Tefl in South Korea

cloneslad

1c1a wrote: »

hi does anyone know what is involved in the health check when you actually get to korea

it's pretty straight forward, your school should take you to a doctor who will take some blood samples and do an overall check up.

they test for hepatitus a/b and hiv/aids too.

you can't fail any of these really especially the hiv test, if you do you get shown the door as korea won't allow hiv sufferers to stay.

they also test for drug use too, although some won't run tests for cannabis, others will and will possibly let your school know on the side that you failed it. medical secrecy is not such a big deal in Korea.

Don't stress over it and don't do drugs and you will be fine.

1c1a

no not stressing but have just being reading some info on it. Seems everyone has a different experience of it some just getting the hiv/aids, tb, and drugs tests done and others getting that with xrays, eye tests, hearing tests, blood pressure, weight etc. I was getting a little confused.

livinginkorea

1c1a wrote: »

no not stressing but have just being reading some info on it. Seems everyone has a different experience of it some just getting the hiv/aids, tb, and drugs tests done and others getting that with xrays, eye tests, hearing tests, blood pressure, weight etc. I was getting a little confused.

It's depends on the hospital and your job. I have to get a "government worker check-up" which are for government employees and although I am not working for them it just means that they could check a bit more with x-rays, etc that other jobs may not check for. Costs depend on where you go to take the check-up and if your school will pay for it or not (usually not). Some places only accept X hospital or certain type of hospital. Overall it's a regular requirement here even if you are not fresh off the plane.

red_bairn

cloneslad wrote: »

it's pretty straight forward, your school should take you to a doctor who will take some blood samples and do an overall check up.

they test for hepatitus a/b and hiv/aids too.

you can't fail any of these really especially the hiv test, if you do you get shown the door as korea won't allow hiv sufferers to stay.

they also test for drug use too, although some won't run tests for cannabis, others will and will possibly let your school know on the side that you failed it. medical secrecy is not such a big deal in Korea.

Don't stress over it and don't do drugs and you will be fine.

I see. I need to find out what injections I may need for S.K. I'm heading over in May.

I'm currently undergoing this process of a job placement with i-to-i.:

How the job placement service works

Now you have registered for a position, you will need to submit some documents to progress with your application. The required documents are listed in the section ‘What details you need to send us’.

Within 28 days of submitting your application documents to i-to-i, you will be contacted by our partner in South Korea to arrange a telephone interview.

Once you have been accepted, our partner will advise you on the visa process and requirements for this. Please note you must apply for your visa from your home country.

You will be provided with an exact start date at a later stage in the application process so you know when to arrive in South Korea. We advise you refrain from booking your flights until you have signed your teaching contract.

Documentation you need to send us

To complete the next stage of your application please send the following documents as Microsoft Word or Jpeg files to tefljobteam@i-to-i.com .

* CV/Resume
* Covering letter
* Smiley passport photograph
* Scanned copy of your University degree certificate or a letter from your University confirming your expected graduation
* Scanned copy of the information page of your passport

Our Firewall blocks messages that exceed 2MB in size so please ensure when sending your documents that you send several emails with your application.

Please note you must submit your application within 45 days from your booking date otherwise your placement will be cancelled.

Some important information about your application documents

If your degree certificate is not written in English, you will need to get a full translation in English notorised by a solicitor.

On acceptance you will need to send the original copy of your degree certificate and the official transcript / breakdown of your degree to South Korea.

The transcript / breakdown of the full duration of your course needs to be placed in an envelope with the University stamp and logo on the outside. The envelope must be sealed with clear cellular tape and be signed by the person who sealed the envelope. This is extremely important as failure to do so will cause your visa application to be rejected and delay your departure. We recommend that you contact your University now to issue you with your transcript in preparation for sending it to South Korea at a later stage.

On acceptance, you will also have to provide an up to date criminal record check or a Basic Disclosure, no more than 3 months old. This usually takes 2-4 weeks from date of application to receiving the documentation. This can be obtained by going to your local Police station. The cost is approximately £10.00/€15.00. We advise that you apply for this as soon as possible unless your departure date is in excess of two months. A Basic Disclosure can be obtained at Disclosure Scotland http://www.disclosurescotland.co.uk.

