My Experience Of Going To S.korea To Teach

[patongpanda]

THE PROCESS

First step was to get hold of my original degree and sealed transcripts. This took me a while 'cos when I went to Uni transcripts didn't exist.

Step two - look at Daves Cafe job ads. There are millions of vacancies. Most are through recruiters. The recruiters are pretty useless. They will ring you in the middle of the night. They will try to offload their crappest positions first. Keep on refusing the offers and the salaries and conditions offered improve.

Step three - send your docs by courier. You will get a reference number for your Visa application and can get your Visa!

THE BENEFITS

You will see many many horror stories of dodgy employers in Korea. These are the "Hogwans" - private academies. It's a huge industry and easy money attracts some dodgy characters.

My position however is the public school system and is very safe.

Pay is 2.3 million Won. You get many things on top - return airfare, 300,000 Won settlement allowance, accomodation, medical insurance, contributary pension, overtime.

One poor aspect to the public schools is only two weeks vacation a year

THE EXPERIENCE

The major downside to working in Korea is that, well, it's Korea.

Korea is the dork of Asia. They have to pay foreigners to talk to them and pretend to be their friends!

Of course we would rather be somewhere fun like Thailand.

The standard of living is very high. It's very western (American). The cost of living is way more than Thailand, but less than UK. I am saving $2000 a month easily.

Good stuff - food is excellent, women are quite friendly...

Bad stuff - cold. Pollution. Lung infection. Death.

Can't think of anything else to say, if you have any questions I'll do my best.

[helicoptor]

...Right

So how soon before you come back to LOS?

[patongpanda]

...Right

So how soon before you come back to LOS?

Soon as I've got a couple of million Baht for a house and small business.

[helicoptor]

The teaching money assumingly is better on Korea, right, but is that really the be all and end all

The questions remain,

how long have you been there to date?

You know how much you need for your goal of a acquiring a Thai house, business etc so how long do you need to stay in Korea to get to this goal, and, whatever that time scale may be, ask yourself can you hack it?

Is the option of Teaching in Thailand gone from you now because of money?

What kind of business were you thinking of starting?

I get the distinct impression from you that you are already missing LOS (ie. posting on Thaivisa to name but one)

and that it wont be long before you get back here

[patongpanda]

What kind of business were you thinking of starting?

I have a few ideas, but to start with I was thinking of registering a company for English training, and teaching privates at home perfectly legally. Not to make a lot of money, just so I can teach English in Thailand on my own terms and without having to rely on shoddy employers.

Yes, of course I want to come back to LOS!

[Ijustwannateach]

From what I've heard, when things are good in Korea work-wise, they're very good- and when they're bad, they're very bad. Of course, no one is very enthusiastic about life in Korea itself.

"S"

[Jessy]

Only just seen this. Very interesting. Do you ever take trips over to Thailand? Is it possible? Are you teaching in the capital, and would you recommend teaching in a slightly quieter place (how much does that affect salary, cost of living etc.)?

Is it just about money in Korea? Obviously Thailand is more attractive -overall - and up until the recent melt down with all its problems, people have been willing to compensate with a lower salary for what they regard as a better lifestyle. Finally, how do you find teaching Korean students compared to Thais?

[thaibye]

What kind of business were you thinking of starting?

I have a few ideas, but to start with I was thinking of registering a company for English training, and teaching privates at home perfectly legally. Not to make a lot of money, just so I can teach English in Thailand on my own terms and without having to rely on shoddy employers.

Yes, of course I want to come back to LOS!

I am under the distinct impression that an American cannot own a house (only some apts.) and cannot own a business (only part) and cannot know, nor comply with Thai education and bussiness laws/corruption. Am I incorrect?

[richard10365]

What kind of business were you thinking of starting?

I have a few ideas, but to start with I was thinking of registering a company for English training, and teaching privates at home perfectly legally. Not to make a lot of money, just so I can teach English in Thailand on my own terms and without having to rely on shoddy employers.

Yes, of course I want to come back to LOS!

I am under the distinct impression that an American cannot own a house (only some apts.) and cannot own a business (only part) and cannot know, nor comply with Thai education and bussiness laws/corruption. Am I incorrect?

Strange first post.

It's a conspiricy against Americans alright. Just in case your worries are confirmed, can you use your connections to the Whitehouse and let George Bush know so he can start his invasion of Thailand for disagreeing with U.S. policy?

Thanks

[Ijustwannateach]

What kind of business were you thinking of starting?

I have a few ideas, but to start with I was thinking of registering a company for English training, and teaching privates at home perfectly legally. Not to make a lot of money, just so I can teach English in Thailand on my own terms and without having to rely on shoddy employers.

Yes, of course I want to come back to LOS!

I am under the distinct impression that an American cannot own a house (only some apts.) and cannot own a business (only part) and cannot know, nor comply with Thai education and bussiness laws/corruption. Am I incorrect?

