Say Kimchi Recruiting

With all the news about North Korea recently this is probably the No. 1 question from our applicants. Short answer: yes, freakishly so. Long answer: Korea, like most of Asia, is considered to be one of the safest areas in the world with one of the lowest crime rates. No one owns guns; the local police don’t even carry them. They don’t have drugs (or very little) so the typical spinoff crimes are not present as well. Petty theft is the only crime you’ll most likely even hear about. Bikes occasionally get stolen. But it also wouldn’t be strange if you left your bike outside the bus station for a weekend unlocked and came back to find it untouched.

On the North Korea front, it’s important to always stay abreast of the rocky roller-coaster relationship between the two countries. As of June 2009, the relationship is the rockiest it’s been since a cease fire was signed in 1953. South Koreans say there is nothing at all to worry about and will definitely give you a strange look for even considering that the North might blow the South to smithereens. Say Kimchi Recruiting strongly recommends you register with your embassy in Korea before even leaving your home country.

It’s not necessary or required to learn Korean to teach English in Korea. In fact, the less you know the better when it comes to the classroom. But most expats in Korea are interested in learning the language to better connect with the world around them.

I took two Korean language courses at my local international center in Gwangju and found them to be immensely helpful.

Something you should start looking at even before you leave is the Korean alphabet. Don’t forget there is an extra step in learning Korean—a new alphabet. So to even translate what you see on signs with your dictionary, you need to have a basic understanding of the alphabet. While it might sound daunting, it’s actually a very simple alphabet to learn.

Most English speakers think Korean has thousands of characters, like Chinese, but it actually has a very simple and logical alphabet, which you can learn in a few minutes. The alphabet was invented in 1443 during the reign of the Great King Sejong. There are 14 basic consonants and 10 basic vowels. Letters that have similar sounds also have similar shapes, so it is easy to learn.

Get started here.

Because you’ll miss out on an experience of a lifetime if you don’t. Because Korea is an amazing country with incredible culture, a storied past and a bright future. Because it’s a country teetering on the edge of old world and new. Because it’s a country where food alone will make you never want to leave. Because you’ll save money and get to travel at the same time. Because you’ll get to touch a child’s life. Do you need more?

You need a university degree and a native English tongue.

Airfare (both ways). Furnished housing. Great salary (1.8-2.4 million won—depending on school and experience). Health insurance. Low taxes. Cheap Korean cuisine. And an invaluable experience.

Seoul was recently named one of the most expensive cities in the world. But that’s if you’re paying rent. Living in Korea is cheap—especially with your provided housing. You can easily live on $500 to $600 a month. I’ve seen people barely spend a dime (though they lived like monks). Public transportation is easy and cheap.

Your school will provide housing for you which usually comes in the form of a small apartment. If you are alone, the apartments are usually studio, equipped with a small kitchen and bathroom. Couples are usually provided with a “two-room,” which is a two-room apartment with a small living room, kitchen, and bathroom. I lived in two different apartments in Korea and both were small but very clean and very comfortable. Of all the other foreigner apartments I visited, none were terrible though some were a little cramped.

Usually your apartment will meet your basic needs and be furnished with a bed, a few kitchen utensils/appliances and a table and chair. It depends on the school in the end. But my apartment came equipped with more than we needed—including a new washer, a new rice cooker, a large refrigerator, a microwave, a toaster, a queen-sized bed, and more. Though we might have just had an awesome school. Make sure to check in your foreigner community through Facebook about home furnishings for sale (or being given away) because there are always people finishing up contracts and trying to get rid of their acquired furniture. If you’re in Gwangju or around it, check out the expat second-hand shop on Facebook here.

Yep, they’re small. Picture university dorm rooms, maybe a little bigger. But I’ve never seen a place that was not comfortable. Couples tend to get the best apartments with two or three rooms. Solo teachers usually get a studio, or 1-room apartment with a small kitchen and bathroom. And everyone else is living in the same situation, so you’ll adjust quickly.

You will have to pay water, electricity, gas, cable TV (if you order it), phone and internet (if ordered) each month. All these together are usually less than $100.

This is one of the easiest things to do in Korea! Just bring your bills to your bank and they will stamp it, take the money from your account, and transfer it to the companies.

I recommend bringing a laptop—most foreigners do. They are easy to carry and pack and will be your lifeline to those you love back home. I honestly kept in better touch with old friends when I was in Korea rather than back home because of the abundance of free time to surf the internet.

If you don’t want to bring a laptop, that’s fine too. There are PC bangs (rooms) on virtually every street corner in Korea. Don’t forget you’re moving to one of the most wired countries in the world. Internet access is NEVER a problem.

There are foreigner bars that tend to be breeding grounds (don’t take that too literally) for the local dating pool. Most people come to Korea solo, so there’s lots of dating to be done.

It’s also quite common for Western men to date Korean women—they are beautiful, thin, and sophisticated. But it’s rare for that to work the other way around—though it is certainly done.

No. Unfortunately, Korea does not have the infrastructure that we enjoy back home. Finding a public trash receptacle is like finding a needle in a haystack. And therefore, you will often see children (and adults, rather unfortunately) toss their litter onto the ground without a second thought.

