Tefl in South Korea

cloneslad

squeakyduck wrote: »

I'm doing a winter camp after Xmas. Starts on the 4th of January



My brother is in Phnom Penh, we are going to Angor watt for a few days and chilling out in Phnom Penh for a few days too. It shouldn't be too bad at all. I'm really excited about getting some sun!

At least he'll be able to bring you to some decent places......then when that hour is up, I don't know what you'll do for the rest of your time there

When I was in the supermarket in Phnom Penh, I saw some white people in shirts and ties, who obviously worked in Cambodia, and weren't just travelling around. I felt so sorry for them.

I'm sure you'll have a great time with your brother and he'll be able to bring you places that are enjoyable.

hyperbaby

cloneslad wrote: »

Apart from the prison and the killing fields, Phnom Penh has nothing going for it. It's just a city...a poor one at that, full of dirt, annoying people, bad food and boredom.

You can visit the killing fields and prison in day. I stayed in a hotel next to the prison, so I just walked over to it, then after I was done, I toook a ride out to the killing fields, which you can view in about an hour or 2 (slightly longer if you stay and watch the video). For me, the killing fields were nice to visit, to truely understand just what went on, but the idea of taking loads of photos of people's skulls and bones wasn't very enticing, I couldn't understand why people would want to pose next to them.

Reading the horror stories from both of those places takes it out of you, mentally, and you need to unwind after it. Unfortunately the food in Phnom Penh is terrible, so you can't even go to a decent restaurant / street food place and relax.

The indoor market is okay though, you could spend a few hours in there, but as I was travelling on I didn't really buy much, only a couple of t-shirts that I paid about a dollar for. The cambodians are terrible at haggling, several times I would look at an item because I thought it was nice, they'd shout $25 or some silly price, I'd say no thank you and browse around, then I'd get $20, $15, $12, $10, $6, $4 shouted at me over the course of a minute as I pleasantly declined...I honestly thought If I hung around the area long enough, they would give me money to take it away.

Siem Reap is well worth a few days though, the tourist sites are nice, good pubs, nice restaurants, great, cheap street food and you could walk around for hours, while also declining Cannabis, coke, heroin, from the local friendly dealers.

I didn't go to the beach areas though, so they could be nice, I just wanted to get out of phnom Penh (I'd spent about 4 days there and wanted to get to vietnam asap, was delighted when I did, because Vietnam was awesome).

Anyway, just my 2 cents worth, you might love it...that's what travelling is all about.

Thanks for your advice.
My friends and I are going Phnom Penh for 2-3 days so I will soon find out what it is like.
Is it difficult to get a tourist visa for Vietnam? I have found loads of conflicting information online.
Since you seem to

hyperbaby

ekevosu wrote: »

I did one by jiri San, can't remember the name right now but it was great. Beautiful place, very relaxing. Early mornings were tough but a great experience. There was no English guide there. They do them all over Korea. Jeolhansa (spelling?) in pyeongchang is beautiful. I think there is a website for tourists looking to do a temple stay. Try a google and it might come up. The bigger temples usually have monks that speak a bit of English.

http://eng.templestay.com/


I went to a temple stay inbetween Busan and Gwangju last year. It was a really great experience.

vicecreamsundae

Hi all,
I'm just about to start this whole process! I start my (online) TEFL course tomorrow. I was originally just going to go through Tiger English but have since read its best to sign up with a bunch of different recruiters in order to get a job sooner. Ideally I'd love to be over by the end of January if possible.

But can someone please explain EPIK a little bit to me? I understand it's a government program and am under the impression its for public school jobs only, but are there any benefits of going through EPIK rather than other recruiters? Also, I've seen some people talk about getting their second or third choices -again is this an EPIK thing, and if so how does it work? I have my heart set on Seoul and while I know there's a lot of good to be said about other cities, I'm pretty stubborn on sticking with Seoul.

