Living and working in South Korea can be one of the best experiences life has to offer. However, there are certain things that you should personally consider before making that commitment. The following are some suggestions that should help you determine if living and working in South Korea is right for you.

Be prepared to commit yourself to a full year in Korea

A yearlong contract is a sizable amount of time in anyone’s life. All teaching contracts are for one calendar year. Consider all your personal obligations both financially and to family and friends. South Korea leads the world in cheap and reliable internet and tele-communications so staying in touch is very easy. However, if you find that you are too homesick or don’t want to miss family events this may be very difficult for you. While you have quite a bit of paid vacation time off heading all the way home often is quite unrealistic.

Before applying for teaching positions in South Korea, make sure you are free from leases and any other financial matters which require in person attention. Excellent internet access and English speaking staff at your bank makes handling personal finances rather easy from South Korea. Paying credit card bills, bank loans, mortgages, or wiring money home from South Korea is quite efficient and easy. But if you are trying to sell your house during the hiring process as an English teacher and are unsuccessful, that obligation will need to be settled before committing to a year away from home.

Have your affairs in order. Having to deal with situations back home while half way around the world at times can be difficult. It will take away from your experience and create unneeded hardship.

South Korea is a foreign culture.

South Korea is an industrialized, modern, sophisticated country and boasts the 11^th biggest economy in the world. You will find many things here that you would back home, anything from Hollywood movies, Starbucks and McDonalds to Levi’s jeans and Nike running shoes. However heavily South Korea is influenced by the west it is indeed a foreign culture, with foreign customs, traditions and values from you. The ability to understand or at least adapt to different cultural values, traditions and ways of thinking are a must. South Koreans do many things, besides using a foreign language, differently than we do in the west. It is important to remain open minded and patient when experiencing cultural differences. Not being able to adapt to working and living in a foreign culture will make your experience a difficult one.

You are a representative of your school.

As a Public School English teacher you will have ample personal time away from school to do as you wish. Your personal time is your personal time. You are free to do as you wish and pursue personal interests without interference from your school or supervisors. South Korea offers something for everyone and rarely is there a dull moment or lack of something new and exciting to do in your free time. That being said you are a representative of your school. Should your personal conduct interfere with your teaching responsibilities you may face disciplinary action or early termination. You are accountable for your actions in South Korea just as you are at home. If you are unable to comply with the laws of South Korea KorVia Consulting can do very little to assist you. We are here to assist you and in an emergency can contact your family but if you break the law in South Korea it is a police matter and KorVia can not act on your behalf.

Prepare yourself in advance!

 While we strive to offer you a lot of information on our site about the Public School Teaching positions available to you, the free services offered to you by KorVia Consulting, and the country of South Korea, we encourage you do some independent research to help you make the best decisions possible when considering to work and travel abroad. The internet is apowerful tool. Use it. A quick google search can offer you a wealth of information to many of your questions. At anytime you are welcome to contact any of our staff and we'll be more than happy to assist you in anyway we can.

We wish and hope that the information for teaching English in South Korea, given in “Things to Consider” section will help you while considering a teaching position in Korea.

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