Tefl in South Korea

daesu

camoramo wrote: »

Fyi I went to apply for my arc today and they changed the rules in Sept so now everyone has to wait a month for their card! I'll be here 3 months by the time I have a phone so best to apply as soon as you get here if possible.

You don't need an ARC to get a ready to go / credit phone / Whatever it's called. You can buy them in Itaewon or near Yongsan and you can top up in almost any phone shop. Presumably your Korean employer or co-workers didn't tell you about this or you want to get a bill phone for some reason ?

RPJG

Thanks very much, I will try that. Sorry about the late reply. Cheers

cloneslad wrote: »

I just made a fake reservation, as you can see in the image. Go to this website: https://www.jrbeetle.co.jp/internet/Reserve/SelectJourney.aspx

let google translate it from japanese to english. It won't translate everything, but it'll be easy enough to understand. Just fill in the details and keep clicking on the right next arrow at the bottom.

As you cans see by the image, I have until Saturday the 22nd of Sept to pay for the booking. Should you not pay for it by then, it just disappears.

I don't know if it will work, but it's an option. You may be better off just going in on a one way though, ans say you're staying with friends for a month or so. You can stay for 90 days as you are an EU citizen.

camoramo

Well they never mentioned anything about getting a phone to me, the school is new so a lot is new to the managers aswell.
My Korean friend gave me a basic unlocked phone but when I went to get a simcard in Olleh they wouldn't give me one without my card. I'm going to try again at the weekend but this time with a Korean so fingers crossed!

daesu

camoramo wrote: »

Well they never mentioned anything about getting a phone to me, the school is new so a lot is new to the managers aswell. My Korean friend gave me a basic unlocked phone but when I went to get a simcard in Olleh they wouldn't give me one without my card.

No they wouldn't because the overwhelming majority of phone shops here don't (want to) deal with pre-paid phones. Mostly because the shop doesn't make enough money off it and Koreans don't use pre-paid anyways so there are no customers for it, it's almost entirely a foreigner thing.

You need to go to an area with a high percentage of foreigners.

Here's two sites with instructions;

http://www.cometogetherkorea.com/page/getting-a-phone-in-korea

http://wiki.galbijim.com/Cellphones

I'm going to try again at the weekend but this time with a Korean so fingers crossed!

If you want a monthly contract phone then you need your ARC card. Even with your ARC card it's very difficult for people on an E2 visa like I assume you are. I think you need to give them a large deposit or credit card number.

The other option is getting your friend or boss to sign up for a phone for you so the contract would be in their name.

Unless you're really going to be using the phone a lot then I highly recommend the pay as you go option.

Orizio

Orizio wrote: »

Any ideas when the EPIK closing deadline for applications for March is? It only states the opening dae, not the closing. I assume its open for a couple of weeks anyway>

Any ideas?

cloneslad

No idea

WhimSock

Andy!! wrote: »

Read the last few pages this topic is discussed.

Oops, classic case of me not looking before I leap into a thread

roosh wrote: »

I chose to do the CELTA before coming out bcos I had no teaching experience and didn't want to be coming into teaching completely cold. I heard very good things about it, so decided to do it.

I got a public school job so my pay increased by around €65 a month on the strength of it, so it will have paid for itself in about 2yrs (allowing for the increase in pay for being in the job 1yr).

You will get the same pay increase, in public school (not necessarily private), for any 120+hour TEFL certificate, though, so if you just want the increase in pay any of those would do.


I wouldn't be able to advise for or against doing the CELTA bcos I have no idea how I would have managed without it, or how much more competent it has made me in the classroom, if at all. I found it to be very informative and certainly gave me a lot more confidence coming over here.

Cheers for info

slowly horse

Just wondering if there are any boardies living/teaching in Bundang? My recruiter told me that it would be extremely difficult for me to get work in Bundang because I don't have prior teaching experience...any thoughts?

P_1

Thinking of taking the plunge and applying for the EPIK program.

Have a few quick questions though?

Where is the best (and cheapest) place to pick up a 100 hour TEFL cert?

