Follow-up and Links for Korea

While I have left South Korea, I still have friends and contacts there. Though Korea wasn't the place for me, a lot of people have better experiences there than I did.

If you find yourself going to, or thinking about going to Korea, but have questions/fears/ or simply want some advice on how to choose a school, what to look out for before signing a contract, or how to travel, feel free to ask.

I realize I disappeared for a long time--my computer died and when the replacement came I just didn't have the interest in starting up again... However, most of that was stress and my own bad experiences.

After having some time away, I can more easily remember the good things.

The reason I am starting this up again is that I will be leaving for Japan this December and will be blogging about my experiences (hopefully this time I can keep it up ;)

Here are some great links, I forgot to post them before:

For Travel in Korea:

These are for the trains. You can choose your start and destination, it will give you the fastest route and how long and how much the charge is. The first is the main site, if you click the picture you ge the second. You can link either, but it only works on Internet Explorer (No Mozilla).
http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/ena/TR/TR_EN_5_1_4.jsp
http://www.smrt.co.kr/program/cyberStation/main2.jsp?lang=e

This one is for buses. You can enter the starting point and destination, or just zoom on an area and choose the 'Route Search' tab. (*Note: Buses aren't always kept up to date and they this site isn't 100% trust worthy... nothing is here with buses.)
http://bus.congnamul.com/SeoulRouteWebApp/view_english/map.jsp

This is for the KTX--fast train to Busan and other places. You can go here to pre-order tickets once you have your alien card.
http://www.korail.com/

For Learning Korean:

Told you before, the alphabet is easy. You will need some basic understanding of simple Korean words/phrases, but this is the best site I've found.
http://ecamp.cyberkorea.ac.kr/
It's actually really good, but if you want better you have to pay for classes, or find the free ones. It also needs IE.

For Discussion Class Ideas:

These are just links with Discussion Topics and Questions in case you need some ideas.
http://iteslj.org/questions/
http://www.btinternet.com/~ted.power/discuss.html
This is a site where it talks about laws that schools are supposed to follow with their foreign teachers.
http://www.efl-law.com/recruiters&the-law.php

Interviewing with the school

Since my friend kept asking me about the interview and what they asked, I thought I would post something to give you an idea of what to expect.

Mind you, the school knows what the recruiters tell them and what's on the resume and information you send. Which is why I recommend sending a cover letter with your resume.

To be honest, my interviews were rather simple. Since they already had my information, they asked about certain jobs, the experience, what I did, what I learned. Mostly it was just the principle telling me about the school and the job and what I needed to do, but...

What did you study for your degree? Where/when did you receive it from?
How long have you been considering teaching in Korea?
Why are you interested in Korea?
What do you know about Korea?
Have you previously traveled to Asia (Korea)? Where? When?
Do you have teaching experience? When? What age?
Do you have certification? What kind?
How soon can you have the Visa documents ready? Do you have them already?

Basically, all you need to do is be calm. Talk slowly, but not too slowly. Don't make it sound like you're talking to a three year old, but don't talk like they are your friends either. Speak clearly and use simple sentences (don't go on and on about nothing "like this... like that"). Normally you will be talking to a Korean whose English is limited.

Make sure you have a list of questions you want to ask them prepared before your interview.
How many (if any) sick days you get? Paid or not?
When/how often do you get paid?
Do they buy the ticket or reimburse you?

ALSO, be sure to ask if you can speak to one of the current ESL teachers! This is some good advice I got from my recruiter. The teachers will give you an honest account of the school, apartment, and city. Should you decide to take the job and keep their contact information, they can also be a big help in preparing for your trip.

Important questions for teachers could be:

What do they think of the school/principle/other teachers?
Location of housing in comparison to the school? If far, the cost of commute.
What is the state of the living conditions?
What furnishings were supplied?
Have they heard of any other ESL teacher's having had issues with the school or payment?
What is the dress code? Is there one?
How hard was it to open a bank account? Get a phone? Did the school help?
Can they e-mail you any pictures of the school/apartment?
What is the teaching style? Do you write lesson plans from scratch/work from books/etc?