Q: Why doesn't your site have information about specific jobs?

• When Korean schools are looking for teachers, they often contact more than one recruiter. You'll see lots of sites from recruiters that have dozens of jobs advertised. Unfortunately, most (if not all) of these jobs are also advertised on other recruiters' websites, and perhaps by the school itself. It's challenging to keep these kinds of job descriptions up to date as they are often filled within a few days of being posted. All this to say that it is very rare to see a job on a recruiter's website, express interest in it, and actually get that specific job.
• What's even more disappointing is that some recruiters will advertise only the best jobs, some of which they may not even have access to, in order to attract applicants. They will then steer the applicants towards the 'usual' jobs that everybody in this industry has access to.
• I occasionally list 'featured jobs,' but only if I've been specifically asked to by a school or partner. APC, like other experienced recruitment firms, has access to literally hundreds of jobs in Korea over any 60-90 day period. We don't promote these to applicants unless the school offering the job has expressed genuine interest in the applicant and there is a real probability of the applicant actually being hired by that school. If we discuss a specific job with you, you can be sure that the school concerned has already reviewed your candidature and is interested in interviewing you. While, at first glance, this doesn't look as appealing as listing information about lots of jobs you probably won't get, you will avoid the disappointment of finding out that the job you wanted isn't available (or that it never was).

Q: How far in advance should I apply?

• Most schools in Korea do not know their precise teaching needs more than about 90 days in advance. Most contracts require that current teachers express their intent to renew or finish their current contracts 60 or 90 days before they expire. While I am happy to accept applications and answer questions at any time, a specific contract is usually not available more than 90 days before departure.
• Some big companies (ECC/YBM, for example) offer contracts up to a year in advance. Taking a contract this far in advance is not advisable as conditions at a particular school, and in Korea in general, can change and you may find yourself underpaid or working at a school where teachers are unhappy.

Q: Where are the best places in Korea to live and work?

• It entirely depends on whom you ask. The majority of jobs I have available are in the greater Seoul area. We regularly receive applications from people who have never been to Korea but have strong impressions of which areas are "good" and which areas are "bad". South Korea is a small country and, with few exceptions, one city is much like another.
• Koreans are loyal to their home regions and hometowns. They will almost invariably talk about their hometowns as the best places in Korea to live. This rubs off on foreign teachers as well. I've heard almost every city and region in Korea described as better than all others.
• Take any advice about desirable locations with a grain of salt. Insisting on being placed in a particular city or town based on advice from others can limit the jobs available and you'll probably end up in an area that is not very different from anywhere else in Korea.

Q: Do I really need a degree?

• Yes! The Government of Korea requires a university/college degree (not a diploma or associate degree) in order to obtain an employment visa. Anyone telling you otherwise is either trying to convince you to take a fly-by-night ELT "certification", or to take an illegal job in Korea.
• Some schools in Korea are unable to legally employ non-Koreans because they cannot get authorization to offer employment visas. Working for this kind of school is extremely risky. If they don't pay you, you have absolutely no recourse as you are in an illegal working situation yourself. I never deal with "illegal" schools or "informal" employment situations as the risks are simply too great for all concerned.

Q: What about my family?

• Most Korean language schools simply don't have the budget to offer accommodation or benefits to non-employees. It is generally not possible to take your spouse unless s/he is employable at the same school. Private English-language schooling for children is very expensive and is not covered by employers. If you are looking at taking dependents to another country as an English teacher, the Middle East is really the only region that consistently offers benefit packages to families. Proper teaching qualifications will be necessary, as may a London interview with an agency specializing in Middle Eastern placements.

Q: Should I get a "TESOL" certificate before I apply?

• An English Teaching Certificate (TESOL, TEFL, CTEFL, TESL, etc & etc.) is not necessary for teaching children in Korea. Many short certificates offered in North America are not particularly useful and are generally geared towards teaching adults. Online certifications of any sort are generally of dubious quality. The only short English language teaching certificate that is globally recognized is called the CELTA (Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults). It is offered by Cambridge University (U.K.). It can be taken at various locations all over the world. There is more information about this in the Qualifications section of the site.
• No kind of English Language Teaching certificate helps in any way if you do not have a university degree. The degree is essential for an employment visa. Certificate providers may tell you otherwise so that you pay them tuition and keep them in business.

