Tefl in South Korea

squeakyduck

Anyone else in here applying for EPIK to head off in August/September 2011?

dapto1

Yep, Footprints sent off my application yesterday. Incheon 1st choice, Busan 2nd. Can't wait!

virmilitaris

cloneslad wrote: »

You'll find that koreans don't use a lot of korean words now, instead choosing to use a very poorly pronounced english version of the word, like Ka for car, pone for phone, ra-e-de-o for radio, ta-ee-bel for table etc etc. Even though they have their own historical vocabulary for it.

I found an interesting blog entry by a korean on the topic. He/she basically says the same thing, they know what a vegetarian is, but the entire concept of what one eats is lost on them. They also say that poor pronunciation and the fact that chae sik joo ee (채식주의) is not a widely used word in korean will not help them understand your diet.

In the blog entry they say the best way to explain what you can and can't eat to a Korean is to say that your diet is the same as a buddhist monk.

스님이 먹는 음식 같은거. ( 스님 Su-nim-i 먹는 muk-neun 음식 um sik 같은거ga-tun-gu-yo).

All of that +1

You might also just try saying 사찰 음식이 만 먹어요 Sa-Chal oum-shig man maw-gaw-yo (I only eat temple food)

Although I highly suggest not getting into any kind of religious discussions here.

squeakyduck

dapto1 wrote: »

Yep, Footprints sent off my application yesterday. Incheon 1st choice, Busan 2nd. Can't wait!

1 Busan 2 Daegu.

I sent off my application with ATC yesterday. :eek: Wish my bloody cert of character would hurry up though! And the scanner wouldn't scan my degree results as there was a hologram on them that was crashing the system....

Do you have your cert of character yet?

dapto1

squeakyduck wrote: »

Do you have your cert of character yet?

Yep, it arrived in 3 days :pac:

squeakyduck

dapto1 wrote: »

Yep, it arrived in 3 days :pac:

I sent mine away over 2 weeks ago. :eek:

kraggy

squeakyduck wrote: »

I sent mine away over 2 weeks ago. :eek:

Sent it where? You should only have given your local station basic details such as

Name
Age
Previous addresses

And they should have it done in a week, or 2 max.


Did you send it to Templemore by any chance? That's full Garda Vetting. You don't need that.

squeakyduck

I gave it in to Kevin street garda station as it was a large one, put my name addresses and a copy of my passport page and a self addressed envelope.Was told it would be back in a week, I've been checking the letter box daily, nothing yet.

ekevosu

squeakyduck wrote: »

I gave it in to Kevin street garda station as it was a large one, put my name addresses and a copy of my passport page and a self addressed envelope.Was told it would be back in a week, I've been checking the letter box daily, nothing yet.

Ring the Garda statio and ask for an update telling them you need it for a visa as soon as you can get it. When I rang a Garda station in Dublin they had it done the next day even though they had had it a week. It doesn't take them that long, it's just getting them to look at it.

cloneslad

squeakyduck wrote: »

1 Busan 2 Daegu.

2 great choices there. Hopefully you get one of them.

Oh_Noes

Seems like you're a lively crowd on here and I look at this thread and ponder from time to time. So I'd be interested to hear any thoughts you have.

I got a first in my degree from NUIM in Media Studies and Anthropology in 2008. I got employment in the media industry for four months following it, then was seriously ill for a while so wasn't employed. I'll be turning 30 this year.

I looked into TEFL courses but the general feeling I get is that you should really do an ACELS type course which is recognised in Ireland, but to be honest I don't have the cash for it. I emailed my nearest certified language school and asked if they would be able to work out an agreement with me on the funding, I suggested that I would try to get FAS or someone to help with it. I got no reply.

I've since recovered from my illness but can only find low skilled work here, the idea of living in South Korea and teaching sounds really good to me but I don't know if I'm too old/underqualified to persue it.

I'm really just looking for some informal advice from your informed selves. Would I be in a position to consider it or would it require a bit of capital and more education on my part?

cloneslad

Oh_Noes wrote: »

Seems like you're a lively crowd on here and I look at this thread and ponder from time to time. So I'd be interested to hear any thoughts you have.

I got a first in my degree from NUIM in Media Studies and Anthropology in 2008. I got employment in the media industry for four months following it, then was seriously ill for a while so wasn't employed. I'll be turning 30 this year.

I looked into TEFL courses but the general feeling I get is that you should really do an ACELS type course which is recognised in Ireland, but to be honest I don't have the cash for it. I emailed my nearest certified language school and asked if they would be able to work out an agreement with me on the funding, I suggested that I would try to get FAS or someone to help with it. I got no reply.

