| The majority of the information provided in this section is quoted directly from the various schools' standard contracts. It is important to note however that there remains the possibility of some differences in the actual contracts signed by you upon your acceptance for employment. Information has a way of changing faster than it can be updated, as policies and business strategies evolve with the times. I will do my best to keep information current and to the point, but updating on an hourly or even daily basis is not always possible. Please forgive any inconvenience this causes you in your research. I have tried to present as much information as was possible here for your viewing, but to put everything would be impossible. Again, this information is as honest and as close to current situations as possible. Hopefully you find it useful in your research into the field of ESL teaching in Korea. I will E-mail changes to applicants as the information comes to my attention.
 | Qualification
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A university degree of any field or higher. English should be your first language. The Korean government invites English Language Instructors (ELIs) from seven major English-speaking countries; Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, South Africa and the United States of America, to teach English in the school system. You should be citizen of the countries and finished your Universty in the countries. Enthusiastic about teaching. Teaching experience is preferred. If you have teaching experience, you will be offered better salary and benefits.
Teaching English from elementary level (students aged 6-15)to high school students or adults. The number of teaching hours is 100 working hours to 120 per month( 1 working hour could be either 50 or 60 minutes).Please refer to the contract.
Month salary of 1,800,000 to 2,400,000 Won (currently, I believe, 1.8M. to 2.0M. is the industry average based on your working hours. if it is higher, there are always some hidden things, say your work load is higher than regular contract ,living cost is higher in the big cities, you need to commute and need to pay transportation expenses etc.).
Please use universal currency converter). Depending on your qualification and experience, you will receive more .If you do overtimes you will earn much higher on top of your salary. You may also receive relocation allowance of 30,000 Won per day(for example, teachers will be considered on payroll from the date of arrival in Korea regardless of whether the teacher is teaching class or not. the rate of payment will be 30,000 Won per day and will be paid on the last day of the teaching session for that month).
Employee will be covered by medical benefits under the Korean Medical Insurance Union, a Government Health Organization. The costs of this coverage will be borne half by employer and half by employee. Payment will be made by monthly deduction from employee's salary, at present 1.7%, and an alike amount contributed by employer. The policy will be primarily for major expenses, that is, the major portion of the cost of a treatment will be paid by the policy and you will have to pay small part of the cost. Health care costs in Korea are much less expensive than in US. A typical visit to the doctor, including medicine, will cost less than $25 in USD. The Korean medical and insurance system is difficult to explain in all of its variants, but this is the working method for a general situation. Depending on the level of treatment required, there is a fluctuation of the cost incurred by you.
Income tax and retirement taxes will be observed from the salary according to the Korean tax law. The amount of tax paid by a foreign instructor is 5% to 8 % of the salary.
Each hour in excess of 100(120 hours for Adult class) working hours will be considered as overtime.1,5000-18,000 Won will be paid per hour.
After the 1-year contract is done, the teacher will receive a severance payment. Most often, this is equal to one month salary( for example 1,800,000 Won if your salary is 1.8M).
The Employer will purchase for the teacher an economy class ticket from the closest international airport of point of hire to Korea. After completing the one-year contract, the teacher will be provided with a return ticket. If a teacher wants to buy a roundtrip ticket on his or her own, the teacher will be reimbursed 50% of the total amount upon arrival at the school and 50% of the total upon completion of contract.
Housing is usually located near the school for the teacher's convenience. The school shall provide furnished living accommodations, either two or three-bedroom (which is shared by two or three teachers with a private bedroom for each teacher and a shared kitchen and bathroom). Furnishings provided by the Employer include; blanket, pillow, television, toaster, bed, kitchen table, chairs, two-burner gas hot plate, refrigerator, wardrobe, telephone, and washing machine. Selection of apartments will be made by the Employer. The cost of monthly services, utilities, and telephone charges for the accommodations provided will be paid by the teacher. In the case of a shared apartment, costs will be shared by both teachers (cost of utilities, excluding long distant calls, mostly ranges from 70,000 to 100,000Won per month- maximum of 50,000 per person and of course it depends on your frugality). Again as a note, there is a large degree of fluctuation in living costs from one area of Korea to another, but in all this gives you a general idea of the living cost.
Your employer is obligated to observe all national holidays - nine or ten per year depending on which day it falls on. Additionally,in most of the schools, there would be approximately two weeks of school vacation time per year as dictated by the schools' calendar, such as Christmas, New Years holiday, summer vacation etc. All holidays and vacation time are paid. Wonderland school for example, there are app. 21 vacation days in a calendar year. The
following holidays will be observed for 2002:
Jan. 1st,
Feb. 10th-13th,
March 1st,
April 5th,
June 6th,
July 28th-Aug. 4th,
Aug. 15th,
Sept. 20th,
Oct. 3rd,
Dec. 25th,
Dec. 27th-31st,
Regardless of the number of holidays that fall during any given teaching
session, your monthly salary is guaranteed.
Employees are permitted up to three to six days of paid emergency leave (many schools call it sick leave). This is permitted only during unusual circumstances including death or serious illness of self or immediate family, upon presentation of proof to the institution.
In general, 500,000 to 700,000 Korean Won will cover one month living costs including utilities and food and so on If you live in a big city .
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I Love ESL since 1998
