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Tefl in South Korea

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    #932
    cloneslad
    Registered Users Posts: 2,583 ✭✭✭cloneslad


    Undercover Brother wrote: »
    Thanks Cloneslad. I wasnt planning on even getting back to the girl about thye hagwon, and I'm hoping to get a few more interviews lined up for PS in the near future but I'll see how the interview goes tomorrow. We're probably close enough to neighbours at home, I'm from Roslea


    really? small world.

    I've got some good friends from Roslea, my brother actually used to play gaelic for them a few years ago. (he wasn't very good though)

    I haven't really been out there in a good few years but when I'm back home I do sometimes go running from clones out by lacky bridge then on to that costcutter shop on the roslea to donagh road and then go into roslea and back to clones


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    #933
    Undercover Brother
    Registered Users Posts: 54 ✭✭Undercover Brother


    I used to play for Roslea myself, up to minors, then I was in England for a while before making a highly unsuccessful comeback when I was 25 for about a year lol. I know most of the ones on the team, cant think of any1 from Clones that used to play but Im sure Id know a lot of ppl that'd know your brother. Yeah small world indeed.


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    #934
    livinginkorea
    Registered Users Posts: 5,438 ✭✭✭livinginkorea


    Undercover Brother wrote: »
    The hagwon is called E2E English Education, its actually in Hwaseong which I think is very close to Suwon. The email says its a newly opening hagwon and they are looking for 10 teachers. As I said it sounds alright, but any advertisements gonna make the job sound great. Yeah for now I'm gonna concentrate on PS jobs, hopefully I'll get a few more interviews in that general area. Still havnt got my docs back from EPIK yet

    What Cloneslad says is pretty accurate, Hwaseong is being developed more and more at the moment so it is mostly countryside and I think Dongtan (which is a huge apartment complex was built a couple of years ago) is a part of it too. Population would be similar to Pyeongtaek too. It depends where is Hwaseong the hagwon is. Shin-yongtong is Hwaseong but right beside Suwon (seriously you can't see where one ends and the other begins). All in all I would keep going for the public school gig.


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    #935
    Undercover Brother
    Registered Users Posts: 54 ✭✭Undercover Brother


    Well I just had the interview for the public school in Pyeongtaek. I think it went alright but there were a few communication problems mainly due to the Skype connection. The guy taking it did say the job would involve working every first and second Saturday from 10-12, I know its only 2 hours but I don't think its normal for public schools, and is not in any of the sample contracts I've seen, would this be regular enough for public schools? Anyway, the guy said he had another few people to interview so I presume the job will go to someone with experience over me anyway, but you never know. I think he also said that teachers would be expected to start around 7 am although the school doesn't officially open until 8.40. He said the school have always had foreign teachers so are used to dealing with them. How does the job sound to you guys?


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    #936
    cloneslad
    Registered Users Posts: 2,583 ✭✭✭cloneslad


    working on the weekend sucks. I did it for my first year here, then when I resigned I told them I didn't want to do them anymore, so did my G.F. We were offered and extra 320,000 on top of our salary to do them (3 hours every saturday). They could have offered me a million and I would have still said no.

    Weekends are precious here, they make the week fly by. It's great to leave school on a friday knowing I am going to be playing soccer and having a lie in the following morning, even though most of the korean teachers have to come to work.

    Is yours a proper public school or is it a privately funded 'public' school?


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    #937
    Undercover Brother
    Registered Users Posts: 54 ✭✭Undercover Brother


    As far as I know its a proper public school, though I've never heard of privately funded public schools. How would you tell the difference? Its described as a public high school. Its near City Hall in Pyeongtaek so location sounds central enough. It could all be academic anyway, although the interview was alright I think it could have been better so I don't think I'll get this one. Its the first interview I've done though so I'll be better prepared next time.


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    #938
    cloneslad
    Registered Users Posts: 2,583 ✭✭✭cloneslad


    Undercover Brother wrote: »
    As far as I know its a proper public school, though I've never heard of privately funded public schools. How would you tell the difference? Its described as a public high school. Its near City Hall in Pyeongtaek so location sounds central enough. It could all be academic anyway, although the interview was alright I think it could have been better so I don't think I'll get this one. Its the first interview I've done though so I'll be better prepared next time.


    They'd probably mention it and also use it as a selling point to try and attract teachers by telling them about the mannerly rich kids they'd teach.

    There's a lot of jobs out there, don't worry. Sure there's also some competition but with a bit of patience you'll get one that you feel is right for you.


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    #939
    livinginkorea
    Registered Users Posts: 5,438 ✭✭✭livinginkorea


    Congrats on the first interview anyway, at least you have that done now so you know what is asked next time. If you don't get it then no big deal, working on Saturdays are annoying. However, the other interviewees might say no because of the Saturday thing so fingers crossed. First year in Korea work loads 'cas then you save a bomb and can go someplace decent for your vacations then.

