How to teach English in South Korea at a Hagwon
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Alternate title: (You got rejected from EPIK? bc same. not all hope is lost though! Here is a step by step process of how you can teach English in South Korea at a Hagwon).
Ever since I discovered travel blogs when I was 12 or 13 years old, I have been reading them obsessively. I ripped through months and months of their archives, read their entire stories, and have stayed caught up with their lives even now. It got to a point where my mom gently told me that maybe I shouldn’t read them anymore, as it created an unrealistic expectation for my life.
And I guess she was right. But starting at age 13, I’ve been daydreaming and scheming about how I was going to create a similar life for myself. I wanted crazy adventures and spontaneous trips to the corners of the earth, I wanted to travel for more than 2 weeks out of the year.
And, as we all know, traveling costs money (and so do student loans. ha. ha.)
So, I buckled down and did my research. It didn’t take long for me to discover countless articles about teaching English as a second language either online or in person and how it had fueled many people’s lives of travel. Some simply used their blog to fund their travels, which is the ultimate dream for me, but that’s not my reality at the moment.
You can teach English in any country, really, but after lots of google inquiries, I came to the conclusion that in order to pay my student loans, I needed to go somewhere in Asia, and South Korea was the standout.
Teaching in South Korea comes with lots of benefits: free flights, free housing, lunches included, 1800 to 2000 usd each month, and vacation time that varies depending on whether you go the public route or the private route. You only need a bachelors degree, and while experience helps, it is not required (I don’t have any!).
Most people prefer to go with EPIK, the government sponsored program that places you somewhat randomly throughout the country to teach in the public schools. This is the most popular choice due to 6 weeks of vacation time, return flights are also paid for, the low teaching hours with lots of prep time, and a guarantee that you’ll get paid correctly and on time.
This is the program that I applied with, but due to all the applicants from (the hell-hole that was) 2020 being deferred to 2021 due to COVID-19, I didn’t get accepted. I let myself cry for a night, and then picked up my laptop and continued to research.
Luckily for me (and for you, if you’re reading this), all hope is not lost! I ended up teaching English at a Hagwon, which actually had turned out to be a blessing in disguise. (I got to choose where I ended up, and am living somewhere that never would have been possible through EPIK, which is so much more important to me than vacation time). Most articles portray Hagwons in a bad light, but I was not about to have my dreams of teaching in Korea crushed, and I decided to take the plunge. And it’s been amazing!
Here’s everything you need to know about how to go about English at a Hagwon in South Korea — I even (so generously) made every mistake in the book so you wouldn’t have to.
If you’re applying to EPIK, a lot of these tips will still apply to you!
How to teach English in South Korea at a Hagwon
Start Interviewing
Now, there’s definitely a stigma when it comes to teaching English at a Hagwon - they are notorious for poor treatment of their teachers and overworking their employees. You really have to do your due diligence so you end up at a good school!
The best place to find job openings for schools in Korea is Dave’s ESL Cafe. If you click on Korean Job Forums in the upper corner, it will take you to all the listings. There are some listings for Recruiters, and some that are the school directly posting on the forum as well.
I sent my resume and headshot (sometimes a cover letter or other required documents) to a bunch of recruiters, who I later interviewed with. The recruiters would periodically send me various potential jobs, asking me if I wanted them to set up an interview for me. I said yes to all of them, but I would recommend being picky. The interviews are on Korean time and 5 interviews at midnight in one week can really get to you!
I, however, had way more luck with my direct applications. They aren’t big corporate chains of schools which typically creates a better work environment and better conditions for foreign workers. I did a lot of research that told me to stay away from chain Hagwons, so I made sure to apply to a lot of direct job postings. I’m mildly nervous about saying their names on the internet so if you need any guidance just shoot me an email! I would also recommend joining a hagwon blacklist facebook group; I posted every school I interviewed with, and even some where the interviews seemed like a perfect fit I had people messaging me telling me to run!
Always ask to speak to another English teacher there; whether or not they have renewed their contract is a very telling sign as to how the teachers are treated there.
I found a posting for a hagwon by the beach in Busan, with decent teaching hours and a job description that listed cooking lessons, arts and crafts, nature walks, and hands-on learning. It sounded like so much fun, and had my TOP locations to go along with it. I interviewed, loved them so much I sent a follow-up email, talked to the other english teacher, and got the job!
tefl Certificate
This is something you should probably do before you start interviewing, so you can put it on the resume you send in to potential employers. There are so many out there, and it was really difficult to decide which one to invest in! I was digging and digging to try to find out what the best one is and found different opinions everywhere! I’ve heard great things about ITTT and the tefl academy, but I went with ITTT (International and TEFL training). Their courses are much cheaper compared to everything else I found, and they have the 20 hours of the in-person practicum that is important for most TEFL jobs.
