Nathan McClain (Fall, 2005) and Emily Carroll (Fall, 2006)
One is considered either "Korean" or "Foreigner" here in South Korea. Our students are growing up in an extremely different environment than most westerners; consequently we are repeatedly reminded of the way we stand out as foreigners. Our students eat spicy fermented cabbage and rice with every meal, are in schools and academies from 8 to 12 hours a day, and acknowledge their elders by bowing as well as using the highest level of respect in their language. However, most Koreans have been very kind to us. If you are not in Seoul proper, most will treat Foreigners like movie stars; they are either scared or happy to see you.
After looking at teaching positions in Scotland, England, Spain, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand and China we settled on South Korea. Our first choice was the UK, but lacking credentials forced us to choose another country. Korea has the best pay, a low cost of living, employers provide accommodations, has annual raises and a few other perks. Japan was a close third, but the cost of living there is very high, has had many choice positions filled and you must pay for some, if not all of your housing. Sadly enough, the amount of money one can save in Korea is far more than teaching in California.
We went through the TEFL Institute based in Chicago via an online 120-hour professional course. The staff at TEFL employed two agencies here in Korea to search for public school positions for us. The whole process was really quite simple if you do not mind a bit of legwork (a couple visits to the Korean Embassy in LA). Also, going through TEFL guarantees a higher level of pay. South Korea has the best internet connection in the world. The technology here is quite good. Public school and a number of the private institutions in Asia can be nightmarish-some are good, it just takes careful research before jumping in.
Nathan teaches English at an all-boys middle school and Emily teaches 4 th- 6 th grade boys and girls. These children are pressured to get excellent grades and study English because if they do not get into a good university, their families may shun them. Since we are confronted with new cultural and linguistic contrasts daily, this one-year teaching term will likely teach us more than we would have learned at home over a much longer period of time. This was a wise decision before jumping into a lengthy credential program. We are currently applying to the Masters in Education/Credentials accelerated program at UC Davis for Fall 2008.