    If they do call you back for a second interview then try and get an email or phone number of one of the native speakers they have working there to give you the low down.


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    #940
    livinginkorea
    Registered Users Posts: 5,438 ✭✭✭livinginkorea


    Undercover Brother wrote: »
    Well I just had the interview for the public school in Pyeongtaek. I think it went alright but there were a few communication problems mainly due to the Skype connection. The guy taking it did say the job would involve working every first and second Saturday from 10-12, I know its only 2 hours but I don't think its normal for public schools, and is not in any of the sample contracts I've seen, would this be regular enough for public schools? Anyway, the guy said he had another few people to interview so I presume the job will go to someone with experience over me anyway, but you never know. I think he also said that teachers would be expected to start around 7 am although the school doesn't officially open until 8.40. He said the school have always had foreign teachers so are used to dealing with them. How does the job sound to you guys?

    A lad living down the road from me works in the nearest boys high school and he's in early enough every morning. Not so much teaching time, more like have-to-be-there time. At least you can relax in the office with a coffee while the kids are cleaning up. Also, the English teachers might have a different schedule because they are not homeroom teachers. What time do you finish at? Korean high school kids basically live in high school. Even after the school day is done they have to study in their classrooms for hours. There are a couple of teachers on duty to monitor them and all the other classes but basically the kids chat and sleep until 10 or 11 pm. Crazy. Now this isn't all schools but you should get a schedule to check.


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    #941
    livinginkorea
    Registered Users Posts: 5,438 ✭✭✭livinginkorea


    cloneslad wrote: »
    working on the weekend sucks. I did it for my first year here, then when I resigned I told them I didn't want to do them anymore, so did my G.F. We were offered and extra 320,000 on top of our salary to do them (3 hours every saturday). They could have offered me a million and I would have still said no.

    26k per hour isn't too bad but I know how you feel. I have worked Saturdays for a couple of years because teachers only have time off to take courses on Saturday. On the plus side I only have to be in 3 days a week and get extra pay for teaching on the weekend (60k extra for the day) but my god teaching 9 hours on a Saturday, 3 completely different courses sucks!


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    #942
    cloneslad
    Registered Users Posts: 2,583 ✭✭✭cloneslad


    livinginkorea wrote: »
    26k per hour isn't too bad but I know how you feel. I have worked Saturdays for a couple of years because teachers only have time off to take courses on Saturday. On the plus side I only have to be in 3 days a week and get extra pay for teaching on the weekend (60k extra for the day) but my god teaching 9 hours on a Saturday, 3 completely different courses sucks!


    It's not so bad I suppose if you have those days off during the week but when I worked the 5 days plus saturday I never wanted to do anything on sundays. I would just go for a run then lie about the apartment waiting for work to start again the next day.

    Now I enjoy the weekends with all the lads by playing football on saturday and I play frisbee on sunday (I refuse to call it ultimate until I see a death) Even today I went snow boarding in Muju with some of my friends, I never did this the first time I was here, trips away like that would have been reserved for when I had a saturday off, which was prob only about 4 a year.

    Money doesn't mean that much to me. I came back here this time to get away from doing nothing at home and (undeniably) to try save a bit, but not at the expense of enjoying myself. I reckon I'll have saved about €13,000 for the year, considering my vacation to the philippines in the summer and some of the other places I've been to and the lifestyle I live, that's a great amount to have.


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    #943
    Undercover Brother
    Registered Users Posts: 54 ✭✭Undercover Brother


    Well its only 2 hours every second Saturday, its really not much. Although I do like the thought of full weekends off. I know what its like to work 9-5 mon-Fri and theres nothing to beat the feeling on a Friday evening when you walk out the door! But Ive worked in bars and nightclubs as well so knowing what its like to work maybe 30 hours in one weekend from a Friday to a Sunday night the 2 hours on a Saturday morning is nothing. Its 1000 times better than making £65 a week on the dole which is my situation at the minute


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    #944
    SpatialPlanning
    Registered Users Posts: 318 ✭✭SpatialPlanning


    cloneslad wrote: »

    Now I enjoy the weekends with all the lads by playing football on saturday and I play frisbee on sunday (I refuse to call it ultimate until I see a death)

    Haha, I happened to be watching a game of Frisbee out in UCD about 6 or 7 years ago. One Chinese guy was really flip hot at it but he went a bit too far. Someone threw it towards the wall and he chased it. About 6 of us up in the viewing area shouted "jump", and amazingly he dove for it, caught it, and went head first into the wall. Knocked himself out in the process.

    That's the day I began to call it Ultimate Frisbee. What a legend!


