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Child Item

Tefl in South Korea

lordwilmore

Hi!
Does anyone have advice about teaching in South Korea?
At the moment I am in Australia and would like to teach in Korea.
I have the relevant qualifications to work in Korea.
what i really want to know is what exactly i have to do? i.e. garda checks, university correspondents detailing my degree results.
Its slightly more difficult for myself on account of being in oz. all the relevant things i need are back home.
any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated, whether it be, what to avoid or what agency to use. What pitfalls should i be aware of?
thanks in advance.

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R.D. aka MR.D

Hi everyone!

Just had my first telephone interview with a recruiter there.

I was just wondering how long you all were waiting between when you started looking for jobs and you actually went to Korea?

I would love to be over there by March but he kept going on about the Summer.

Is it unrealistic to think i would be over in March?

I'm looking at Hagwons and would like the coast but open to anywhere really.

Thanks!

cloneslad

R.D. aka MR.D wrote: »

Hi everyone!

Just had my first telephone interview with a recruiter there.

I was just wondering how long you all were waiting between when you started looking for jobs and you actually went to Korea?

I would love to be over there by March but he kept going on about the Summer.

Is it unrealistic to think i would be over in March?

I'm looking at Hagwons and would like the coast but open to anywhere really.

Thanks!

If you have all your documents ready, you could be over in less than a month. My last time going over, I decided on Christmas day that I would go back, I had no documents ready at all. Got everything sorted and was over at the end of february.

I had the school contacting me to work for them though, so it's slightly different than having a recruiter find something for me, but I know some people on here were set to go to one school with one recruiter but got let down, then ended up over in korea 3 weeks later using another recruiter and working for a different school.

If you are flexible, contact as many recruiters as possible, that way you'll have more of a chance. They want to get their fee for placing you, so the sooner you go over, the quicker they get their money.

squeakyduck

roosh wrote: »

Seoul Electronic Music Festival

Anyone going?

I'm a bit sickened I can't go.

I'm going. My friend works in promotions and got me a cheapy ticket. Why cant you go?

so excited for justice

roosh

squeakyduck wrote: »

I'm going. My friend works in promotions and got me a cheapy ticket. Why cant you go?

so excited for justice

my mother's landing on the 14th and we're doing a temple stay down south.

Crystal Castles are supposed to be pretty good as well

vicecreamsundae

Hi all

a quick admin question! I went to get a copy of my degree and my police clearance cert notarised the other day, and they notarised the degree, but said "you shouldn't need your police cert notarised as you'll probably need to send the original".
can anyone confirm for me whether i need to send the original police cert or a notarised copy (or the notarised original?!).
i'm bringing my notarised degree to be apostilled... just double checking I don't need to get the police cert apostilled too?

also, anyone know what the story is with tiger english?! i was in touch with them just a couple weeks ago, but looks like their website's gone!

cassi

vicecreamsundae wrote: »

Hi all

a quick admin question! I went to get a copy of my degree and my police clearance cert notarised the other day, and they notarised the degree, but said "you shouldn't need your police cert notarised as you'll probably need to send the original".
can anyone confirm for me whether i need to send the original police cert or a notarised copy (or the notarised original?!).
i'm bringing my notarised degree to be apostilled... just double checking I don't need to get the police cert apostilled too?

also, anyone know what the story is with tiger english?! i was in touch with them just a couple weeks ago, but looks like their website's gone!

Your police cert doesn't need to be notarised just apostilled, since the police superintendants signiture is on it its good enough.

Ive never used Tiger English so I can't comment on them.

ARGINITE

vicecreamsundae wrote: »

also, anyone know what the story is with tiger english?! i was in touch with them just a couple weeks ago, but looks like their website's gone!

My girlfriend and I used Tiger English when we went to Korea, they were very helpful and also found us a job together in the same school. But there website does seem to have disappeared

kraggy

roosh wrote: »

my mother's landing on the 14th and we're doing a temple stay down south.

Crystal Castles are supposed to be pretty good as well

Crystal Castles are awesome but when the hell were Justice added to the line-up?

That's news to me.

The tickets are very pricey though. 110,000 on the door. Considering the other groups aren't up to much, that's quite expensive.

squeakyduck

kraggy wrote: »

Crystal Castles are awesome but when the hell were Justice added to the line-up?

That's news to me.

The tickets are very pricey though. 110,000 on the door. Considering the other groups aren't up to much, that's quite expensive.

My friend is selling me a ticket for 50k. Justice were added a few months back but it had to be kept hush hush. I guess this was to get people people excited so the price hike wouldn't be so ridiculous. It is pretty damn ridiculous if you ask me

kraggy

squeakyduck wrote: »

My friend is selling me a ticket for 50k. Justice were added a few months back but it had to be kept hush hush. I guess this was to get people people excited so the price hike wouldn't be so ridiculous. It is pretty damn ridiculous if you ask me

I've seen Crystal Castles twice. They're one of my favourite bands but can't make it on Saturday. Money is too tight at the moment.

