Program Reviews

I had a very positive experience with EPIK (through Footprints). The school I was placed at was a reputable public school in a very nice neighbourhood. There was one co-teacher who was personally responsible for helping me with both work and non-work related affairs (such as how to open a bank account, how to set up internet at my home etc.). I formed very close friendships with my coteachers and still keep in touch with them to this day. They really helped me understand more about not only Korean culture, but about the work culture there. If I could do it all over again, I definitely wouldn't think twice.

Coming to Korea is certainly one of the best decisions I've made and I thank Footprints Recruiting for being so helpful in the process. I've been asked by several people that are intrigued in teaching abroad and I always mention Footprints because you all really made it as simple as possible and walked me through step by step. I always recommend going through a recruiter, especially Footprints.

I'd like to share my experience with EPIK. English Program in Korea provides teachers with a 9 day orientation that made adjusting to Korea incredibly easy. We learned about Korean culture, language, the school system, food, and teaching strategies to prepare us for the classroom. Everyone is so friendly and down to earth, you meet so many people that are in the same exact situation as you and sharing that experience is already one way to connect.

Groups are split depending on what area in Korea they'll be teaching, so I met friends who now live in my town and province. My group was for Gangwon province, there were about 30 of us. Around 15-20 of us meet up at least once a month, or we visit each other during the weekends. It's really like nothing else I've experienced. I met people that I know I will friends with for a very long time. Orientation really did help me since I had no teaching experience aside from the TESL certificate.

Life in Korea is amazing. I live in a smaller town called Taebaek in the mountains of Gangwon province. The town used to be known for its coal mining and is the highest city in South Korea. I teach at an all boys middle school, a five minute walk from my apartment. Teaching has its ups and downs. Boys can be difficult to manage in the classroom, but overall my experience has been very pleasant. I recently had my six months mark and am considering renewing my contract another year.

I'm lucky in ways I didn't realize when I first arrived. Although I live in a rural area, we have a decent city center and main trains and buses that travel to larger cities within three hours. Also, the foreigners in my town are now like family to me. We have a real tight community and gather once or twice a week to eat out and sometimes take weekend trips.

The majority of foreign teachers I know feel a similar way, some haven't found a reason to leave and have been here for many years. Our jobs are not that absorbing, the benefits are great. We don't worry about rent too many bills. We are paid well enough that we can afford to eat out a couple times a week, take weekend trips, visit nearby countries on vacation and still be able to save. The consensus is: for anyone who is thinking about coming to Korea, don't make it a maybe just do it. You won't regret it.

Footprints got me a job in China and I had a great time. I worked for a school in Guangzhou. I taught maybe 20 hours a week, worked with great people. I was able to explore the area on the weekends.
The school wasn't perfect, and the contract was quite strict, but I was always paid. Sometimes the paycheque would be a day late, a couple times it was a day early.
I really enjoyed working with young learners, I previously taught in Korea and worked with high school students, but greatly preferred working with young students.

EPIK has the potential to be a great program, but can never be under the current culture of Korean education. From my two years of experience under EPIK, the failings of Korean students when it comes to English education are placed largely on the GETs, which is the last place it should be. As a GET, I had no means of authority or discipline in the classroom, so students ran rampant and co-teachers, when in class, rarely did anything to control the students. Slaps on the head or hands with rulers did nothing to discourage troublemakers or improve classroom morale.

When it comes to co-teachers, they NEED to be able to speak English, not only to effectively teach the language but to be able to communicate with the GET. Too many of my friends were little more than tape recorders or robots in the classroom, and had no means of improving their situation because the co-teacher couldn't understand them. In the US, if a teacher is instructing on a foreign language, they are required to be fluent in it, in reading, writing, grammar, AND speech. My English Dept. head could BARELY speak English and had no passion as a teacher, whereas my co-teacher in my last school was fluent and passionate but always cut down by her superiors. That is not right and an all-to-common example of the failure of Korean culture when it comes to education. The older teacher is NOT always right.