The criminal record check must be verified by an Apostille stamp, please refer to your local department of foreign affairs for details on how to obtain this. An Apostille involves the addition of a certificate, either stamped on the document itself or attached to it. An Apostille certifies the country of origin of the document, the identity and capacity in which the document has been signed and the name of the authority which has affixed a seal or stamp to the document. The Apostille stamp can take 3-4 weeks by post and costs approximately £30.00/€20.00.

For further information for Irish applicants applying for a Garda check please see:

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/justice/law_enforcement/police_certificate_of_character

When you have been accepted, you will receive your contract from South Korea and you will have to submit your CV, a photocopy of the information page of your passport, the signed contract and 6 passport sized photographs. You will also receive an official health check form which needs to be signed by you. This does not have to be signed by a doctor. On arrival in South Korea you will have a number of tests including a blood test.

Once you have received your visa permit number from the school you will have to contact your local Korean Embassy to arrange an interview. Your visa will cost approximately £40.00. You must apply for your visa from your home country, you cannot apply for the visa while travelling.

I've recently received the Vetting form however I rang up the college to find out If I could get the transcript breakdown asap.

According to cloneslad
(information), I guess I need to do a runabout with these forms before I send them off to the representative in S.K?

DamienH

Does anyone have any experience with recruiters other than tigerenglish? I'm waiting on a reply to an email but I'm thinking it makes more sense to apply to a few companies instead of just one.

cloneslad

red_bairn wrote: »

I see. I need to find out what injections I may need for S.K. I'm heading over in May.

I'm currently undergoing this process of a job placement with i-to-i.:




I've recently received the Vetting form however I rang up the college to find out If I could get the transcript breakdown asap.

According to cloneslad
(information), I guess I need to do a runabout with these forms before I send them off to the representative in S.K?

You don't have to do much with the transcripts, just have them sealed in an envelope with a stamp from your university on the seal. I suggest making a few copies of them before sealing themup so you don't have to go back in a few months and ask them to print out another set for you.

If you photocopy your degree you have quite a bit of running around to do, however if you send the original then you have very little running about to do. you will just have to visit the dept of foreign affairs with your background check.

red_bairn

If you photocopy your degree you have quite a bit of running around to do, however if you send the original then you have very little running about to do. you will just have to visit the dept of foreign affairs with your background check.

On acceptance you will need to send the original copy of your degree certificate and the official transcript / breakdown of your degree to South Korea.

So just send my original Degree (my Ordinary Level Degree Certificate is framed, so I guess I'll just send the Honours Cert as it isn't...) but with the transcript / breakdown of my degree - which will be sealed, stamped and signed AND - (go to Department of Foreign Affairs with Background Check; get it signed/stamped etc then) send off with these...?

cloneslad

red_bairn wrote: »

On acceptance you will need to send the original copy of your degree certificate and the official transcript / breakdown of your degree to South Korea.

So just send my original Degree (my Ordinary Level Degree Certificate is framed, so I guess I'll just send the Honours Cert as it isn't...) but with the transcript / breakdown of my degree - which will be sealed, stamped and signed AND - (go to Department of Foreign Affairs with Background Check; get it signed/stamped etc then) send off with these...?

If you want to save yourself time then just send off the original degree, but be aware that it may get lost and you will then be without a degree scroll.

yes to the other parts. you will also need to send off the completed h form, two passport sized photos, a signed copy of your contract amd I may well be forgetting something else cos I am prettty jet lagged and only up out of bed.

If you refer to my earlier post on how to obtain a visa, which can be found a few pages back on this thread, you will find all the information you need.

It can be a stressful time trying to sort out all the documents and hoping to get a job, but just relax and be ready for someone to let you down or mess something up because it will happen.

RighteousDude

Hi guys I'm going to be having an interview with a school from a place called Goseong-Gun. Its a small town located in the south with a population of around 60,000 people. Heres a link to the town website, http://eng.goseong.go.kr/index.asp

Anyways I was just wondering if anyone knew anything about this place. I'm thinking its going to be very rural and perhaps a bit too quiet. The school position is for a Middle school. If anyone can give me info on what its like to be teaching in a Middle school that would be great too.

Finally, the agency I'm going through is called ATOP, if anyone has any experience with them I'd love to hear about it. Okay thanks a millions guys, look forward to hearing from you.

cloneslad

RighteousDude wrote: »

Hi guys I'm going to be having an interview with a school from a place called Goseong-Gun. Its a small town located in the south with a population of around 60,000 people. Heres a link to the town website, http://eng.goseong.go.kr/index.asp

Anyways I was just wondering if anyone knew anything about this place. I'm thinking its going to be very rural and perhaps a bit too quiet. The school position is for a Middle school. If anyone can give me info on what its like to be teaching in a Middle school that would be great too.