I have a few tattoos, will this cause me any hassle getting work?

Should I be able to do the TEFL course within a month?

Cheers lads

Andy!!

pithater1 wrote: »

Thinking of taking the plunge and applying for the EPIK program.

Have a few quick questions though?

Where is the best (and cheapest) place to pick up a 100 hour TEFL cert?

I have a few tattoos, will this cause me any hassle getting work?

Should I be able to do the TEFL course within a month?

Cheers lads

1. 100 Hours is not enough. 120 is the minimum requirement. Best to do 140 though.

2. Are they visible when you a wear a shirt? If not, no, and don't even mention them. If they are on your arm you'll just have to boil during summer I guess

3. Probably not, took me much longer.

P_1

Andy!! wrote: »

1. 100 Hours is not enough. 120 is the minimum requirement. Best to do 140 though.

2. Are they visible when you a wear a shirt? If not, no, and don't even mention them. If they are on your arm you'll just have to boil during summer I guess

3. Probably not, took me much longer.

1 - 140 probably seems the best alright, currently I'm finding one out there for €200, don't think I'll get it for much cheaper than that I guess.

2 - They're nicely hidden with a shirt alright, the application form has a section asking about tattoos though, I suppose the medical would reveal those though.

3- 5 hours a day seems doable to cover it in a month I guess.

Andy!!

Keep an eye out on citydeals you can get em around 100.

roosh

pithater1 wrote: »

1 - 140 probably seems the best alright, currently I'm finding one out there for €200, don't think I'll get it for much cheaper than that I guess.

2 - They're nicely hidden with a shirt alright, the application form has a section asking about tattoos though, I suppose the medical would reveal those though.

3- 5 hours a day seems doable to cover it in a month I guess.

Maybe someone who has come over here with tattoos could confirm, but I wouldn't state it on the application form that you have them. You only do your medical once you arrive at your school, and I'm not sure someone will see you with your top off.

daesu

roosh wrote: »

Maybe someone who has come over here with tattoos could confirm, but I wouldn't state it on the application form that you have them.

Absolutely do not tell tell them you have tattoos. It's not required to tell them and they probably won't care as long as they're not visible. In Korea tattoos are still seen as largely related to the mafia.

JJayoo

Any thoughts on the best place to exchange Euro - Won? and is there any straightforward way to send money back to Ireland?

Andy!!

JJayoo wrote: »

Any thoughts on the best place to exchange Euro - Won? and is there any straightforward way to send money back to Ireland?

I would also be interested in how to get money from a korean bank account to an Irish one.

JJayoo

http://www.footprintsrecruiting.com/money-and-banking-in-south-korea/114-3-ways-to-send-money-home

Lots of good information.

JJayoo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb1l9ZlZUgc

JJayoo

This is very interesting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13muKeJGD4A

squeakyduck

Looking for information on 6 month contracts. Very rare it seems.

My current job is beginning to make me lose my will to live. Any leads on contracts like this?

Roosh? Cloneslad?

roosh

squeakyduck wrote: »

Looking for information on 6 month contracts. Very rare it seems.

My current job is beginning to make me lose my will to live. Any leads on contracts like this?

Roosh? Cloneslad?

I don't unfortunately.

Have you contacted any recruiters about it?

Why 6 months btw?

Mynamehere

All schools want consistency when hiring teachers. 6 month contracts rarely exist in any school in any country unless its to cover illness or maternity. Any teacher will tell you consistency in the classroom is key. Schools don't offer short term contracts they want the same teacher for minimum 1 year. This goes for Korean schools as well as Irish. Its not a bank your trying to get a job in.

JJayoo

I think Talk offer 6 month contracts

http://www.letu.edu/_Academics/StudyAbroad/Korea_TALK_Program.html

cloneslad

squeakyduck wrote: »

Looking for information on 6 month contracts. Very rare it seems.

My current job is beginning to make me lose my will to live. Any leads on contracts like this?

Roosh? Cloneslad?

To obtain an E2 visa you must have a 12 month contract, I don't know what the story is with switching mid way through. You could, if your current school let you, swap an E2 visa from one school to another.