I've since recovered from my illness but can only find low skilled work here, the idea of living in South Korea and teaching sounds really good to me but I don't know if I'm too old/underqualified to persue it.

I'm really just looking for some informal advice from your informed selves. Would I be in a position to consider it or would it require a bit of capital and more education on my part?

If you're not sick anymore then you are more than qualified to get a job teaching in Korea.

You are certainly not too old for the job, you may feel too old to just up and leave to a new country so far away, but you are not too old in the eys of an employer.

Of course you are not as employable as a 22 year old pretty american girl, but hell, neither was I when I first went to Korea and I was 22, but I still got a job. Being that little bit older than recent grads will help you when you get to Korea as your co-workers will have more respect for you, rather than a fresh faced 21-22 year old who is only over for a year to get drunk, laid and travel.

It would require a bit of capital to get over there, but nothing you couldn't save up for, even on the dole. Costs of getting all your documents together and your visa sorted, including sending it off to Korea, should be less than €250.

You don't need to do any more courses, you could apply for a public school position and start out on less money than those with a CELTA /TEFL etc but if you work for a hagwon (private school) you'll most likely get the same pay as someone with a TEFL cert.

Sometimes you may be asked to pay for your own flight out to Korea and your boss will reimburse you for it. If you don't have the finances for it (about €500) then you could just ask them to pay it up front for you, be honest and tell them you don't have the money for it, they won't really mind, and if they do, you're as well not working with them.

You would also need about €500 or so to do you for your first month in Korea as your wages will be paid monthly in arrears. So if you start work in June 1st, you will probably get paid for that month on July 5th-6th, or sometime around then..it's slightly different for public schools (probably paid on the 20 somethingth of every month, so it'll be 3-4 weeks without pay, rather than 5 with a hagwon)

Also most schools will give you a loan, should you need it, they could then deduct it from your pay. My school did this for some of my colleagues, though they didn't deduct the money from their pay. They paid them their usual wage and then the teachers just gave them the money back in cash. My school refused to touch the wages of teachers because it wasn't their money, though technically it was. It also avoids any complications with the tax / pension office this way, as they will be wondering why wages are lower than usual etc etc.

nameproblem

Hey boardsies, cheers for all the info. Myself and my girlfriend had planned to move to Japan in June, and had jobs sorted. We were about to apply for Visas this month, but after the earthquake and the Fukishima disaster we have changed out minds, and decided to look at South Korea instead. I began to investigate it on Friday only, so far I'm impressed, as we'd planned on leaving in June, we still want to leave ASAP so no later than July... recognising that this leaves us mainly with no option but Private school work... I have a few questions to the experienced...
1. Is there any recruitment agencies you'd recommend/ avoid for us to apply?
2. Similarly for schools to recommend / avoid at all costs?
3. We would like to go to Busan I think... is there any problems with going as a couple, working in different schools but getting to share a house?

Cheers for the help.

cloneslad

nameproblem wrote: »

1. Is there any recruitment agencies you'd recommend/ avoid for us to apply? try looking at the jobs on davesesl, craigslist etc etc, most are posted by recruiters so once you get in contact with them they'll keep you in mind for other openings. Be sure to have all you documents ready to go or else a recruiter won't bother with you, they'll give the job to someone else who is ready to leave in an instant.

2. Similarly for schools to recommend / avoid at all costs? Wonderland, but apart from that, get in touch with the current teachers, ex teachers etc and gather some information, not only on the school but also the area. You don't want to end up in an area being bored out of your tree on the weekends.

3. We would like to go to Busan I think... is there any problems with going as a couple, working in different schools but getting to share a house? shouldn't be a problem at all. You may also find it quite easy to get a job in the same school. Lots of hagwons like to hire a couple as it allows them to replace 2 teachers relatively easy, especially if the outgoing 2 are a couple.

You could easily share an apartment while working at different schools. One of you could just take a housing allowance of one school and use the apartment provided by the other. OR you could take a housing allowance of both and get your own accomodation, but the first option is the easiest.

livinginkorea

I always thought it was funny that the Wonderland buses had 'Everyone smiles at Wonderland' on the side of them and I always added 'except the teachers!'

It does have a pretty bad name for itself for sure. There were a couple of girls going back 7 or 8 years who had to run from a school in Daegu and they basically had a huge blog about their experiences which they developed into a book a few years ago.

