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How many hours will I work per day/week?
Private Institutes:
You will be working Monday to Friday for 30 classes a week. Each class varies from about 40~50minutes. You will have a 10-minute break in between classes. You will teach 120 classes a month and any classes over and above will be consider over-time for which you will be paid. Prep time is not included in your salary and you will generally be asked to remain at work for 8 hours each day
Public Schools:
You are expected to work Monday to Friday for a total of 20~22 classes a week. Each class is about 40~45 minutes long.
In most cases, you will only have 4 classes per day to make up the contractual 20~22 hour work week.
There is a 10 minute break between classes and a scheduled lunch break for about 60~90minutes depending on the size of your school. Generally speaking, you will start classes at 9am and finish at 5pm. Some schools adopt a 8:30am to 4:30pm schedule, depending on the Principal. You are expected to be in school for the full 8 hours.
What's the vacation like?
Private Institutes:
The standard vacation is 2 weeks per year. The education system here works such that you are allowed to take 1 week at a time, usually in winter and then summer. You will continue to receive your salary for the time you are on vacation.
Public Schools:
Most schools offer between 3~5 weeks vacation per year. This all depends on the local school board in your region.
Public schools shut down in January and February (winter break) and in August (summer break). You will be asked to split your vacation time during those periods.
* Due to Summer and Winter English camps being scheduled during the vacation, you should check with your school before traveling about potential conflicts that may occur.
** Some schools allow the teachers to take the full vacation off and designate it as a 'self study' time. During this time, it is recommended you stay in Korea and prepare for the upcoming semester.
What does the school provide?
In addition to providing you with housing (see FAQ>Basics), schools will provide you with an airline ticket to and from your home country.
In MOST cases, you are required to buy a 1-way ticket to Korea and will be reimbursed within 1~3 weeks upon arrival. (Usually in the first week)
At the end of the contract, you will be provided a 1-way ticket back to your home country, usually by the most direct flight available.
* If you are re-signing your contract for another year, you will be asked to purchase your return ticket home and will be reimbursed upon returning to Korea for your next year.
Schools also pay 50% of your National Health Insurance premium and deduct the other 50% from your salary.
What's the Health Insurance like?
NHIC - National Health Insurance Corporation.
Your school is required by law to provide you with medical coverage. It is a split 50-50 system and typically constitutes about 2.5% of your salary.
If you visit a clinic or hospital you are required to pay 20% of the in-patient bill as it is part of the co-payment structure by the NHIC.
See here for more details
* In your first few days upon arrival, you will be taken to the local immigration office to register for your ID card (ARC-Alien Registration Card). This process can take about 2~3 weeks and without the ID card you can't get access to any services.
It is highly recommended you arrive in Korea with private health coverage for a minimum of 30 days just in case there is an emergency.
** Please note that basic medical services are relatively cheap in Korea. You're looking at paying less than W5,000 to see at doctor, plus the medication if you have the flu.
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