Finally, the agency I'm going through is called ATOP, if anyone has any experience with them I'd love to hear about it. Okay thanks a millions guys, look forward to hearing from you.

I don't know too much about the area, it's nearest larger sized city would be Jinju, which is a really beautiful old city with a river flowing through it and holds a great lantern festival annually, unless swine flu decides to cancel it.

It is the home of the dinosaur museum too, although I'm not sure how close you will be to it as i'm not sure what area you will be placed in.

Due to the highway that runs past it, you are about 15 mins from jinju (i think) and would prob only be about 20 minutes from tongyeon (i tried using google maps to find out actual times but it wouldn't allow me).

The province is gyeongsangnam-do, it's also the province I live it, most of the workers in this province are in the ship building industry. I live in Geoje island, prob about 30 mins from you. You would be about 3 and a half hours or so from seoul, depending on traffic.

I have no idea what the foreigner cummunity is like but if you are coming over to korea to have a party and go out every weekend then I would hang on and wait for one of the more popular locations like seoul, busan, deagu etc.

As for the recruiter, I haven't a clue.

Hope this helps. You should try post it on daves esl cafe and see if you get a better response as you might find someone who lives there and might rubbish my sentiments on the lack of partying.

RighteousDude

Thanks a million cloneslad! I never thought of Daves Cafe, that should harvest some good info, fair play.

DeadMoney

Hi, I just have some questions about Seoul if anybody can answer. I will be finishing my degree next year and want to go abroad straight away to teach English. I am currently researching the JET programme and S.Korea as options for this. Should I be doing the necessary TEFL courses while I am still in college to ensure that I am qualified to teach by the time I am finished? Also, with regards to Seoul, is there a big expat community here? I obviously want to experience a completely different culture but would also like to meet people from other parts of the world if I was living there. Is Seoul a pretty booming place in terms of night life? I met somebody when I was in Asia travelling who worked as a teacher in Tokyo Japan and he had amazing things to say about it. I have also heard great things about S.Korea though so I am just trying to get a feel for which might suit me more personally. I am not just looking to go wild or anything for a year or two but it is important for me that I am in a vibrant place where I can meet lots of new people. So if I choose to go abroad teaching next year I just wanna make a good choice of location. Anyway would appreciate any advice.

Thanks

cloneslad

Deadmoney2 wrote: »

Should I be doing the necessary TEFL courses while I am still in college to ensure that I am qualified to teach by the time I am finished?

It is up to you. While you do not 'need' a TEFL qualification to obtain a visa or get a job here, it would helo you receive a pay rise in the public school system or negotiate for more money with a private school. It would also help improve your own ability.

Deadmoney2 wrote: »

Also, with regards to Seoul, is there a big expat community here? I obviously want to experience a completely different culture but would also like to meet people from other parts of the world if I was living there. Is Seoul a pretty booming place in terms of night life?

Seoul is massive, the actual city area has over 10 million people while the province has about 25 million. There are loads of expats, for a start there is an American army base in the area, not to mention all the thousands of foreign teachers from Ireland, uk, u.s, canada, n.z, s.a, and Oz. There are also alot of Africans, Indians and S.E asians too.
The nightlife is booming, yes! There are lots of pubs, night clubs and other forms of entertainment available pretty much 24/7. One of the main areas foreigners like to hang out in is Itaewon, It has a lot going on, loads of bars to cater for foreigners, shops restaurants etc aimed at those non-koreans amongst us.

Deadmoney2 wrote: »

I met somebody when I was in Asia travelling who worked as a teacher in Tokyo Japan and he had amazing things to say about it. I have also heard great things about S.Korea though so I am just trying to get a feel for which might suit me more personally. I am not just looking to go wild or anything for a year or two but it is important for me that I am in a vibrant place where I can meet lots of new people. So if I choose to go abroad teaching next year I just wanna make a good choice of location. Anyway would appreciate any advice.

Thanks

Korea has many advantages over japan.
The food is nicer (in my opinion).
The place is cheaper to live in.
Your school finds and pays for your accomodation.
YOur school pays for your flights.
Tax is lower.
The visa is easier and quicker to obtain.
There are, in general, more jobs available here than in Japan, especially if applying from outside the country.