Thanks for any help!

cloneslad

hyperbaby wrote: »

Thanks for your advice.
My friends and I are going Phnom Penh for 2-3 days so I will soon find out what it is like.
Is it difficult to get a tourist visa for Vietnam? I have found loads of conflicting information online.
Since you seem to

It's not that difficult. You can get a rushed visa in 24 hours while in Phnom penh, think it may have cost about $50 or something like that. Cassi prob knows the name of the honest, fast, company in Phnom penh that'll do it for you, I'm not sure if you can go directly to the embassy itself and get it.

Vietnam is great, how long you going to go for?

cloneslad

vicecreamsundae wrote: »

Hi all,
I'm just about to start this whole process! I start my (online) TEFL course tomorrow. I was originally just going to go through Tiger English but have since read its best to sign up with a bunch of different recruiters in order to get a job sooner. Ideally I'd love to be over by the end of January if possible.

But can someone please explain EPIK a little bit to me? I understand it's a government program and am under the impression its for public school jobs only, but are there any benefits of going through EPIK rather than other recruiters? Also, I've seen some people talk about getting their second or third choices -again is this an EPIK thing, and if so how does it work? I have my heart set on Seoul and while I know there's a lot of good to be said about other cities, I'm pretty stubborn on sticking with Seoul.

Thanks for any help!

Online course = giant waste of money.

EPIK is government controlled and is only for public schools.

Benefits of going through EPIK rather than through an agency = you know your application has gone through, without doubt

You can also make only one application for EPIK. If you get 2-3-4 agencies to apply to EPIK for you, then you'll be automatically disqualified from the process.

Postives of using an agency (a good one) = they'll help answer a lot of your questions with regards to the application and getting there.

You are possibly too late to get a job in the EPIK bulk hiring period for the beginning of March. You will definitely not get Seoul at this stage, unless there is some sort of miracle.

If you only want Seoul, you'll have to go for a private school. With the bulk hiring process, you usually don't find out where you are going until you get to Korea, so you could end up with your 3rd or 4th choice.

Where in Seoul do you want to be living? Do you realise how big it is? Do you know which areas are good / bad. Do you know if there is a good public transport system near by? Do you know the subway closes really early and it can be a giant pain in the ass / wallet to get from Hongdae / Itaewon to some place in Seoul that has a crap public transport connection, meaning you'll get a taxi.

I know a guy who lived in Seoul in 2007, he was a bit away from one of the last subway stops and used to used him about €50 to get a taxi home after a night out, and he was the only white guy in the area.

roosh

cloneslad wrote: »

Online course = giant waste of money.

EPIK is government controlled and is only for public schools.

Benefits of going through EPIK rather than through an agency = you know your application has gone through, without doubt

You can also make only one application for EPIK. If you get 2-3-4 agencies to apply to EPIK for you, then you'll be automatically disqualified from the process.

Postives of using an agency (a good one) = they'll help answer a lot of your questions with regards to the application and getting there.

You are possibly too late to get a job in the EPIK bulk hiring period for the beginning of March. You will definitely not get Seoul at this stage, unless there is some sort of miracle.

If you only want Seoul, you'll have to go for a private school. With the bulk hiring process, you usually don't find out where you are going until you get to Korea, so you could end up with your 3rd or 4th choice.

Where in Seoul do you want to be living? Do you realise how big it is? Do you know which areas are good / bad. Do you know if there is a good public transport system near by? Do you know the subway closes really early and it can be a giant pain in the ass / wallet to get from Hongdae / Itaewon to some place in Seoul that has a crap public transport connection, meaning you'll get a taxi.

I know a guy who lived in Seoul in 2007, he was a bit away from one of the last subway stops and used to used him about €50 to get a taxi home after a night out, and he was the only white guy in the area.

Are the online TEFL courses a waste of money? I know they probably don't teach you much, but are they still recognised by EPIK? If so, then the bump in paygrade would mean it pays for itself, and then some.

