This is an ongoing project to give prospective English teachers in Korea an idea of what working at a Korean public school is really like (told from as many perspectives as possible). No real names have been used.
Topics
What is dating in Korea like for Westerners? (Posted January , 2008 – probably not the most important subject matter for the first topic, but nonetheless)
Anonymous Male, Aged 20-25, Canadian
Mitch Cornell, Female, Aged 20-25, American
Shirley Wood, Female, Aged 20-25, Canadian
Andrew Volusia, Male, Aged 25-30, American
Anastasia Beaverhausin, Female, Aged 20-25, Canadian
Native speakers appear to land in a public school teaching job in one of two ways. 1) Those who worked in private institutes (Hagwons) for one or more years in Korea or elsewhere and didn’t like the hours/pay/time-off/working conditions 2) First timers who a) did a little research or b) had a recruiter and chose a public school.
In Summary, you have to be more self-sufficient and resourceful at a public school. Resources are generally scarce and you are on your own for lesson planning and guidance. But the pay, daytime hours and time off suite some people better.
If you want a more detailed comparison between public schools and hagwons, read further.
Generally, there are trade-offs for working in a public school. It isn’t for everyone, but here’s a short list comparing public schools to hagwons.
Deadlines – public schools – short, hagwons – a little longer. Resources – public schools – little to none (except for computers/TV’s in the classroom) Hagwons – more resource books. Professional Support – public schools – very little or none from busy co-teachers and ineffective orientation from local/regional/provincial education bodies, hagwons – some from teacher managers and from other native speaker teachers (most of whom have little or no experience/training but can offer moral support), some sometimes good training /orientation for the books used by that hagwon. Schedule Changes – public schools – lots – students/teachers are often shifted out of regular routines – hagwons – not so much. Down time at work – public schools – more – your not teaching a solid 7 hours – there is a little time to think – hagwons – not 7 hours either but your busier with less time between classes. Pay – public schools – very few problems getting paid, pay scales are transparent but not always objective – hagwons – some problems getting paid by smaller, less-well managed hagwons late /partial payment, no minimum salary, or having part-time contracts with no health care or accommodation. Holidays – public schools – 10 days plus all public holidays and more if your school manager decides to schedule say a Monday school holiday before a Tuesday public holiday – hagwons – 10 days and inconsistent schedules for public holidays – (one hagwon I know of was open on Christmas Day!!!)
By: Don Payzant on April 26, 2009
at 10:02 am
That’s a pretty nice summary. Except I would add that as a public school employee I get 21 days of holiday, not 10 (plus national holidays).
By: strayblog on April 26, 2009
at 11:35 pm
I’m starting my teaching job with SMOE in September 2009. I’ve been trying to get some info on what takes after the orientation in August but they are hard to find. How are SMOE teachers located, are they put into the same apartment building, or same dong? Are they given individual apartment suites? Also, could you reoommend me some websites run be current or previous SMOE teachers?
By: Suzi on July 21, 2009
at 3:55 pm
On the Friday of orientation everyone finds out where they will be heading. I have no idea how they decide who is going where beyond each person’s personal preference for either elementary, middle, or high school. In other words, I said I wanted high school, so I got put in a high school… but how they decided which one, I can’t say. SMOE tries to put each teacher in an apartment relatively close to the teacher’s school, but that’s not always the case. I live in an Officetel 15 minutes walk from my school, while I know other people in this building that take the subway to work. Each teacher gets their own apartment, and usually it’s in a complex with other foreigners – there are around 5 or 6 in my building I’d say. A friend of mine that works for SMOE has a good blog, the link is on the right side of my blog: I’m in Seoul but I’m not a soldier. Don’t mind the title.
By: strayblog on July 22, 2009
at 12:07 pm
Thank you, that info has been the most helpful. Also, I have been getting opposing answers from recruiters, previous teachers, and this year’s teachers about location for the orientation. It is the Hyundai center in YongIn, right? And just to make sure, I have also been reading horror stories about the infamous co-ed residence for the teachers in DongDaeMoon. Are Smoe teachers still placed there?
By: Suzi on July 28, 2009
at 3:32 am
Last year the orientation was at the Hyundai Learning Center in Yongin. This year I have no idea. I had a friend from SMOE that lived in the Dongdaemun Stadium Co-Op Residence this year. SMOE is still placing people there, and I know that he enjoyed it!
By: strayblog on July 28, 2009
at 5:46 am