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Teach English for a year in South Korea

Thirty children stand up when you walk in on the first day, because that's what they're told to do, and none of them believe you can't speak Korean. You spend the first month drawing suns and rain clouds on the board because nobody has the vocabulary yet, including you. The EPIK programme is what gets you here — a twelve-month contract, roughly 2 to 2.7 million won a month, a furnished apartment near the school, airfare paid back if you finish. By month three you can order lunch without pointing. By month ten the same children argue over whose turn it is to erase the board.

Practical

Cost
$200–1,000 (TEFL course, visa, checks)
Best time
Apply for March or September intake, months ahead
Difficulty
Moderate
Time it takes
Twelve-month renewable contract
What people get wrong
People start the application after the recruitment window has effectively closed, because the background check and diploma apostille take longer than expected; they also assume they'll land in Seoul, when most placements are in smaller provincial towns.
With
Alone

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