It is a rather odd post, but since you ask, the housing question is off-topic in the teaching forum; the business ownership part is nearly off-topic, but in fact a foreigner (not only Americans) can own at least part of a Thai business; and finally, if the American has a reasonable IQ, I see no barrier to his acquiring the knowledge of- and if of suitable morals the willingness to comply with- Thai education and business laws- I know some of them myself, come to think of it. So in fact, you are incorrect.

"Steven"

[patongpanda]

I am under the distinct impression that an American cannot own a house (only some apts.) and cannot own a business (only part) and cannot know, nor comply with Thai education and bussiness laws/corruption. Am I incorrect?

I hang about on TV trying to get the picture of what is possible. I believe foreigners can be the sole proprietor of a business, so long as it's not on the restricted list.

I don't want to own a school or have any dealings with the MOE. Just a business concerned with language training.

[patongpanda]

Do you ever take trips over to Thailand? Is it possible?

Only get 14 days vacation in the public school. Spend that in Thailand.

Are you teaching in the capital, and would you recommend teaching in a slightly quieter place (how much does that affect salary, cost of living etc.)?

You can save more money out of the city. The best solution is to find somewhere quiet but with fast access to the big smoke.

Is it just about money in Korea?

Yes. Although if you are a young party person there seems to be quite a lot going on in Seoul.

[aussiestyle1983]

Good stuff - food is excellent, women are quite friendly...

Bad stuff - cold. Pollution. Lung infection. Death.

Wonderful!

Where do I sign up!

btw; what qaulifications do you have or are needed?

Edited April 19, 2007 by aussiestyle1983

[engrin]

All's you need is a degree, BA or whatever. You need the transcripts as well for the paperwork.

[seykota]

I am working in Seoul for an Adult and Business English hogwan. My wife is Thai and is here with me. I will complete my 2nd contract in 3 months and we will definitely be returning home to our house and farm in Issan. I taught for a few years in Thailand but will not be returning to teaching when we are home.

I agree with what has been said previously about working here, the pay is good but the lifestyle is boring plus our apartment is tiny. I have enjoyed working with adults and most of my students/clients are business people and MBA applicants. I have been working 6 days a week, with 35 hours contact hours a week and my pay is about 110,000 baht per month plus the apartment is free. I have not taken any holidays but will be paid a bonus for this, therefore my final months pay and end of contract bonuses will total about 250,000 baht.

My wife and I talk about getting home on a daily basis, in fact my wife has already started packing, we are very homesick and will not be leaving home again.

[sweetbear]

Just two things I question, having spent over three years there;

2.3 million won is your pay.

You save $2,000 a month.

Otherwise all is good.

Oh and the food...

Edited April 21, 2007 by sweetbear

[stevejones123]

2.3 million won is a fairly standard salary (salaries seem to go from 1.9 million won to 2.5 million). I would think it impossible to save $2000 a month as that would leave less than $500 a month to live off, and that is with the exchange rate having improved recently.

One thing you must do in Korea is make sure accommodation is provided. Key money otherwise is horrendous, and can come to as much as two years rent.

[patongpanda]

2.3 gross

2.0 nett

0.5 OT

150,000 utilities

2.35 disposable income

I save 2 mil straight away. I get free evening meals so I don't have much else to spend 350k on.

[patongpanda]

Oh, one more thing...

Don't expect to rake in big bucks with private classes. It would take a long time maybe 6 months or more to start building contacts. I've had offers but had to turn them down. The privates must be in an another neighbourhood far away from your apartment and school.

[mopenyang]

Oh, one more thing...

Don't expect to rake in big bucks with private classes. It would take a long time maybe 6 months or more to start building contacts. I've had offers but had to turn them down. The privates must be in an another neighbourhood far away from your apartment and school.

The privates are almost always illegal unless you fall into a very limited category for whom it is legal. If you get caught by Immigration, you will be arrested, imprisoned, fined, black listed and deported. South Korea enforces this, as anyone knows who has taught there. Doesn't mean people don't do it, but people that get caught doing it pretty much know what to expect.

[Ijustwannateach]

^Yes, I've heard very bleak things about foreigners who ran afoul of Korean law.

[El Taco Loco]

^^ The law and the police also go after the students. Very dangerous.

[No beleeeeve!]

Yes, the only good thing about Korea is the money. You will find about 98% of the people who lived there to agree. I lived and worked in Thailand and Korea both. The money is much better in Korea if you are willing to scarifice a decent style of life such as can be had in Thailand. I found my nightmare stories of Korea to very consistent with EVERY person I spoke with who lived there at one time or another.

Oh, a foreigner can own a house in Thailand but not the property underneath it. Can own a condo under the same circumstances. A couple of my friends worked in real estate there so this is where I get my info on that. So, many guys build a house on the land that their Thai g/f's family owns.