The vast majority of English teaching jobs in Korea are at hagwons, or private language academies. Amber wrote last week about teaching adults, and today I am going to focus on hagwons that cater to the pre-K to high school students. It’s hard to generalize what it’s like to work at a hagwon because no two hagwons are the same and every teacher will have a different experience. That being said, I will try my best to describe the different type of working environments you might find yourself in order to give you a better sense of what you’re signing up for.

Chain or Independent 

There are two main types of English language hagwons in Korea. The first is the “chain” hagwon where companies operate many branches around the country. Some of the popular chains include Avalon, YBM, Korea Poly School, Chungdahm, and SLP. These companies often create their own materials and have a standard curriculum to be followed at every branch. Most chain hagwons are larger than independently owned academies, and have many foreign teachers. Some teachers view hagwon chains as a more stable work environment; they may be less likely to close because of an increased financial backing, but they also offer less flexibility. I worked at a hagwon chain my first year in Korea, and while I never worried about being let go early to save money, I had to deal with some corporate policies that were frustrating.

The other type of hagwon is an independently owned academy. These schools are generally much smaller and often only have a couple of foreign teachers (some may have just 1). An independently owned hagwon may give you more flexibility with lesson planning, and if you have a good boss, it could be a dream. An independently owned hagwon is a little less stable and some schools have been known to let their teachers go early to avoid paying severance and flight allowances.

Like I said in my post about getting a hagwon job, it is to your benefit to research your exact school. If you’re working at a branch of a chain, look at reviews of the exact location as they can vary wildly.

Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle, High

Different academies cater to different ages of students- kindergarten, elementary, middle, high school, or some combination of the four.

A kindergarten offers English immersion education for students who are usually between the ages of 4, 5, and 6 (Korean age 5, 6, and 7) and have not yet started Korean school. The students attend class from about 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., but teachers are usually expected to come early and stay later to prepare lessons. The types of classes taught varies. At my school I taught writing, vocabulary, science, reading, and art. The students also attended a gym class taught by another instructor. Each class was 40 minutes long and we were expected to cover a certain number of pages a month, including workbook pages to be completed by the students and graded by the teacher. The students were tested on the material once a month. Other kindergartens have a more, shall we say, relaxed curriculum that focuses on language acquisition through more age appropriate activities like art, cooking, and play.

Elementary, middle, and high school academies provide after school language instruction. Because of this, these programs start later in the day, usually around 3:00 p.m., and can run until as late as 10:00 p.m.. If you teach only elementary, middle, or high school expect to start work midday.

Elementary school hagwon classes are generally between 40-50 minutes long and cover different aspects of the four tenants of language: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Often there are also other subjects such as math, debate, or current events. At my school we were given page numbers to cover in each class, but were free to cover the material however we chose.

As students get older, English language hagwon attendance begins to get smaller, and the students left are those serious about the language. Because of this, the classes become more intense and start to focus more on preparation for the many English exams they will have to take in high school and college.

Other Expectations

Besides teaching the actual classes, hagwon instructors are also responsible for the paperwork side of teaching. This may include submitting weekly lesson plans detailing everything you will do in each class, marking homework and essays, and writing report cards for the students. You also may need to create or print materials beyond the books that are given.

Most hagwons will require instructors to teach at least one open class during their contract. This is a day where all the parents come watch you teach. Korean parents are notoriously picky, and the class is often rehearsed for weeks beforehand. Open classes were my least favorite part of teaching.

Beyond language, hagwons are also sometimes used a tool for cultural immersion. Holidays that are popular in English speaking countries, such as Halloween and Christmas, are often celebrated with gusto. My school turned our gym into a haunted house, went trick or treating, and held a Halloween themed spelling bee at the end of October and Santa came and visited in December. These activities, and the monthly birthday parties, were a fun time to see the students doing something other than sitting behind a desk.

Pros

Get to really know the students: Because hagwon instructors teach smaller classes and see the students more than once a week, it is much easier to get to know them than if you teach at a public school. I formed bonds with many of my students, from kindergarten to sixth grade. I knew about their families, hobbies, dreams, and every mosquito bite they got in the summer. At the end of the year I was tearful during our goodbye.

Easier for those with no teaching experience:  The only thing I’d ever taught before coming to Korea was swimming lessons. I didn’t even have a certification to teach English. Getting a hagwon job made the transition a little easier. I was given books and told which pages to cover each day and given ideas of activities to do during class. The set curriculum helped me feel at ease in the classroom fairly quickly.