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/prisoner-of-wonderland-an-esl-misadventure/541936

You can read some of it here

http://books.google.com/books?id=-2BvJq2I9jsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=prisoner+of+wonderland+an+esl+misadventure&source=bl&ots=4Ji1A77VGR&sig=kwviESLpotL142nsNO1j-KYIAv8&hl=en&ei=4hWaTZq7GpHsvQPXtpnnCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false

kraggy

Hi again,

Still waiting on my visa package to come back. It's a bit frustrating not knowing whether I'll be going next week or the week after.

How long after they received your documents did it take for them to process your details and send the visa package to you guys?

Also, how do laptop prices over there compare to here? Right now, the cheapest laptop in Ireland is €300 (460,000 won). Can they be got cheaper there in Korea? Also, can you get English keyboards and operating systems?

Not interested in a netbook really so laptop it will have to be. I need a new one so was thinking of leaving it til I got over there to buy one as it would save on baggage.

Thanks.

Do_Lers

I may have to do a 100 hour online TEFL course, anyone know what would be the absolute quickest time within which i could complete this? a week? a month? I plan to go hell for leather to get it done....

kraggy

Any EPIK, or SMOE teachers here?

Did any of you start outside of the main recruitment periods? If so, did you get a contract for 12 months from when you started to the same month next year?

Asking because my girlfriend was told to apply for a job in Seoul but that because she'd be starting at the end of April, that she'd have to sign a 10 month contract up to the end of Feb 2012 and another 6 month contract from Feb 2012 to August 2012.

The reason given was to bring her into line with other teachers contracts i.e. to have her finishing at the same time as everyone else and not in mid-semester i.e. April 2012.


Anyone hear of this?

SpatialPlanning

kraggy wrote: »

Any EPIK, or SMOE teachers here?

Did any of you start outside of the main recruitment periods? If so, did you get a contract for 12 months from when you started to the same month next year?

Asking because my girlfriend was told to apply for a job in Seoul but that because she'd be starting at the end of April, that she'd have to sign a 10 month contract up to the end of Feb 2012 and another 6 month contract from Feb 2012 to August 2012.

The reason given was to bring her into line with other teachers contracts i.e. to have her finishing at the same time as everyone else and not in mid-semester i.e. April 2012.


Anyone hear of this?

I'm with EPIK and I was hired outside the main period. I began at the end of October, the actual school year begins in March. My contract is for 1 year from the date I started. I've never heard about you having to do 10 months then another 6. I've heard of people in my situation finishing a year then staying on for a few months, until the start of the new semester. Works out well for the school because the new teacher will arrive at the beginning of a semester instead of half way through.

Is it public school or a hagwon?? That doesn't sound like normal fare for a public school...

cloneslad

kraggy wrote: »

Hi again,

Still waiting on my visa package to come back. It's a bit frustrating not knowing whether I'll be going next week or the week after.

How long after they received your documents did it take for them to process your details and send the visa package to you guys?

Also, how do laptop prices over there compare to here? Right now, the cheapest laptop in Ireland is €300 (460,000 won). Can they be got cheaper there in Korea? Also, can you get English keyboards and operating systems?

Not interested in a netbook really so laptop it will have to be. I need a new one so was thinking of leaving it til I got over there to buy one as it would save on baggage.

Thanks.

I'd have a second thought about the netbook. They are awesome to have. If you start using one and travelling around with it, you'll wonder why you ever needed a laptop.

I bought my g.f a netbook for about 400k in sept. It was all in Korean but the guy in the store (regular electronic store) put the English OS on it for me for free. It turns out it was an illegal copy, but it still works fine. The keyboard will have hangeul on it but the main letters are the English ones and they have a larger font with the Hangeul off to the side.

There is a large electronic market in Seoul (yongsan or something like that, one of the other lads will correct me if I'm wrong). You'll get computer there but most likely not find a cheaper more reliabel laptop than you've found at home and you won't get a legit OS for any you get near that price.

As for the visa package, my school just e-mailed me my visa number and I called the embassy when I got it, told them my name and visa number, and then went up and applied for the visa. You'll have to do the same, except they'll make you do an interview prior to submitting the application.

cloneslad

kraggy wrote: »

Any EPIK, or SMOE teachers here?

Did any of you start outside of the main recruitment periods? If so, did you get a contract for 12 months from when you started to the same month next year?

Asking because my girlfriend was told to apply for a job in Seoul but that because she'd be starting at the end of April, that she'd have to sign a 10 month contract up to the end of Feb 2012 and another 6 month contract from Feb 2012 to August 2012.

