Teaching In Korea

There are many different tiers of payment for working as an ESL teacher in South Korea, and I'm here to try and make sense of it all. I will tell you what I know now, and if any of these change in the future, then I'll change with what I know. First things first... base price is different based on what you have, and where you're willing to go. There is a standard to living in Korea, and the more you can "wow" them with your information, the more you can make.

FIRST OFF, Korea is NOT AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER, so you can kind of kiss that good bye. I, as a woman, have more employment opportunities than a man. I as a very white, caucasian, fair skinned woman, will get more opportunities than an African-America, Mexican, Asian-American, etc because of the color of my skin. The big third one is Age. I am a bit older than a fresh out of college 20-something, and the 20-something will get more jobs offers than I will as a 30-year-old. It sucks. It isn't fair at all, but it is the way their culture is, like it or leave it. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked how old I am, how tall I am, and finally, "Is that your REAL hair color?"

SECONDLY, Where you are willing to go will impact how much you make. I said that I was willing to go anywhere, and do basicaly anything. The idea of living in Seoul scared me also, and I mentioned that. Because I was WILLING to live outside of a big area, I get an extra $100 a month for it. This part is about high demand. Not very many people are willing to live out in the middle of nowhere unless they get some sort of compensation. So, let your recruiter know that you don't want to live in a big city, and they will be more than happy to put you wherever. It also helps for easy job placement.

THIRDLY what you got your degree in. I happen to have a degree in English, Creative Writing. That means a few things for those who are looking at my application. 1. I know the English language well, probably better than most, and ergo, will be able to teach it well. 2. I'm comfortable with grammar, and will also probably teach that better than most. 3. Most people get critical thinking skills out of an English degree, ergo, will be better problem solvers, and will probably teach better than most.

FOURTH If you have your credentials, TESL Certification, any amount of teaching experience, and can proove it, you will make more. Because I have a lot of tutoring experience in my background, you guessed it... I get another $100/week. I have also heard of teachers teaching in different schools, and they too get a bonus, although I'm not sure how much it is. You will also get more money if you are already over there, because they have to fund your plane ticket over there, and back home, but I'm also not sure about this last one.

FIFTH OVERTIME! I'm not sure how this works, but let's say you have a special child who needs more practice than the rest of them, and one on one time, an hour after school. That's an extra $20 an hour above your regular pay. I have heard of it going lower than that, and also higher, from $18/hr up to $35/hr, but it all depends on where you are teaching.

I hope that this cleared up some questions, and if it brought about any more, then just message me, or put in your two cents worth in the comments below.

Right In the Middle of Everything

Less than a month ago, I had no idea where Okcheon-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea (south) was, or even the fact that it existed. I looked up all the usual suspects... google and wikipedia. I even went as far as to look at Bing and ask.com trying to find any and all information on this very little town.

This is what I got...

"Okcheon is situated to the southeast of Daejeon, in Chungcheongbuk-do. It is the first town on the train line from Daejeon (which is a 12 minute ride away) and it is also linked to there by a 35 minute local city bus (number 607), which goes to Daejeon Train Station. The fifth biggest city in Korea, Daejeon has a lot of things to do and see, and you are close enough to go there even during the week after work. The next town further east is Yeongdong, famous for being the only town in Korea to have a winery.
Chungcheongbuk is the only landlocked province in Korea, so Okcheon is almost exactly in the middle of the country. That makes it a great town to travel from because you can get to anywhere in Korea on a weekend. Okcheon is a very small town with a population of 50,000 people. This figure is much more than it actually seems, because of the big farming community in the area - lots of smaller villages are included in this number." From: http://www.thesouthkoreatravelguide.com/

Better than Wikipedia's:
Okcheon County (Okcheon-gun) is a county in North Chungcheong Province, South Korea.

So, it's a small town. Then, I found it. I found it by copying the Korean Hangul (written Korean) and pasting it into Google. Here's what came up: Korea's Site on Okcheon.