Q: When does the school year start?

• It doesn't matter. We do not often hire teachers for jobs in the public school system. Most of the jobs we offer are in private language institutes, which operate year-round. Most schools operate monthly sessions and hire teachers throughout the year. In fact, placing applicants who want to start in September can be difficult as this the time when many applicants mistakenly believe there will be high demand. Because of this, most schools have more good applicants than positions available at this time of the year.

Q: I don't speak Korean. Do I need to?

• No. The reason Korean schools want to hire foreign teachers is to create a context for genuine communication in English. Speaking Korean with students defeats this purpose. Even if you do know some Korean, you are not supposed to indicate this to students.

Q: Do I have to pay taxes in my home country?

• Probably not. You should check with the appropriate government authorities in your home country. In Canada, it is possible to declare yourself a non-resident and thus avoid all obligation to pay taxes on your Korean income. Happily, in the U.S., the first US$75,000 of foreign-earned income each year is tax-exempt. Note that the Government of Korea does not automatically issue any documentation that shows you have been employed in Korea to foreign governments.

Q: What do I have to pay for during the placement process?

• The only costs to you are those you incur in gathering the required documents, the cost of sending documents to Korea, and the visa fee, which is currently C$65.00 / US$50.00. You don't pay anything directly to APC.

Q: How does APC get paid?

• We receive a one-time commission from the schools we work with. The commission does not vary widely from school to school, so we have no motivation to recommend one job over another for our financial benefit.
• The commission we receive is not deducted from your future earnings. We are careful about whom we hire and which schools we deal with as we must refund our commission or replace you for free if you leave your job early. Thus, we don't want to place you somewhere you'll want to leave and we don't want to place you at all if you are unreliable.

Q: How much do you get paid for each placement?

• I don't subscribe to the idea that it's impolite to talk about salaries and money, and I've noticed that this idea is often perpetuated by those whose income is derived from exploiting others or providing expensive services of no real value. So...
• The current fee for most recruiters (or, in the case of many Korean recruiters, their under-worked middle-aged male overlords who have little knowledge of the ESL industry) collects on one placement is around US$1000. When working with a Korean partner, I receive half this amount. When working directly with a school, I charge between US$700 and US$800, in order to remain competitive in a market that is, like most markets in most places, suspicious of foreigners. This fee is always contingent upon a teacher staying for at least 90 days. If you've just decided that recruiting is a particularly lucrative thing to do, bear in mind that for every person I place in Korea, I spend time dealing with at least a dozen.

Q: Why is there so much negativity about teaching in Korea posted on the internet?

• There's no easy answer to this one. When I was in Korea in 1996-98, there were also a lot of negative postings about teaching in Korea. When I started this business in 1999-2000, I revisited the same discussion forums and some of the same people I had read postings by years before were still complaining on Dave's ESL Cafe and were still in Korea!
• Because of the high demand for foreign teachers and Koreans' relative lack of experience in dealing with foreigners, many people who really should not be teaching abroad end up with jobs in Korea. Yes, there are a lot of "bad schools" in Korea, but there are also a lot of bad teachers. The schools we work with are careful about whom they hire, which is one reason they use a reputable recruitment company.
• When someone is fired in Korea (usually for good reason) their first reaction is often to trash their former employer on the internet. Over the past six years, I have had serious problems with only two schools (out of about 50). These problems were solved and the teachers were successfully moved to new jobs and received their outstanding pay. On the other hand, we have had a couple of dozen teachers (out of 300-400) who have been astoundingly irresponsible, or have misrepresented their intentions, and have caused serious problems at good schools. I've seen some of these same teachers complaining about Korean employers on internet discussion sites devoted to teaching in Korea.
• In cases where a teacher is fired or leaves unexpectedly, I check with other current teachers to verify what happened. In all but a few of these cases, the problems were attributed to the teacher in question, not the school.