One of the other advantages of EPIK, or so I've heard, is that you get more holidays per year and you've much less chance of getting mucked about by the headmaster/owner of the school.

cloneslad

roosh wrote: »

Are the online TEFL courses a waste of money? I know they probably don't teach you much, but are they still recognised by EPIK? If so, then the bump in paygrade would mean it pays for itself, and then some.

It must be more than 100 or 120 hours to qualify for the pay increase, or at least that's what it was not too long ago. It may be more now. Also, if you have a masters or a PGDE/PGCE then you'll get the increase anyway.

But mostly, for a personal advantage, it teaches you absolutely nothing you wouldn't get from just browsing some websites yourself.

One of the other advantages of EPIK, or so I've heard, is that you get more holidays per year and you've much less chance of getting mucked about by the headmaster/owner of the school.

Oh, there are lots of advantages to EPIK over a hagwon (and vice versa) the advantages I gave above are purely related to applying directly to EPIK rather than using a recruiter to do it for you.

roosh

Has anyone has any experience teaching English in a university, or knows anyone who teaches/has taught in a university here in Korea?

I'm just wondering how it compares to teaching in a public school. I know there are obvious differences but I'm wondering what it is like in terms of workload and if there is much more pressure?

cloneslad

roosh wrote: »

Has anyone has any experience teaching English in a university, or knows anyone who teaches/has taught in a university here in Korea?

I'm just wondering how it compares to teaching in a public school. I know there are obvious differences but I'm wondering what it is like in terms of workload and if there is much more pressure?

I know a few people who have / are teaching in a Uni. I also know one teaching in one in HCM in Vietnam.

A lot depends on the course / uni / students. For those doing a degree where English is a module they must do for one semester but it's nt important to the overall degree itself, then a lot of them won't work hard / they'll pretty much expect you to pass them just for turning up for the exam. (obviously this is generalising)

Workloads are increasing more and more as Universities start demanding more teaching hours for their investment. Some people may only teach 4 hours a week and have 4 months of paid holidays, others might be on 18-21 hours with a few weeks off in summer and winter.

Each place is different, and you'd really have to check out the contract or ask those working in each uni.

roosh

cloneslad wrote: »

I know a few people who have / are teaching in a Uni. I also know one teaching in one in HCM in Vietnam.

A lot depends on the course / uni / students. For those doing a degree where English is a module they must do for one semester but it's nt important to the overall degree itself, then a lot of them won't work hard / they'll pretty much expect you to pass them just for turning up for the exam. (obviously this is generalising)

Workloads are increasing more and more as Universities start demanding more teaching hours for their investment. Some people may only teach 4 hours a week and have 4 months of paid holidays, others might be on 18-21 hours with a few weeks off in summer and winter.

Each place is different, and you'd really have to check out the contract or ask those working in each uni.

cheers [clones]lad!

cloneslad

roosh wrote: »

cheers [clones]lad!

I see what you did there. Your clever use of brackets hasn't gone unnoticed. The TEFL in south Korea fairies shall reward you in due course.

roosh

cloneslad wrote: »

I see what you did there. Your clever use of brackets hasn't gone unnoticed. The TEFL in south Korea fairies shall reward you in due course.

squeakyduck

cloneslad wrote: »

It's not that difficult. You can get a rushed visa in 24 hours while in Phnom penh, think it may have cost about $50 or something like that.

My friend went at the beginning of the year and said that it was 20 USD. But be careful they can try and con you out of money!

Cloneslad - I'll be sure to find interesting things to do while I'm over there....

Flying over on the Saturday
Siem Reap Monday - Wednesday evening
S21
the killing fields
shoot some guns

MAYBE
Bokor Hill Station

cloneslad

squeakyduck wrote: »

My friend went at the beginning of the year and said that it was 20 USD. But be careful they can try and con you out of money!

Cloneslad - I'll be sure to find interesting things to do while I'm over there....

