You might be considering moving to teach English in Korea and may be confused about how to do this. I have done it before so I am here to provide you with all the knowledge needed to apply.
Now, you may or may not know this but there are two routes which are: public schools and private academies. For the purpose of this post I will be focusing on public schools which is what the EPIK program is for.
What is EPIK?
EPIK is a program that is affiliated with the Korean Ministry of Education. EPIK has a spring (February) and fall (August) intake. EPIK pretty much interviews you and if you pass that, then your application is recommended to a local office of education depending on various factors. Then you are placed and will sign a twelve month contract to teach in Korea!!
The best thing about EPIK are the benefits you get with being an EPIK teacher, which are :
1. Your flight ticket to and from Korea are reimbursed.
2. Your apartment is paid for by the school and you also receive a decent monthly salary that will allows you to save.
3. You will go to a week long orientation allowing you to learn more about teaching and you will meet the other teachers that are moving to your area as those goibg to other cities and provinces.
4. You will receive a thirteen month salary.
5. If you complete your twelve month contract you will receive a completion bonus or if you resign, a resigning bonus.
6. When you first arrive you will receive a settling allowance.
7. Half of your health insurance will be paid for by the school.
8. You get five extra annual leave days than private academies and they will increase after one year!
As you can see, you will living comfortably if you move to Korea. You don’t have to worry about where you will live because it is all sorted out for you.
How to Apply?
The application process for EPIK is a long one lol. The whole application process takes about six months and so let me tell you… only the truly dedicated will see it through.
1 . Decide you would like to apply since it takes a while to work on your application. Ideally you want to submit your application as soon as it is open to submit your application. This is to increase your chances of being placed in your choice of location.
2. Start getting your documents together :
- Completed Application Form & Photo
- TEFL/TESOL/CELTA Certifications & Valid Teaching Licenses
- An Apostilled Copy of a Bachelor’s Diploma
- Proof of Full-Time Teaching Experience (PTE)
- Original Sealed Transcripts
- Documents for Korean Citizens
- An Apostilled National Level
- Criminal Background Check (CRC)
- Documents for In-Country Applicants
- Two Letters of Recommendation from Academic/Professional Sources’
- Apostilled Birth Certificate (UK/AU Applicants)
- Passport Information Page Copy
- English Education Proof (SA/Quebec Applicants)
- Proof of Level 2 Status
- English Education Proof (Int’l School Attendees)
3. Start your lesson plan and application questions because these can take some time. I encourage you to look up ESL lesson plans and resources to help you plan your lesson. I would recommend you to find lesson plans online and see how you can make yours just as good!
4. If your application is accepted then you can prepare for your interview. Start to think about:
- Why do you want to got to Korea?
- How will you teach a class with two different English abilities?
- How will you adapt to moving to a different country?
5. If you have passed your interview, well done! You now need to send in your documents to EPIK and WAIT! This is when you wait to see where you have been placed.
6. Once you receive the information about where you are placed you will be asked if you would like to accept and if the answer is yes you will be sent a contract which is what you will need to use to apply for your visa.
7. Once you receive your visa, you are pretty much done!
Overall, this is how you apply to teach with EPIK. I highly recommend checking out the EPIK site for more information HERE. If you are wondering about timelines and how long things can take, you can check out my EPIK Timeline HERE.
Do you plan on applying to EPIK let me know!?How is it going!?
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