Q: I've seen ads for 2.3 million won per month and more. Why don't schools you work with offer more money?

• There's often a catch to unusually high salaries. Established, well-run schools in Korea that do not have chronic staffing problems pay 1.9-2.1 million won per month for children's English teachers based on 25-28 x 60 minutes per week. Schools that have just opened can offer more as they have no current employees, who are paid the usual salaries, to worry about offending.
• Higher salaries at newly-opened schools are usually not worth the trouble. Often these schools are disorganized and management has no experience at running a language institute or dealing with foreign staff. New schools often fail in their first few months of operation.
• Some schools simply increase the number of working hours required so that they can offer higher salaries than other schools. Also, schools that are poorly managed, and regularly lose foreign teachers, often ignore the underlying causes of their staffing problems and simply raise salaries in an attempt to attract and keep teachers. Established, well-run schools cannot offer new teachers more than they pay their current, more experienced teachers. Sacrificing a good working environment for 5-15% more money is not worth it.

Q: I am worried about sending my original degree. Will I get it back?

• You will not be asked to send your original degree until you have signed a contract, and you will get it back before you leave for Korea, or it will be waiting for you when you arrive. You must have your original degree with you in Korea the entire time you are there. Immigration and Ministry of Education officials can ask to see it at any time.
• Most universities charge $25-$60 to re-issue a degree if, by chance, yours is lost. This has not happened with any of my placements.

Q: What about Japan or Taiwan?

• In both Japan and Taiwan, the salaries offered, the benefits provided, and the higher cost of living result in considerably lower savings than in Korea. Most jobs in both Japan and Taiwan do not offer accommodation with employment, or if they do they deduct your rent from your salary. Housing costs, as well as the cost of furnishing living space, can be very expensive and can leave you with little extra cash each month for savings. In Korea, most people are able to save at least half their salaries and still live comfortably.
• Taiwanese schools are unable to process employment visas before you leave North America. Many people end up working illegally for several months only to discover that their school doesn't have the ability to offer them an employment visa. When this happens, you either have to find a new job or return home at your own expense. During this "illegal" period, you have to fly to Hong Kong every 30 or 60 days to get a new tourist visa. This is usually at your own expense. Without the visa, Taiwanese schools have made no legal commitment to hire you and many schools view the visa waiting period as probation and will not hesitate to fire you if they are unhappy with you in any way or if their teaching needs change during the first few months of your employment.
• Schools in Taiwan almost never offer air up front. Furthermore, your income is taxed at 20% in Taiwan for the first six months. Theoretically, it is possible to get some of this back; however many people never do. Taiwan also requires that foreigners pass medical and drug tests in order to receive employment visas. Korea has no such requirements. Lastly, classes in Taiwan are larger, often reaching 20 students. In Korea, class sizes rarely exceed 12. Taiwan has been in recession since mid-2000 and many schools are on shaky financial ground.
• Most salaries offered for teaching English in Japan are about equal to those earned by entry-level office workers, who live with their parents. Many teachers in Japan quickly forget about saving money and have to worry about whether they can cover their rent and living expenses. This is especially true in larger cities. Salaries in Japan have not significantly increased since 1985, as there has been little economic growth and several years of deflation in Japan over the past two decades.
• All this said, there are lots of decent jobs in both countries; however, Korea offers a lot more up front, especially for those who have little or no experience teaching abroad. Having a used refrigerator delivered, or arguing with your landlady about getting your apartment deposit back, are both unpleasant experiences you need not worry about in Korea.
• Overall, Japan and Taiwan become more realistic options if you plan to spend at least two or three years teaching abroad, as it takes a while to get established. If you decide to teach in either country, you'll need at least C$5000/U.S.$4500 at the ready, before you leave. For Korea, your first month's living expenses (C$1000/US$900) is enough.