If you want more info, I suggest googling 'daves esl cafe' and clicking on the korean discussion forum, there are lots of sub forums there too, general discussion, off topic, jobs etc.

Do be aware that there are a lot of neagtive people who only post on the site to give out and complain about korea, despite the fact they live a much more comfortable life here than they would at home, are able to save more money and they have no intention of leavingthe place for the forseeable future.

DeadMoney

Thanks Cloneslad, this is very helpful. Just a few more quick questions. With regards to set-up money when moving to Korea. How expensive is it generally to move over there from Ireland? You mentioned that the schools find accommodation for you so is it just a matter of finding an employer before you go over then? Since I want to start as soon as I finish college next year, should I be trying to apply for jobs pending my degree?

Thanks

livinginkorea

Deadmoney2 wrote: »

Thanks Cloneslad, this is very helpful. Just a few more quick questions. With regards to set-up money when moving to Korea. How expensive is it generally to move over there from Ireland? You mentioned that the schools find accommodation for you so is it just a matter of finding an employer before you go over then? Since I want to start as soon as I finish college next year, should I be trying to apply for jobs pending my degree?

Thanks

It's best to wait to apply when you have your degree scroll in hand because recruiters and schools can't really start the hiring process until then. You can be in touch with some of them but in reality not many of them will be too interested if you haven't got your scroll yet.

About money it depends where you are going to live (city or countryside) and what your spending habits are. If you don't spend much money day-to-day then you will probably do the same in Korea. I bought 700 Euros when I came over and that was fine, although naturally I was watching it. Also, most employers will give you an advance on some portion of your salary if you are stuck.

cloneslad

^ +1

You need your degree scroll to get a visa. Without it you will just be wasting your time in applying. If you are graduating in september you should start applying in August as you could gather all your other documents while you waited for your degree scroll.

DeadMoney

Just another thing, can anybody tell me how much on average the required TEFL qualification will cost me to get? I know some TEFL courses range from being quite cheap to very expensive. Also, I know this question is a bit vague but how much money on average can you make per year teaching in S Korea? Would you just make enough to have a decent lifestyle over there and enjoy the experience or would you actually be able to save much money? Obviously this is dependant on your lifestyle habits but assuming you socialize regularly enough.
Thanks

cloneslad

DeadMoney wrote: »

Just another thing, can anybody tell me how much on average the required TEFL qualification will cost me to get? I know some TEFL courses range from being quite cheap to very expensive.

There is no required TEFL course for teaching in Korea, however to receive the bonus pay for a public school job you have to have at least a 120 hour one (i may be wrong on this though)

DeadMoney wrote: »

Also, I know this question is a bit vague but how much money on average can you make per year teaching in S Korea? Would you just make enough to have a decent lifestyle over there and enjoy the experience or would you actually be able to save much money? Obviously this is dependant on your lifestyle habits but assuming you socialize regularly enough.
Thanks

Living costs in Korea, although they have risen a bit in the past 3 years or so are still relatively cheap and you also don't pay rent so you are saving on that.

When I did my first 18 months here I travelled to China, Japan twice, all over Korea including Jeju Island and I didn't really set out to save money, I ate what I wanted when I wanted and if I spooted anything I liked, I bought it. It also cost me 3grand going home and back for my brothers wedding (includin flights, missed pay at work and the money I spent at home)

When I finished my 18 months I had almost €11,000 in my bank account, this account had nothing in it when I came to Korea.

Now you could save more or less than this depending where you live (seoul is more expensive, mainly cos there are more things to do and you get the subway to most places). I know people who lived like hermits and would have saved 17-18 grand in the same time as me, but I wanted to enjoy myself when I was here, not penny pinch on everything.

The average wage in the private sector for a first timer here is about 2.2million won per month (I think 1.9-2.0 in the public school). If we say you earned 2.2, after your pay tax, insurance and pensions you are down to about 2,020,000 or there abouts.

This is about 1,310 euro a month (according to xe.com) after tax for you to live on. apartment bills such as electricity, gas, internet should not come to more than €100 euro for the month and grocery shopping about €100 - €150 a month (if you like to cook, which I do then it will be closer to the top end of that) so you would have approx €1100 a month to do with as you please over here. If you eat korean food ith 3 or 4 friends when you go to restuarants then you won't spend a whole pile, (last night myself and 4 others ate galbi, which was awesome, we were stuffed afterwards and the total was 40,000 won between us which is only about €25 or €5 each for a massive dinner.

