FAQ'S - Working in Korea

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Q. Can I have a university teaching job?
A. University positions are considered the most competitive market for teachers here.  University professor typically have masters degrees and years of teaching experience.  There are a number of programs (private language institutes) that are run by Universities that have less stringent requirements for teachers.  These are much like the typical after school programs or kindergarten programs though.  What I might recommend for you, because you don't have any formal teaching experience is a public high-school or middle high here in Korea.   This is most likely a more feasible option for you and we will be able to make this happen for you.  I don't want to discourage you from pursuing your dream of teaching University, but it is pretty competitive here a lot like it is at home.  Very few Universities use recruiting services as well, so they are pretty hard to connect with. 

Q. Where do I get the contract mentioned on the Application form?
A. The contract is provided by the school that you choose to work for.  Each school has a separate contract.  It is the agreement that you and the school make together.  After you interview with a school, and they offer you a position, they will send you a contract for your review.   We will also look at this contract and make sure that everything is covered that should be and nothing looks fishy.

Q. What salary can I expect as a first year inexperienced teacher?
A. A salary usually remains constant throughout the year, unless you have an unusual job that offers extra incentive.  A typical salary for a new teacher is usually 2.0-2.2 million won.  Depending on the school and location, this salary can increase.

Q. Do you think, as my first year, that it would be more ideal to have a structured curriculum?
A. This depends on your personality.  Some people like to have complete creative freedom and to run their classroom the way they like.  For most a solid, provided curriculum makes things a lot easier.  If you are a first year teacher, without much training and little experience working with children, we would definitely recommend accepting a job with a more structured curriculum.

Q. How do Holidays work in Korea?
A. Holidays depend on the Korean calendar and all national holidays are paid days off.  You can get a Korean Calendar once you arrive which will have all the holidays with the number listed in RED.  Every year the days in which the national holidays change so be sure to check before booking a holiday or weekend getaway. 
 

Q. Do I get paid for my holiday time?
A. In the vast majority of cases you will be paid for your holidays.  It would be a very unusual situation if you were not paid for your normal school sponsored holidays.  For extra time off not outlined in your contract or considered a government sponsored holiday, or “red day,” you will most likely not be paid. 

Q. Approximately how long does the process take from the time I send you my application to actually being in Korea?
A. This is entirely up to when you would like to start.  The process can go very quickly once you turn in your documents, or it can take months.  Sometimes people come to Korea after seven days of starting the process, and other times we have known they are coming for a year.  It is really up to you, we have job openings each month of the year.  It is best if you can give us a window of time (ie: “Sometime in August”).  A window allows us to provide you with the most and best options.  We can still usually handle working with specific dates it is just a little bit more difficult to find the best opportunity.

Q. What is considered overtime?
A. Any actual teaching time over 120 hours is considered overtime by Korean law.  You have to be very careful when calculate your actual teaching time though.  Your employer when count only the time you are actually in a classroom teaching as teaching hours.  They will exclude breaks, lunch, and passing periods and then calculate your teaching hours. 

Q. Why is my overtime pay so similar to my normal hourly wage after breaking down my salary?
A. This is one of the mysteries of the industry.  In western countries, and in other professions in Korea, overtime pay is definitely substantially more.  With foreign teachers in Korea, the bar seems to have been set lower and is now somewhat acceptable.  Average overtime payment runs from about 17,000 won per hour to 25,000 won per hour.  The overtime wage should be outlined in your contract.

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