Program Reviews

From the day I first contacted him to the moment I set foot in the airport in Seoul, Alistair at Korean Horizons took great care of me.
He was always prompt and helpful in his communication via skype/email and he gave me clear instructions for every step of the way. Each of the main steps to gain employment with EPIK can be tricky, but Alistair guided me through it all. He even offered some clever tips for the interview process.
Once we arrived, Alistair picked us up at the airport, shuttled us to our hotel, and then took us all out to dinner. We had a blast.
On top of it all, he gave us a bag full of handy books and materials to ease our transition to Korea.
Korean Horizons offers a service that goes above and beyond. I would recommend for anyone who is considering to teach in Korea to contact Alistair and let him be your guide.

I went to the ROK on two separate occasions and both times Alistair was absolutely amazing.
On my first attempt I was at a complete lost as to where to start. I had originally started my search on DavesESLCafe and replied to numerous postings on there. Many recruiters for both public and private schools responded with instructions on what to do next and informing me of various positions they had. They quickly built up my hopes and then just as quickly abandoned me without any further word. They literally just stopped contacting me after several weeks of correspondence. In hindsight I guess they had found someone to fill the position and didn't see the point in helping me find another.

Fast forward to Korean Horizons..
Literally within a month of contacting Alistair, I was in Korea. The process was so fast and efficient that I barely had time to register that I was heading to a foreign country for the first time in my life!! Before I knew it I was stepping off the plane and began feeling overwhelmed. Unlike some others who went through Korean Horizons, Alistair didn't meet me at the airport. It was off season and he was assisting another client on the other side of Korea. However, he left me with such detailed instructions that I felt as if he was there with me. From the moment I landed and throughout the year, Korean Horizons provided continuous support.

When I decided to go back to Korea for a second run, I bypassed all the job postings from other places and simply emailed Alistair directly. He gave me a list of available locations in the province of my choice and told me to order them in my preference. He claimed he couldn't make any guarantees to give me my first choice, but I ended up getting it! Alistair was considerate enough to give all the options and honest enough to tell me there were no guarantees, but it was clear that he really tried his best to make sure I got the position I most desired.

Both of my experiences with Korean Horizons were beyond exceptional and now they offer even more amenities like fronting you for your first purchases while waiting for your first paycheck. Korean Horizons is definitely the way to go if you want to work in a public school in Korea. If I ever decide to do another year, I have no doubt in my mind that I'll turn to Alistair again.

So Alistair has exceeded expectations in helping me with my application materials and all the issues that came with that (there were many), should I have had to resolve all these difficulties on my own I surely would have failed to meet requirements and receive a job. As I came during an off peak time I didn't have a group of EPIK teachers to socialise with but was still put up for the night in Incheon and then taxi'd to the Jeonbuk Office of Education where I met my Provincial Supervisors and then was taken to the city in which I would be teaching: Gochang.

As with such a big endeavor it is impossible not to have speed bumps throughout the process but for the most part (Applications, Communication and Travel) Korean Horizons, or should I say Alistair, really made me feel like if something bad happened, they would catch you before you hit the ground. I thank them for helping me have this opportunity and look forward to the rest of my work here in my lovely city.

Where to begin... well, I guess if you are reading this you are either going through the recruiting process or just starting your journey, so let me start by saying first, that if you have any doubts about who to work with (recruiter, wise) I promise you it is worth every effort to sincerely work with Korean Horizons. I have had the fortunate pleasure of working along side Alistair to obtain my teaching position with a public school in the Chungnam Province of Education and I can't say enough how wonderful of an experience it has been. A matter of fact, Alistair and his team obtained me a teaching position in under a month, which if you have ever gone through the recruiting process you will know that is not an easy feat.

I began my recruiting process in early February 2015, originally with another recruiter and while they were both professional, courteous, and informative, their level of dedication does not even compare with what you will receive by working with Alistair and his team. With the other recruiting company, I was tossed around to multiple coordinators in which every time I had to restart anew, describing my situation, rescanning over documents, etc. While I do have a level of understanding for unforeseen circumstances, you can imagine that after being bounced to the third coordinator, any person by now would start to feel a little disheartened and even begin to second guess whether or not teaching in Korean is actually an attainable goal. But enter Alistair Wery!