A friend of mine left one school about 2 months into his 2nd year with them, he then had to get a new visa with another school where he stayed for about 6-7 more months. They were happy to have him for the few months because they needed someone, and he was available straight away. I don't know if he signed a 12 month contact for the sake of the visa, but he had no problem getting it all sorted and then leaving.

Personally I extended my contract by 12 months but it was agrees upon with my employers that I would only do 6 because I wanted to do my masters. Apparently it was easier to get the 12 month extension plus it allowed us to be more flexible with when I'd leave, to allow for the new teacher to arrive.

camoramo

Andy!! wrote: »

I would also be interested in how to get money from a korean bank account to an Irish one.

Hey I just sent money home the other day with KB.
There should be a couple of English speakers, there is in my branch anyway!
Bring your IBAN, BIC and the address of your bank and your passport or ARC.
You just need to fill out a form, I'm not sure if there's a fixed charge but I transferred 750,000 won and had to pay 50,000 won charge which covered both sides of the transfer (I'm with AIB).
The money was in my account the very next day

Andy!!

What a bloody rip-off. I bet 40 of that goes to AIB!!

camoramo

Yeah it was a bit steep but I was expecting it.
What I wasn't expecting was getting stung by customs for online shopping , I ordered about 200euro worth of clothes and had to pay 75,000 won tax on it :eek:

JJayoo

Ordered some Won in my local BOI, just got the call that they don't stock Won.
Sucks so much ass as I'm sure the airport will give terrible exchange rates.

Andy!!

Check with AIB. The airport wont have that much Won on them. If you can order ahead from the airport bank do that.

cloneslad

JJayoo wrote: »

Ordered some Won in my local BOI, just got the call that they don't stock Won.
Sucks so much ass as I'm sure the airport will give terrible exchange rates.

Just swap your euro when you arrive in the airport in korea. You'll not be getting so much that you'll get massively screwed

cloneslad

Andy!! wrote: »

What a bloody rip-off. I bet 40 of that goes to AIB!!

The intermediary bank takes 20/30 euro as a transaction charge.


Try sending as much money as possible in one go, the costs are pretty much set no matter what you'd send, so try send bigger sums less often...when the exchange rate is decent

squeakyduck

JJayoo wrote: »

Ordered some Won in my local BOI, just got the call that they don't stock Won.
Sucks so much ass as I'm sure the airport will give terrible exchange rates.

When I was going my family gave me USD as the won to dollar rate was about 1:1.

JJayoo

Flying on on Saturday In total its gonna take me 26 hours :eek:

m83

Fair play JJayoo. Best of luck with it.

I'm talking to a few recruiters at the moment and hoping to be out there before the new year.

Andy!!

JJayoo wrote: »

Flying on on Saturday In total its gonna take me 26 hours :eek:

Why? Long wait for connecting flight? I think I was flying for 16 hours, not sure how long the wait for the connecting was, I think only an hour or two. The first flight was fine, the second a bitch. :pac: You're not gonna want to be on a plane again for a good long time :P Good luck!

m83

Andy!! wrote: »

Why? Long wait for connecting flight? I think I was flying for 16 hours, not sure how long the wait for the connecting was, I think only an hour or two. The first flight was fine, the second a bitch. :pac: You're not gonna want to be on a plane again for a good long time :P Good luck!

Just looking on SkyScanner here. The shortest flight is 16 hours but some are as long as 40 :eek:

JJayoo

Just wondering if I would be able to use my Credit card/Visa debit card in South korea? One of the teachers has advised me not to exchange money at the airport/bank as the exchange rate is woeful. She has told me to use the atms instead??

Both of my cards are with BOI. I used my Irish cards in the past to withdraw money while I was in the states, only to find out on my return that each transaction came with a 4 dollar fee

Mr. Loverman

I hope someone can help me with this question:

If a person has a 3 year degree and a masters degree, can he still teach in Korea or will they want proof of a 4 year degree?

