Program Reviews

I am so happy I made the decision to sign up for a teaching position with Canadian Connection! Between the application and visa process, the orientation, the consistent update emails and alerts, Canadian Connection makes sure you are well taken care of!

The orientation helped make the transition to Korea easier, and it provided everyone with a strong, solid support system of friends to turn to - you all share the experience together!

Shane and the rest of the Canadian Connection staff personally make sure you are settled and they will help you with any problems you may have. I highly, highly recommend this reliable and legitimate program if you want to become a teacher in South Korea!

After setting my heart on teaching overseas, I did a vast amount of research on ideal places to go, ultimately concluding that South Korea was the best fit for me. My criteria were salary, safety, comfort, teaching opportunity (teaching is my occupation), cost of living, cultural experiences, and vacation/opportunity to travel. No other country offers these to the degree that South Korea does. Canadian Connection did an amazing job of preparing me for my employment abroad, from walking me through the necessary steps to get my visa and other documents, to answering random questions I had about my upcoming culture and experience. They made themselves available through email, skype, and phone calls. The Korean culture is rapidly changing from a traditional Confucian and Buddhist base to a more globalized society, and my placement in a rural area offered plenty of both. The students' English abilities and behaviors were very diverse, however if you come with the right attitude and a love for teaching and experiencing new things then you will fit right in to their hospitable culture. The food is great, the vacation is fantastic (especially considering Korea's geographic location), and the Korean and foreign communities alike are extremely inviting and loving. An absolutely amazing opportunity for anyone in any walk of life, and Canadian Connection is an amazing, personalized recruitment agency to go through.

I had a wonderful experience with Canadian Connection. The staff (Shane and Michael) were always available via telephone or email whenever I had any questions or concerns; before I came to Korea and while I was in Korea. The first couple of days here are a big adjustment, and it was a comfort to have one of their staff here (Katie!). They do their absolute best to make sure that you will receive as positive an experience as possible, by preparing an information package about what to expect in Korea (although nothing will really prepare you for the hands on experience! It was nice to have a guideline). Because they are a smaller recruiter, I felt like they really cared about their teachers and the quality of their teachers that they accept.

I am a person who hates change and am very attached to my family and comfort zone. Taking a leap and coming to Korea was a flood of emotions...excitement, fear, anticipation, hesitation, just to name a few. I truly feel that had it not been for Canadian Connections, my transition would not have been nearly as smooth and I may have already turned around and gone home. They made sure I was prepared for everything. They were always available for questions and were excellent at keeping in touch on a daily basis for any type of question. This is an excellent agency and would recommend it to anyone that is taking a risk and a leap in life. Canadian Connections is the way to go!

Upon entering Korea, I was surprisingly calm and unphased by the culture that was booming around me--although that may have been due to severe jet lag. The aspect of culture shock that hit me first was the amount of people everywhere, as well as the speed at which they moved! I constantly felt as though I was either going to run into someone, or be trampled by the seemingly endless amounts of people streaming through the shinay (downtown Gwangju. Most of the culture shock was abated when I got to the beautiful Shin Yang Park Hotel--the home of our 10 -day orientation through the Jeollanamdo Language Program. The facility was luxurious and comfortable to me. It was also set at the base of the impressive Muedungson Mountain, which offers many hiking trails in the surrounding area. The Orientation was very informative and helpful to me. There was a varied amount of workshops spaning from "Korean Culture" to "Traditional Korean Music" to "Games!" The orientation also offered a field trip to a museum in Mokpo and an evening trip to a baseball game, where we feasted on fried chicken and pizza amongst the exhuberant and dedicated Korean fans. The orientation was very thorough and helpful, but seemed to be quite long. By the eighth day I felt ready to head out on my own and set up my apartment. I was also anxious to see my school, meet my co-teacher and the rest of the staff. The final day came and we were let loose. My co-teacher was very nice and helpful to me, even though he did not speak English very well. He took me to the Immigration Office to register for my A.R.C., and then took me to visit the school. I was welcomed very graciously and warmly. I immediately met the principal, vice principal and head teacher, which was stressful but successful too! I feel as though I represented myself well, even though I could barely communicate with the principal due to language barriers. That day felt like a whirlwind to me, which ended with a nice western dinner at T.G.I.Fridays at the Gwangju Bus Terminal. I settled in for the night at my apartment wrapped in a new blanket and sheet provided by my school. I felt strangly comfortable, and blissfully unaware of what was to come in the next several months. I am trying to be as open to new experiences as I can, while maintaining a strong sense of self in the process. I know there will be hard times, and I have already experienced many of those, but I know they will pass in time. The hard times also make the good times that much better! I want to become a stronger person--a more assertive person. I also want to be a good teacher. I hope to do my very best and be open to improvement.