Foreign coworkers: If you work at a public school you will most likely be the only foreigner at your school. Hagwons, especially the larger ones, often have more than one. My school had 15! This can be a blessing or a curse, depending on who your coworkers are. I became very close to many of my coworkers at my first school. Without these people I probably would’ve never survived the job. And I probably would’ve spent a lot less money on beer

Cons

Lack of vacation and sick time: The standard vacation time at a hagwon is 10 days, usually 5 in the summer and 5 in the winter. These days are often picked for you, and my first vacation was scheduled Thursday-Wednesday making it even shorter. In addition, most hagwons don’t offer sick days. While some will let you stay home (without pay), others will make you come in. There’s nothing like teaching a class with tonsillitis  bronchitis, and a 104 degree fever!

Parent pressure: Hagwons don’t come cheap and parents are the last ones to forget this fact. Because of this, hagwon bosses will do whatever it takes to make the parents happy- even if it makes absolutely no sense to you as a teacher. A lot of hagwons have cameras installed in the classroom so parents and bosses can easily monitor the teacher’s behavior. If the parent doesn’t like something, they will let it be heard. Loudly.

Lack of communication: This isn’t exactly hagwon specific, it’s more a reflection on Korean culture in general, but many hagwons suffer from a severe lack of communication. Teachers find things out at the last minute, and this usually creates extra work, extra stress, and extra disdain for the workplace.

Stats for Hagwons

Hours per day: 5-12 (this varies, and I wouldn’t suggest taking a job that has you working more than 8 hour days with a maximum of 6 teaching hours)

Days per week: Usually 5 (Saturday and Sunday off)

Average salary: 2,000,000-2,300,000 won a month

Vacation: 10 days per year plus all Korean holidays

Classes: These vary, but usually no more than 15 students with smaller class sizes for younger students.

Have you worked for a hagwon in Korea? What do you think?

Teach English in Korea: What It’s Like to Work at a Hagwon is a post from: Farsickness

Today’s post, by Amber, an American who taught in Korea for over a year, is about what it’s like to work at an adult hagwon. 

When I arrived in Korea, there was no one waiting for me at the airport with a sign. I didn’t have housing arranged prior to my arrival. I drug my two giant suitcases through Incheon Airport, called my new boss on a payphone to let her know I’d arrived, and bought myself a bus ticket to Seoul. Once I got to the stop my boss had told me to go to, a man jumped from the crowd, asked if I was Amber, took my suitcases, and gestured for me to follow him to the hagwon where I’d be working for at least the next year.

I’ve heard from friend who worked with children in Korea that they were taken from the airport to their new apartment – one that the school provided for them. I was taken from the hagwon, where I briefly met my coworkers that first night, to a Korean love motel. Ah, love motels – cheap, sketchy places where most clients only pay for a few hours with someone they’ve just met at a bar or club. I stayed there for a week while training at my new hagwon and trying desperately to find a place to move into. And in case anyone is wondering, love motels don’t have thick enough walls.

The thing that I need to stress most about working for an adult hagwon is that no one holds your hand during those first few weeks in Korea, unless you have good fellow ex-pat coworkers – which I, fortunately, did. You get a housing stipend, not a furnished apartment provided by your school. And as far as training…let’s just say you will be teaching your first class when you’re still jet lagged and disoriented and barely familiar with any of the materials.

My training consisted of my boss – a very nice albeit hopelessly disorganized and high-strung woman of about forty – sitting with me to explain that “Some students just won’t like you,” and “Here’s how we handle complaints from students,” and “You need to learn these five different book series – this one on conversation, this for business students, this for lower level students, this for advanced students, and this one on Western culture for students that will be traveling. Oh, and if you have a student who wants something else, you just have to make your own lesson plan.” For a recent college graduate with no traveling or teaching experience, this was – to put it mildly – rather overwhelming.

I had gotten to Korea on a Wednesday and taught my first class that Friday. When I was chosen for the job, they’d assured me that I’d have a week of training since I was inexperienced, but they were so swamped with students that they had no choice but to toss me to the sharks early.

Each class lasts for fifty minutes, and they are one-to-one classes, which means every student is learning something completely different from every other student. I typically taught five to seven classes per day, and I worked a split shift. This meant that typically I taught 6:30AM-11AM and then 5PM-9PM. The middle of the day is free time. From what I understand, most adult hagwon jobs are like this. We have to teach when the students aren’t at work, and that means early morning and late night. Sounds terrible, right? It’s not nearly as bad as it sounds, and you do get used to the weirdness eventually. You get used to functioning with less sleep, and you find fun things to do during the day when the rest of your friends at other jobs are chasing children around a classroom. I, personally, used to catch up on my favorite American TV shows during that time.

