ESL Korea Requirements

Alright I thought I would give a little info on ESL teaching in Korea because I have nothing new and exciting to report as of yet. I'm in the process of getting two reference letters and filling out the EPIK, English Program in Korea application form for August 2010.

A List of all required documents for teaching English in Korea:
-Valid Passport
-Bachelors Degree or better
-Officially Sealed Transcripts
-Criminal Background Check
-Official Passport Photos
-Updated Resume
-Reference letters
-TEFL, TESOL, CELTA, Teaching Certificates (optional)
-*also note you must be a native English speaker from one of the following countries: Canada, United States, Great Britain, South Africa, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand.

Once you have gathered these documents for your recruiter they can then provide you appropriate documents in order to acquire:
-E2 Health Statement
-School Contract
-Visa Application Form
-Korean Consulate Document Checklist
-Public School Application Form (not required for private schools - Hagwons)

Once everything is completed the applicant sends all their information to the recruiter and to the Korean Consulate in their country. Then usually there is an interview with the Korean Consulate in which they review your documents and speak with you for 30-45 minutes. I think I may avoid this going through the public school system but those applying to private Hagwons will definitely have an interview. If all goes well you simply wait until your visa comes in and then you can book your flight!

That's it for now. Take Care.

Footprints Recruiting

After researching every recruiter I could find online I decided to go with Footprints Recruiting based out of Vancouver, Canada. They are one of the biggest and from what I've read and been told they "put the teacher first". I'm not to worried about that though, as I am heading for the public school sector and therefore have a fairly good idea of what I am getting into. The private schools are typically where you run into shady bosses that withhold pay or try to overwork you. The public school stream was more appealing to me because while you do make less money, that pay is secure and guaranteed. Another plus is that you work in unison with a Korean teacher who speaks English. In private schools, or hagwons, you teach your own class to groups of 10-20 students and typically you work between 2-10pm. Public schools have much larger classrooms of 25+ students, and you work between 9-5.

Footprints Recruiting places many teachers in the public school system in South Korea which made it an appealing option. They have over one hundred jobs that they are filling for August 2010 for EPIK, the English Program in Korea. The beauty about EPIK is that there is a one week, or ten day orientation in South Korea before your contract starts. This allows you to network with teachers who will be placed in public schools all over South Korea for the next year. The only catch that many people dislike about EPIK is that you do not find out which school your assigned to until you arrive at the orientation in South Korea! This freaks people out but it's all just part of the ride.

So I had my phone interview with Footprints. It was a half hour with Jeff Strachan, co-owner and before he hung up he welcomed me aboard and said they would be glad to help me get my documents in order and help me secure a spot in EPIK for August 2010. I'll probably talk more about the requirements and which documents you need as I start to gather them. Reference letters, officially sealed transcripts, original degree, E-2 working visa, interviews with the Korean Consulate, etc, etc. Well I got my recruiter so it's time to gather some documents but more on that later.

Brady in Korea: An Introduction

I'm currently finishing up my last year at Nipissing University in Ontario, Canada in April 2010 and I'm hoping to land a teaching job in South Korea for September of the same year. I'll have a BA Degree in History and I'm planning on completing a TESL (Teach English as a Second Language) course before I leave Canada for South Korea. This blog is going to be my account of this next stage in my life, both as a digital archive for myself, as well as others who might be interested. So there you have it, this blog will feature me in the months preceding and during my trip to South Korea to teach English as a recent university graduate from Canada.

I've managed to rack up near $31,500 in debt from government student loans for my education, and therefore I am using South Korea as an opportunity to save money and pay down my debt. I have always wanted to travel and teaching in South Korea allows me to do this while still putting lots of money away. South Korea is considered a pretty lucrative destination for recent university graduates as pay is good and cost of living is cheap. So, there we have it, South Korea for a year, maybe more. I'll let ya know more as it happens.