Every morning there are small square fliers with photos of naked Korean women offering their services that have been thrown under the apartment front door. These advertisements and pamphlets liter most of the streets in Korea.

But, that said, the country is starting to key into the fact that it doesn’t pay to litter. Beautification projects are abounding in even the smaller cities though I’ve still yet to see a public trash can.

Most likely, your school will provide you with a cell phone or help you acquire one on your first day at work. EVERY ONE has a mobile phone (called handphones) in Korea—from old grandmothers to 6-year-olds. The easiest way to make an international call is either through an international phone card available for purchase in some corner markets, bus stations, and airports, or through Skype, officially the best invention since sliced bread. Through Skype, you can talk from computer to computer for free (and with video if both parties have a webcam) or from your computer to phone for a ridiculously cheap price.

I’ve sent money home every month for two years. It’s simple and quick, and only involves you bringing your home account information, your passport and your alien card. Read more about banking here.

You will pay the Korean income tax, which is roughly around 4 percent of your income. As for your home taxes, I have found that if you make less than about $87,000, you are exempt from paying taxes on your Koran-earned money. But you should check with an accountant in your home country as this rule is subject to change. I found this site helpful when I filed my taxes this year in America.

Most of the time (especially outside of Seoul), there will be no English menu. Fortunately, many restaurants have photos of their food on the walls and in menus. Though, unfortunately, most of the photos are taken of the food before it is actually cooked—something that scared me quite a bit upon my arrival in Korea.

Until you learn Korean, it's best to point at photos or check out what everyone else is eating and point to what they have. Most restaurants specialize in a certain type of food like pork or fish so you won't have many questions to ask. Just remember, a smile goes a long way in Korea.

,pCheck out this site to learn a few Korean sayings for when you’re at a restaurant. And don’t forget to read our section on food in Korea.

Like it or not, western restaurants are popping up all over Korea. Expect to find an Outback Steakhouse, TGI Fridays, and other chain fast food restaurants like McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Dominos in just about every city in Korea.

There are corner markets, known as marts, on virtually every corner in Korea. These places are the 7-Elevens, Family Marts, and Ministops that have become ubiquitous in Korea. You can buy drinks, snacks, noodles and your basic general groceries and home supplies at these places.

For bigger shopping trips, you can visit a nearby box store—much like the Wal-Marts and Targets of back home. Korea’s versions of these are E-mart, Lotte Mart, and HomePlus—places where you can find everything from western foods to western shampoos to peanut butter to imported beer and wine. You can also buy all your home supplies here.

Your school will do this for you. Don’t be afraid to ask them for anything you might need to make you more comfortable in your new home. They are there to help you.

There are numerous ways to exercise in Korea—from hiking (the country’s No. 1 pastime) to taekwondo, to yoga classes, to jogging on the countless mountain trails and city sidewalks to bicycling on the bike paths that exist all over the country.

Gyms are popping up on every street corner so if exercising outside isn’t your thing, no problem.

Dry cleaners also abound on every street though Laundromats are harder to find. Most apartments come equipped with a washing machine. Koreans, for the most part, do not use driers and hang their clothes to dry in the small laundry room (usually attached to the back of the apartment or kitchen) or on the roof.

You can expect to save anywhere from $500 to $1,000 a month in Korea, though this depends largely on you and how “large” you live. Living is cheap in Korea so it’s easy to save. Though if you go out every night to the bars, it’s easy to spend your paycheck quickly. I paid off about $5,000 in debt while in Korea while also saving a future down payment on a house. And, I didn’t live too cheaply since my husband and I live for Korean food and travel.

Foreign teachers tend to work 6 to 8 hours a day. You automatically have more free time in Korea because you don’t have the social network in place like you did at home (though this will come very quickly!)

Because the cost of living is lower and you don’t pay rent, you also have more disposable income.

I enjoyed spending my time jogging on the mountain trails, hiking, blogging, watching Korean dramas, dining out, meeting friends downtown, shopping, etc. There are endless opportunities to just get out and people watch from a coffee shop perch.

Very different. My husband and I joke how everything here is the EXACT opposite of back home. For example, you don’t call 911 here, you call 119. If you motion with your hand (fingers up) for somewhere to come here, they will go away. (They use a fingers down come-here). Some things are the same. It is a highly developed country now boasting the 13th largest economy in the world. But, culturally, just about everything is different than what you know and grew up with—which in my opinion—makes the whole experience worthwhile.

Elbows first. That’s my words of advice when dealing with crowds in Korea. You’ll see it as rude, at first. But before you know it, you’ll be right in there, elbows out as you get on a bus or realize there is no organized line for the bathroom. Lines just aren’t practiced in Korea. It’s frustrating at first. But you’ll get used to it.

Rude? Not at all. Koreans are some of the nicest, kindest people in the world. It won’t take you long to realize that at all.

They have four distinct seasons. Summers are hot and humid and rainy. Winters are dry and painfully cold (I’ve also heard this from Canadians so don’t count me out because I’m a Southerner).

Spring and fall are amazingly pleasant.

Frequently Asked Questions about Living and Teaching in Korea