After about 6 months of working continuously with this other recruiting company to obtain documents, put together an intro video, perfect my application, even suggest schools on their job board...I had been provided one potential school which I unfortunately could not accept because my TESOL did not come with in-classroom experience. At this point, it is mid August, and as many of you know, the main hiring season is dwindling down. I began to look into other recruiters, thinking it was a long shot, and chances were I would not be going to Korea this year. But Alistair replied in a days turn around and immediately wanted a phone call to better acquaint ourselves and get the full story on my situation. (A small side note, I think worth mentioning: I am from the states so there is quite a time difference by EST and KST...Alistair always called me when it was convenient for my time zone which means he was generally up with sunrise...dedication). He was friendly but honest yet I could tell that he genuinely believed we could still make Korea happen. In less than a week, I had an interview set with the school board itself. Alistair prepped me, went over sample interview questions, even did a little scenario based questioning because my classroom experience was limited. By 10 p.m interview day, I had received a job offer and knew I was going to Korea!

Enough about the recruiting process, what about Alistair himself: He is hard working, sincere, dedicated, attentive, and honest. He doesn't mess around and he expects a lot from you, which shouldn't be a surprise because I can't express enough that this is a job--not a free ticket for your fantasy K-drama imagination. While coming to Korea is an adventure, and surely has it's K-pop perks, we are here to teach. And teach well. Just as Alistair provided his hard work and dedication to get you the job, it is also your job to provide the same to your school. And Alistair makes sure of that!

Alistair will provide you with loads of information to make the arrival and transition smooth (tax exemption docs, travel checklist, arc/health exam walk through, etc). He does a wonderful arrival package: books, maps, outlet adapter, t-money card (this will save your life with transportation)!! He picks you up from airport, provides a hotel for your first night, and even takes you out to dinner!!

Without writing a novel, Korean Horizons is the recruiting company to work with!! I love my city, Taean. It is small and by the ocean and, although, I originally wanted a huge city, I couldn't be happier with my placement and school. Alistair made that happen

Work with Korean Horizons, you won't regret it!!

Alistair and Korean Horizons make it happen. I had previously tried to go through KorVia, a well known recruiter with quite good credentials, but please don't go with them. I had been told by them that i would not be able to go through EPIK as it was "too late so there would be no chance". This was in April/May 2015, but when i spoke to Alistair at the towards the end of July, he informed me that this was more than possible.

Helping and corresponding with me at every opportunity before i had even seen sight of an airport, let alone South Korea itself, Alistair was a bastion of support and information for me and i cannot recommend him and his service enough. As many others have stated, he is so kind as to pick you up from the airport, put you up for the night, buy you and your other EPIK mates dinner, something that i have not heard being done anywhere else. To top it off, he even drove myself and other EPIK teachers to our meeting point in Busan as well as give us all a tote with some very useful books, maps and other information.

Alistair goes above and beyond and most importantly, he gets you here.

I've read many comments about Alistair and his recruiting agency prior to applying. And to be honest, after the first phone screening interview, many comments about his direct and professional approaches to teachers are true (and he's a really personable guy once you get to meet him).

It is my first time looking for a teaching job after graduating from a business program in university recently. When working with Alistair, please do your homework about teaching in Korea prior to signing on with him. You need to be prepared, so he can move things forward for you. With that said, Alistair has been a huge help in my application process to teach in a public school in Korea. (where as other recruiters have told me to be flexible and not be picky) I've had doubts that I can't get an English teaching job in Korea because of my Asian heritage, but Alistair never highlighted it as an obstacle for my work search. He is someone you can rely on to place you in a location of your preference. I could not ask for a better location to be teaching at! As long as you do your part as the applicant to make a good introduction video, make sure all the necessary documents are ready to go, you'll be all set! He'll even coach you through some mock interview questions.