If you go to a western restaurant, vips, outback etc you will spend close to 40,000 won for your own meal which is about €25. It's nice to go to the western places every now and again, but I think I can make western food nicer than them and they cook korean food much nicer than I could ever dream of. So I generally cook Irish food at home and eat Korean food when I'm out.

So in a nutshell, if you want to save money you can do so very very easily, the amount you save is dependent on how you live your life while over here!!!

Just remember though, your last pay cheque will be your final months wages plus a bonus months wages (someplaces take a deposit of you for your apartment which is generally 200,000won for three months) so you would get your 2.2million final wage plus 2.2million bonus plus your 600k won which would be 5 million won....minus about 400k for tax and your last months apartment expenes you will be guaranteed around €3,000 from your final pay packet.

DeadMoney

Thanks a million cloneslad, that's some great information to get! I would be very similar to you in spending habits and also trying to enjoy myself as much as possible without watching the money too tight. Also if I was in S Korea I would definitely want take a trip to Japan! Thanks again

DamienH

Thanks a lot for that post cloneslad. It's so good to hear from people who have lived in Korea, especially such a positive response.

blackalicious

hello, i am thinking of moving to Korea too. what are the main differences between the public schools and the private schools? i hear the public schools are better, but it seems much more likely you will get a private school job first time around.. is it possible to get a public school job through tiger english?

also the thing im worried most about korea isn't actually living somewhere strange on my own but rather the actual teaching, so can you give me some words of wisdom.. ive read that it really isn't that hard once you get used to it, i might do a tefl course if i get enough money, but i might be heading over with no experience whatsoever :eek:

cloneslad

blackalicious wrote: »

hello, i am thinking of moving to Korea too. what are the main differences between the public schools and the private schools? i hear the public schools are better, but it seems much more likely you will get a private school job first time around.. is it possible to get a public school job through tiger english?

There are a few major difference between public schools and private schools.

Public schools are generally 9:00 to 4:40 jobs (give or take a half hour either side of those hours). Some hagwons (private schools) will have you teach kindergarten from approx 9:30 until 1 and then elementary from 3 until 6. My school has a kindergarten teacher and his hours are 9:40 until 2:30 and he does not teach any elementary so he goes home at 2:30. My hours are mon/wed/fri from 3:45 until 9 and tues/thurs from 3:30 until 7:10. I would much prefer these hours over the public school and my classes are much smaller than the public school classes and we have students with a much higher ability too.

The pay is lower than in a private school, as someone with no experience, TEFL or masters you will start off at 1.8 million with SMOE, 1.8 -2 million with EPIK and GEPIK is 2million, so you would be looking on average at receiving 1.9 million a month. Compare this with a new teacher who came to our hagwon a few months back with no experience, tefl etc etc and he is making 2.2 million or possibly 2.3.

You hear horror stories about hagwons, but rest assured there are some great ones too it's just that people rarely publicise stories about their great hagwon. Mine is awesome and I would never give it up for a public school gig. However I know people living near me who have been told they will not be getting their severance pay and another girl (who I don't know personally) who was fired while in hospital but not told until she returned to work on Monday morning.

Some public schools can be a pain in the ass to work for too, you have a lack of prior information about where you should be, what you should be teaching etc. You share your classes with a korean co-teacher who sits in on your class and if you don't get along with them it makes for a bad year. There is a lot of bureaucracy (as with any public service job) so if there is a problem you will have to wait for a long time to have it sorted, If i have a problem I tell my principal and she sorts it within the hour.

blackalicious wrote: »

also the thing im worried most about korea isn't actually living somewhere strange on my own but rather the actual teaching, so can you give me some words of wisdom.. ive read that it really isn't that hard once you get used to it, i might do a tefl course if i get enough money, but i might be heading over with no experience whatsoever :eek:

If you could do the TEFL then do it, it's going to help bruh up on your grammar, punctuation, tenses blah de bah blah blah, but if you can't afford one then don't do it, simple. If you got a job in a hagwon just arrive a week early and follow one of the teachers around for a few days and you will get to see what it's like.

I love teaching the kids over here, you can have fun with them, play games (relating to recently taught grammar or stuff like that).