If EPIK wants to be a viable program, one that effectively instructs students on how to use English, there needs to be a nationwide curriculum, one that is taught by every teacher across the country. It's no wonder that Korean students are learning English at different paces and levels when every GET is forced to go it alone. Both years, I arrived to NO curriculum, having to scramble to create my own lessons with NO basis to follow. It's certainly expected to have to do lesson-planning, but without a base curriculum, what are we to teach that gives ALL students an equal chance to learn?

There's only so much whitewash one can use before the dirt shows thru, and that's what is happening with the Korean education system. I regularly saw Korean teachers faking important documents to hide the truth of their students' grades; I was told point-blank that all our high school seniors would graduate REGARDLESS of their grades. What's the point in teaching if everyone passes anyway? My Korean co-workers regularly commended my diligence in lesson-planning and teaching, but it's because it's a diligence they don't have! Too many times my KT told me she didn't care about the high school students because of their attitudes and behaviour, and so would not teach them. The growing ignorance of this generation of Korean students will surely show through the whitewash the longer the truth is covered up.

By cancelling the EPIK program, as is rumoured to be happening, you are not fixing the problem. The GETs are not the problem; they want to be the solution, to be the driving force in English education, but we are not given the tools, only the blame. And so, South Korea will isolate itself from the Western world by removing the thousands of Westerners who are eager to share their culture and experiences, allowing Korea to dive deeper into the homogeneity it so prizes. Maybe North and South will someday reunify, but in my view, the isolation caused by dismissing waygook teachers will create in the South a culture akin to that of the North, and they can be alone together.

Footprints is not trustworthy. They promise to place you with responsible schools, but they do nothing to make sure that the schools are actually reputable. Some schools are good, the rest will cheat you either a little or a lot. Good sources for placements are Dave’s ESL Café, Reach To Teach and English First. You deserve a good experience, don’t go with Footprints.

First off, I want to start out by saying that Footprints is a big placement company. They help place English teachers throughout Korea in public and private schools. Thus, every teacher is going to have a different experience because each teacher is placed in a different school.

With that being said, I was unhappy with the support I received from the Footprints team. Here's how it worked. I contacted them (with the advice of a friend who used them and said he liked Footprints), and long story short, they helped secure a job at a hagwon (private school) for me in Seoul in 2010. I was hoping Footprints would answer my questions about the U.S. visa process, but they were unable to do that, so I figured it out on my own. It can be a pretty confusing process.

Prior to going to Korea, there was very little communication from Footprints about what to expect when I arrived in the country. I was unprepared for the vastly different work environment and went through major culture shock. Not once did Footprints check in with me about how I was doing. And, my school ended up going out of business at the end of the year. Luckily, I saw all my money. The director of the school (GDA Junior in Seocho) was also very unprofessional and paranoid.

I know several teachers who have been very satisfied with Footprints, so perhaps I am an anomaly. I was just surprised that Footprints offered such little support to its teachers.

Outside of work, life in Seoul was awesome. I lived in a really tiny apartment in one of the best neighborhoods - Gangnam, which was close to great bars and restaurants. I joined a couple different gyms and took public transportation everywhere. Taxis were also really cheap. In general, Koreans are really friendly. I was able to make friends with some locals, and they taught me how to read Korean, while they practiced their English with me. Win-win!

My apartment was about an eight minute walk to work, which was also a big plus. I lived within walking distance of local markets as well.

As for a typical day at work: I taught super little kids (ages 3 and 4) in the morning and early afternoon. I got to work around 8:30-9 ish. My kids had zero English experience, so my first few months were super rough. I was given very little instruction and got a lot of criticism from my crazy boss on what to do, so it was a huge learning experience. After about five to six months, I finally felt comfortable in the classroom but felt like my boss was always watching me on the cameras (yes, there were cameras + audio in every classroom).

At this particular school, lunch was provided and taken out of our paycheck. At my second, much better school that I found through a friend the year after, lunch was free.

After the morning kids left around 2:30-3:00 ish, we had a 20-minute period to get ready for our afternoon classes, when we taught elementary school kids. My students had a higher English level in the afternoon, so it was way easier. Also, the curriculum was more set. I taught 3-4 different age groups and levels. Every teacher had a different schedule for this particular school. Some teachers were done around 4-5pm, and other teachers weren't finished until 6:50. Teaching takes a ton of energy since you're on your feet all day, so keep that in mind when thinking about working there.

