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[sikora]

Forgive me if this has already been discussed. I need help.  I just applied for a job teaching English in Korea, and they want me.  It would be a year in Seoul, probably.   It would be a quick turn around and I am suspicious.  But, on the other hand, it's a job with decent benefits, and oh, my goodness, what a year abroad would do for my stateside career.  Going to out myself here a bit here:  I'm an anthropologist who did research in the US - probably the main reason I haven't been able to find a job.  And I want to spend time overseas so badly I can taste it

Is this a fraud?

Obscure, but still the first dog in space (but not in Korea)

[i_shot_reagan]

Check out Dave's ESL Cafe ... There are varying stories about teaching in Korea.

My advice. Check out your potential employer as thoroughly as possible.

[magimax]

Check it out carefully but then weigh it with how much you want to go overseas. 

If you are leery of Korea - and from what I've heard, it does have its share of scam schools that treat instructors badly - then check out some reputable programs for teaching English abroad, such as JET.  One beautiful thing about being a native English speaker is the demand for teachers of this language.  And, you don't have to be an actual teacher of a language to get a job teaching it.  Of course, training in teaching, especially training in teaching language, helps, but it's not required. 

Check out Rotary, check out CIE, use seach terms "international teaching English" on Google...  you'll find a ton of stuff out there. 

One major downside is that you'd probably not be able to take the doggie.

Good luck!

[just_dave]

Be very VERY wary!  Korea has a very bad rep when it comes to ESL jobs.  The jobs at conversation schools ("hogwan") are particularly notorious.  I'm not sure how much you know about conversation school teaching but this is the McJob of ESL jobs and can only marginally be described as teaching. 

A full-time job at a university is a step up from the hogwans -- but not a big one.  For the most part you will be teaching first year general ed EFL classes to almost unfathomably disinterested students -- with class sizes up to 60 or more. 

Don't count on that "year teaching EFL abroad" to do anything whatsoever for your academic job prospects back in the US.  In fact, most search committees will view it as "dropping out."  Particularly for an anthropologist.  Seriously, it would be the kiss of death for your chances at a tt job in the US. 

Just_Dave, 25 years of overseas EFL experience (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Mexico, Japan)

[just_dave]

PS.  If you want to PM me with the details of the position, I'd be happy to give you my impressions.  Just before I took my current position in Japan I was offered a position at a Korean university and got nothing but bad vibes about it.

[kicktan]

I wonder if you have already decided.  I know about Korean colleges.  If you have a master's degree, you can be a full-time instructor at a good college in Seoul.  (But some smaller good colleges may hire a B.A. in English with ESL teaching experience). From what I heard from American ESL instructors in these Universities, the pay is very good.  The teaching is very easy.  It may be 2/2 load.  Nobody will bother you about your teaching or whatever.  You will have a lot of free time.  Also there are a lot of side-jobs you can get to make a lot more money.  (In my former job, I used to give editing jobs to those folks.  It's easy money.)  You can enjoy quality hyper-modern/techno city life if you like living in a city.  If you don't like a crowded, busy city, it would be hell.

David said, students were disinterested, but I wouldn't worry about it.  It could be a cultural thing, or that college was not a good school.

I would check the web-site first.  They may have an English web-site.  Better yet, why don't you say which school it is?  I, and some others maybe, may be able to give you some advice about that school.   

If it is not a University, but a private profit institution (like "Hakwon" David mentioned), it may not be a very good job.  Some of those private ESL programs (Hakwon) may exploit the teachers, and most of the teachers in these programs are not qualified at all (some don't even have BA degree, or God knows, highschool diploma).     

I assumed that the job offer was ESL position.  Is it so?  Or do you have a ph.D. in anthropology and got a t-t position offer from a University in Seoul?  These days Korean Universities want to hire more international scholars in many fields, so I wonder if yours is one of those cases. . .

Most Korean Universities offer great benefits.  That's not unusual.  If they don't, THAT is fishy.  Schools without the perfect benefit may not be legit.  Some universities also offer housing (which is free or very cheap), so ask about it.