This is part one of a series where I share my experiences and eventually explain how you can actually run an English language academy in South Korea where many foreigners are trying for themselves.
There are many people in English speaking countries who want to try teaching English in South Korea or other Asian countries. And why not? It’s a great way to earn a living and expand your horizons.
Whether you are a fresh college graduate or in search of a steady job and paycheck, teaching English in an Asian country might just be what you needed, especially if you were looking for a change of scenry.
My personally journey started when I had the desire to become a college level professor but wasn’t sure if I had what it took to actually teach students. I remembered one of my fraternity brothers resided in South Korea at the time teaching English. I naturally contacted him and asked him a lot of questions. I also did my own research and read about the pros and cons. And believe me, there were a lot of cons at the time.
There were some horror stories of people losing their jobs in the first few months without being paid or people being kicked out of their homes on the exact day they were fired from their job. There were a lot. But to be fair, there were also a lot of positive stories.
This is when I just thought, to each his own. There was no point in dwelling on the stories and figured it was better if I just did it myself.
So, for those that are interested in actually teaching English in South Korea, pay close attention from this point on.
The first step for anyone wanting to teach in Korea is to find a recruiter. There are hundreds of recruiters out there on the internet looking for possible candidates to fill in teaching positions in South Korea. You have to understand, there are thousands of English academies in South Korea which also means there are thousands of possible jobs.
Facebook is probably the best place to find a recruiter. Just searching ‘teach English in South Korea’ will yield posts and groups you can join to find a recruiter or job positing. The great thing about the gigs you’ll find is that they offer free airfare and accommodations. So you don’t really have to worry about a thing except getting your documents ready to apply for a visa, and your recruiter will help with the process as well. But just for your reference, the two most important documents are your 4-year college degree and an FBI criminal background check, both have to be notarized as well. The background check alone can take up to 3 months, so that should be the first on your list of to-dos.
My whole process took about two months, paying extra for a faster background check return was very helpful. The hardest part was finding a local Korean embassy, I had to drive for 2 hours to get to the closest one near me.
During the whole paperwork process, you’ll be interviewing for positions available in South Korea. Here are some tips you should follow:
Tip #1 — Dress to impress, even though it’s a video chat, interviewers still want to see professionalism, not someone in their pajamas.
Tip #2 — Do a little research on the academy if possible.
Tip #3 — Think of possible questions they may ask during the interview and prepare. Remember, the questions will be geared towards your personality, strengths, weaknesses, and possible ‘what would you do’ kind of scenarios related to teaching and students.
Tip #4 — Try to give full and well thought out answers.
Now, fast forward, you’ve got a job and you’re about to board a plane. Remember, the flights are prearranged by the employer so all you have to do is remember your flight’s date and time. Don’t forget to bring your passport!
After a long flight, here’s where it can get scary depending on your recruiter. Some recruiters are helpful while others are lazy. For me, mine was absolutely lazy.
Once I’ve landed and exited the gates, there was no one to pick me up or give me instructions on what to do next. I literally had to figure what to do next after going through a long chain of emails. They expected me to follow their instructions through an email when it was my first time in Korea and had no idea where everything was.
I had to use someone’s phone to contact my recruiter to get information. And this was before smartphones. You have to understand how hard it was to gather information without WIFI or smartphones. It wasn’t exactly hell, but it was close.
I remember a friend telling me they got off the wrong stop while on a bus traveling to the location their employer told her to go to. She didn’t know the language, and the bus only played the stops in Korean back then. She was definitely scared, especially when she had no phone.
But luckily, she wasn’t hard to miss being a beautiful Caucasian female with traveling luggage bags in the middle of nowhere standing at a corner. Her boss eventually found her and took her to her new accommodations.
But not everyone is so lucky. Times have changed and WIFI makes a huge difference. Smartphones play a huge role in the first initial contact after landing. And South Korea is a WIFI paradise with free WIFI nearly anywhere you go.
I eventually made it to my hotel room that was setup by my employer since for the company that was hired by required me to pass my training before I can eventually be hired. So basically, I was hired to be trained, and I’ll be completely hired if I passed their 5-day training course in a foreign country. And if I failed, I’d be on my own, fired from the position that I didn’t even start yet.
Let’s call this academy, academy A, academy A was the only company in South Korea that conducted this kind of practice where they brought foreigners over to South Korea but weren’t actually hired. But were invited to partake in their training program. This was a legal practice due to a technicality in the visa laws for South Korea at the time. It was definitely shady business, but no one knew at the time.
Fortunately, I passed my training and was offered a job. That offer brought along more issues which I’ll discuss in the next part of this series.
Stay tuned.