Would give anything to see them. Saw them in Galway and at Electric Picnic. Alice the lead singer even held my hand for one whole song at the Galway gig (I was at the front obviously). That's my sad mini claim to fame lol

So to see them here would be unreal but it ain't gonna happen at that price. Wouldn't mind but this is the first time I've had to put money aside for "more important" things since I got here. Bad timing or what.

squeakyduck

kraggy wrote: »

So to see them here would be unreal but it ain't gonna happen at that price. Wouldn't mind but this is the first time I've had to put money aside for "more important" things since I got here. Bad timing or what.

Sickened. I'm not mad on Crystal Castles but I'm so excited for Justice and Astrovoize (I saw them before Boys Noize in October) I've entered a competition for a meet and greet with Justice, so fingers crossed (no pun intended) that I win!

Any other boardsies going to this?

roosh

kraggy wrote: »

Crystal Castles are awesome but when the hell were Justice added to the line-up?

That's news to me.

The tickets are very pricey though. 110,000 on the door. Considering the other groups aren't up to much, that's quite expensive.

comparable enough to home though.

kraggy

roosh wrote: »

comparable enough to home though.

I'm not earning Euros though

When you actually think about, us teachers in the public system earn less than Irish minimum wage when you take away the perk of having no rent to pay.

It's the severance and no rent that make it worthwhile.

My pay per month works out at about 6.90 euro per hour.

But the perks, and the low cost of living in Korea make it better than it sounds.

roosh

kraggy wrote: »

I'm not earning Euros though

When you actually think about, us teachers in the public system earn less than Irish minimum wage when you take away the perk of having no rent to pay.

It's the severance and no rent that make it worthwhile.

My pay per month works out at about 6.90 euro per hour.

But the perks, and the low cost of living in Korea make it better than it sounds.

tis true

roosh

Has anyone here transferred money from their korean account, to an account back home?

I'm with Nong Hyup and transferred E50 to my bank account at home - I only did E50 to make sure it goes through OK, for future reference. But it cost me over E20 to do so. Obviously this means that it would be wiser to wait a longer period of time and send more money at once, but E20+ still seems a bit excessive.

Has anyone discovered a cheaper way of transferring money home?

cassi

roosh wrote: »

Has anyone here transferred money from their korean account, to an account back home?

I'm with Nong Hyup and transferred E50 to my bank account at home - I only did E50 to make sure it goes through OK, for future reference. But it cost me over E20 to do so. Obviously this means that it would be wiser to wait a longer period of time and send more money at once, but E20+ still seems a bit excessive.

Has anyone discovered a cheaper way of transferring money home?

The 20euro is the charge from an intermediary bank in Germany that converts the money. While there may be cheaper, this is safe.

I sent home money at the end of my first contract but there was a number wrong on the account or sort code or something so the money couldnt be deposited.

Thankfully when the money was send back to the bank, they noticed the problem, contacted my former school to get the correct details and two days later the money was home. I can't but wonder would a cheaper way of sending money, eg. western union etc do the same thing?

roosh

cassi wrote: »

The 20euro is the charge from an intermediary bank in Germany that converts the money. While there may be cheaper, this is safe.

I sent home money at the end of my first contract but there was a number wrong on the account or sort code or something so the money couldnt be deposited.

Thankfully when the money was send back to the bank, they noticed the problem, contacted my former school to get the correct details and two days later the money was home. I can't but wonder would a cheaper way of sending money, eg. western union etc do the same thing?

I don't think western union would contact you, because the money wouldn't really be sent back, as it just stays in the WU system until it's collected. My mother sent money to me before but she put down the wrong location. I realised when I went to collect the money. She had to go back in and give the correct information. I'm not sure if they have a protocol for when that isn't a possibility - I presume they would though.

Would WU actually be cheaper I wonder?

cassi

All going well I'd imagine they are cheaper. Ive only ever send large amounts home so for the sake of 20quid I'd rather know its safe and gets there okay.

Oh also the receipt they gave you last time, make sure you keep it. It has all the details on it, so they dont have to imput it all again. So if you're sending money home with them again it only takes minutes.

eileenlong

Hi everyone,
I've accepted a position to work in Jukjeon Elementary for Avalon in February, I was wondering if anyone has experience working for Avalon, or for Jukjeon Elementary and what they think of it.
Also if anyone knows how long it takes roughly for post sent from Ireland to reach south Korea?
Thanks!

cloneslad

eileenlong wrote: »

Hi everyone,
I've accepted a position to work in Jukjeon Elementary for Avalon in February, I was wondering if anyone has experience working for Avalon, or for Jukjeon Elementary and what they think of it.
Also if anyone knows how long it takes roughly for post sent from Ireland to reach south Korea?
Thanks!