If you’re in a hurry, this is also a great option. I was able to buckle down and crank it out in a week, compared to many other courses that take weeks or even months to complete. If you’re in a time crunch but still want to learn how to teach English as a foreign language, I would definitely recommend ITTT! They have 120 hour courses as well as 150 hour courses, and while of course the bigger number of hours make you more marketable, most people don’t have an issue securing a job with just the 120 hour courses. If you shop through THIS link, you can save 20% on any course you choose! It will take you to the homepage, and the discount code will apply to any course you choose.
Shopping through my link doesn’t cost you any money at all and I do earn a small commission that helps keep this blog up and running<3
Apostilled FBI Background check
In order to teach English in South Korea at a Hagwon, or even in the public schools, you must have a clean recored. You have to apply for an FBI background check. It’s fairly simple; the first step is to go to your local police station and get your fingerprints taken! I asked for two copies, because you never know when you’re going to need another set. This will cost you anywhere from 5 - 10 dollars!
Next, you only have to mail the application form and one set of fingerprints to the company you choose to use. I went with THIS service and it was 40 dollars. They mailed back my clean report in about a week or two! It was super fast and extremely easy.
Whats not so easy, however, is getting the apostille for the FBI background check. like…….what even is an apostille ?
spoiler alert - its a golden seal that validates your documents for use in another country, and thankfully for you all, I made literally all the mistakes you could possibly make so you don’t have to! LMAO.
Once you get your background check back, you need to mail it in to an apostille courier. The background check gets a federal apostille (while with the apostilled dimploma you need a state apostille) Typically a federal apostille can take quite some time, and in my case (with the freaking pandemic) it took even longer. I was a little bit late to the game, as I didn’t want to jump the gun and pay all these fees if I didn’t end up finding a job I was comfortable with, so I went with a company called Apostille Courier Express. They promised me my apostilled document back within 7 days, but it took two months. And cost me 189 dollars. NOT COOL.
NOT COOL because everyone on the support facebook pages sent theirs through monument visa for 40 or 50 dollars and got theirs back within a month even with the delays from COVID. I’m still trying to get a refund and i feel like and IDIOT. hopefully my mistakes save you some cash monayyyyy. Send in the FBI background check papers with the apostille application and fee (and whatever the service you end up using requires) and then its just a waiting game, so start early so it’s not as stressful as it was for me!
Apostilled Diploma
OKAY. now, for teaching in both Hagwons and public schools, you need to get your diploma notarized/authenticated and apostilled. IDK about you, but I am moving to South Korea right out of college, and I was SO CONCERNED about not getting my diploma in the mail in a timely manner, but strangely, they gave it to me right at my grad ceremony?? I didn’t think that was normal but I was not about to ask any questions OKAYYY
This part was a nightmare for me, but it doesn’t have to be for you! originally, I took my diploma to Office Maxx where I got it copied onto card stock, as my diploma was too big for my printer at home. Then, I took the copy to the bank to get notarized, but they told me they only notarize signatures?? (there are so many question marks in this post can you FEEL my confusion through the screen throughout this whole process?) So the bank manager literally sat hold with the notary hotline for two hours with me and eventually sent me down the road to the UPS store where he hooked me up with the manager there.
She notarized my diploma and we sent it in to the authentication office at the local department of state with the form and 10 dollar fee, but we used the USPS, so I didn’t get a tracking number. I don’t know if it was COVID or what, but it was a month later and they still didn’t have my envelope. So I went and got another copy, got that one notarized, and sent that one through UPS for a much heftier express fee. And then I got both apostilled diplomas delivered to me the next week, so that’s annoying.
If you’re still living in COVID times just pay for the express shipping. Just do it. It was so stressful to be at the mercy of the post office. Many local state departments allow you to drop off your documents, but they weren’t allowing that due to COVID. I live in Virginia, so I would recommend looking at the authentication tab on your state’s state department website or calling and asking about document authentication for use in another country.
Now that I had all my necessary documents, it was time to ship everything over to Korea.
