Now I myself a recruiter, a very informative website www.teacheslkorea.com that reviews and answers pretty much everything I wanted to know and more. It gave me the confidence to help my mom and loved ones get comfortable with my decision. For all they knew was what the news was talking about N. Korea. And with the news instilling fear on an around the clock basis, what good things did anyone really know about S. Korea, other than the Olympics being in Seoul in the recent past. Besides this website, I had not much to go on. The more my mom talked to others, the more she heard about other kids going and that made her feel better. The unknown is frightful. I understand. I wouldn't put myself in an unsafe situation so I think that is convincing enough. I knew little but knew I wasn't in arms way.
The next couple of weeks I emailed Michelle, with questions and to just check in. I needed to keep my foot in the door and show my eagerness to get out of FL and start a new life. It was a waiting time and had to try to be patient. I had in mind by Oct i would have a job and be there by Nov. By end of Sept. I started to lose my mind.. I couldn't sit around anymore. I worked all summer, putting in time for 6 months worth of work. I didn't want to spend my money on vaca although I really needed one. I want to save for my future and for this trip. I just really wanted to start a life, if work was the way that is what I would do.
During this time Michelle also sent out an email about job opts with EPIK (public school system in Korea). My mind still set on private. But this info was very interesting.
| Public school | Private Language Institute called Hagwons | |
| Public Ministry of Education | Private Individual or Corporation | |
| Max 28-35 (Your partner teacher will accompany you to each class and help you with any problems that may arise.) | Max 8~16 | |
| 1,800,000~2,800,000 Korean Won. The salary looks lower or similar to that of private schools' but it is not. It is a net amount since you do not pay income taxes. With the exception of Canadians, all EPIK teachers, regardless of GETs level, are exempt from paying Korean income tax for the first two years of their employment in Korea. There will be 4.5 % pension contribution, based on your base salary, from your employer. At present, EPIK GETs holding American, Canadian, Australian citizenship are eligible for a lump-sum pension refund upon successfully completing their contract and departing Korea. Therefore, assuming that a private language school you are considering do not contribute the pension plan, you need to multiply the public school base salary by 1.045 (if your base salary is 2,100,000 you multiply the amount by 1.045==2,194,500 will be your base salary). If you are not Canadian citizen, that is your NET SALARY since you do not pay taxes (to make the calculation simple, other deductions, such as medical insurance, were not take into consideration). In public schools, overtimes are available (DEPENDS ON A LOCATION, 2-6 hours per week, there is a slight possibility there would be no over time but it is rare not to have overtime) and overtime rates are higher than private language institutions. You are teaching fewer classes than private language institutions; therefore, it is easier to do some overtime. During summer camp and winter camp, you will have additional overtimes and you would be paid higher rates (it is depends on a location). Some people think that private schools pay a bit higher salary than public school jobs, but we do not agree. At the end of your contract you would make at least the same amount of money that you would make at a private language school, or make higher or make a lot higher salary (again it is depends on the location you are going to work-in some areas a lot of overtimes are available). |
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| Yes. A severance package (contract completion bonus) equal to 1 month's salary will be deposited into your account at the end of your contract. The severance pay is in addition to your last months' wages. | Yes | |
| 3.3% - 5% for Canadians. | 3.3 %-7% personal income tax deduction and other deductions such as residential taxes. We have seen some institutions deduct 11%-14% for various deductions. Some schools tend to deduct more than government guide line. | |
| All nationalities (excluding Canadians and Irish) are exempt from paying taxes in Korea during their first 2 years of work in the public school sector | No tax exemption | |
| 8:30am -4:30pm or 9am-5pm | 9:30am - 6:30pm, 10:30- 7:30, 2pm - 9pm, 3-9 pm or split shift (various) | |
| 22 classes per week ( 1 classes = 40 minutes if elementary school, 50 minutes if middle and high school) | 30 or 36 classes per week ( tend to be 50 min is one classes) | |
| Minimum 21days to 8 weeks paid vacation | 7-10days | |
| 1 teacher for each school but You have a Korean co-teacher who always helps you. | 2~7 teachers | |
| Will not close or reduce staff unexpectedly. Your contract will be guaranteed by the Korean government. |
