ESL teaching

Having now been an EPIK teacher in Korea for a little over 3 months, I feel like I’ve gained enough insight into the life of a GET (Guest English Teacher) to throw my two cents in on the whole shebang. Before any lifers get on my back about 3 months being nothing at all, I am well aware of that but if I reserve judgement until I’ve been here for a year I’ll probably have forgotten what this profound feeling of realisation is like.

 

That first month after taking a new job in South Korea can be one of the hardest. It's not just that you're adjusting to a new country and a new job, but you're also going to be living on whatever meager savings you brought with you until that magical first pay check comes in. If you've been responsible and saved some cash for the occasion - your $1500 or so will be more than enough. If you're like me and come over on a whim, you might be trying to stretch $800 or so. That's definitely doable, but here are a few tips for making that money last while still having a good time.

Most Korean jobs pay monthly, so you're going to need to make that money last for at least four weeks. Thankfully Korea is a really cheap place to live, so with the tips below you'll be right.

From the Japan Times comes an article on the JET program. The entire article is worth reading, but I've copied and pasted a few juicier parts.

The Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme, touted as the world's largest cultural exchange scheme, has brought thousands of non-Japanese into the country to teach at local boards of education. These days, with many government programs being told to justify their existence, a debate is raging over whether JET should be left as is, cut or abolished entirely.

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The debate, however, needs to consider: 1) JET's misconstrued mandate, and 2) Japan's psychotic — yes, psychotic — system of language teaching.

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