I am a person who hates change and am very attached to my family and comfort zone. Taking a leap and coming to Korea was a flood of emotions...excitement, fear, anticipation, hesitation, just to name a few. I truly feel that had it not been for Canadian Connections, my transition would not have been nearly as smooth and I may have already turned around and gone home. They made sure I was prepared for everything. They were always available for questions and were excellent at keeping in touch on a daily basis for any type of question. This is an excellent agency and would recommend it to anyone that is taking a risk and a leap in life. Canadian Connections is the way to go!

My experience living and working in South Korea has been tremendous. The staff at Canadian Connections are professional and supportive and they made the transition to Korea as easy as possible. My job responsibilities were very reasonable and the wages and benefits are excellent. The foreigner community here is very social, and there are no shortages of things to do or get involved in. My biggest job challenges were: motivating middle schoolers with out incentives like marks or tests and managing the classroom with significant language barriers. The biggest day to day challenge is sometimes just being different. The culture is extremely heterogeneous and foreigners are so conspicuous. Sometimes I miss just being one of the crowd. That said, most people I've met are very warm, welcoming and eager to share Korean culture. I would definitely recommend this program and Canadian Connections to anyone who likes and cares about kids, who is open to new experiences and wants to travel around S.E Asia. I have been here for 2 years and have visited 11 countries during my vacation time!

I've been teaching in rural South Korea for 2 years now. I'm teaching in an all-girls middle school, and have thoroughly enjoyed it! Everyone's situation is different, but for the most part teachers have great support from the program and co-workers, students who completely worship you, and a huge community of other foreign teachers who you will meet and become good friends with. Living in South Korea is relatively easy and comfortable, it has all of the 1st world ammentities with the rest of Asia at your doorstep for cheap traveling and a lot of new places to see and explore.

I am about to begin the ninth month of my year long contract in Korea. This experience has been more than I thought it could be. Being recruited through Canadian Connection gave me confidence in the fact that my contract and living situations would be looked after and that I had the support of many people if anything (positive or negative) were to happen. I currently teach in two different elementary schools and a high school. While this situation is slightly more stressful than the average, I always feel as though I am well taken care of in terms of resources.
I was warned before I came to Korea that culturally many things would be different. To be honest, almost everything is different than in my home city in southern Ontario, Canada. Sometimes that can lead to frustrations, i.e., people talking around you instead of to you or hearing comments about your physical appearance, but the majority of time the cultural differences have been a learning experience for me and the foreigner community gets together to laugh it off.
I live in a mid-sized town in the southern province of Jeollanamdo. My apartment is the perfect size for myself and the puppy that I adopted from a shelter here. I have seen apartments of various sizes but nothing I couldn't live in, or of which I am extremely jealous. As per Canadian Connection's contract, my school takes care of my apartment rent and I am responsible for my bills. Including gas, hydro, cable, internet, my smart phone and a building maintenance fee, I pay a little over $150 a month in bills. The rest of my salary is mine to spend or save! My schools are all a bus ride away. I am thankful for the bus experience every time I make plans with friends to meet somewhere or go out.
The two best things about my job are the kids and the places I have been able to visit. Foreigners are a kind of celebrity in Korea and everyone still shows the utmost interest in me even eight months later. I say "hello" about one hundred times a day. In the evenings and on the weekends I travel a lot. There are so many beautiful places to see in this province. The week-long orientation that I attended with other Canadian Connection recruits allowed me to make many new friends, who then went all over the province to teach. Now when I travel, there is usually someone in each city that I know to visit. Transportation is so accessible here that I can easily make a day trip to almost anywhere in the country without issue. During my vacation time I have already been able to visit Thailand and Japan.
I feel like a year is not enough to experience everything here so I have decided to renew my contract for another year. I will transfer schools and cities (always looking for new experiences) but I will stay in Jeollanamdo.

Teaching English in Korea is an experience I would recommend to anyone who is open-minded, motivated, and looking for a little adventure and foreign experience. Coming here through Canadian Connection was an easy, smooth process throughout which I received guidance at every step. Even with careful research and preparation ahead of time, it is impossible to really know what to expect; having friendly, experienced people to give you small tips and anecdotes from their own stay is truly invaluable.
While I wouldn't say that everyone can do it, teaching in Korea, especially in an elementary school, is not particularly difficult. The curriculum is all set out, the lesson planning is minimal and you always have plenty of materials and the support of your co-teacher to rely on. Even the discipline aspect is handled by your co-teacher so really all you have to do is...teach!
Moving to a new country away from family and friends can no doubt be a daunting step, and a bit lonely at times, but the friends you make here and the many many things to do and see quickly make you condsider extending your stay for another year.