Teach English in South Korea - Great Pay & Great Adventures Await!

I consider myself very lucky to have found Adventure Teaching. I had tried my hand at a few recruiters, and none of them seem interested in finding me a good job; one that suited my needs and was going to be a good fit for me.

My AT recruiter and I spent a lot of time on the phone discussing pros and cons, sharing experiences, and chatting. The recruiters have taught abroad and been through all of the searching, waiting, and mild anxiety before. They know what to expect, and they made it a point to prepare and gear me up for all that was ahead of me.

At the beginning of my search, I had my heart set on a specific area in Korea. There were some issues and confusion with another recruitment agency and I ended up rejecting a job offer I got. I was feeling a little discouraged. I remember the exact moment when I read a very enthusiastic email from my recruiter, Mindy. She said she had found a great school that was very interested in my application. Even though the school wasn't in my "desired" area, she made everything about it seem like it was my dream job. She was so happy that this school wanted to interview me, she got me psyched about it too. AT has a great relationship with the schools they recruit for. They trust them, and I trusted Mindy.

I have been working for that school upwards of three months now, and I am happy with my decision everyday. I often hear horror stories of other teachers at hagwons (private schools) with less than desirable work environments. Fellow teachers out here always ask who I recruited with. I'll be honest, I always boast about how awesome my recruiters were.

Adventure Teaching is a great company with a great foundation and wonderful philosophy. Anytime anyone asks, I always recommend looking into Adventure Teaching.

The one thing to understand before setting out on your 'adventure' is that you will be very much under the authority of your employer from the minute you get to your destination without necessary protection from your contract. It's important not to get too eluded by the adventure aspect Adventure Teaching pushes. Whilst pushing contracts at you they'll claim you'll have the time to travel, yet with only 8 days vacation which can't be taken consecutively how can this be possible? Sadly the answer is that it's not. Especially when your Hagwon director may chose not to inform you in advance - making it impossible to secure reasonable tickets anywhere. The photos of people traveling on Adventure Teaching website: don't assume this will be you. It's important to remember the agency is looking to place as many teachers as possible because that's what makes them money. They really don't care about your experience. Don't let them smooth talk you into signing just anything. If the contract is vague then what can you expect? Always get the information from the horses mouth. If the school director doesn't speak English then get the agency to provide amendments to the contract. AT will steer you away from this claiming you are jeopardizing the job but in reality they just want you to sign without a fuss. I have seen it from both sides. The school wants to sign someone and the agency wants the money - why would either party stall this? It's up to you to check, and check again confirming exactly the hours you will work, times you will work and vacation days available along with their allocation and your accommodation etc. You truly have to look out for number one. Don't be diluted into believing that the agency will! That's my number one piece of advice.

Adventure Teaching have one of the best looking websites and the initial application process is clearly detailed although needlessly long. Whilst they make big claims there is nothing tangible they provide over any other agency. The one thing I could say for a random Seoul based agency for example is that at least it does exactly what it says on the tin without superfluous claims and ridiculous promises of community and ongoing support. I believe that Adventure Teaching is dishonest by claiming it (A) it cares about the placement and will support teachers and (B) the claim of support during your job: It's quickly apparent that there will be no real support once you sign a lengthy disclaimer holding them responsibly for absolutely nothing. Fair enough enforcing any kind of law internationally is difficult but AT provide 0 effectual guarantee of ANYTHING. Consider this.

I took part in a year long contract which I completed. Once we had signed the contract things changed quickly. There was no more personal support. Finally arriving in Korea the basic promised driver who would meet us at the airport was simply not there. There wasn't even an excuse as to why not. We were told merely to get on a bus. This is not how to muster a good relationship. After working at the Hagwon my collegues and I faced problems with our employer as he simply disregarded the contract we had signed with AT. AT's response would always be patronizing standard paragraphs about the importance of diplomacy abroad. Many of us had lived and worked in other counties before including myself and had been operating to unparalleled diplomacy and flexibility only finally contesting our employer's demands where they were actually affecting our jobs! Such as not allowing us to eat, not providing any kind of break during a 9 hour day etc. Throughout all of this it was clear that Adventure Teaching only cared about their relationship with our employer who would continue to pay them $1000 US per placement. We were basically told to 'suck it up' which is shocking considering these were problems affecting all the staff.

I am not bitter about my experience in Korea. I learnt a lot and there were some great times. I write this review as merely a factual evaluation of the experience so that future applicants may be equipped with realistic expectations and an air of caution which I hope should see the right choice made when working with any agency. Working abroad is hard at times but has great rewards. Agencies like Adventure Teaching whilst facilitating your job are unfortunately very damaging at the same time. Offering a false sense of security through marketing without any real care about placements leaves many teachers upset, disappointed and unhappy. Maybe some get lucky with them, but of the 11 other teachers I know who used them, they all have had similar issues. Sadly AT is never accountable so just moves on again and continues to make money without a conscience. This is why I believe reviews are very important.