A typical class went something like this. The student arrived – usually on time, but some were always tardy – and I greeted them with a bit of small talk to get them in the English frame of mind. Then we reviewed their homework together and discussed any mistakes they made. I kept track of any mistakes they made while speaking during the lesson on a word document – their lesson report. I’d print it after class and give it to them to study for next time. The middle part of the class depended on which topic the student was learning. Conversation students used a book series that had four chapters per unit, and we covered one chapter per class. Business students typically had specific things they wanted to learn for work – financial terms, vocabulary for business meetings, email writing. I also taught interview preparation, writing, travel English, and academic English.

So, what is expected of you as a one-to-one instructor for adults? It varies. Some students have very specific expectations, and if you don’t meet them, they will complain. They probably won’t talk to you directly, because Koreans are pretty passive in general when it comes to confrontation. But, they will complain to the secretary, who will tell your boss, who will not sugar coat anything when he or she tells you about it. One month after beginning my teaching, my boss told me I had my first complaint. “Mr. Lee says you’re not a good teacher. He told me that he doesn’t feel like he learns anything in your class and wants to switch to someone better.” It made me cry once I got home that afternoon, and the next time I saw that student, I wanted to smack him. But after a few incidents like that, when you realize some students expect you to work miracles and make them magically fluent in English, you develop thick skin and the criticism just bounces off. You also learn what the students tend to look for in a class. After six months of teaching, I never got anymore complaints.

Allow me to list for you all the pros and cons of a job like I had. Perhaps it will help anyone interested in Korea and teaching to decide whether or not it’s the right choice for you. It might seem like a crazy job, but I was ultimately happy that I decided to work there. I met some of the most interesting people and taught students aged 15-70+. I loved my coworkers. I got along well with my bosses. But it wasn’t all great. So, here goes:

Pros

Interesting students – I taught CEOs, athletes, bankers, teachers, college students, Samsung employees, elderly people, et c. I still keep in touch with some students now that I’m back in the US. I went to dinner with students, drank with them, and became friends with many. I enjoyed teaching 95% of them. Though I mentioned complaints above, I will say that I had maybe five students my entire time there who I didn’t like. Everyone else was great.

Freedom – I could pick my apartment, my bosses didn’t hover, and it was a generally relaxed environment to work in. I was blessed with the best coworkers – five other foreigners from the US and Canada – who I am certain I will keep in touch with for the rest of my life.

Free time during the day – Split shift is not easy at all, but if you have the right attitude, you can learn to enjoy it. I cherished my daytime free time. It meant I was never at the office for more than three or four hours at a time, which I loved. I could go for a walk and get some air during the day.

Great resources and facilities – I had my own office with a computer and desk plus a whiteboard. I never had to get any of my own supplies. We had a great printer and copier plus any books we could possibly want to teach from. The computers were all linked by a network so we could share materials with one another.

Cons

The hours – The hours, though I did like that free time during the day, were terrible. I was literally always tired. I learned that I got too groggy if I napped during the day, so I was functioning on maybe five hours of sleep per night. I’d get home close to ten, have dinner, get ready for bed, fall asleep by midnight, and be up at five again to get ready. I got sick a lot.

Vacation – Ten days. That’s it. And in order to take more than two off at a time, you have to tell them way in advance. My family visited for a week, and I was able to take five days because I told them five months in advance. But then they still made me teach a class during that time because the student refused to reschedule. It still counted as a vacation day.

Sick time – Eight hours. You are allowed to miss eight classes if you are sick. That’s it. I got severe tonsillitis that wouldn’t go away for three weeks. I had a 102 degree fever, no voice, and was extremely dehydrated because I couldn’t swallow, but they made me teach every single scheduled class. My boss avoided me during that time, perhaps worried I would complain (though I’m not one to complain in those situations) and the only time she spoke to me was to remind me that I had no more sick time to use because I had gotten the flu earlier in the year. Worse than that, a coworker had to get surgery and was forced to take his vacation time for his recovery.

Stats for Adult Hagwons

Hours per day – 5-7 during the week, 4 on the weekend, max is 8, min is 0 (there were days that all my classes canceled)

Days per week – Usually 6 (Sunday is the only day off)

Average salary – 21,000-25,000 per year, paid once per month.