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| N/A | |
| Available. Some areas, a lot of over time is available. Since you only teach 22 classes per week (4.4 classes per day), you still have energy to teach more classes. In many provinces, special overtime rates apply for summer camp and winter camp. | Not readily available. Even if available, not easy to do after you teaching 30-36 classes per week. | |
| 18,000-30,000 won per hour | 18,000-20,000 Won per hour | |
| Reimbursed within 20-30 days | Prepaid ticket | |
| Free/provided | Free/provided | |
| Korean government Medical plan | Korean government health plan, private health plan (tend to cover less than the government one), or no plan is offered. Not all of them, but many employers try to save as much money as possible and try to offer cheap plan or no plan. | |
| 11-15 days, 3 month maternity leave and other paid emergency leaves (refer to your contract) | 3-5 days are common. Or no sick day mention on a contract | |
| Employer contributes 4.5% of your salary. American, Canadian and Australian citizenship are eligible for a lump-sum pension refund upon successfully completing their contract and departing Korea. | Private schools are required to contribute pension plan by the government but tend not to comply. Well established private schools may make contributions. | |
| Stability, real Korean experience, and well established trainings and workshops. 10 days EPIK training in late August 2009 will leave you with unforgettable memories lasting a lifetime. For more information about the program visit the link below. http://www.iloveesl.com/teach- Also check the EPIK promotional video at www.iloveesl.com | Easy to settle down (may be). More foreign teachers around you (private schools tend to have 2-3 foreign teachers. Some institutions have 5 teachers or more). Some employers treat you like a family member. | |
| Being alone (you are the only foreign staff at your school), may be a language barrier with other Korean staffs at your school but you will have a real Korean experience. However, you will be connected with a large number of public school teachers when you are outside of your school and your Koran co-teacher will be there to help you. It is a bit difficult to go to a specific location. | Working load is a bit hard. Some teachers described the work load at private school is “brutal.” Hard to learn Korean culture since you stay at a private language institution with a small number of staff pretty much all the time. | |
| Based on our past experiences, IT IS ALL ABOUT THE LOCATION VS NATURE OF THE JOBS. You need to decide whether a location is more important to you or the nature of the job and benefits are more important. IN OUR OPINION, YOU BETTER WORK FOR A PUBLIC SCHOOL IF YOU DO NOT NEED TO GO TO A SPECIFIC LOCATION. | If you DO need to go to a specific area in Korea and do not care about benefits offered by public schools, you may still want to work for a private school (some people do not know the difference between the public school and private school still happy to work for private language institutions called Hagwons). |
Information below is we copied from another recruiting agency (other recruiter’s point of view).
Advantages with working at public schools:
- 100% secure employment
- Guaranteed to be paid on time
- Resume building experience, professional environment
- Less teaching hours per week than language institutes
- Korean co-teachers will share class duties and offer assistance
- Free periods throughout the year where you don’t teach due to exams, field trips, sports days etc.
- Opportunity for overtime work with good compensation
- More vacation than most language institutes
I just realized looking back over my emails, that she didn't start my search for job until I had all the paperwork in order, most importantly the diploma. Around the end of Sept was when I was on the active job search list. Another week or so went by and emailed Michelle. She said with my specific wants and market it might take another couple of months to get a job. She said maybe to see if another company could help. That freaked me out and the thought of starting over, well, I couldn't do it. I was pacing in my house ready to put myself in the loony bin, really. I was going to do it. I couldn't sit anymore and didn't have a departure date in sight.
As I had those thought and with that email to Michelle, something much higher than me came into play. I got an email back from Michelle... a job. An offer that someone had to back out on and offered to me. Exactly what I wanted, where and when. It was mine now. Michelle came through, she new how much I needed to go and when she saw this offer, she passed it on to me. YES YES , that god I wasn't going to go to a loony bin...YES! I am leaving. What's next??
So would you recommend Teach ESL Korea as a reliable agencies when looking for private school jobs in Korea?
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