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    #945
    cloneslad
    Registered Users Posts: 2,583 ✭✭✭cloneslad


    Undercover Brother wrote: »
    Well its only 2 hours every second Saturday, its really not much. Although I do like the thought of full weekends off. I know what its like to work 9-5 mon-Fri and theres nothing to beat the feeling on a Friday evening when you walk out the door! But Ive worked in bars and nightclubs as well so knowing what its like to work maybe 30 hours in one weekend from a Friday to a Sunday night the 2 hours on a Saturday morning is nothing. Its 1000 times better than making £65 a week on the dole which is my situation at the minute

    It's not really the length of time you'll be teaching, it just makes the fact that you finish early on a friday pointless because you can't go anywhere as you'll have to go to work the next day.

    Also, you'll prob have to work more than every second saturday. The kids go to school in the morning on every 1st 3rd and if there is one, 5th saturday of the month. They don't have school on the 2nd and 4th. So if there are 5 saturdays in a month (april, july, october and november have them this year) then you will work the 5th saturday of April (30th) and again the first saturday of may (7th), so you will have taught 2 saturdays in a row- three in 4 weeks.


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    #946
    Brimmy
    Registered Users Posts: 1,536 ✭✭✭Brimmy


    Made an appointment with regards to my doctor for shots there. I've heard I need Hep A, anything else? I also want to go to Thailand, China and Japan while I'm there at some stage during the year but heard the shots are 6 weeks long for some places (Thailand) so I can just get them in Korea without a problem right?


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    #947
    livinginkorea
    Registered Users Posts: 5,438 ✭✭✭livinginkorea


    Brimmy wrote: »
    Made an appointment with regards to my doctor for shots there. I've heard I need Hep A, anything else? I also want to go to Thailand, China and Japan while I'm there at some stage during the year but heard the shots are 6 weeks long for some places (Thailand) so I can just get them in Korea without a problem right?

    Unless you are going to some jungles (not in Korea or Japan) I don't really see the need for shots other than the Hep one.

    I am sure that doctors would be able to get those shots for you here but you would probably have to order them in advance before the holidays.


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    #948
    cloneslad
    Registered Users Posts: 2,583 ✭✭✭cloneslad


    Brimmy wrote: »
    Made an appointment with regards to my doctor for shots there. I've heard I need Hep A, anything else? I also want to go to Thailand, China and Japan while I'm there at some stage during the year but heard the shots are 6 weeks long for some places (Thailand) so I can just get them in Korea without a problem right?


    You don't really need any shots for korea, the hep A one is nice to have anyway but the hep shots are done over three periods. qst one, then the 2nd about 4-6 weeks later then the final 3rd booster shot 6 months after the initial one.

    I got my hep shots done three weeks ago here in Korea cos I'm going to india, vietnam, cambodia, malaysia and thailand after my contract ends. I also got a TDP shot. The total for both Hep A and Hep B plus the TDP vaccine was 140,000won (about €100). If your doctor tries to chrage you much for the hep shots then wait until you get here and get them done for less than you would pay at home.


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    #949
    RighteousDude
    Registered Users Posts: 30 ✭RighteousDude


    Hi guys,

    I just got offered a job in GwangMyeong in a Hagwon called English Village. If anyone has any info about the place or the school I would be eternally grateful to hear it. They interviewd me 2 days ago. It was brief, not very testing, and seemed a little bit rushed. For this reason i am slightly skeptical. It kinda seems like they couldnt get anyone else. But maybe thats just me overthinking it.


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    #950
    livinginkorea
    Registered Users Posts: 5,438 ✭✭✭livinginkorea


    RighteousDude wrote: »
    Hi guys,

    I just got offered a job in GwangMyeong in a Hagwon called English Village. If anyone has any info about the place or the school I would be eternally grateful to hear it. They interviewd me 2 days ago. It was brief, not very testing, and seemed a little bit rushed. For this reason i am slightly skeptical. It kinda seems like they couldnt get anyone else. But maybe thats just me overthinking it.

    About the rushed part you will get used to it once you are here a few weeks. Koreans refer to this as bali bali. Getting things done as quickly as possible in as little time as possible is very much the norm here.


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    #951
    RighteousDude
    Registered Users Posts: 30 ✭RighteousDude


    Thanks very much, thats put my mind at ease over that issue. Much appreciated.


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    #952
    kraggy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,414 ✭✭✭kraggy


    Hey again,

    Filling out an application form for GEPIK and it says that teachers have to pay 300,000 security deposit for each of the first months in case of damage or theft from the school or accommodations. Total payable to the school administration office is 900,000.

    Anyone else ever hear of this?