It's gorgeous! Mountainous areas surrounding the small town, covered in green luscious vegetation, small town living, and a very close knit group of people. It snows in the winter, but not like the snow on the east coast. It's a very temperate climate, and the only place on the entire peninsula where grapes are able to be grown. There's even a vineyard close to the town. There's a literature museum there, where a famous Korean author lived. There are lakes and streams, plus an amusement park that I'll probably check out once or twice. On top of all that, it's an hour south of Seoul, fifteen minutes outside of Daejeon-si, a very big city where I will probably go to get the rest of my visa stuff, and green card. I found out that I will be moving there in early October. Korea, ready or not, here I come!!!

Apostilles, Background Checks, and even the E2 Visa

Last time, I mentioned that you needed to get your FBI background check done, and get it done asap. When I sent in my paperwork, I got it back eight weeks later. As soon as I got it back, I had to send it out again to get the FEDERAL APOSTILLE. The FEDERAL APOSTILE should not be confused with the APOSTILE FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE. But, even before I dive into the differences between the two, I will venture to explain what an APOSTILLE is.

In 1961, Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents decided that simply having your paperwork was too easy. That in order for a paper to be recognized among certain nations (Korea, North America, Canada, Australia, etc) you had to get an internationaly recognized notorization on your document. Enter the APOSTILLE. It's a rather lengthy process to get this very coveted stamp, but once you have it, you will have it on that document forever.

Now, I will venture forth to explain the two different types as best I can. When I sent in the form to get by FBI Background check, I made a note that: "Please authenticate my criminal background check results by placing the FBI seal and the signature of a division official on the results for the purpose of obtaining a Federal Apostille. Thank you." They did just that, and I was more than happy when I got it back. After I got my FBI Background check back, I knew that I had to send it out straight away, and get the bigger, badder, Apostile from the Federal Government. I admit that I took the quick way out and sent it to a service. I'm sorry. I'm not that great with paperwork, and I didn't want to go through all the other hastles of waiting three months to get it back. So, I waited one week, and got it done. There are several services that you can use out there. I used http://www.usauthentication.com/. It was worth the $55, plus the shipping to and from the company to get it all done. Trust me.

The State Apostille involved a lot more footwork to get done. But, here are the steps:
1. Make Photocopies of your degree. (free... they now know me at the copy shop around the corner)
2. Have the photocopies notorized at a local notory. I happen to have AAA, so I got it done there. (free, because my Mom's a member of one of the higher circles)
3. Take the notorized copies over to your local Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk so that the notorized copies are recognized by your county as being authentic. ($10)
4. Take that entire stack of papers, which should be stapled together, to your Secretary of State office, and have them put the apostile stamp on top of all the other papers. ($26)

If you live close enough to everything, you can get it done in a day. I am rather thankful that I live near Los Angeles, and was very much able to get it all done and still had time to do laundry that evening.

Meanwhile...

I was getting more and more interviews over the phone, and finally landed a job. They sent me a contract, ergo, more paperwork.

I read the contract, saw that it was good, and signed it. I got the FBI Background check back with the apostille, and already had my degree. I should also note the other paperwork that you will need...

1. 3 or 4 recently taken passport photos. Just get the extras when you get your passport photo taken. It's cheaper.
2. The original contract, signed.
3. Copy of your Passport Page.
4. The Apostile of your Bachelors Degree
5. Recent Resume
6. E2 Applicant Health Statement
7. Korean Consul's Checklist for E2 Visa
8. Criminal Background Check

Some jobs will ask for more than this, especially public schools. You might even need official copies of your transcrips, but that'll be phase 2 for getting the E2 Visa to work abroad.

If you have any questions or comments, just post them below. I'm hoping that this will help you get the job you want/need. Up next... Where On Earth is Okcheon?

All the Red Tape in the World

So, after finding out that I wanted to teach English to Korean's, I decided that I would do my homework, and see all the paperwork that I had to fill out, and believe you me, there is a lot. Thankfully, the recruiter that I'm working with has a website hopelessly devoted to those of us hate paperwork, or are uncomfortable with it, and anybody can use these steps in order to get a job over there.

