In English & Korean, it stipulates the conditions & responsibilities of your position.

Duration - They are for a set period of 12 full months.

Responsibilities - This section lays the ground work for what you are expected to do. Of primary expectation is that you - the teacher improve the conversational ability of their students. But how do you do that? This will include class preparation, lesson planning, developing the curriculum, tests & evaluations, attending meetings, extracurricular activities, assisting the Korean teachers & other duties designated by your employer, but always within the boundaries of your contract. If you have not taught English before, it's not as easy as you might think! If you don't already have one, it might be a good idea to take a TEFL course.

Place of work - You can only teach English for your public school. Teaching private classes is illegal here in South Korea. Do it at your peril. If caught, you would lose your position.

Working Hours - There are 22 classes per week. For an elementary class, each class is 40 minutes long. For middle & high, they are 50 minutes each. Since these are government positions, hours are the same as the all public school teachers - 8:30am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday.

Lower boundaries are for metropolitan cities. Upper boundaries are for normal sized cities.

Additional monetary benefits may also apply to these positions (such as rural - 100k per month & also multiple school allowance- 100-150k per month.) The maximum that can be made in a government public school is 2.95m won per month.

Above can be confusing for candidate. The following are 2 examples to show how much a teacher would make under the following conditions :

1. Teacher has a Bachelor in English & 1 year of experience
2. Teacher has a Master in Economics, a Bachelor in Economics, a CELTA & no experience

In the first case , the teacher would be a level 2+, who would make a basic salary of 2.1m in a metropolitan city & 2.3m in a normal sized city. In the second case, the teacher would be a level 2 as he/she has no experience & would make a basic salary of 2.0m in a metropolitan city & 2.2m in a normal sized city.

If you are unsure of your level, please contact us.

Airfare - An entrance allowance of 1.3m & an exit allowance of 1.3m (total of 2.6m) is provided to all teachers irrespective of where they are flying from or even if they are being employed from within South Korea.

If your flight to Korea is less than 1.3m, you keep the difference. If it is more, you need to pay the extra.

The entrance allowance is provided within 2 weeks of arrival. The exit allowance is provided on completion of contract.

Housing - Almost always a single, studio apartment. Rent free & includes a bed, table, chairs, TV, separate kitchen facilities, refrigerator, washing machine, separate bathroom with a western toilet & sometimes an air-conditioner. Utilities (electricity, gas & water) are not free & how much they cost depend on how much you use them. It can range between $50 to $100USD per month. Internet access (you must have your own computer / laptop) & cable tv are optional & run at about $30USD per month each.

National pension. It represents 9% of your income. It is mandatory for you (unless you are South African, in which case, you are not required to contribute) & your school to contribute 50% each towards this amount. The American & Canadian governments have an agreement with the South Korean Government. The good thing is that you can get the entire 9% back once you complete your contract. To get that:

The process takes between 4-8 weeks.
UK, Irish, Australian or New Zealand citizens do not have the same agreement. So, you will not be able to get a refund on your contributions once your contract is complete.
For further information, click here.

Medical Insurance. It is also a compulsory deduction from your monthly salary. It is currently 5.08%, for which you are responsible for half of that & your employer is responsible for the other half.

Severance of one month salary paid on completion of contract to you - It is a requirement for all employers to pay a severance payment to all employees completing a 12 month contract. Any contract less than 12 months, the employer is under no legal obligation to provide anything in terms of a severance payment. It is equal to one full month's salary, only paid on completion of contract.

Vacation - By law, there must be a minimum of 10 working days of paid vacation (not including Saturday or Sunday) per year. For the public schools, most provinces provide 18 paid working days vacation. Gangwondo & Jeonnam provide 35 calendar paid days vacation. They have to be taken in line with the school's schedule.

Sick pay - Unlike back in the west, Koreans work even though they are sick & quite often they expect the same from us. It's their culture, not ours. Doesn't mean that you are obliged to work, but your employer would expect it for small conditions such as a headache or a cold. Obviously, if it's serious then you can't work. For public schools, they recognize the importance of this aspect & provide 11 workings days of paid sick days.

Special leave - In the unlikely event that something does happen to a loved one, the school gives consideration & provides for a short trip back home of 7 calendar days. Your employer would not provide for your transportation costs.

Resignation & Termination - If you don't like your position, you can resign as long as you give 30 days' notice. Your employer can only terminate your contract with justifiable cause. This includes breaking the law, being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, continuous unsatisfactory performance, continuously late for work or another justifiable reason. For the first 2, the employer can dismiss you with immediate effect. For the rest, your employer must give you 30 days notice.

We hope that this information has been able to answer the questions & / or issues that you may have.
If not - let us know & click here. A consultant will get back to you as soon as possible.
The questions that you have may be added to our list of Frequently Asked Questions.Contribute & influence others in a positive way.