I would just relax and take it easy, prepare well for your classes and take it seriously as a job that you get well paid for so the lest you could do is put in th effort, make the classes enjoyable and informative and most importantly be a happy teacherm if you are happy the kids will be more responsive to you.

blackalicious

thanks for the quick reply cloneslad, interesting post too..
wow your job sounds pretty sweet, those hours would be perfect for me. is that the norm for private schools or is yours the exception?

cloneslad

blackalicious wrote: »

thanks for the quick reply cloneslad, interesting post too..
wow your job sounds pretty sweet, those hours would be perfect for me. is that the norm for private schools or is yours the exception?

I couldn't tell you if it's the norm or not throughout Korea but most of the people I know working over here have longer hours than I do. We have some of the shortest hours on this island anyway, mostly because we have a specialised kindergarten teacher so that takes away the need for us to be in early.

I'm sure you can find places with hours similar to mine, it's all about asking questions when you get offered a position. TBH I didn't ask a single one when I interviewed for the job in 2006 even when I arrived I was surprised that I would be teaching in the evening not in the mornings, a private school to me was were you paid fees and got to avoid being stuck in a public school with classes of 30 students, not an academy you go to after school is finished....... that's how ill prepared I was!!

livinginkorea

I would definitely have a list of well prepared questions for whatever interview you are having. If they are coy about replying then you can always move on to another place. Remember an interview is a two-way process!

If you are willing to learn than private schools are the place to learn to be creative and to see if you have the ability to teach. Public schools can deal with a lot of admin., extra activities and desk warming during vacation where as with private schools, one you are finished teaching, you can head home. Sometimes it's nice to hang around and prepare for tomorrow but generally I think most people would leave when they finish and prep the next day.

Then if you are really into teaching you can take a Masters in TESOL and boost your career and become more professional with decent pay, hours, vacation at university level. I learned the hard way in the private and public schools and kept working my way up to university level, eventually becoming faculty teaching a MA in TESOL course. Oh and I got a degree in computers so anything is possible once you have the drive to do it.

DamienH

Can anyone tell me what Ulsan is like to live in? I've been offered a job but I can't find all that much information. Some people are saying ya it's lovely and some are saying not a chance.

Have a few questions as regards finding a job. I've just been basically attacking eslcafe.com every day with cvs for new jobs that come up but I haven't gotten one reply yet from 10. I suppose I'll just have to step it up a notch.

cloneslad

DamienH wrote: »

Can anyone tell me what Ulsan is like to live in? I've been offered a job but I can't find all that much information. Some people are saying ya it's lovely and some are saying not a chance.

Have a few questions as regards finding a job. I've just been basically attacking eslcafe.com every day with cvs for new jobs that come up but I haven't gotten one reply yet from 10. I suppose I'll just have to step it up a notch.

I couldn't tell you a single thing about the place to be honest. I'm just posting this so you don't think I am ignoring your post.

You should ask about it on daves esl, find out what the locals think.

DamienH

Will do thanks. I've got the contract so I'm just waiting before I sign it to be sure.

cloneslad

DamienH wrote: »

Will do thanks. I've got the contract so I'm just waiting before I sign it to be sure.

When will you be starting? I don't know much about Ulsan but it is only about 40 mile or so to Busan and there are buses every few minutes, you woulod def not be waiting more than 10=15 min s ofr a bus and they go until 2:00am and start back up again at 5 am so if you were to go out in Busan (which is great for nightlife) you could just keep drinking all night and get a bus back home early in the morning.

Where Ulsan is located is quite far from seoul, would take almost 5 hours on the bus but not so far to daegu (About 50 mile) which is another heavily populated city (3rd biggest in korea).

As I said, I don't know much about the city itself but you are close to some other great cities so even if ulsan was crap (though it has a population of over 1 million compared to my entire island made up of a few towns which only has a pop of 250,000 and my town has everything I could need) then you could relax and work during the week and head to one of the cities for the weekend, buses should be cheap enough as it's not a long trip. Bus to seoul would be over 30,000won (one way) I would imagine.

DamienH

I should be over in Korea in about 3 weeks if I send off the documents asap. I've had a look on Google maps and they say I could get to Busan in an hour and a half so I could always do that. I was talking to interviewer today and he asked me if I'd be alright in a small city, 1mil people isn't small in my book

There are 7 foreign teachers working there already so I asked if he could get one of them to contact me. Do you think it'd be advisable to sign before I get to talk to them? Time is pretty tight like.

It is sounding a lot more appealing now and I think I should just jump in.