Amenities

In Korea , the demand for native speakers of English or westerners to teach English is in high demand though it is less than that in other far eastern countries like Japan. The minimum qualifications are fluency in English, a bachelor’s degree, and a positive attitude. Most of the work available is to teach young children and adolescents. So, such jobs do not need a teaching degree or diploma from institutes in the country that run professional programs. Most candidates are graduates and have an enthusiasm for teaching. Other teaching assignments include teaching in

Private foreign language institutes (hakwons)
Corporate in-house language programs
University language institutes- university academic departments
Government/private research centers
Editing/public relations, advertising company’s
Private teaching/informal classes

The hogwons (language schools) are mainly found in the Chongro district of Seoul, in Pusan, and in the smaller cities.

Teaching a minimum of 120 hours a month fetches a salary of 180,000 to 20,000 won, return airfare, free accommodation, paid holidays, medical insurance, and a bonus on completion of the contract.

Recently federal, municipal and provincial governments have started recruiting expatriate teachers for teaching English in the public schools in the country. Language institutes advertise for teachers on a host of websites. And in english language newspapers. In most cases a bachelor’s degree or higher is required but in some case a TESOL/ESL certificate is also acceptable. It is not necessary to know the Korean language, Hangul but it is convenient to know basic nuances like basic words and phrases.

The Koretta/Epic Korean Govt. program has recently been introduced and through this program native speakers of English, expatriates and other such people have been introduced into public schools. Teaching hours are generally 20 to 30 hours per week from Monday to Friday and sometimes include Saturday mornings. There are holidays generally of 2 to3 weeks and not more. Contracts are of not more than 1 year with the provision of extension. Students are usually from grade schools, university or are govt. employees.

The recruitment process carries on all the year round. Accommodation is a serious issue in a foreign country. But, accommodation is generally provided free of cost, especially outside Seoul. Graduates must provide a current passport and be a native speaker to get a visa. The visa that is generally available is the E-2 visa. In some cases, the candidate goes to Korea on a tourist visa and changes to an E-2 visa within three months of arrival in the country.

Many students from the west go to Korea to teach in a gap year before starting on their post graduation. They take this as an opportunity to enjoy an enriching experience to come in contact with a foreign culture and spend some quality time in a foreign land. They make friends in a foreign land and maintain contacts with people in Korea. Many universities also run programs for teaching English in Korea and other far-eastern nations. These programs make the university popular in the countries they conduct these progr

About the Author

Craig White is author of this article on Teaching English in Korea. Find more information about Living and working in Korea here.