1. First things first, you HAVE to get a background check from the FBI. How does one go about getting a background check? Go to the FBI Website. If there's too much reading, I'll tell you what I did. First, I printed out and filled out the paperwork for the initial background check, then I went over to get my fingerprints taken. Because I live in the bankrupt state of California, I could not get my fingerprints taken at my local law enforcement establishment, so I was directed to American Post 'N Parcel. They aren't as cheep as the once $8 fingerprinting charged at the police station, $15 wasn't that bad. So, you put in your paperwork, I opted to pay my $16 by credit card sheet (for the actual paper background check), added in a self addressed, stamped envelope, and the hopes that I did it correctly. THIS PART TAKES THE LONGEST, SO AS SOON AS YOU KNOW THAT YOU WANT TO PERSUE A CAREER IN KOREA, GET IT DONE!!! So many other websites said the same thing, but honestly I didn't believe them, and waited. Now, I'm hoping that once I get it, I'll be able to send it right back out, and get the apostille that I need in order to make it valid. Because, to get that beloved apostille, you need to send it to the U.S. Dept. of State, which will take two more months to get the stamp. My recruiter suggested that I cough up $55 and send the background check to:

U.S. Authentication Service (www.usauthentication.com) will go to the U.S. State Department  in Washington D.C. in person to get the apostille on the FBI Criminal Background check on your behalf. If you go through U.S. Authentication Service an apostille from the U.S. Department of State will be completed and sent to you within 2 business days in comparison to the 3+ undetermined weeks by mail to the U.S. Department of State.

I'm thinking that that $55 will be money worth spent, especially since I have it.

2. Passport - This should be the second thing that you do, as this will also take a bit of time. First, know that I only had to get my passport renewed, and didn't have to fill out all the paperwork for a brand new, shiny passport. But, let's not get ahead of ourselves, ok?

First, get your picture taken. I smile a lot, and for me not to smile makes my face look wierd and unnatural. My photographer took my picture without smiling, and as she looked at it, she fround. I just didn't look natural not smiling, so I smiled, teeth and all. The picture was taken at AAA, and I got copies. You need four more pictures then the original 2, so all in all, I ended paying $22, with tax. This might be different from where you live. Then, I found my old passport, and mailed off all that paperwork to the National Passport Processing Center. For more information, go to http://www.travel.state.gov/ The amount for a passport? $115.75, with shipping.

Those two are the biggest, most time consuming part of the project. Next time, I will take you step by step on how to obtain an apostille for your Bachelors Degree the right way.

The Day It Was Found Out

The afternoon sun beat down harshly on the larger suburb. Air conditioners tried in vain to keep the heat at bay, as a young woman sat in front of her computer. A few days before, a chain letter had been mailed out to her, bringing hope to her jobless life, hope of a better life across the ocean. She never believed in them, and often times simply consigned them to the trashcan. But, somehow, this one was different, and she did something she had never done before; she asked questions.

She asked if her husband and little girl could come with her. She asked if after the end of the year came, could she keep on working for the same company. Finally, she asked what would be included in her payment.

The reply came as quickly as she could type it out. They could come, too. You can renew your contract. And, this job comes with BENEFITS. You know the drill, the whole bit. Paid vacation, paid sick leave, health insurance for her and her family, end of the year compensation, etc. Yeah... BENEFITS.

She talked it over with her husband, thinking that he would absolutely hate the idea, but to her great surprise, he uplifted her, and told her to go for it. If she found anything in the interim, then she could accept that job anyway. Jobs came and went, and she wasn't getting hired, as was the way during those times. Then, a job offer at a public school. She interviewed for it, and found herself falling in love with 안동시 in 경상북도. Her dreamy eyes took in all the pictures that she could find. The beautiful surrounding countryside intoxicated her with divinity and spirit. Surely, this would be the most beautiful place in the world where she could spread her wings upon.

Hoping against hope, she longed for the day when her employer would contact her, and let her know about her fate.