The reason given was to bring her into line with other teachers contracts i.e. to have her finishing at the same time as everyone else and not in mid-semester i.e. April 2012.


Anyone hear of this?

From what I know, E2 visas are for a minimum of 1 year, she wouldn't be eligible for a visa if she only had a 10 month contract. What is more likely and has been pointed out above. She could start in April, work on through for the entire year and then extend until the summer break, this would bring her up to the new hiring period for teachers and allow the school to get someone during the semester break. (she could also extend until the following february after her contract has finished and help the school out that way too)

cloneslad

Do_Lers wrote: »

I may have to do a 100 hour online TEFL course, anyone know what would be the absolute quickest time within which i could complete this? a week? a month? I plan to go hell for leather to get it done....

you can do it the following day after you purchase the ID account from what I remember. I think you have a maximum time you can do it in rather than a minimum.

They aren't worth the paper they're written on though.

cloneslad

Before anyone asks....I'm in India and I'm afraid to go back outside , so I'm hiding in my hotel room readying myself for the football later.

squeakyduck

Got my garda clearance sorted last night. They sent it to my local garda station and it was supposed to be sent out today. I collected it in person. At last. I now have to get my degrees and the garda check apostilled.

I'm having a very busy day, I'm lesson planning at the moment to teach a half hour teaching class later, I hope I can get to the dept of foreign affairs at about half 2 and maybe make it back before 4 so I can scan the last of the stuff I need in.

I sent my application off last week, but the recruiter wants a copy of the application form with a passport photo included, I thought I could send one on later but I've still to send it in, hopefully tonight or maybe tomorrow.

Hope I can find a cheap internet cafe that will let me scan all my stuff for a non astronomical price. :rolleyes: Any ideas would be much appreciated!

nameproblem

Thanks for the help, we're awaiting garda clearance and to collect transcripts, I hope to get these apposled next week. I have contacted a number of recruitment agencies too, so fingers crossed we'll find something soon.
One question, we are planning on travelling around Korea, to Japan and around Asia after the 12 months, I was considering getting an Ipad 2 before I go, for travel blogging, simple computing, and skyping home... but seeing as Korea is the home of Samsung and Sony among others, would I be better off to wait and get a tablet in South Korea? or are specs similar/ better? Price cheaper?
Thanks

cloneslad

squeakyduck wrote: »

Hope I can find a cheap internet cafe that will let me scan all my stuff for a non astronomical price. :rolleyes: Any ideas would be much appreciated!

Take a close up photo of it??

cloneslad

nameproblem wrote: »

Thanks for the help, we're awaiting garda clearance and to collect transcripts, I hope to get these apposled next week. I have contacted a number of recruitment agencies too, so fingers crossed we'll find something soon.
One question, we are planning on travelling around Korea, to Japan and around Asia after the 12 months, I was considering getting an Ipad 2 before I go, for travel blogging, simple computing, and skyping home... but seeing as Korea is the home of Samsung and Sony among others, would I be better off to wait and get a tablet in South Korea? or are specs similar/ better? Price cheaper?
Thanks

Japan is the home of Sony. There is the Samsung galaxy tab, it looks exactly like the samsung galaxy, just bigger.

Korean products are sold with a high tariff, because they're Korean and local people will buy it to show pride in their companies. Also electronic (as well as most other) products from outside of Korea face a high import tax rate, making the price mush more expensive than it should be.

They also have a mobile phone incorporated into it (as opposed to only using skype on an ipad). I think people look ridiculous using this big tablet as an everyday phone, but each oddball to their own I suppose.

As for price, you'd most likely have to get a contract to buy the galaxy tab and you will find it difficult (pretty much impossible) to get one at any sort of financially sensible rate, or even to get one at all. To buy it outright will cost more than / equal to buying a tab at home I would think.

squeakyduck

cloneslad wrote: »

Take a close up photo of it??

I managed to get a nice girl in Reads photocopying shop to scan all the documents for me. I had about 20 pages and she put it into pdf files for me! Delighted.

Showtime!12

Anyone else heading to this on the 22nd from Ireland? Have you your flights booked yet? I'm thinking Ethiad but they arrive a day early.

ekevosu

Showtime!12 wrote: »

Anyone else heading to this on the 22nd from Ireland? Have you your flights booked yet? I'm thinking Ethiad but they arrive a day early.

I'm going to it but I'm already in Korea and managed to get my visa and arc sent out to me without having to leave the country. Where are you going to be based?