What To Pack For Teaching In Korea
When you’re thinking of coming over here, or have already decided to, one of the things you may be wondering is what to pack for teaching in Korea.
Well there are a few things you should consider, so let’s kick things off with this video where I break down what’s important and what’s not:
Right, so there’re a few good tips in there. Now feel free to read on for some more details…
What To Pack For Teaching English In Korea?
It’s really tough to consider what to bring with you when making such a big move. The tendency you most likely have is to bring everything you possibly can. While of course having all your old stuff in your new life may be appealing, there are a couple of reasons why it’s not completely necessary and in some cases IMPOSSIBLE:
1) You’re Limited To What You Can Bring With You On The flight
Most airlines only allow of around 23kg check-in luggage, or 30kg if you’re lucky. This is pretty much one suitcase. Good luck fitting all your possessions in there 😉
You’re going to be highly limited in what you can bring so you need to focus on what’s most important. You CAN have some things shipped in after you’ve arrived… but it’s EXTREMELY expensive and often only arrives months and months after you. Honestly it’s just better to buy stuff here because…
2) You Can Get Nearly Everything You Need In Korea
Like I mentioned in the video, Korea is a developed country and you have access to everything you could possibly need, save a few odd things here and there.
Despairing over the fact you can’t fit your favorite sweater in your bag is not going to be a big deal when you see the awesome fashion Korea has and decide want to replace your whole wardrobe anyway.
There are a few things you might struggle to find (we’ll get to that in a sec) but honestly don’t stress about not being able to bring everything… You’ll be here for a year and will have plenty of time (and money) to replace the stuff you can’t bring over.
That being said, what should you pack for Korea?
What You Should Pack
Season specific clothing
If you come in winter bring warm clothes and if you come in summer bring your beach things. If you focus on what season you’re going to be arriving in and bring clothes appropriate for it then you should be able to fit in everything you need to keep yourself going for at least a quarter of the year.
As you can see from the way I’m dressed in the video… It gets COLD here in winter so a big jacket is a must if you’re arriving in mid winter. If you’re arriving before it gets too cold don’t worry about buying a big jacket until you’re here – there a thousands of options available here.
Teaching Clothes
You want to make sure you have at least a few outfits for teaching as you’ll likely not going to have time to shop around before you dive head first into classes.
I’d recommend dressing up smarter than what’s really necessary then toning it down a bit if everyone else dresses causally. I like to keep it classy which doesn’t hurt when you ask for favors from your school, as they they see you put the extra effort in.
For guys:
- Smart shirt
- Khakis or other smart pants
- Tie and jacket if you wna to really dress up
- … and slippers. But don’t worry about bringing these it’s probably the first thing you’re going to buy here.
Girls:
- Skirts or smart pants
- Blouses that aren’t revealing around the shoulders or neck
- Also slippers 😀
Things You Can’t Find In Korea
Then there are a few things which can be difficult to find. These are usually not super important things but a few of them include:
- Aerosol deodorant (hard to find)
- Fitted sheets
- Some larger sized clothes and shoes can be hard to find
- Some people don’t like the toothpaste here so you could bring a few tubes of this
There are probably a few others I haven’t mentioned and you can always do a quick search of Dave’s ESL to see if there are any other things people can’t find. The one that really makes me sad is the lack of cheese, which isn’t exactly something you can bring on your flight over!
Alright so that’s a quick guide on what to pack for teaching in Korea. Let me know if you have any more questions and I’ll make sure to reply. Also free to contact me about getting started teaching – we have a network of recruiters who can get you started and a group that guides you through the entire process.
Speak to you soon!