I hear of a lot of foreigners who come here to teach and don't last more than a month or two. A number of factors contribute to this, but I think there are two things that really make the difference whether you'll last the contract year or quit before it finishes.
The first is knowing yourself. Are you ready to live in a culture different than your own? Do you enjoying working with children? Are you patient and willing to be flexible? Do you adapt well to change and new situations? Ask yourself a lot of questions about leaving your home country, where life is easy and you can cope without much assistance and then decide whether you can enter a strange new world where even going to eat a restaurant may be impossible without a little help or imagination.
The second is that people don't find out enough information about where they will be teaching. Every school is different and every place you might live can be as well. Making sure you do enough research is the difference between heaven and hell when it comes to working in Korea.
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There are a few things that you should ask yourself before you even leave your home country. I am very cautious about trying new things so I made sure I found out as much as I could about teaching in Korea. Check out my links section for helpful information on Korea. The Canadian Government Web Site is very useful, even if you're not a Canuck. It has alot of useful information and links about the current conditions of living as a foreigner in Korea as well as general travel tips. I highly recommend you check it out.
First, ask yourself a few questions about where you want to teach in Korea.
1. What size city do I want to live in?
I chose to live in a small city, because its what I am use to. Larger cities have more ammenities, but are more crowded. The smaller the city, of course, there is signicicantly less to do socially and you might find it hard shopping for your daily needs. You might find it a long hike to the nearest decent sized city to do even the simplest things, like going to the movies. For newbies, I'd recommend living in a decent size city, even if you're a country person like myself. You have greater access to Western Style food, whether it be in a grocery store or restaurant, you will find more things to do and hopefully have more access to foreigners and people who speak English.
2. What type school do I want to work at?
Every type of school has its advantages and disadvantages and I'll get to that more when I talk about teaching in different schools. A lot of newbie teachers are intimidated by the thoughts of teaching in a public school as their first teaching job in Korea. Don't be! Public schools have a lot of advantages for a new teacher that private schools do not and tend to be a more stable contract. Both public and private have their advantages and disadvatages, so check out the teaching section on them where I go into what you can expect.
3. What size school do I want to work at?
Every size has its advantages. A large private school usually has many foreigners working there, so you won't feel as isolated as in a small school where you may be the only foreigner working there. This can cause real problems if the Korean owner and/or manager doesn't have a good command of the English language or if problems arise between you and your boss. Of course, smaller schools where you are the only teacher also have their advantages and you may get treated better than a larger school where you are just another face in the crowd.
4. What age of students do I want to teach?
Most ESL schools here concentrate on elementary students and up, but basically their are schools of every age group. Do you love kids? Or do you want to work with adults? Alot of schools also have kindergartens, where you teach really young kids, 4 and up, and that can be a whole different can of worms. After you have taught here awhile, you will often find you nitch, ie., you're favorite age group to teach. I love teaching English, but sometimes it can be daunting. It really is important to find the age groups you find you can teach the best and enjoy teaching.
A lot of this is unknown of course if you've never taught before. So, you need to really look at yourself and your own experiences and decide what might be the best situation. Do you get along well with kids besides your siblings. If you have previous experience working with children, even if it was not in a teaching environment, this might tell you a few things about yourself. Do you enjoying spending time alone or do you need a network of friends? Isolation can be a big problem here, especially if you're in a small town and you're the only foreigner around. There is a reason that Korea is hiring ESL instructors. The majority of the population has no or little English ability (talking maybe 80-90%) and you might feel daunted in a small community where only the people you work with speaks English well. Sure you can learn Korean and interact more, but depending on your teaching schedule you may not have the time.
Make sure you really think these questions through before you make the leap. It really is important and can make the differnece between your teaching experience here being a joy or a burden.
2. What size school will I be teaching at?
3. Will I have to teach classes outside the school?
4. Is overtime manadatory?
5. What are the ages of the students that I will be teaching?
6. What hours each day will I be teaching?
7. How many days a week will I teach?
8. What will my living arrangements be?
9. Are my travel expenses to and from school covered?
10. How many students will be in the average class?
This is by no means all the questions you should ask, but it should get you started. If they hedge on any of them I'd be suspicious. If you want some more question ideas, feel free to email me and I'll see what I can come up with.
1. Perscriptions: Korea's medical system is highly developed, but there are certain drugs you just can't get here. Make sure you pack a years supply of anything you just have to have.
2. Clothes: Although Koreans tend to be the largest of the Asian people, if you are a large individual like me you might want to make sure you have lots of clothes. also, don't forget that Korea does get cold in the winter so pack your cold weather clothes, too.
3. Personal Hygene Items: Again, Korea has alot of these things like tooth paste, shampoo, etc., but if you prefer a certain brands bring a year supply. Oh yeah, BRING DEODORANT! Haven't found it here yet, not sure where they hide it.
Take note: If you bring anything that requires being plugged in you will have to buy an adaptor. Korean electrical systems run on 220 and not 110. Also, the plugs are a different shape here. You can get pretty much anything here that you can get at home and it is reasonably priced. I say unless it has sentimental value, leave it at home and buy a replacementt here.
Most contracts give you an apartment to live in while you work for them. Make sure you have an air conditioner.
Summers here are hot!
Your electric bill might soar, but trust me you will think it is worth every penny.
Korea has four seasons, although I find the transition from one to the other a bit abrupt compared to Canada. Bring clothes for all kinds of weather, although, it doesn't snow much compared to most places in Canada it does it get cold. So, make sure to pack your winter wear. You can buy things here, but again size may be an issue.
Make sure your apartment will be warm enough in the winter as well. I know of atleast of one case of enimia and another of numonia because of poor heating in apartments.
