Teaching Jobs in Korea with Footprints

Recently I started my 3rd contract with EPIK! My original plan was to stay for 1 year but that has turned into 3. Needless to say things have been pretty good here! EPIK is a good company to work for, but I have seen a little bit of a decline in new EPIK recruits lately, part of the reason is the Korean Public Education system are beginning to cut down on the amount of TEFL Public school teachers in Jeju and other regions, so I have seen many EPIK teachers take the leap to private academy's that seem to offer better housing and benefits. For me I prefer big classes over smaller private ones (I like the chaos of having 30 kids in a class haha) so I am content at the moment! I do feel however that after my current contract has finished I will be moving on to another country to teach and the first place I will start my search is with Footprints! From start to finish you guys helped me all the way to Korea! Without Footprints watching over me, this whole adventure would have been ever more scary. Your help with the application and visa process was invaluable! Not only that but once I arrived at the EPIK orientation in Seoul I was lucky enough to meet other Footprint recruits. It was also great that while in Korea footprint linked us with other recruits who had already been here for some time. Your continued support has been greatly appreciated!

My experience with Footprints was great. They provided ample resources and assistance in navigating the complicated application process. Even after I arrived in South Korea, they were there to help me get on my way. I think the best compliment I can give is that the recruitment process was so smooth, the details of it practically disappeared. Everything was easy and straightforward.

Teaching abroad was unlike anything I've ever done in my life. To attempt to describe it in fewer than tens of thousands of words would not be doing the experience justice, so I will say this instead: if you have the opportunity and the means to go aboard, do it. At least once in your life. I may never live aboard again, but I will always be glad that I did. I learned things about myself and about the world that I couldn't have imagined learning before I left, and I'm sure you'll feel the same if you teach aboard.

I went to South Korea in 2013, so it was a while ago, but I still remember to this day that I had such a pleasant experience working with Footprints Recruiting. The whole application process went really smoothly and I've since recommended Footprints to many friends who wanted to go teach abroad.

The team I worked with was very helpful before my departure as well as during my time in Korea. Their professionalism were reassuring, they had excellent knowledge of the whole process to answer all of my questions and I felt like I was in good hands the whole time. The information brochures/booklets supplied by Footprints with regards to forms and visas were also very thorough and they were wonderful guidelines to ensure that one complete all application forms thoroughly.

I taught at a Hagwon in Wonju, Gangwon-do. It was a small setup with only 2 foreign teachers, but our director looked after us really well. The work environment and housing was all up to standard and we had nothing to complain about. You read of so many people on the internet who've had bad experiences at Hagwons, so it's good to know that Footprints screens their schools properly.

Working abroad is such a great experience and Footprints is a free and reliable service to help you through the process. They will make sure that your work abroad experience is a stress free and memorable one!

"I had an amazing experience, teaching English in Seoul for 2 years. The preparation and application process was made far easier thanks to Footprints. Considering the application process is lengthy and pretty complicated, it was made far more simple, being guided through, step by step (especially as some of the documents are expensive to obtain, and I wouldn’t want to make any mistakes!!)

As for teaching in Korea, it was brilliant! I’d taught around Europe previously but this was a really different experience. The teaching itself was straight forward, some of the easiest lessons I’d prepared actually. The staff were friendly and helpful and I got a great reception from the students too. Korea was fascinating but utterly mad in many ways, I loved it! I learnt a vast amount and grew in myself as a result- I couldn’t have asked for a better teaching experience overseas."

It was a few years ago, but I remember Footprints being extremely helpful in assisting me with my application and looking over everything to make sure I was good to go. The step-by-step process they led me through before I finally applied definitely took a lot of stress off of me as far as time management and making sure I had everything ready to send to EPIK. Also, everyone I spoke on the phone with (I'm sorry I don't remember names this far on) was really friendly and pleasant to speak with.

From the beginning of the teaching application, and all the way up to landing your job and afterwards as well, Footprints has always been most professional with me. They have people you can directly talk to, that will indeed help you. Going with this recruiting agency, as opposed to chancing it on your own, will definitely give you an easier peace of mind in the life-changing process of becoming an English teacher overseas. I have been working in Korea for the last three years as an elementary school English teacher, and it's all in debt to them for helping me get here.

I am so glad that I decided to apply to EPiK through Footprints. They made the whole process much, much easier and gave me the peace of mind to know that I was sending a completed, error-free application to the hiring staff at EPiK! They also put me in touch with The Arrival Store, which was a great way to ensure that some essential items like bedsheets and towels would be at my school when I arrived at my placement!

So far, I'm having a great experience teaching in a public school in South Korea.

First the bad:
Although a bit of the information provided in Footprints' Word documents were out of date (for example, Gangwon province no longer has 5 weeks of vacation; now it has only 4 weeks, like everywhere else). In addition, I noticed that many other recruiters had provided care packages and other support upon arrival at the airport, which is a really nice idea.

And now the good:
Otherwise, it was really great working with Footprints. The guides for filling out forms and getting hold of documents were incredibly helpful, as was the feedback during the interview process

Korea is a really amazing place, and I wish more North Americans knew about it as a tourist destination, or even just as an interesting country. Every weekend, I see a new place, learn a new activity, have a new adventure, and during the week I have a very stimulating experience teaching high school in the north of South Korea.

It seems my placement is a bit different from most of the other August 2014 EPIK intakes (English Program in Korea - the public school English program). Most people I met are teaching middle/elementary school, have smaller classes and fewer coteachers than I do, and sometimes need to work on weekends, which I do not. However, there are as many upsides as there are downs to my different situation, and I'm really happy with my decision to do this, and pleased with my choice of Footprints to help me through it.