Do you really want to teach English in Korea? (Part II: Public vs Private schools)

Continued from Do you really want to teach English in Korea? (Part I: Q & A)

If you ask most people why they were drawn to Korea, the very first answer you’d commonly hear is– the benefits. Korea has by far, the best package out there- public and private school alike. Along the way, you discover the experience itself is so much more, but before I get into that, here you go~

Incentive Package for teaching in a Korean public school:

• Round trip airfare to South Korea
• Free apartment housing
• Signing bonus
• Paid vacations
• 50% medical insurance

Should you work in a public or private school?

Whether you’re with a government run program or independent one, there is no guarantee that your situation will be perfect and not meet with disappointment on some level. Both public and private employment have led to  hit or miss situations for many- anywhere from bad apartment situations, problems with getting paid, bad co-teachers, etc…  The forums are littered with unhappy results and while you’d like to think it’s just a bunch of disgruntled folk, the numbers ten to be so outstanding that you know there’s a level to truth.

A.  Working in a public school in Korea

Your choices are either EPIK, SMOE & GEPIK. Is it competitive? It’s becoming that way. Seoul placements are highly competitive, usually asking for at least a year of experience. The further out of the epicenter you’re willing to work, you’ll find more opportunity. Mitch Gordon of Go!Overseas has a great article about the differences between the EPIK, SMOE & GEPIK.

EPIK is the largest entity of English teacher placement around Korea (*exceptions: Seoul and Gyeonggi province). There’s been rumors of SMOE and
GEPIK phasing out Native English Teachers (aka NET‘s) and other gossip of robots taking over the NET role as a talking recorder.  Meanwhile, EPIK is thriving, eager to expand  English learning in the Korean public school classrooms.

A typical EPIK working day:

I can teach up to 30 students per class. I work for 8 hours ( 8:30AM – 4:30PM   Monday- Friday ), with approximately 22 hours/week of actual teaching time in the classroom. Overtime pay is given for additional hours. On top of the general benefits package, you get an exit allowance and a sizable signing bonus if you renew your contract. School holidays you get off  (*but not winter and summer vacations).  Furthermore, with EPIK, you will have an invaluable friendship network of fellow NETs that you will meet at EPIK’s week-long orientation and a connection to *FREE*  DMOE- run programs, such as  language classes, a toast master’s club and cultural tours.

However, it’s not to say everything is sunshine and roses working in the public school system. There are occasional issues NET experience with bad housing, dealing with reluctant co-teachers, a school not wanting to pay overtime and the DMOE, while a supposed intermediary, doesn’t always lend a helping hand. Thus, some NETs are compelled to take personal action with their school or suffer in pain and sever contractual ties after 6 months.

How to apply:

Grab a recruiting agency (I list a few here). These key programs work in partnership with a handful of reputable recruiting agencies.

Assistance in Korea:

The following is your chain of command- your co-teacher (*main), your school, the DMOE (the Dept of Education in your city)

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B.  Working at a private school (a Hagwon) in Korea

Going the independent route of working for a hagwon (private school), may be attractive to those who want to make certain of their placement in a specific city or wish to negotiate terms and salaries on their own.  While I can’t comment directly on this, discretion must always be used. You will find an increasing amount of complaints in ESL forums about schools breaking contract, closing and not telling the teacher, failure of payment, bad housing, the list goes on…

Hagwons tend to run after school hours, leaving days free and nights for work. School vacations and holidays may not apply as it runs separate from the school system. You will be working alone in the class and thus, required to prepare lesson plans. Generally, I’ve heard benefits run close to the public school, give or take some exceptions but this is all dependent upon school.

How to apply for a hagwon job:

There’s a massive amount of job ads for hagwons, enough to go around.Dave’s ESL Cafe is an excellent resource  for finding esl job opportunities and recruiting agencies looking to fill positions in private schools.

Finding a good school/employer:

While you can’t see the inner workings of the school, the NET before you will and will be eager to lay into the pros and cons of their experience.  Ask the school if there’s someone you can contact for personal reference- either a teacher at the school or better yet, the previous NET! If that’s unavailable, but you have the name of your prospective school, do an internet search on them.

Assistance in Korea:

The school helps you with your lifestyle setup and any problems you have is handled directly.

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Here are some questions I’ve already answered:

• What are my general work conditions & many classes do I teach a week?
• How do I work with co-teachers?
• Do I enjoy teaching English to Koreans?
• How and Why did I choose to teach in Korea?
• What’s English Summer camp?
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Working in a hagwon or public school ? Feel free to share your experience and thoughts….

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The Series:
Do you really want to teach English in Korea? (Part I: Q & A)
Do you really want to teach English in Korea? (Part II: Public vs Private schools)
5 Things MTV taught me about teaching ESL (Part 111)
From MTV Producer to English Teacher in Korea (Part IV)
GRRRL TRAVELER’s Travel Challenge #2: Becoming an Expat

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