This will be a guide to help you get through the long process of applying to teach in Korea. This guide will only cover the American perspective (unless someone else wants to contribute) and really focus on getting a public school job with EPIK/SMOE.
How to get to Korea / How to teach in Korea / How to work for EPIK/SMOE:
Let's take a moment to talk about what you should already have before you start reading this guide. Here are the minimum requirements for teaching in Korea:
- An undergraduate degree. Any BA or BS will do. If you have a masters degree, you will make more.
- No criminal record. Korea is very serious about you having a near perfect slate.
- No drug abuse. Few other countries are as strict as Korea is with drugs. If drugs are apart of your life, don't bother coming here.
1. The first step: public or private?
Don't be confused by the word "private." Yes, there are traditional private schools here, but what most Koreans are referring to when they say private are hagwons (or 학원).
Hagwons are private businesses that teach English to students after school. Instead of taking a kid to soccer or football practice, parents take their children to these businesses to learn more English.
While Hagwons sound nice, I would really recommend that you stay away. Watch this video from EatYourKimchi.com: Click Here. It explains exactly why you want to get a public school job (and ignore their recommendation for Korvia).
Some of the reasons to get a public school job include 14 sick days, 20 something days of paid vacation, normal working hours, and overtime pay. You also have a secure job if you work for the public school system. Hagwons go out of business all the time. I have heard stories of people arriving in Korea to find that their Hagwon had shut down and said nothing to the, now stranded, native teacher. Scary thought.
If you do go public, which you should, you will be working for EPIK or GEPIK or SMOE (which are all really the same thing). This are the government sponsored English programs in Korea. These are also the Korean programs that will orientate you and place you in your schools.
2. The second step: finding a recruiter or applying directly.
Assuming you have already decided that you are ready to come to Korea to teach, the first step is finding a recruiter or applying directly. Seeing as some programs are a pain in the butt to apply directly to, I really recommend you get a recruiter. A recruiter will work hard to make sure you get what you want and they also have a rapport with certain agencies that you don't.
The recruiter I used to get to Korea was ESLstarter.com. I can't recommend them enough! If you want someone who speaks English and has placed thousands of people around the world, ESLstarter is your best bet. They know what they are doing and made life really easy for me. They also take care of certain things before you arrive in Korea so that you don't have to deal with them. I was surrounded by other teachers who were still swimming in a sea of paperwork even after arriving in Korea.
3. If you want to teach in Seoul
I initially did not want to teach in Seoul. My first choice was Busan, because of the beaches of course. Looking back now, I am so glad that I came to Seoul. That said, getting to Seoul takes a little extra effort if you are going to be working a public school job.
To work in Seoul, as a public school teacher, you must have a TESOL/TEFL certificate or a teaching degree. The certificates are not hard to get, but will take a little effort to finish. Depending on how you get this certificate done (whether online or in a classroom), you can pretty much expect the classwork to rival that of a low level college course. Nothing to worry about.
I got my TEFL through Norwood English and had a great time doing it. The entire course was online and through email. You don't have to, but I knocked mine out in about a month. Norwood is also one of the most affordable TEFL certificates you can get. Check them out.
4. The paperwork
First, I had no idea what an apostille was. No one does before you start this process...so don't feel bad! Basically it is an internationally recognized notary. For me, in Oklahoma, all I had to do was go to my capitol building and visit the Secretary of State's office. Also, you need your stuff notarized first before you can get it apostilled.
Ok, you have decided to work for EPIK and you have found yourself a recruiter. The next step in this is process will take a lot of patience, persistence, and time. I can not say for sure what paperwork your recruiter will tell you to jump on first, but here is my recommendation (which I strongly suggest you follow despite what your recruiter is telling you):
** COPY and SCAN of all of this stuff! You will need it again in Korea! **
1. Get your FBI check now! Don't wait. This thing can take up to 12 weeks to go through and you don't want it holding you back. Also, don't forget to ask the FBI to notarize it for you. Finding a notary that will notarize an FBI check is tough.
2. Get a state background check while you wait for the FBI check. The state level check can be a place holder for your FBI check, but thanks to some dumb American it will not take the place of an FBI check. Also, ask them to notarize it for you. I just went to my local investigations bureau and got this done (I am from Oklahoma so it was the OSBI building at 63rd and the Broadway extension). If you have no idea where this is, just google "(your state) police background check office."
3. Fill out the EPIK/SMOE application. This is a no brainer, but get this done asap.
4. Get your passport sorted. This is also kind of a no brainer, and shouldn't really be the 4th step, but without your passport you aren't going anywhere.
5. Certificate of Residency from the IRS. That's right, you have to get a separate form to prove you are a resident of the states. Basically, as a US citizen, you are exempt from paying Korean taxes and this form is the key. Here is the form: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8802.pdf and here are the instructions: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8802.pdf .This form also takes FOREVER to come in. Start the process of getting this form now. (If it doesn't come in before you leave for Korea, don't panic. Someone can mail it to you and you can turn it in later. Some schools will assume you have this certificate and not tax you and some schools will tax you until you give this certificate to them...it just depends.)
6. Get a copy of your ORIGINAL BA/BS degree (or whatever other degrees you have) apostilled.
7. Get passport photos. You will need these in Korea so get about 6 made.
8. (For Seoul) Prepare a lesson plan. You will need to make a lesson plan for the EPIK application. Don't worry though, there are guidelines at the back of the application.
9. Write a personal essay. The essay guidelines are also at the back of the EPIK application
10. Get your TEFL/TESOL/CELTA apostilled and copied. This isn't a requirement, but I would recommend doing it anyway. You never know who will ask for it.
11. Sealed copies of your transcripts (and a couple unsealed). No one may actually ask for these, but you should have them.
5. Wait
There is a lot of "hurry up and wait" with this process. You will think time is running out, and then they will ask you to correct or send another document. My advice: don't worry! I honestly didn't think I was coming until the last minute. My FBI bg check took forever to get to me and I didn't purchase my plane ticket until about two weeks before I left.
6. Pack
