Don’t teach in Korea unless…

Teaching English in Korea is not for everyone.

But if you:

• are open minded
• are willing to learn about teaching English and the Korean language
• have multiple interests in Korea (not just the $)
• like new foods (especially spicy foods)
• like new experiences
• like to travel
• can tolerate a bit of xenophobia, discrimination and racism
• can live without your current comforts
• are adaptable

…then you’ll probably do o.k.

Because if you:

• aren’t open minded
• can’t live without your friends and family
• can’t live without your comforts
• don’t like different foods (you’ll end up like her)
• don’t do your research
• can’t live away from home
• aren’t willing to learn
• expect it to be like home
• can’t handle a challenge

…then you’re probably not going to like it much.

There’s a popular video out there, “Do Not Teach in Korea if You Are…” In it he mentions some things above and a few more and I thought I’d add my take on those.

Nationalistic. He suggests you shouldn’t teach in Korea if you are nationalistic. True, if you are very nationalistic then you should stay where you are. Things are different abroad, so you can expect your view points to be challenged.

While there may be “no place like home” some say “when in Rome…” You don’t have to like all of the differences, but just know there will be differences.

Teaching pedagogy. Don’t get too caught up in what you think a teacher should be like, because your idea will be different from the reality there.

Korean students get a lot of pressure in school to succeed. As he suggests you don’t have the same role as the Korean teacher. You are often kinda considered the fun guy. And that’s o.k. so make teaching English fun. The students get enough pressure to begin with.

Dating. He suggests that the dating scene for foreigners is not as good as you may have read and that you won’t have all of these girls lining up for you.

On one hand I agree and on the other I’d like to add my two cents. He is Asian-American which is different than a Caucasian American there anyways. Light skin color in Asia is considered higher class.

So based on that fact alone if you are white you are going to get a bit more positive attention compared to if you weren’t. I agree that the ladies won’t be lining up for you, but just the fact that you are different will make you stand out.

And then when you add white to it. It’s a little more positive. That is the mentality not only in Korea, but in other places in Asia.

Being alone. As I mentioned above if you can’t live without your family or friends you are going to suffer. Living abroad can be a fairly isolating experience. Chances are that you are going to be spending a lot more time alone than usual.

So make sure you have some hobbies.

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