Don't know anything of the School itself and I've heard lots of things about Avalon, but they've all been from the internet, so the sources are not anything I would trust. There are lots of negatives, but that's because people rarely post about the positives.

I'm sure you've done your research and spoken to current teachers over there to find out what the school and area is like, as well as what your living arrangements are going to be, while also making sure you will get paid on time.

As for post, it depends what is being sent, I recently sent a box of presents, (model cars) in a package about the size of a shoe box, to one of my old students for his birthday. I sent them on thursday evening at about 5pm and it had arrived the following wednesday morning (korea time)

kleiner feigling

Hi all,
Hoping you can help me something.
I'm hoping to start working in S.Korea in Early March (Just getting paperwork finalised atm). Thing is, I really want to take a short holiday in Thailand before I start working in SK. This is most likely going to be around the time my employer gives me my visa number and so I will not be in Ireland when its time to go to the embassy with my passport, visa number etc.... This will be my first time getting a visa for SK.

Does anyone know if it's possible to get the whole process done through a Korean embassy abroad (ie a Korean embassy in Thailand). I've been assured that the rules around this changed about a year ago and that it is possible but I would love to hear it from someone who's done it themselves (ie. got their visa at a Korean embassy outside their native country). Any advice would be great cos I can't find anything official/recent to back this up.
Sorry for my meandering post!! :O

cloneslad

kleiner feigling wrote: »

Hi all,
Hoping you can help me something.
I'm hoping to start working in S.Korea in Early March (Just getting paperwork finalised atm). Thing is, I really want to take a short holiday in Thailand before I start working in SK. This is most likely going to be around the time my employer gives me my visa number and so I will not be in Ireland when its time to go to the embassy with my passport, visa number etc.... This will be my first time getting a visa for SK.

Does anyone know if it's possible to get the whole process done through a Korean embassy abroad (ie a Korean embassy in Thailand). I've been assured that the rules around this changed about a year ago and that it is possible but I would love to hear it from someone who's done it themselves (ie. got their visa at a Korean embassy outside their native country). Any advice would be great cos I can't find anything official/recent to back this up.
Sorry for my meandering post!! :O

I can give you a 100% definite answer!!

The answer is......perhaps, it's all about who you deal with.

The Korean embassy requires all new visa holders (for E2 anyway) to have an interview with the embassy prior to obtaining their visa. The interview is arranged after you have received your visa number. The thing is, they don't always ask you to do the interview, but usually they do.

I had to wait for clarification from the embassy that I didn't need an interview (as I already had a visa before) when I last applied for an E2, this meant having to drive back home again, wait 24 hours, find out it wasn't needed (which I knew anyway) then drive back up and submit my documents.

Your visa is guaranteed for 90 days upon obtaining it. So you have 90 days to activate it by entering Korea, once you get it. Why not just get a job organised for a month or two ahead of when you start, get the visa number, get the visa, go to Thailand, then head up to Korea after that.

Also, have you considered the cost of flights? Are you willing to pay the Thailand flight yourself? There is also the possibility that the school might not want to pay for a flight from Thailand to Korea (despite it probably being cheaper than Ireland to Korea).

You could go to Thailand now, take your documents with you, and see what happens. If you get a job, send them to korea, get the visa number and see if it's possible to do the interview in Thailand, if not, go home, do it there and then you'll still get a free flight to Korea from Ireland. I'd imagine it's only 150-200 more to get a return flight to thailand than a single.

Weigh up the pros and cons. You could always save Thailand for when you finished working in Korea, it's something nice to look forward to doing.

kleiner feigling

@Cloneslad Thank you, good answer!
Out of interest when was the last time you applied for a visa. The reason I ask is because apparently the Koreans changed their application procedures about a year ago and no longer carry out interviews in the embassies at all (not even for first time E2 applicants)!
I've discussed the flights situation with my agency and I'm willing to pay my own fare to thailand as most schools will only pay for the trip to south korea (and will therefore cover trip from Thailand to SK). I understand this will vary from school to school so I'll have to discuss it with the future employer.
I will absolutely consider booking a return fare to thailand though, as a plan b, good idea!
I would go to Thailand tomorrow if I could but flights this month are expensive and I'm still committed to my job here for a few weeks. I'm planning to nail down a job this week/next week, send the paperwork and head to thailand 1st week of February.... so I expect to get my visa number and get my visa sorted in Thailand. Might give the embassy in Thailand a buzz in advance and see if they can do it for me

I would hold out until the end of my contract for Thailand but.... I'm an impatient woman in need of a break!

