If you’ve never lived abroad before, or you’ve never lived in a place with different cultures and norms, it would be wise to mentally prepare for some initial obstacles. As you can imagine, Korean customs are quite different than the West. As a foreign teacher, you’ll definitely experience some ‘unique situations’ which may prove difficult to understand – at first. Just remember, in addition to teaching, you’re also there to immerse yourself in Korean culture, so keep an open mind, remain flexible and overcoming these obstacles will be easier than you think.
Almost all schools in Korea provide single accommodations for their western staff. Teacher accommodations are usually studio apartments, which means the living area is one large room with an open style kitchen area and separate bathroom. Korean apartments are quite small and generally speaking, the bigger the city is, the smaller the apartments become.
Basic apartment furnishing typically include a fridge, stove, cooking utensils, table, chair(s), bed, and a dresser or clothes rack. Don’t expect a couch or sofa in your apartment, Koreans themselves rarely have sofas in their own apartments and schools rarely offer this furnishing for teachers.
Korea could possibly have the most restaurants in the world per capita, literally! Many streets are lined with restaurants, small and large, with diverse menus and affordable prices. Foodies are sure to love the street foods options as well.
There’s a wide variety of Restaurants in Korea offering a range of meat, vegetable, rice and noodle based dishes. Street vendors, called pojangmachas in Korea, are a common sight on every busy street. You’ll find them selling everything from gimbop (sushi roles), spicy rice, grilled chicken, fried vegetables, seafood and bakery like treats. Small restaurants, called shikdangs, are a great option when you’re searching for a quick and tasty meal at an affordable price. A general rule of thumb, the smaller the restaurant, the cheaper the food. You can also find a lot of higher end and higher priced, restaurants mixed in with the smaller ones. Don’t be fooled by the esthetics of some of the smaller “hole in the wall” restaurants, many of them are run by elderly Korean woman who have some unreal cooking skills and secret recipes!
Korean cities also have a whole host of western restaurants, most of which are franchises. Some of the more popular western restaurants include The Outback Steakhouse, Bennigans, TGI Fridays, VIPS, McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Pop Eyes Chicken and Subway. International options are also becoming more common with Thai, Italian, Japanese, Indian, and Mexican restaurants being the most prominent.
All Korean cities, big and small, have vibrant outdoor markets offering fresh produce, seafood and other Korean favorites. The food within these markets is usually quite cheap in comparison to the large box store grocery chains. That said, the large corporate grocery stores, such as HomePlus and E-Mart, have a much wider range of food products.
It’s sometimes difficult to find western spices in Korea, however, condiments like Heinz ketchup, French’s mustard, relish, salad dressings, mayonnaise, hot sauce and other staples are easy to find.
Food delivery services are also quite popular. Emart Mall is one of the go-to sites for foreigners; the site has an English option plus they provide service to many parts of the country.
South Korea’s held the mantel for ‘the world’s most wired country’ (per capita) for over a decade. Having an internet connection hooked up in your apartment is super simple and very affordable. Monthly internet rates vary depending on the service provider but most high speed plans will cost you somewhere in the 30,000won – 60,000 KRW a month range. Wifi hotspots with stable connections are also easy to find, especially in the big urban centers.
Korean cell phone technology and services are world class, not surprising given the fact that Samsung and LG Electronics are both Korean companies. You’ll have the option to buy data on a pay-as-you-go plan but it will cost you more in the long run. If you plan on using lots of data, it’s best to sign up for a monthly or yearly plan. Data plans are slightly cheaper than they are in the West but data transfer speeds are typically faster.
Interesting fact, Korea was one of the first countries on the planet to implement 5g. If you have a 5g phone then congratulations, you’ll be able to browse the internet at the speed of light! Not really, but close!
South Korea doesn’t call itself the shopping capital of the world for nothing. Every city has a vibrant shopping district – the bigger cities like Seoul and Busan have numerous districts – with hundreds of retail stores, trendy independent shops, department stores and sprawling outdoor markets. Massive shopping outlets, usually on the outskirts of the city boundaries, also offer top brands at discounted prices.
Retail stores include; Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Roots, Banana Republic, Sunglass Hut, Colombia, North Face, Black Yak, just to name a few.
Shopping for electronics in Korea: The Samsung and LG superstores carry lots of cool gadgets and products. These stores will sell the major product lines that can be found worldwide. Big brand name electronics like Sony, Samsung and Apple have price tags similar to the west.
There are lots of private international mail carriers in Korea. FedEx is likely the most prominent, but their prices are also rather expensive and using them to send large parcels home isn’t very cost effective. The best way to send letters and small parcels abroad is through Express Mail Service (EMS) which is the priority courier service of the Korean Post. EMS is just as fast as FedEx, tracking numbers are provided, and costs are substantially lower. All Korean Post offices will have EMS services available.
As you can imagine, shipping large or heavy boxes abroad is quite expensive. If you don’t require specific items right away, using surface to surface mailing is the cheapest option available. Just be prepared for the wait because surface shipping fees, although cheap, can take up to 3 months to arrive.
Christianity and Buddhism are the two primary religions in Korea, however, the majority of the population identify themselves as non-religious. Buddhist temples and Christian churches are easy to find in any city, large or small, from coast to coast. Some churches even offer English services. Mosques are quite rare but they do exist in some of the large cities like Seoul and Busan.
Anyone working in Korea is legally required to pay income tax (3.3%) to the Korean Revenue Service. Most schools automatically deduct these taxes from their teacher’s salary each month, therefore, you won’t have to worry about filling out forms and filing taxes on your own.
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Gone2Korea is your connection to full-time teaching jobs in South Korea. Western graduates, primarily from the US, Canada, UK, and Australia, use our services to secure jobs with trusted Korean schools, and schools use our services to find and hire enthusiastic teachers from the West.
Worth noting: We’re not a job ‘sourcing’ agency or recruiter that finds new schools on the fly. On the contrary, we work with a select group of schools and programs that we know and trust.
In addition to helping you land a job, we’ll also be helping you with your work visa, departure, arrival, and offering support for the entirety of your contracted term.
Prior teaching experience and related degrees are NOT prerequisites for teaching in Korea. Here’s what you’ll need in order to qualify.
Korean schools and programs offer western English teachers highly competitive benefits packages which includes:
