corner curve

BootsnAll Travel Community


BnA Home    BootsnAll Travel Forums    Travel Forums  Hop To Forum Categories  Ways to Go  Hop To Forums  Living Abroad    South Korea Question
Go
New
Search
Notify
Tools
Reply
  
-star Rating Rate It!  Login/Join 
Holds PhD in Packing
Posted
I'm looking into getting a teaching job in South Korea and I have a few questions. What are the differences between private and public schools? Is Seoul the best place to teach or are there other places that are also good? What is the housing like that is provided by the employer? I'm looking into teaching children and would love to have as much info as possible before deciding on exactly what to do.


"Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying"

http://blogs.bootsnall.com/Bgagnonius/
 
Posts: 143 | Location: Pyeongchon, South Korea | Registered: 18 November 2005Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
Lost in Place
Posted Hide Post
I'm teaching in Korea at the moment so i'll try and help you some.
The difference between public and private

Public - Pay is on time
- You have to make your own lessons (after a few months it gets harder).
- Holidays normally work out to be more. Contracts may say 15, but many people get 25 in reality.
- You only have to teach 22 hours a week.

Private (called Hagwons)
- Can get paid more
- Most cases teach from a textbook
- Have to do more lessons

A great school is not as good as a great private school , but a bad school is not as bad as a bad private school.
There are alot of private academies that screw foreigners over. If you find a good place though it's heaven.
Personally i'm in a public school, i have bigger classes but it's good.

Seoul or outside seoul. Comes down to personal preference. Theres alot to do in seoul but it's going to cost you. The province around seoul is gyeonngi-do. It's quite popular because you can be in seoul in under two hours from alot of places. Busan and Daegu are nice places but i've never lived there. I would say though that a lot of foreigners i've met have come here for the 'Korean Experience' and stayed in very rural areas, but it is much harder than they imagine and normally end up quitting or hating Korea.

The apartments get bigger the further you live from Seoul in general you'd be in a big apartment block. Most of the ones i have seen are ok.

try www.eslcafe.com

theres a very active forum on it, be warned though people on it tend to be very miserable and negative.
I've been here a year and loved it. the day to day lifestyle is good, job is easy, money is good, cost of living is cheap, food is great.
message me if you have any more questions.
 
Posts: 50 | Location: South Korea. | Registered: 04 September 2007Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
Knows What a Schengen Visa Is
Picture of TedKarma
Posted Hide Post
I taught in Korea for six years, albeit at the university level, and blueatjustchill's advice is pretty much spot on.


www.TeachEnglishPhuket.com
Teach English on a Tropical Island!
 
Posts: 348 | Location: Phuket Thailand | Registered: 30 May 2005Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
Holds PhD in Packing
Picture of Bideshi
Posted Hide Post
I just wrapped up a year teaching in Korea. I was in Seoul working as a slave teacher at a private academy. I agree a lot with blueatjustchill's advice as well. The money was fantastic and I funded a round the world trip by working just one year. That being said, I was on the verge of hating Korea by the end of the year. I think I just wasn't prepared for the actual working and social conditions before I went. If I go back, I expect to have a much better time because I know how things work, questions to ask to get a better job, and ways to cope when things get rough. It is a hard place to live and work, and definitely the most unwelcoming country I've visited, but it certainly has great things there too. Like most things in life, I think teaching in Korea is mostly what you make it. I guess it just depends on what you're looking for.
 
Posts: 252 | Location: Daegu, Korea | Registered: 09 November 2005Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
 Previous Topic | Next Topic powered by eve community  
 

BnA Home    BootsnAll Travel Forums    Travel Forums  Hop To Forum Categories  Ways to Go  Hop To Forums  Living Abroad    South Korea Question

© BootsnAll.com 1999-2008.

closer