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    #953
    livinginkorea
    Registered Users Posts: 5,438 ✭✭✭livinginkorea


    kraggy wrote: »
    Hey again,

    Filling out an application form for GEPIK and it says that teachers have to pay 300,000 security deposit for each of the first months in case of damage or theft from the school or accommodations. Total payable to the school administration office is 900,000.

    Anyone else ever hear of this?

    Ya that has been going on since the beginning of Gepik. I entered in it's second year and had to do that. You get the money back in the last month + your bonus (one month payment) + airfare. A nice amount I tell you.

    They just want to make sure that you don't trash the apartment on them.


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    #954
    livinginkorea
    Registered Users Posts: 5,438 ✭✭✭livinginkorea


    RighteousDude wrote: »
    Thanks very much, thats put my mind at ease over that issue. Much appreciated.

    No worries, start reading up more about Korea. This thread and Dave's ESL Cafe are good places to start. 'Fail to prepare' and all that.


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    #955
    RighteousDude
    Registered Users Posts: 30 ✭RighteousDude


    Thanks livinginkorea. I feel I'm fairly well read about Korea. The only thing I'm in the dark about is the school and the area. I know the location of GwangMyeong but I dont know what its like. The Hagwon isnt on the the 'Hagwon Blacklist' so thats a good start i guess!


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    #956
    virmilitaris
    Closed Accounts Posts: 560 ✭✭✭virmilitaris


    RighteousDude wrote: »
    Thanks livinginkorea. I feel I'm fairly well read about Korea. The only thing I'm in the dark about is the school and the area. I know the location of GwangMyeong but I dont know what its like. The Hagwon isnt on the the 'Hagwon Blacklist' so thats a good start i guess!

    I don't know GwangMyeong well but I know the general area and it's not a bad location. Depending where in GwangMyeong you will be you will have access to two different subway lines both running to Seoul. Line 7 and line 1 so you will only be about 30 minutes from Seoul, 20 to Bucheon & 30 to Incheon plus you'll be pretty close to Suwon which is also a good city.


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    #957
    RighteousDude
    Registered Users Posts: 30 ✭RighteousDude


    thank you very much viri. The location is just perfect for me. Glad to hear its a nice place to boot. Its looking like I'm going to accept this offer.


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    #958
    livinginkorea
    Registered Users Posts: 5,438 ✭✭✭livinginkorea


    Suwon is a very nice city. Being living in Suwon for 6 years now. Same population as Dublin with Yeongtong as the trendy place to live in nowadays.


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    #959
    livinginkorea
    Registered Users Posts: 5,438 ✭✭✭livinginkorea


    RighteousDude wrote: »
    Thanks livinginkorea. I feel I'm fairly well read about Korea. The only thing I'm in the dark about is the school and the area. I know the location of GwangMyeong but I dont know what its like. The Hagwon isnt on the the 'Hagwon Blacklist' so thats a good start i guess!

    Even if your school was on the blacklist the comments wouldn't make much of a difference unless there were 1) recent and 2) numerous instances of breaking the contract, bad management, housing, etc. Sometimes people are just complaining about small things which could be seen as culture shock and their intolerance.

    Some of those blacklists have been around for years and comments dating back to the early 2000's don't really mean much now. The school could have changed owners a few times by then.

    Tell us more about the gig.


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    #960
    kraggy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,414 ✭✭✭kraggy


    Just to let people know, some agencies looking for Teftl/Tesol/Celt qualifications now. In fact, I think it's Gepik themselves that are looking for it.

    A degree on its own won't suffice unless it's in education or english, for some agencies anyway (re public jobs).

    They said a 100 hour course. Is that the full time month long one or can it be done online? And how much would it be? Realistically, how quick could that be done? Would it actually take 100 hours?

    I'm fine but my gf needs to get sorted. Balls anyway, after all the hardwork we're back to square one. We need to go with the same agency I reckon if we want to live near each other.


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    #961
    virmilitaris
    Closed Accounts Posts: 560 ✭✭✭virmilitaris


    kraggy wrote: »
    Just to let people know, some agencies looking for Teftl/Tesol/Celt qualifications now. In fact, I think it's Gepik themselves that are looking for it.

    A degree on its own won't suffice unless it's in education or english, for some agencies anyway (re public jobs).

    Man are you absolutely sure about that ? I'm not saying you're wrong but from my own experience and from talking to people here a TEFL/TESOL etc is unnecessary. It may make you look a little better than someone without it but I can't imagine it's necessary for anywhere.
    They said a 100 hour course. Is that the full time month long one or can it be done online? And how much would it be? Realistically, how quick could that be done? Would it actually take 100 hours?

    I put a '120 hour tefl course' on my resume before I came here, was asked "Did I do it", replied "Yes" and I never had to show any kind of evidence I had actually done it.


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