When you set foot in Korea, Alistair is kind enough to pick you up in the airport and to provide accommodations in a hotel for the night before you attend orientation or meet your head teacher the next day. He'll also give you a Korean Horizons tote bag that includes helpful local maps and guidebooks. Overall, Alistair was incredible in helping me get placed at an excellent location in Korea.

Really appreicate your service Alistair :D

I was very fortunate to work with Korean Horizons when I applied to teach in Korean public schools. I received my Bachelor’s degree in mid-June and was on a plane to Korea before the end of August. Alistair was patient and answered all of my questions regarding the application process. He met us at the airport and our group had dinner and stayed at a hotel for the night before being brought to our orientation. I’ve spoken to teachers who used different recruitment agencies and they did not receive anywhere near the level of support that Alistair provides his teachers with. He was so helpful every step of the way. He even followed up a year later to see if there was anything he could help me with. I spent 3 years in Korea. I’m now teaching English in Thailand. Recently I wanted to see if I could get a copy of the old references from my application to teach in Korea. I e-mailed Alistair to see if he might know who I should ask about copies. He replied right away and attached were my reference letters - from 2011. Even now, 4 years later, he is still willing to help. I can’t recommend Korean Horizons highly enough.

If not for Korean Horizons I would probably still be in South Africa hoping for the best. A friend that was aware of the continuous battles I faced with the recruiter I dealt with previously recommended Korean Horizons making it very clear how helpful and friendly Alistair Wery is. After months and months of no prospects of actually getting to South Korea any time soon, because of all the hiccups with my previous recruiter I actually gained some hope again after making contact with Alistair. Within 10 days to be exact a post was secured for me. Thereafter, everything moved rapidly and it was finally happening. Alistair made sure not to miss a thing and walked me through this very technical process every step of the way. Since, this was all new for me he understood the amount of support that was needed and made this so much more easier for me. I arrived a day earlier and even then he made the necessary arrangements for me to have a place to sleep giving me less to worry about. He has been very patient with all my questions and concerns and to top it all off he hands all the teachers an introduction pack (map,dictionary, tour guide, cash bee, korean cuisine guide etc) that is sure to help make this experience unforgettable! He also made sure to hand us over safely to our education officers lol...Korean Horizon's services are few and far between!!!

Once I realized I wanted to teach in South Korea I started looking for people to help me get a good job in a public school (as I'd heard a variety of stories about hagwans). The first person I spoke with told me that getting a spot in EPIK was not going to happen so I should seek out hagwans. This made me worried, and seeing as how the EPIK application wasn't even due yet I decided to try and find another recruiter. Alistair Wery from Korean Horizons assured me that I would get placed in a public school through EPIK. Although sometimes everything seemed a little rough and last minute, Alistair assured me that I would get this job. Once I received my contract, Alistair was still there to help me once I got to Korea. I flew in a day earlier than the other EPIK teachers and Alistair had us put up in a nice hotel for the night on his expense; he also took us out for dinner. Alistair also gave us all a Korea starter pack with a dictionary, a map, a guidebook, and a teaching handbook. The next day, Alistair personally drove me and other teachers to our post in Busan, and dropped us off with our co-teachers. The arrival in Korea was smooth and not stressful thanks to Alistair and Korean Horizons.

Alistair Wery has gone above and beyond anything I could have imagined. His quality of service has been second to none. Not only was he constantly providing impeccable guidence throughout the application process, he made absolutely sure that I was well prepared and that I had all of my affairs in order before leaving for Korea. He was and still is always available to talk and help out in any way he can. Upon arrival in Korea, he was there waiting at the airport to meet each and every one of his recruited English teachers, providing us with rooms to stay in for the night, an unbelievable care package that has made life much easier settling in, he treated us all to a good dinner where we could all get to know each other and even provided us with an adapter just incase we couldn't plug in our devices. When I speak about the service that Alistair provided to any of my fellow English teachers (who weren't recruited by him) they can hardly believe what he has done for me and are left with a look of bewilderment mixed with jealousy. I will be forever grateful for the service that he has provided and feel that I have gained not only a good job but a friend in him too.