Flying over on the Saturday
Siem Reap Monday - Wednesday evening
S21
the killing fields
shoot some guns

MAYBE
Bokor Hill Station

The 48 hour one is cheaper than the 24 hour one. I just wanted to get out of Phnom penh, so I spent the extra money on it. Not sure if it was 50, maybe it was 40...not too sure, I just remember paying more to get out of there.

vicecreamsundae

Thanks for all that info ClonesLad

cloneslad wrote: »

It must be more than 100 or 120 hours to qualify for the pay increase, or at least that's what it was not too long ago. It may be more now. Also, if you have a masters or a PGDE/PGCE then you'll get the increase anyway.

But mostly, for a personal advantage, it teaches you absolutely nothing you wouldn't get from just browsing some websites yourself.

The course I'm doing is 120 hours, and it was only €99 through a good groupon deal. I figured for that price it was worth it, as although I have a masters, I've never taught before.


I know a little about some areas in Seoul and transit is definitely something I'd look into when researching an area.

Well I guess that's EPIK out of the question for me, because I'm definitely not hanging around here 'til March!

Thanks again.

cassi

cloneslad wrote: »

It's not that difficult. You can get a rushed visa in 24 hours while in Phnom penh, think it may have cost about $50 or something like that. Cassi prob knows the name of the honest, fast, company in Phnom penh that'll do it for you, I'm not sure if you can go directly to the embassy itself and get it.

Vietnam is great, how long you going to go for?

Hyperbaby, The travel agency cloneslad is talking about is VLK tourism, they are recommended in the travel books, they are on Monivong Blvd on the corner just after you cross Charles deGaul Blvd. You technically can get them in the Vietnamese embassy but since Cambodia runs in bribes and backhands you'll constantly be put to the back of cues, agencies have their inside men so they get them quicker.

You can also book buses outa Phenom Penh there too! (And man was I happy to get on that bus)

kraggy

If you are going to the Vietnam embassy in Phnom Penh for a visa, don't give your passport and the money to the security guard outside on the street.

Go into the office itself. The security guard likes to add a few dollars on to the cost for his own pocket.

He may claim that the office is closed or won't be back til tomorrow, but go on in.

cloneslad

kraggy wrote: »

If you are going to the Vietnam embassy in Phnom Penh for a visa, don't give your passport and the money to the security guard outside on the street.

Go into the office itself. The security guard likes to add a few dollars on to the cost for his own pocket.

He may claim that the office is closed or won't be back til tomorrow, but go on in.

I actually refer to it as Scambodia, you even have to pay the legit border control guards a bribe to get your passport stamped. Of course you can tell them to f**k off, but that means they take their time, or you can give them about $2 or whatever it is and get the thing done quickly and carry on with your trip.

roosh

cloneslad wrote: »

It must be more than 100 or 120 hours to qualify for the pay increase, or at least that's what it was not too long ago. It may be more now. Also, if you have a masters or a PGDE/PGCE then you'll get the increase anyway.

But mostly, for a personal advantage, it teaches you absolutely nothing you wouldn't get from just browsing some websites yourself.

didn't see this post earlier.

That's right about the 100+ hrs TEFL, that was the case when I applied this year; so if it isn't 100+ hrs it's doubly a waste of time. Although, I can understand why someone would do an online one, it's just there are better ones.

kraggy

cloneslad wrote: »

I actually refer to it as Scambodia, you even have to pay the legit border control guards a bribe to get your passport stamped. Of course you can tell them to f**k off, but that means they take their time, or you can give them about $2 or whatever it is and get the thing done quickly and carry on with your trip.

Yup, happened me when going from 4000 islands across the border into Cambodia. Only an extra couple of dollars but when they're standing there dressed in uniform sniggering at you in a group knowing they have you by the balls and that you have no choice to pay or you'll be sleeping on the roadside that night, it's infuriating.

kraggy

hyperbaby wrote: »

Am I the only sap that has to do winter camps?