Or would giving proof of the masters degree be enough?

m83

Both would be fine. Go with the masters though. They love them over there.

Mr. Loverman

m83 wrote: »

Both would be fine. Go with the masters though. They love them over there.

Do you mean just show them the masters? That's what I was thinking of doing, to avoid any messiness...

m83

Ya that'll be fine. If they request the degree show that too but otherwise just keep shtum.

roosh

JJayoo wrote: »

Just wondering if I would be able to use my Credit card/Visa debit card in South korea? One of the teachers has advised me not to exchange money at the airport/bank as the exchange rate is woeful. She has told me to use the atms instead??

Both of my cards are with BOI. I used my Irish cards in the past to withdraw money while I was in the states, only to find out on my return that each transaction came with a 4 dollar fee

I don't think the visa debit cards work everywhere; I've got one from PTSB which I use and it wouldn't work in the ATMs of a lot of banks; there are ATMs in most chain marts over here, and it used to work for me in them. Not sure what the txn fee was though.

R.D. aka MR.D

JJayoo wrote: »

Just wondering if I would be able to use my Credit card/Visa debit card in South korea? One of the teachers has advised me not to exchange money at the airport/bank as the exchange rate is woeful. She has told me to use the atms instead??

Both of my cards are with BOI. I used my Irish cards in the past to withdraw money while I was in the states, only to find out on my return that each transaction came with a 4 dollar fee

I have a laser and a credit card from BOI, both worked fine here. there is a charge but i can't remember exactly how much. If i were you i would just take out one big lump sum when you get here like 500,000 until you get your first paycheck.

roosh

R.D. aka MR.D wrote: »

I have a laser and a credit card from BOI, both worked fine here. there is a charge but i can't remember exactly how much. If i were you i would just take out one big lump sum when you get here like 500,000 until you get your first paycheck.

Did they work at all ATMS?

My visa debit card didn't seem to work at most banks, bar Shinhan

SpatialPlanning

Not all banks will let you use international Visa Debit cards. Usually, those ATM's that you see outside shops/hotels will but they charge quite a bit of a fee.

I would say just to change money at the airport. You really won't lose out on that much, and it will be a once off thing.

Using a credit card here is n problem.

R.D. aka MR.D

roosh wrote: »

Did they work at all ATMS?

My visa debit card didn't seem to work at most banks, bar Shinhan

I have a visa debit from Ulster bank that i used too. I've used lots of different banks like Woori, KB,citi, shinhan and those dodgy looking ones outside the convenience stores.

Are you sure you were selecting the foreign card button each time?

roosh

R.D. aka MR.D wrote: »

I have a visa debit from Ulster bank that i used too. I've used lots of different banks like Woori, KB,citi, shinhan and those dodgy looking ones outside the convenience stores.

Are you sure you were selecting the foreign card button each time?

Yup, but I only tried it in Nong Hyup and Shinhan I think; it wouldn't work in NH but would in Shinhan. There was a family mart just down the road from me with an ATM and it worked there, so I didn't have to look any further.

I realise now, that when I said most banks, I actually only tried a few different NH ATMS

cloneslad

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

Do you mean just show them the masters? That's what I was thinking of doing, to avoid any messiness...

You'll need the degree for the visa though. You must have a minimum ordinary bachelors degree (3years) an honours 3 year / 4 year degree is also good.

You can't, unless recently changed, use a masters for a visa, as you can get them without having first obtained a degree.

Do advertise your masters degree to potential employers though

m83

cloneslad wrote: »

You'll need the degree for the visa though. You must have a minimum ordinary bachelors degree (3years) an honours 3 year / 4 year degree is also good.

You can't, unless recently changed, use a masters for a visa, as you can get them without having first obtained a degree.

Do advertise your masters degree to potential employers though

cloneslad with the truth stick again

I should have specified.. sell yourself to the employers/recruiters with the Masters.

Also, some people have obtained a degree by doing a 3 year diploma and then joining a corresponding degree program for an additional 2 years. This is acceptable too.

JJayoo

An Post will deliver a 5-10kg parcel to South Korea for 60 euro