg school so they go to hagwon all day). Busy season is rough, but it makes you appreciate your regular schedule more. In terms of the 4-11, we typically have breaks in between, typically long enough to get either a quick or leisurely dinner and prep for classes. In short, the regular schedule allows a nice deal of freedom. You get to sleep in, go to the gym, and sometimes even take a bus into Seoul all before work.
How large are your classes?
I kind of got into this in an earlier answer, but there's a range from really small to like 20 for the TOEFL classes.
Are the kids pretty well behaved?
Generally yes. If you're comfortable and confident with kids, you'll do great. That's what it's all about. Being comfortable and confident to the point where you can have fun but still be stern when you need to be, and also, where you can adjust to the personalities of different classes. I figure it's a thing you can improve on, but I also feel, in my opinion, it's something some people just have and others just...don't. But versus the horror stories I hear from Teach for Americaers, this job is a dream. Most kids are very sweet and eager to learn, and the ones that aren't...the worst they do is talk alot and be a tad disrespectful. But with those kids, in my experience, a reproachful look will silence them quickly.
One tip that good teachers have given me: be strict in the beginning with your classes, then, gradually, ease up. This is a much more prudent strategy than the reverse: being a "buddy" to the students, and then trying to toughen your stance.
Trust me on this.
II. BUNDANG QUESTIONS
You taught in Bundang, right? What's Bundang like?
I've always liked its status as a place near the raw busy energy of Seoul but far enough away so as not to make its inhabitants feel overwhelmed or overstimulated by it. Then again, some other teachers prefer being closer to the pulse of Seoul, but if you're content in being in a city-like suburb and only thirty minutes to an hour from most of the Seoul hotspots, then you'll be satisfied.
Anything else about Bundang? Nightlife?
Some teachers online say Bundang is boring..to be honest..that kind of talk pisses me off! I think the only people who could be bored are those that want a party-drink-bar-hopping lifestyle. I mean, you can drink in Bundang if you want, but most foreigners who are into that congregate at this bar in Seohyeon called
Dublins Irish Bar.
There's also WaBar, which is a Westernized-style bar with a popular dart board. My friend and I agree that the people who kvetch are probably the type of people who want more American style partying. If that's what those people want, they'd be better off in Itaewon, a foreigner-heavy nightlife district.
I want even more information on BUNDANG. I'm talking nitty-gritty stuff that you don't see much on the internet. What can you tell me?
I lived near Sunae Station in Bundang, and I was very satisfied with the Bundang lifestyle. Yes, it was slower-paced than
Hongdae or Sinchon; those two spots do have a more happening nightlife. Still, at least for me, I prefer Hongdae and Sinchon as places to visit/frequent over the weekends rather than places to live. Those neighborhoods are always VERY VERY CROWDED and also you'll probably drop alot of money there if you like to go out. Plus, it's not difficult to get from Bundang into Hongdae, Sinchon, Gangnam, or Itaewon (aka foreigner central). For Hongdae, from my neighborhood Sunae in Bundang, it's about a thirty minute bus ride followed by a ten minute cab to Hongdae on a typical Saturday night. If you take the subway to Hongdae, yeah, it is a very long time, but the bus-taxi combo works fine.
Anyways, about Bundang itself, popular neighborhoods include Jeongja, Sunae, Seohyeon, Ori, Moran, Taepyong, and Imae. If you're after good Korean food, you can find alot of it in Bundang. If you're looking for good Western food, you won't find too much of it there. (At this Mexican resteraunt called Le Merce in Seohyeon, you have to FIGHT for chips and salsa. I'm not kidding. You have to argue for chips and salsa, only to get a thimble of salsa and a cup of chips. It's a travesty. And as for Italian, the choices are very mediocre.) That being said, if you're open-minded to Korean food and like to try spicy dishes, you'll be in good shape.
PROS OF BUNDANG: busy but not too crowded, many food choices, strong access to any subway or bus you'll need, and you can walk very easily to find things you want. Oh, and Bundang is
VERY SAFE. It's an awesome feeling: there were many times I've walked home alone at 5am in the morning and I felt very, very comfortable. I would never do that in Memphis or Atlanta.
CONS OF BUNDANG: Yes, comparing to some other neighborhoods, it is kind of far from the heart/s of Seoul. Is it "soulless"? Hm, I think that characterization is a little harsh, but I suppose I can see where it comes from: many of the neighborhoods in Bundang do look fairly identical: same gimbop shops, same Paris Baguette bakeries, same Outback Steakhouses. Bundang is very "clean," which some people might consider whitewashed and/or boring. Still, they'll have the sexual massage two-barber polled shops two stories above a family restaurant bustling with kids. There you go. It has to have some kind of character.
The social scene is solid. I guess it depends on what you're looking for. As I mentioned, Dublins in Seohyeon is the center of the expat community. You can grab a beer there and chat with Canadians or Americans, and sometimes listen to live music. Monkey Beach is a club with a more varied clientele and buckets of liquor. (I'm not a big fan of either bar, but I'm trying to cover the bases here.)
How about the daylife in Bundang?
You have options: you can bike along the
Tancheon River, or better yet, play outdoor basketball on full-length courts bridging the river. Pick-up games are an interesting mix of Korean teenagers, American and Canadian teachers, and the occasional Korean professional who'll invite you to go to his church on a Sunday.