Shipping everything
So in my envelope that I sent to the director of my school, I put two visa pictures (Korean sized visa pictures, I used ivisa as the service I used to get my perfectly sized visa pictures, check out their options HERE! Also don’t smile in these whatever you do - also get a ton of them while you’re at it and bring them to Korea), My signed contract, the visa issuance form my school sent me to fill out, my apostilled FBI background check, my apostilled diploma, a health statement form that they sent me, a copy of my passport, and my resume. It cost me 60 dollars to send with UPS.
One thing to note here that was a headache was getting the Korean address correct. They recently changed their postal code system so I did end up waking the director up in the middle of the night in Korea as the UPS lady (who has become quite my cheerleader, I might add) and I struggled to get their system to accept the address. But we got it eventually.
Visiting the Embassy
Scheduling the embassy visit was also a headache. Schedule your visit as soon as your Korean contact informs you that they’ve received your documents. They will email you a visa issuance form that you then have to fill out and then take to the embassy. The embassy in Washington D.C. only accepted appointments, and it was a little bit of a nightmare getting one. The Authentication codes for logging in only send on Korean time i think? so just leave your browser open and wait til you get the text, it might be in the middle of the night! This was so stressful for me, as we were getting down to the wire on the timeline, but I got an appointment eventually, and had lots of time to spare.
With the visa issuance that your employer sends you, it only takes about two weeks to process, so you can come back and pick it up. They won’t mail your passport, at least during the pandemic, as the Postal Service is struggling alot, but I’m sure you can figure something out if you live too far away to do a little road-trip.
When I came back in two weeks, they gave me my visa, which isn’t a sticker in your passport anymore, it’s just a piece of paper, so don’t lose it! You’ll take that visa to the immigration office when you get here and apply for an Alien Registration Card, which will let you open a bank account and get a phone plane and all that. Even if your visa says single entry, don’t worry! The ARC basically is your multiple entry visa, so once you get that you can come and go as you please (provided quarantine isn’t a thing).
Try to also schedule your immigration office visit as soon as you have your visa - meaning I recommend finding the immigration office closest to where you will be in South Korea and making an appointment for the first week you’re in Korea. I did not do this and scheduled it in quarantine. To my absolute dismay, the soonest appointment I could get was mid-october, which means that I have to survive two months with no Korean phone number,(which is strangely vital for literally everything - G-market, taxi apps, food delivery apps, etc) and no Korean bank account — so now I have to deal with paying my bills in cash. definitely not ideal.
Getting ready to leave
Once you get your visa, you’re ready to book your ticket! Unlike EPIK, Hagwons will just reimburse you for your ticket instead of giving you a set allowance, so feel free to book a flight from a smaller airport, even if it’s more expensive. You won’t be pocketing any money so it’s not worth the hassle.
Start packing - if you have no idea where to start, I have a list of everything I packed HERE.
PCR test: God-willing, you’re living in a time that is gloriously Corona-virus free, but if not, make sure you schedule it for two or three days before your flight. And for good measure, schedule two if you live in a more urban neighborhood. Read this post to find out why (hint: this was the most stressful part of this whole thing for me - read about my absolute meltdown over on that post).
Ready to take the plunge?
Don’t forget- Click HERE to get 20% off any TEFL course you choose! This certificate and the skills the courses can give you really is the gateway to the world. I can teach anywhere in the world because of it, while paying my student loans, traveling, saving money, and experiencing different cultures.
I’ve done all the research so that you don’t have to! I know that searching for a reputable course that won’t break the bank but will still give you the necessary skills is intimidating; the amount of google pages with websites shouting their offers can be so overwhelming. Trust me when I say that ITTT is the best value you’re going to find.
And you’re all set!!
Getting rejected from EPIK seemed like the end of the world to me. If this is you, please don’t worry! There are other options, and they can turn out even better than you could have expected.
I’m one week into teaching English at my Hagwon in Busan, South Korea - my apartment is gorgeous, I live one block from the Ocean, the kids are, well, kids, but classes aren’t long and it’s definitely do-able. I may not have the 6 weeks of vacation to traipse around Asia, but that wouldn’t be possible with the Pandemic anyways. And I love Korea! If you’re on the edge of deciding if South Korea is right for you, here’s a list of 10 things about South Korea that I love.
I am exactly where I am supposed to be:)
I hope this guide about how to teach English at a Hagwon in South Korea helped you out!
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Do you have any questions for me? Be sure to reach out if you need any opinions, advice, or help regarding your Hagwon journey! Shoot me an email, comment on this post, or DM me on instagram! I want to connect with and be a resource for all of you.