Vacation – 10 days per year plus all Korean holidays

Classes – One on one

Author Bio: Amber is a 24-year-old aspiring author. She graduated in 2011 with a degree in English. She enjoys traveling and hopes to one day tour Europe and Asia. She taught English in South Korea for sixteen months and is now back in the United States. Currently she is applying for jobs as a programs assistant at university study abroad departments, because she hopes to share her experiences living abroad with students hoping to study abroad as well as to help incoming international students adjust to life in America. If you have any questions about living or working abroad, or further inquiries about teaching at an adult hagwon, contact her at [email protected]. You can also check out her blog at http://amberauthor.wordpress.com/.

Teach English in Korea: What It’s Like to Work at an Adult Hagwon is a post from: Farsickness

Today’s post is about how to find a public school job in Korea and is written by Clare, a middle school teacher in Bundang. 

In the current economy finding a job in South Korea has become very competitive. University graduates are fleeing their home countries due to lack of jobs, and are landing upon Korean shores in the hopes of finding work here for a year or two.

Because of this getting a job in Korea is tough, and finding a coveted public school position in Korea is even tougher. So if you do decide to apply you should be prepared for all eventualities.

Below I have written five top tips that one should consider when applying for a public school job in Korea. But before you read on you should first decide on just where you want to teach in Korea, as this will greatly affect your application process.

Korea is largely governed by three different educational programs: SMOE (Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education), GEPIK (Gyeonggi English Program in Korea) and EPIK, (English Program in Korea). SMOE covers the Seoul area, GEPIK covers the Gyeonggi-do area, (which is the area surrounding Seoul) and EPIK covers the rest of Korea.

So once you have decided upon the area that you want to head to in Korea, you can then begin the application process. Here are five of my top tips for successfully finding a public school job in Korea through GEPIK and SMOE. They may seem basic, but they are all very important to remember.

1.You must have a teaching certificate.

This is a relatively new change that wasn’t in place when I first came to Korea back in 2008, but due to the recent cut backs in the public school systems both SMOE and GEPIK can now afford to be picky. Therefore in order to work in a public school in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do you need a 120 hour teaching certificate.

 2. Go through a recruiter.

Whilst it is possible to get a position by applying directly to the program itself, I wouldn’t recommend it, especially if you are a new teacher still living in your home country. This is because recruiters can guide you through the entire process from beginning to end. They help you out with your visa, they proof-read your application package and give you advice where needed. Some recruiters even welcome you at the airport and give you cell-phones and other goodies!

I personally used ‘Korea Connections’ for my SMOE application and ‘Korvia’ for my GEPIK application, and was very happy with both of their services.

3. Do not use multiple recruiters when applying through SMOE.

This is very important to remember. If you do apply through multiple recruiters with SMOE then your application will be rejected, and I don’t even know if you can reapply later or not.

However you can apply through multiple recruiters for GEPIK. This is because with GEPIK the school hires you, and with SMOE the education board hires you.

This is a point of confusion for teachers, and you should be aware of this before you start applying for jobs.

4. Finding a ‘great’ public school is difficult, but not entirely impossible.

It is a common truth in public school teaching that your school, co-teachers and location is random and you have no control over where you will be placed. This is true for Seoul, and if you do decide to teach in the capital then you won’t find out your location until after orientation, and by then of course it is too late to back out!

However, you can choose your school with GEPIK. So long as the school agrees to hire you then you can take a position anywhere that you want in Gyeonggi-do. After four years in Seoul I have made the move to GEPIK and I couldn’t be happier. Having control over location and schools has really made a huge difference to my time here in Korea.

5. Don’t read too much into the fear-mongering.

I want to end on a brief note about the cutbacks currently taking place in Seoul and apparently now in Gyeonggi-do. Because although I think it’s important to be aware that the landscape of public school teaching in Korea is changing, I also think it’s important to not read too many stories on the internet.

I advise you to only take note of the things that your GEPIK coordinator tells you, or of what your contact at SMOE passes down to you, or of what is written on their official websites. Because while sites like ‘daveseslcafe’ have their worth, they also help breed untruths based on misinformation and gossip.

Applying for a public school job may seem daunting but I think as long as you remember the above tips then you shouldn’t go too wrong. Utilize your recruiter well, keep asking them questions, and remember that they work for you! If you do all of this then you should have a good year here.

Author Bio: Clare has been an expat and teacher for 7 years. She is currently teaching EFL to middle schoolers in Bundang, Gyeonggi-do. When she isn’t teaching she’s updating her blog at: http://www.haiyasse.tumblr.com.

