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Who should do it?

Before we get into how to teach English in Korea let’s take a look at who should do it in the first place.

There are two types of people in this world. Okay, there aren’t just two but humour me for now.

1) The first is the person who’s always known exactly what they want to do with their lives and follow their exact planned trajectory to a tee. I guess it could be nice to be one of these people.

2) Then there are the rest of us who either have no idea what they want to do or they want to do EVERYTHING and never quite settle on anything. From my experience the vast majority of people fall into this category.

The reason I mention this is because teaching English in a place like Korea is usually not on most people’s to-do list. BUT, having said that, every single person that I’ve spoken to or heard about says it’s the best thing they’ve ever done.

If you’re already decided this is something you want to do or are just interested in what the process is like, carry on reading about how to teach English in Korea. If you have no idea why anyone would want to go to Korea, then you can watch the video: Why Teach English in Korea? 5 Reasons It’s Awesome

So here’s the video where I break down the process and what to pack:

Hope you enjoyed that!

So here’s the full list of what you need to get started…

How To Teach English In Korea: The Application Process

What You Need

There are a few things you need to get started:

1) A bachelor’s degree in any subject – It doesn’t have to be in English

2) A TEFL course – At least a 100 hour course and nowadays they want at least 20 of them to be in-class hours

3) Have a clear criminal record

4) Be a native English speaker from one of the designated countries, which includes USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the UK

You’re going to have to provide a few extra documents throughout the application process as well as certify your degree. The EPIK program or your recruiter will break it down for you

How To Get Started

1) Find a recruiter – If you fit the criteria then all you need to do is get in touch with one of the many recruiters whose full time job is to get you over there and teaching as soon as possible, free of charge. The Korean government pays them for this so make sure you choose a legit recruiter who doesn’t charge you anything.

OR

2) Go straight through the EPIK Program, which is the official government program which brings over about 1000 teachers every year. Most recruiters will probably set you up to go through the EPIK intake anyway, so it’s up to you to decide between a recruiter or an EPIK coordinator.

I went through a recruiter, Teach Korea based in Cape Town, and they were really great – friendly, helpful and got it done.

You Can Be In Korea In Less Than 6 Months From Now

Like I mentioned in the video, it took me less than 6 months from not even knowing anything about the job or how to teach English in Korea, to the point I was packing and getting ready to fly out.

Your life could take a complete 180 degrees change in direction  (in a good way) in that space of time.

Then the next step is…

What To Pack

So, if you checked out the video, you saw me go through the stuff I’m taking. You aren’t going to wasteland with nothing available and you’re making a great salary to buy things, so you don’t have to take everything you’ll ever need across with you.

There are a few things I would recommend though:

1) Warm stuff – The spring intake has newbies arrive to sometimes subzero temperatures, snow and overall pretty damn cold conditions. You’ll need a jacket, gloves, beanie’s etc.

2) All your cool gadgets – You can obviously get the very best in Korea but if you have a laptop and other electronic gear you should definitely bring that across. I have my video camera stuff, microphone, laptop, graphics tablet and Kindle. I’ll also take my phone, which I’ll just use with wifi until I pick up one that works with the network over there.

3) Documents – All your important docs, including TEFL certificate, flight ticket and passport (obviously).

4) Smart clothes – Although you should be able to get whatever clothes you need over there, it’s best to bring some smart clothes to look sharp in when you start the job. You can always buy more but at least a couple of formal outfits to keep you going.

So there you have it, a basic breakdown of the process to start teaching English in Korea.

Have any questions? Leave them in the comments section below 🙂

Teaching in Korea

Tags: Applying, How to teach English in Korea, Korea, Teach English, What to pack