Central Park is the perfect spot for an impromptu round of frisbee in the fall, or
a snowball fight in December. An ice rink opens up for public use in mid to late January. Kites fly high in the spring. In the summer, I watched four simultaneous games of youth soccer on one day, and remote-controlled toy cars zipping off ramps with X-Games-like gusto on another. It was madness, I tell you, madness!
III. General Lifestyle Questions
Reading the stories on your blog, it seems like you've enjoyed your time as a foreigner living in Korea. How about the downsides?
Downsides can be what you expect- cultural alienation, particularly once the honeymoon newness of Korea wears off. Some people don't dig the Korean food (I loved it) and Western chains/products are on the expensive side. Koreans tend to shush Americans (or Canadians, for that matter) in buses, even if those Americans aren't being particularly loud. When it comes to work, language can sometimes be misconstrued between Korean and expats. Not in a malicious way, but just in a not-understanding way. Your Korean supervisor's English may be not-so-great, thus meaning once in a while he may tell you to go to one classroom and you'll go to different one. That's part of the game.
One thing I would suggest: do not go work at a school where you'll be the only foreign teacher. Even if you think such an experience would be a unique chance at complete cultural immersion, you'll get enough doses of Korean culture outside your job. You do not want to be the lone ranger in a foreign workplace, particularly one with a mixed reputation for its communication with foreign teachers. In such a situation, you will be lonely. I've had multiple conversations with Westerners who were the only native English speakers at their school, and without exception, they all envied those who worked with at least a few expats.
As an American teaching English in Korea, I was treated with a generous amount of respect by the locals. When I'd come across parents of students outside of my workplace, the parents were polite and thankful for me teaching their kids. So where's the downside? The downside comes in the other facets of a foreign English teacher's reputation in Korea, particularly the male foreign English teacher. Koreans think we're horndogs. Yep, I said horndogs. They think we're out to bed their innocent Korean women and run away once our contracts expire, leaving the women shamed and left behind. Dateline NBC -esque programs on Korean television portray foreign English teachers in a less than flattering light. So do some newspapers. Is there any truth to these stereotypes? Of course, but as you can probably surmise, it takes two to tango. These Westerners aren't colonialist beasts forcing themselves onto Korean women; these relationships are mutual. Still, I've had friends who've dated Korean women, and those women (in their twenties, mind you) refused to divulge the nature of their relationships to their friends or families for fear of loss of reputation. So, there you go. Forbidden love, Romeos and Juliets. Proceed with caution.
In terms of where to live, would you recommend Seoul over Busan? Or would you recommend Seoul period?
I only spent one night in Busan, but from the little I've seen, it's an attractive city. I think it's actually bidding for an upcoming Olympics. So, an up-and-coming city on the world stage. The climate is a bit better than Seoul's: milder winters and milder summers. Busan has alot going on. Seoul is Seoul. It's huge, it's crowded, and you're guaranteed to find some area that tickles your fancy. In other words, it'll have all the trappings of a big ole major world city. In short, if I were you, I would look at my own needs, but don't count out Busan, especially if you find an appealing school.
How's your housing?
Varies depending on the school. I lived in Royal Palace Houseville, an ultra-modern apartment tower with heated floors. Internet is speedy and comparable to what you'd find on a college campus. The cost, at least in my case and I figure most people's, is taken out of my paycheck. In fairness though, some teachers don't have as posh spots, and as for Royal Palace, you're not going to get a huge space...just a cozy nook of a studio, so it does depend a bit on your expectations. Generally though, it really depends on who hires you and where you're living.
Do you find the ex pat community pretty tight with each other?
I must confess: I came into a fortunate situation. My college buddy recruited me to work so I already had a good friend coming in. I spent much of my year with my co-workers, but I did expand my network by joining a foreigner writing group that met bi-weekly. (
Seoul Writers, if you're interested. Click the aforementioned link or search for them on Facebook and tell them I sent you!) There's also a
Bundang Social Club that you can find via Facebook search. The group schedules frequent events at area bars, in which you are guaranteed to meet fellow expat teachers. Itaweon has many ex-pats; you can find many in Hongdae as well.
How about soju? I keep hearing about soju...You're looking for more traditional Korean-style of nightlife? Then, soju, soju, soju, soju! They'll drink it everywhere in every neighborhood in every corner of the city. Sometimes they'll drink it on tables in front of 24/7 convenience stores, but more often they quaff it in these places called "Hofs," dimly-lit 24-hour spots that serve hot Korean food and cold drinks. You can find these anywhere, and they represent a cornerstone of the late-late-late-nightlife. Koreans don't like to just drink; they prefer to drink and eat. My main point here though is that you'll find this in any area you find yourself in.
Do people in Bundang road bike/speedskate/cross country ski?Hm. Well, like an hour and a half from Bundang is
Chuncheon, which is a place perfect for all the outdoors activities you mention. I went there by train and bus with teachers before last winter hit and it's a outdoorsman's paradise. You can road bike. You can speed skate. You can ski. Pretty close by. Not in Bundang itself, but close enough where you can make it part of your life.
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This is not intended to be a comprehensive FAQ, but I am expanding it, so feel free to check back once in a while. Before I went to Korea, I wanted as much information as possible, so I hope I can help you in a way that I wished to be help!
Good luck!