A note on sick days: They are pretty much non-existant in Korea. I got sick a few times and lost my voice and still came in to teach. Teachers who had more than 2-3 sick days got money taken out of their paychecks.

Overall, my first year in Korea using Footprints was one massive lesson. I used what I learned about Korean work culture to have a great second year at a different school. My first year was a culture schock I wasn't expecting, but I'm glad that I experienced it in the long run.

Sorry to say it, but I do not recommend Footprints. I'd recommend teaching English in Korea to anyone, but do your research first about what to expect when you get there! Hierarchy and harmony are HUGE.

I taught English in a public elementary school in Incheon, South Korea. I have fond memories of my whole year in Korea. While there were many challenges to living in a country where foreigners are such a small minority there were also many perks.

Incheon is a large city approximately thirty minutes by subway to Seoul. While it does not have the wealth of activities and culture of Seoul, there is plenty to do in the city and Seoul is an easy subway ride away. I lived a mere fifteen minute walk from my school and most of my friends could either walk or take public transit easily to their schools. Teaching in a public school means less classes to teach than private, and more dependable salary and more respect of the contract, more vacation days (more travel!). You also get a Korean co-teacher who helps teach and control the classroom with you. Co-teachers can often make or break your public school teaching experience. Sometimes if the level of English is low at your school and your teacher does not assist you, teaching can be incredibly frustrating. Also, public school teaching can be more monotonous than teaching at a private school because there are less individual lessons to teach in one day. Overall, I think public school teaching gives you more opportunities for travel, and more a cultural experience since you are generally the only foreigner in the entire school.

I thoroughly enjoyed living in Incheon, mainly because it is so close to Seoul which is a lively city with a wealth of music, art, museums, good restaurants, shopping, and cultural activities. Lastly, if you're missing home Seoul is the place to find familiarities from your home country.

I went to Ulsan in 2011 with Footprints. Initially I wasn't all too sure about this whole thing, but I chose to push ahead anyway as I really didn't have much to do staying at home in Missouri.

Upon arrival I was put at ease immediately because we were received at the airport by Scott, who runs the Footprints office in Korea and is the go-to guy for the teachers. We got a footprints arrival package which was really cool, and were taken to our apartments. Scott is a great guy and as we were heading to town from the airport I really did feel like Footprints was the right choice to make.

I gotta say that I'm not a huge fan of the Korean housing, it's tiny and a little spartan in terms of decoration... however it is comfortable and you get used to the small space, if 25 million Koreans can get used to it I can too. Over the months I decorated the place a bit and it did become home.

Teachign was an awesome experience, very different from working with kids in the states as they're way better behaved. The school was great, the co-teachers were friendly and I was lucky enough to have a great restaurant around the corner with awesome Korean dishes... and some cheap soju for after work :)

This program is wonderful.

The recruiter, Footprints Recruiting, did a wonderful job during the application process. They responded to e-mails expediently, and processed all of my documents smoothly.

The program itself, TLG (Teach and Learn with Georgia) is an impassable opportunity. The wage of $USD is more than livable, and the host family placements are so rewarding.

I am working in a big city near Tbilisi. My host family is generous and fun. We are constantly inviting neighbors over for dinner, going to relatives' birthday parties, etc. Everything is an occasion for a party in Georgia. Georgians welcome guests as a gift from God--so it's impossible to feel hungry or lonely.

I teach at a school with 2 Georgian co-teachers. I am learning as much as I am teaching. The students are very sweet and eager to learn. I am constantly engaged and the days are NEVER dull.

I recommend this program to anybody with a heart for adventure, learning, and loving. Don't pass this opportunity up!

Teaching abroad is truly an experience of a lifetime that everyone should try to add to their must-do list. Georgia was a remarkable place to teach, with its cultural mixes of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Footprints Recruiting offered a ton of support with documents and while in country. You have to be flexible for these type of teaching jobs, and you will gain in useful skills as a reward.