No.

squeakyduck wrote: »

Cambodia from the 17th till the 25th December....counting down the days until my skin sees sun again. The cold snap is really hitting home now!

It hasn't even hit freezing yet Squeeky!

SpatialPlanning wrote: »

Home for a bit in January but working for most of it. Anyone else back to work on December 26th??

Yes. It's a balls. Starting camp with hangover will be hard.

hyperbaby

cloneslad wrote: »

It's not that difficult. You can get a rushed visa in 24 hours while in Phnom penh, think it may have cost about $50 or something like that. Cassi prob knows the name of the honest, fast, company in Phnom penh that'll do it for you, I'm not sure if you can go directly to the embassy itself and get it.

Vietnam is great, how long you going to go for?

Okay, thanks for the tip.
When we searched online we were worried there might be complications or delayes in getting a visa.

The way it is turning out, only 4 days. Kinda **** but that is just the way it goes.

hyperbaby

Well way to sell Cambodia ye guys
I'm crap at dealing with guard types, I really hope there isn't too much hassle there.

cloneslad

hyperbaby wrote: »

Well way to sell Cambodia ye guys
I'm crap at dealing with guard types, I really hope there isn't too much hassle there.

If you go there thinking it's going to be shít then everything will look great when you're there, because you weren't expecting it to be as good. Just go drinking if you've nothing else to do, that'll entertain you.

hyperbaby

The crew I'm going with definitely aren't the drinking type so that isn't on the cards.
Have you been to Ho Chi Minh? Did you like it there?

cloneslad

hyperbaby wrote: »

The crew I'm going with definitely aren't the drinking type so that isn't on the cards.
Have you been to Ho Chi Minh? Did you like it there?

Had a great time there, met up with one of my friends who works in a uni there, took a trip to the tunnels. Walked all around the city, visited lots of museums and enjoyed the awesome food.

Also took a trip to the Christina Noble foundation's Orphange with my friend's wife, she works there so she sorted everything out for us.

Vietnam is a great country to visit.

vicecreamsundae

Hi all, a quick question on getting a notarized, apostilled copy of my degree for the application.

I just emailed my old college about procuring a copy of my diploma, specifying I didn't want the original, and was told I could either pay €60 for a 'replacement parchment' or just get official transcripts.
Very confused! Is there no such thing as an official copy? Does a copy just mean a colour photocopy of the original? (which means taking my degree out of its frame, grr.)

Thanks for any help.

cassi

vicecreamsundae wrote: »

Hi all, a quick question on getting a notarized, apostilled copy of my degree for the application.

I just emailed my old college about procuring a copy of my diploma, specifying I didn't want the original, and was told I could either pay €60 for a 'replacement parchment' or just get official transcripts.
Very confused! Is there no such thing as an official copy? Does a copy just mean a colour photocopy of the original? (which means taking my degree out of its frame, grr.)

Thanks for any help.

Yep, just photocopy the original! Then get it notorised, then take it to the Dept. of Foreign affairs and get it apostilled.

Oh, it doesn't need to be colour!

roosh

vicecreamsundae wrote: »

Hi all, a quick question on getting a notarized, apostilled copy of my degree for the application.

I just emailed my old college about procuring a copy of my diploma, specifying I didn't want the original, and was told I could either pay €60 for a 'replacement parchment' or just get official transcripts.
Very confused! Is there no such thing as an official copy? Does a copy just mean a colour photocopy of the original? (which means taking my degree out of its frame, grr.)

Thanks for any help.

This would be my understanding.

You do need a photocopy of the original, or rather, an original parchement. If you graduated, then a copy of the parchment you received at graduation would be fine.

If you no longer have that, then it is likely you will have to pay for a replacement parchment, because the awarding institution probably doesn't retain parchments for all past students. A copy of that replacement would be fine then.

Either way, though, it has to be a photocopy of an actual parchment.