A Day in the Life of a Kindergarten ESL teacher in Seoul

I think we are going to do these posts regularly just to record our days and stuff and give people an insight into our lives as teachers.

Enjoy!

Opening a Bank Account in Korea as A Foreigner (American Citizen)

Today is the day we try to open a bank account here in Seoul, our target bank is CitiBank.

We are gonna  check out the Bulgwang Branch and see if they can help us out. If not then the search will continue.

I heard that U.S with a valid passport and a social security number can open an account with no problems and it actually easier to send money from Korea back to the states. 

So wish us luck!

I will update this post later today with our findings~!

UPDATE 05/11/13

We waited to be helped by someone who spoke English. The lady who helped us was very friendly and spoke English very well. She handed us papers that we would've need to fill out to open an account.  However, we were confused when we saw that one of the forms was a W-9 Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification Form. We asked her why it was necessary and she said that the IRS might charge interest to our account, since we're American Citizens and taxpayers.

Since we were confused we decided to not open up a Korean account with Citibank in Korea. Instead, we're thinking of opening an American Citibank account online. On their website, it says that they can send a check card to wherever you're at.

If all goes well, and we each receive our check cards by mail, we plan on depositing our monies at the Citibank ATMs in the Korea.

If anyone knows about this or understand the system better than we do, please tell us about it!

Thanks~

Update 05/07/13

So my friend and I just came back from the Bulgwang-dong branch CitiBank. We weren't able to open an account but the people at this location were kind enough to help us out.

We got our number, waited and then spoke to the teller. Unfortunately, we don't speak very good Korean and they dont't speak enough English (which is understandable). They contacted the headquarters here in Seoul and I spoke to the man who asked if we had our passport, foreigner registration card, and social security number. We had all of this but the lady said it was "difficult" to open an account for an American. I actually thought it was the opposite but I believed her because I can imagine how hard it must be when you can't communicate.

Any who, we settled on the fact that we are going to have to make our way to the Jong-no Branch.

Here is a map of the "GLOBAL BRANCHES" in Seoul, where you can find bilingual assistance.

I will update again when we go to Jong-no...Wish us luck~!

Contemplating our life over Coffee and Pie (a tart lol)

Career changes require a lot of thinking.

And a lot of thinking requires caffeine and the occasional slice of cheese tart.

Jacky and I have different dreams (or rather the same nonexistent dream, does that still count?).

But we know we want to do something for ourselves that can support us in the future.

Here is a list of some of the careers that we have come up with:

Foreign Language Teacher
Accountant
Middle School Teacher
Elementary School Teacher
School Counselor
Web Designer
Makeup Artist
Real Estate Agent
ESL (abroad)
Hospitality management

This is probably not all of them. But can you see how we obviously have no true goal? That doesn't mean we don't want to have a passion, we just haven't found one.

-Ashley S.

Teaching English in Korea: Problems We Have Encountered Trying to Get A Teaching Job

For the past 3 months, Ashley and I have been trying to apply for a Native English Teacher position in South Korea. The process has been very long and annoying. Ashley explained all the steps for the application process in the previous post.

Here is what he have noticed so far:

1. When employers mention that teaching experience is preferred, they usually mean it.

The best way to make up for not having teaching experience is by making your voice sound really "energetic, active, and confident in teaching young kids," while you do a phone or skype video chat interview. We figure this is the alternative because we wouldn't describe ourselves as lively and energetic and we have been told by recruiters before to change our voices and try to sound more friendly. We are not sure but we think that this is how most people without teaching experience get hired.

2. Schools want to give parents what they want, and we do not look like Native English Speakers.

Ashley and I are from South America born in the US and we do not fit the image of what people in South Korea would expect an American to look like. I mean we were in Seoul for almost 2 weeks and people either thought we were from Brazil or Dubai (UAE). A man in Myeongdong thought Ashley and her sister were from Paris, FR. He was shocked when he found out that they were sisters because Ashley's sister has a more light complexion. He also said that Ashley was "brown" and Koreans were "white." Even though he didn't mean it in a bad way, it's just not something you here often. By the way this man was tanner than Ashley. 

3. Co-Applicant positions are scarce and meant for actual couples (supposedly)

We were told the following by 4 different recruiters:

- couples positions are very hard to find

- they are usually for married couples not friends

- schools don't like to have 2 friends that know each other too well working in the same school

Disclaimer: These pertain to experiences I have gone through with Ashley.


- Jacky 

Teaching English in Korea: The Application as We Know It

There have only been a few things in life that I have incessantly tried to pursue, becoming an English teacher in South Korea has joined that list. I am going to be honest and say that I usually and I when I mean usually I mean 99% of the time do not follow dreams that I believe are outside of my reach. That sounds horrible but when you have as little drive as I do and a whopping case of laziness the result is typically not very much.

But starting in July, I (and Jacky) have started the process. What is the process you may ask? Here it is in a nutshell.

1. Paperwork! Get started on this as soon as possible because as any one will tell you this will take the longest to get done. That means an apostilled University Diploma (must first be notarized my a public notary and then sent to the department of state from which that document originated), apostilled National FBI Background Check (takes a minimum of 3 weeks to process and then a minimum of 1 week to get apostilled in Washington D.C) , university transcripts, a valid passport. 

2. Contact a recruiter. There are a million out there. Check websites like Dave's ESL Cafe to find postings, most of which are created by recruiters. Once you contact them be strong about where you want to go because I find location to be the hardest place to secure. NOTE: Stay in contact with more than one recruiter, this way you can look at more options. 

3. Interviews. These are typically with the school director or in some cases another foreign teacher. I have been having the most difficulty with this part of the job hunt. For the most part these are done either as a video Skype call or an actual phone call. Expect for these calls to be done well into the night. The lastest call I received was at 1 AM. If you are naturally enthusiastic and bubbly then you probably aced the interview if you are nervous, more calm sounding, or just not as "happy" sounding then some acting is gonna be necessary. This is something I haven't been able to master. This, coupled with a lack of experience hasn't landed me a job. I suspect there is another factor but I will leave that for another post. 

Interviews are also where you need to ask the important questions, anything that isn't clear to you or that you are curious about such as the location of the school, the number of foreign teachers, whether or not you can get in contact with those teachers, how old the children will be, the conditions of the housing, what teaching style the school uses and so on. 

4. Getting the job, reading the contract. I have no experience with this but you need to read every line of the contract to make sure there is no glaring loop hole where you can get caught in a situation that is less than desirable. Try looking at online forums where you can post your contract and members of the forum which are usually experienced will look over the contract for you. After that is done and you have clarified every inch of the document you sign it and return it to the school. 

5. Visa Application and Arriving in Korea...The documents that you have prepared such as your diploma and background check will now come into play. The recruiter will probably guide you through this process and direct you as to where the documents need to be sent. From what the recruiters have told me this can take 1 1/2 months. Once this is done then the school will confirm your arrival date and will have the flight information ready for you. From this point forward you are set!

-Ashley