I found Travel and Teach randomly online one day when I was looking for companies to help me get to South Korea to teach. I am always a bit skeptical about things at first, and it took me about 6 months of research and looking elsewhere before I was ready to apply. I am so glad I chose Travel and Teach!! It was a bit strange to me at first that they offer all of there services for free, but I got in contact with someone who was currently in Korea thanks to Travel and Teach and she assured me that they were a legitimate company. The schools pay them so you just have to focus on preparing to move. When I applied, I had an email from Niko the next day wanting to set up an interview to make sure I was qualified and I knew what I was getting myself in to. He asked me a few questions like if there was any specific area that I wanted to be located and how good my Korean was. (Note: I would highly recommend learning some basic Korean before going. I quickly realized how terrible my Korean knowledge was when I got here and it's been a bit of a struggle sometimes. However I am studying and improving and being immersed will help a lot as well.)
I got started on all the paperwork as I knew that the process was long. (Note: DO NOT put the paperwork off. My situation was a bit rushed, but if you put it off, you will be spending a lot more on shipping to get things to where they need to go as fast as possible to make sure you have everything done by the time you need to get on a plane.) About a month later, Niko emailed me saying that he found a school that wanted to interview me. A few days later I had the interview, and the next week I had signed a contract. Everyone's situation will probably be a bit different, but for me, I signed the contract at the end of May and they originally wanted me mid-June, but because of the paperwork the earliest I would have been able to get there was mid-July. Be prepared for the possibility that everything will happen super fast, but don't be discouraged if it takes a little while longer to find a job. Niko was very helpful throughout the whole process by answering all my questions quickly and helping make sure I did all the paperwork correctly. He also helped clear up any miscommunications that occurred between the director, Travel and Teach, and me. I've been here for about a month now, and I absolutely love it. The school pays for my apartment and gives me a very generous salary which allows me to do exploring around when I'm not teaching. I live in a city near Seoul which is connected by the subway, so I can just hop on the train whenever and within an hour, be in Seoul to explore (which I have been a lot).
One thing to remember is that you are there to teach first, not to be a tourist. Education is very important to the society and they expect you to do your best. Most of the children are very well behaved and want to learn. (You always will have some troublemakers.) They are a lot of fun to work with and I probably learn more from them than they do from me everyday.
Response from Travel and Teach Recruiting Inc.
Thanks for the amazing review, Nicholas!! It really was a pleasure to work with your and your brother - you guys were super easy and nice to work with.
You are going to have the time of your life this year! If you need anything, you know where to find us!