Teaching English in Korea: How To Get a Public School Job is a post from: Farsickness

This is the first post in a new series about teaching English in Korea. Although the topic has been covered many times in the blogosphere I still get a lot of questions about how to get a job here and what it is like. Because of this, over the next couple of months I will be featuring posts, written by both myself and others, that will answer the most common questions about how to get a good teaching job, as well as what it is actually like to live and work in Korea.

There are two major job markets for teaching English in Korea. One is working in the public school system through a program called EPIK. The other main option, which I will talk about today, is working at a private school or hagwon.

A hagwon is a private language academy or preschool. They offer English language education to young students before they start Korean elementary school, after school classes for elementary to high school students, or instruction for adults looking to improve their language ability for work reasons or otherwise.

Starting the search for a hagwon job can be very overwhelming, especially if it is your first time working in Korea and you are unfamiliar with the system. While weeding through the job postings can be intimidating there are a few things you can do to make weeding out the good from the bad a little easier. Here are six tips that can help make your job search a little easier and hopefully land you a great job teaching in Korea.

 1. Use Dave’s…with caution

Dave’s ESL Cafe is far and away the most popular website for teaching English abroad. The job posting board is a wonderful resource. Here you can browse job listings and get in contact with recruiters. I found both my jobs using Dave’s. The message boards, though, need to be taken with a proverbial grain of salt. While they can provide a lot of invaluable information about different schools and life in Korea, many of the regular posters are incredibly negative. If you take everything they say as true, you’ll probably start wondering why anyone would want to come to Korea to teach. I promise you, it’s not nearly as bad as they make it out to be. 

2. Know the current job trends

Do your research. Read blogs, look at the job posts at Dave’s, or get in contact with people currently in Korea to find out what is currently the standard in terms of pay, vacation time, and teaching hours. Currently, a “good” hagwon job would be about eight hour days, teaching around 5-6 classes a day with 10 days of paid vacation, a starting salary of around 2.1 million won a month, and a month of paid severance upon completion of the contract. However, because of saturation in the job market, many hagwons are trying to take advantage of English teachers. Work days are getting longer and pay is getting lower. Say no to any workday over 8 hours. Trust me, it’s not worth the money. 

3. Don’t put blind faith into a recruiter

Most hagwons do their hiring through third party recruiters. These people are paid for each job they fill so, while they may seem like they are working for you, they aren’t. If a recruiter keeps sending you jobs that don’t fulfill your wants or needs don’t me afraid to say no and to remind them of what you want. In addition, although the recruiters might not like it, don’t just work with one company. Working with a few recruiters will allow you to see the most job prospects. 

4. Read the hagwon blacklist

Once you’ve received a job offer or interview take a look at the Hagwon Black List. This website takes user submissions and lists schools who fail to abide to their contracts. While things may have changed, if a hagwon is on the black list (if you’re looking at a job with a chain make sure you look for the correct campus) I would err on the side of safety and not agree to an interview. 

5. Talk to a current teacher

Before you sign a contract ask for the email address of a current teacher. Send an email to this person and ask for the lowdown on the work environment, students, coworkers, and management. Also ask about the location of the school and condition of the housing if provided my your school. You might not get the entire story but you’ll be able to catch any huge red flags.

6. Don’t sign a contract until you are sure

Once you’ve completed the interview process, checked the blacklist, and talked to a current teacher you are almost done. Your prospective school will send you a contract to sign. Go over this carefully. Make sure that everything including salary, housing, vacation, flights, pension, severance, and work hours are clearly stated. You can also post your contract on Dave’s and teachers who have been in the ESL game for years can go over it for you and check for any irregularities. If you find something that you want changed DO NOT sign anything until a new copy has been sent to you. Don’t rely on them to change it after the fact. Do not sign anything until the contract fits your needs and expectations.

Another thing to remember is that the job that you end up with could be dependent on your level of education. If you have an MA in Teaching English as a Foreign Language, you will have access to jobs that those with a bachelor’s degree and TESOL certification will not. As a result, those who have advanced degrees on the subject can command higher wages and apply for jobs at more prestigious institutions. Jobs within universities and corporations sometimes offer better wages, but always research each individual institution to see how they treat their employees.

There are a lot of English language hagwons in Korea. The jobs can range from absolutely horrible to fantastic. Remember to do your research, don’t rush into anything, and that there a thousand other jobs out there. If it doesn’t seem great, something better will come along soon.

Have you taught in English at a hagwon in Korea? What are your ESL job hunting tips?

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Teaching English in Korea: How to Get a Good Hagwon Job is a post from: Farsickness