Cheers for your help!

cassi

kleiner feigling wrote: »

@Cloneslad Thank you, good answer!
Out of interest when was the last time you applied for a visa. The reason I ask is because apparently the Koreans changed their application procedures about a year ago and no longer carry out interviews in the embassies at all (not even for first time E2 applicants)!
I've discussed the flights situation with my agency and I'm willing to pay my own fare to thailand as most schools will only pay for the trip to south korea (and will therefore cover trip from Thailand to SK). I understand this will vary from school to school so I'll have to discuss it with the future employer.
I will absolutely consider booking a return fare to thailand though, as a plan b, good idea!
I would go to Thailand tomorrow if I could but flights this month are expensive and I'm still committed to my job here for a few weeks. I'm planning to nail down a job this week/next week, send the paperwork and head to thailand 1st week of February.... so I expect to get my visa number and get my visa sorted in Thailand. Might give the embassy in Thailand a buzz in advance and see if they can do it for me
I would hold out until the end of my contract for Thailand but.... I'm an impatient woman in need of a break!
Cheers for your help!

I know you're eager to get on holiday but be 100% certain that you can actually get it in Thailand before you decide to go down that path. I say this because since the E2 visa is available to only certain countries, the Thai embassy might not be able to process it or have the necessary documents.

As for the interview I've heard they got rid of it and I have also heard it's still required.

Good Luck either way

cloneslad

kleiner feigling wrote: »

@Cloneslad Thank you, good answer!
Out of interest when was the last time you applied for a visa. The reason I ask is because apparently the Koreans changed their application procedures about a year ago and no longer carry out interviews in the embassies at all (not even for first time E2 applicants)!

I got my last visa in Feb 2010. So, almost two years ago. I know they changed the visa rules in Sept 2010, but they kept the interview in it then.

cassi wrote: »

As for the interview I've heard they got rid of it and I have also heard it's still required.

This......it doesn't matter if it's still required or not, some díck will still make you do it if they want to make you do it.

It's like the whole transcripts thing, they haven't been needed for over a year and a half, I bet the schools still look for them, in stamped, sealed envelopes too.

With the Korean Embassy, it's all about what person you are dealing with at the time and how they feel, because 30 mins later, it could be a whole new rule.

kraggy

Last April when I applied, my understanding was that people coming to Korea to work in public schools didn't have to do an interview in the embassy in Dublin but people going for hagwon jobs did.

I'd be very careful about getting clarification as to whether or not you can get the visa in Thailand.

Best thing would be to ring the embassy in Dublin and ask them. Any number you get from Korea might be specific to Ireland thus rendering it useless in Thailand.

Check everything out and be absolutely sure. You don't want to end up out of pocket and possibly also a job because of a holiday.

kleiner feigling

Great advice, thanks everyone! I don't plan on taking any risks with this, I even have my stamped transcripts ready! I've contacted the Korean embassy in Dublin and I'm waiting to hear back from them. I'll let you know what they say.

R.D. aka MR.D

Anyone recommend a good book to learn the basics of Korean?

I know there are online resources but i find it easier to learn from a solid book.

I would like to be able to read the letters and say the basics, hello, thank you etc.

petethebrick

R.D. aka MR.D wrote: »

Anyone recommend a good book to learn the basics of Korean?

I know there are online resources but i find it easier to learn from a solid book.

I would like to be able to read the letters and say the basics, hello, thank you etc.

There are any amount of sources to learn to read the alphabet which you can do in a week easily. After that I'd recommend using Rosetta Stone. It will get you speaking a bit of korean far quicker than any book. You need to be comfortable with the alphabet fist however. It's easy enough to download Rosetta stone, there's a bit of configuration to be done with the crack for it etc After that you just download Korean level1 and off you go

vicecreamsundae

Hi all,
I pretty much have all my documents ready now and am currently signing up with a million and one recruiters - I reallly just want to go ASAP.

At the moment, the only real preference I have is location. I'm determined to be near Seoul. My ideal spot would be Mapo, but I know I can't be that specific if I want to find a job anytime soon. Basically, I want to be able to go to Hongdae or Insadong or Samchungdong after work in the evenings and come home. I see there are a lot of jobs in places like Gangnam, but can't tell how far that is (in minutes-on-the-subway time) from the places I think I'd like to hang out at.
Can anyone recommend some areas that are near/have quick or easy transport to the areas I mentioned? Or just as important, can people mention some areas to avoid (due to being very quiet/ not having quick and easy transport to more central areas)?
It's hard to know from looking at the map what counts as central and what doesn't.

Thanks for any advice!! Can't wait to get over there.