I was encouraged to go to Korea with Adventure Teaching after meeting some of their employees at a job fair at my university. I heard good things from other university contacts who had gone to Korea with them, so I was confident it would work out really well. I started the application process in January and was hoping to go to Korea in September of that year. I didn't get any word from them until MAY. I really wanted to get started on collecting things for my visa, but I couldn't do anything because I didn't have any confirmation from them. The person they assigned to help me along the way was extremely short in her replies and rarely answered the questions I asked. Her replies came across like she spent a couple of seconds on her emails - they sometimes had grammar and spelling errors and would be a couple of words or a sentence at most, when I had asked specific questions. Worst of all, she led me astray with wrong information about requirements for students like me who are from America but went to a university in Canada. She told me that I only needed a background check and for my degree to my apostilled in America, but it turns out that I also needed that information from Canada too. I couldn't do that by mail because it would have delayed the process by months and it was already SEPTEMBER when I found this information out, and that was when I was planning on arriving in Korea! So I had to spend all the money to make a trip back to Canada and stay there for a week so I could apply for a criminal record check and get all my documents apostilled. The ironic thing is that I had been living in Canada all summer after my graduation and had only just returned home when I finally found the news that I had to do all the extra Canada stuff. Finally, AT told me that there was a hiring freeze and that I wouldn't be able to go to Korea until possibly the new year, which was bogus because there were tonnnns of Korea jobs being posted by other recruiting companies every day. In consolation, they suggested I go to Georgia?! Thanks, but no thanks. I was so frustrated by everything that I decided to drop AT and use another recruiting company, which was lovely and got me a job within a week. I was off to Korea in October, no thanks to AT. :(

Adventure Teaching was recommended to me by an acquaintance. To begin, AT was extremely helpful and supportive. The interview process went smoothly and I was placed fairly quickly in a Hagwon in Korea. However, as I got closure to my departure date, communication started lacking. It seemed that once they had placed me, they didn't care anymore. I had dozens of questions but felt like I was causing a great inconvenience when I asked them. I also didn't get answers back from them or an acknowledgment that they received my emails for several days.

Additionally, there were things that were glossed over. My school's contract, for example. I requested that after I signed it my boss should sign it as well and send me a scanned copy. I was told that most of the time schools did not sign the contract. I thought that was completely absurd and felt that I had to battle with AT to get them to get the signature. In the end, getting that signature worked in my favor as unfortunately, my boss did not adhere to the contract on many occasions and I was able to point out that he had signed a legal document and could not do that.

Furthermore, I didn't find that they were completely honest with me. After booking my flight I was told that someone would pick me up from the airport. However, a few days before I left, I received instructions as to how to bus from the airport to my small city. Normally, this would not have bothered me but the fact that they told me and sent me a document that explicitly said someone would pick me up from the airport, did.

AT also never once followed up with me. The only thing I ever received from them was an obvious template email that they sent to everyone. Or emails about the Arrival Store. I was told that I wouldn't be able to buy plug adaptors anywhere but a tech supermarket in Seoul and that the Arrival Store was necessary. I was in a fairly small town in Korea and the grocery store definitely sold adaptors....for much cheaper. I really felt that AT was taking advantage of new travelers. Luckily, I had lived in a foreign country before and trusted my gut.

One thing that did impress me about AT, however, were the very straight forward and clear instructions they gave when it came to acquiring the documents necessary for the visa.

This was the best decision that I have made in my life! Korea is amazing, I love my job and my apartment is right on the beach. I am so glad that AT were able to place me in Busan and I would recommend it to anyone.

I made the decision to go to Korea in August 2013 and AT were able to get me employed and in Korea by November, which was perfect. They were really honest and upfront about the issues that I might face, both at work and with my living arrangements, so I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it is to live and work here.

AT have been really helpful and supportive from the moment I contacted them. I would definitely use their services again in the future!

I applied through their program because of the great reviews on here. Their information packets were very detailed and informative. However, my placement coordinator had very poor communication with me and always seemed rushed. She never returned my calls and wanted all of our documents with them before we could interview with schools. They also said that there was a hiring freeze so I never heard from them about possible interviews. One of my friends also went through them and only had 3 interviews in 2 months with schools that were not what she was looking for. I decided to look for schools and interview on my own. I was able to secure a teaching job without them in less than 2 weeks.
Too bad they were not more helpful, their website is great and looks promising. Work on your professionalism and follow up with your candidates.

I found the Adventure Teaching staff to be very insightful and willing to take the time to have long conversations with you, giving full attention to your questions. I never felt as though I was being brushed aside by Adventure Teaching.

AT has always been quick to follow up to my emails, and I found the staff to be very easy to reach by phone. The info packets they sent to help me get through the visa process were re assuring and easy to navigate, so I was able to get through a very long visa process very smoothly.

When AT was unable to find a placement for me in South Korea as quickly as I had hoped, they were able to connect me with another teaching opportunity to help me practice teaching while I was waiting to e placed in South Korea. I was very happy that Adventure Teaching went out of their way to help me find yet another valuable teaching experience before I arrived in Korea.

My suggestion: Read the info packs sent to you by Adventure Teaching. They are really useful and enjoyable to read.

Working in my hagwan was undoubtedly overwhelming in the first so months. The school provided an orientation and gave us multiple materials to help prepare, however the orientation happened so quickly that all of my learning began when I actually started teaching. I felt the hagwan could have provided a much more thorough orientation, but the actual resources they provided were helpful. Other foreign English teachers in my school were incredibly supportive and we immediately began planning trips around Seoul together. These immediate social connections were key in helping me work through the initial culture shock. In the beginning, I think it's ok to find other fluent English speakers to explore Korea with, even if your goal is to learn more about the Korean language. Initially, a solid friend group with whom you can easily communicate is immensely helpful. Even if you feel extremely tired after a long day of teaching, it's worth making time to spend time with another person or a crowd to help keep you grounded. A co worker a really admire told me...."Learning how to adjust in Korea means that sometimes you have to let people in." She was speaking about confiding in others.

Working in my hagwan has often felt exhausting because of the number of hours spent teaching and the amount of administrative tasks the teachers are required to finish, but the students are always happy to see their teachers, and watching them grow in their learning and confidence has helped me feel as though working in the hagwan has truly been an accomplishment.