South Korea is great place to live and teach and I would recommend it strongly to anyone looking for a cultural enrichment experience. Regrettably however, I cannot recommend employing the services of CIEE. I am currently in South Korea, in the second half of my contracted year. Once I decided to teach abroad, I enlisted CIEE, an organization that represented that they would streamline your process, guide and support you through negotiating your contract with a school, find housing, etc. Not only did they fall quite short of these marks, they were in turns incompetent, impolite or dismissive about it. Let me tell you my story.
Before leaving the States for Korea, CIEE secured housing and set terms for a 1-year teaching contract. I was told by CIEE that they negotiated a reasonable salary for me, which to my dismay, turned out to be an utter canard. After living here for 7 months, I now know that, with my qualifications, finding a similar position at a substantially higher remuneration is actually quite easy.
The CIEE in-country coordinator, indicated that my Korean apartment would be in a newer building, which turned out to be a woefully inaccurate characterization. The building is dirty and poorly kempt. There was an undisclosed monthly 'officetel' fee in excess of $100 that charges for amenities such as parking, cleaning and security; all services that do not exist. Further, the building is
Commercially-zoned with businesses above and below my apartment. I lived above a restaurant and just below a very loud nightclub that routinely blasted through my walls. The apartment is so marginally insulated that I could feel the wind gusting through my windows, which on cold days have a frozen covering. I don’t mean a little frost but rather, a thick layer of ice. Between the surprise ‘officetel’ charge and the unanticipated and exorbitant heating bills, it was difficult for me to make ends meet. Again, CIEE was unresponsive to my problem.
Upon arrival in South Korea we CIEE recruits attend an orientation where I happily forged several wonderful friendships with other new teachers. We were introduced to our in-country CIEE coordinator who, we were told, was there to assist with various issues that might arise. This coordinator offered a phone plan, leading us to believe it the best option out there. Not long after, we each realized that this plan was of strikingly poor value. I repeatedly asked for the name of the phone company and a detailed invoice, which was never provided. We discovered that he was pocketing $20.00 a month for the 'service' he provided. He continues to take advantage of foreigners in this way, and it is a dubious abuse of trust.
And now, my biggest disappointment with CIEE: A mere two weeks before the end of the school year and three weeks before the beginning of the next one (in Korea, the school year finishes at the end of February and the next year begins the following week in March), we were quite suddenly informed that our school was closing. We were out of jobs and the school had no intention of honoring its contracted obligations to provide a one-month salary in severance and pay our airfare home.
To date, CIEE has been disappointingly unresponsive when petitioned for information or assistance. Stateside CIEE promises to help but their Korean representative does nothing. My coordinator failed to produce any viable new leads or, frankly to show much interest in doing so. Consequently, on my own I have searched for a new job and apartment. With my qualifications, every job I interviewed for, without exception, offered me my sought-after position at a much higher salary than my CIEE-procured school. For this I found my own recruiter at no expense to me (the schools paid his fee). This recruiter went on interviews with me and delineated my needs and wishes at each interview. As my new job was over an hour away, I had to move at my own expense. Not only am I earning more, my new apartment is much nicer and there are no hidden costs.
Since arriving in Korea, I have unsuccessfully appealed to CIEE for help with various adjustment bumps, particularly since I learned I was to shortly be stranded without a position. As I’ve been overwhelmed with finding a new job and apartment on my own, I enlisted the help of my family in the States to try and communicate with CIEE main office on my behalf. My mom called CIEE who denied any and all responsibility for their actions. For example: 1. They didn’t KNOW they had had negotiated a contract with a financially unsound school so it was not their fault. (Huh, you don’t properly vet your schools? And since when is “not knowing” a viable excuse?) 2. It was the school that proposed a below-standard salary, not CIEE. (Aren’t they there to negotiate a good salary for a stateside applicant who paid them in good faith?) 3. It was also not their fault if the school fails to pay severance or airfare. 4. When my mom mentioned that I got a better job and apartment on my own, their response was how could they help when I hadn’t contacted them. Regrettably, that is not the case. 5. As to the local coordinator profiting by procuring for his clients overpriced mobile phone plans…. Well, CIEE was finally stumped on that one.
I am sorry to say that not only have I lost money to this organization, it has cost me in many ways. I’d always thought that non-profit organization meant you were the good guys. I know it’s hard to believe, but you’ll do better on your own.

I taught in South Korea in the fall of 2011 with CIEE. Before I even left the country, CIEE Teach Abroad messed up my visa process. They actually went ahead and started processing my visa with a school I had never signed a contract with. After a few long hours on the phone explaining that CIEE had messed up on what their main service is (visa/placement), and actually caused the placement process to be more difficult than if I had done it myself, I was given a partial refund. I should have viewed this situation as a warning sign about the lack of actual knowledge of this branch of CIEE (they handle most of the teaching in Asia programs).

When I arrived in Korea, things got much worse. Most things outlined in my CIEE Teach Abroad and in my school contract were not fulfilled. I was told my work week would be 30 hours a week at a certain pay. I actually worked 40+ hours a week for the same amount of pay. Not only that, but I was told that class sizes would be small. I taught 10 classes a day with virtually no breaks, some with over 30 students. I received no training. I was paid up to 5 days late, denied my medical insurance, and paid under the table for the first 2 months. The building wasn't big enough for the amount of students, and there was a sweatshop in the basement. This is not what I expected from CIEE's main advertisement of "placement at a reputable institution". I used this service to avoid this exact type of situation, as I felt it would be a safer way to go in a country I had never been to myself.

CIEE advertises adequate housing. My apartment was dirty the day I arrived, with moldy bedding in the washing machine. Much of the furniture was broken and I found spots of mold on the ceiling. I was sick most of the time I was there. Every time a friend stayed over, she got sick as well. I asked my employer to change apartments and they said they were "working on it"up until the day i left.

When I realized the gravity of this situation a month and a half into my time there, and the effects it was having on my physical and mental health, I contacted CIEE. I asked for advice for the best way to switch schools. I had no desire to leave South Korea, I simply felt that I was being taken advantage of by my specific school. I was told by a CIEE member that its very difficult to end a school contract before 6 months, as our visa is attached to our employer. I also heard about the mistreatment of other employees at my school when they tried to leave. I decided to do my own research, and I realized the only way to get safely out of this situation was to leave the country without telling anyone so that my school would not find out. I did this to avoid being detained by customs, and being denied pay.

Because of CIEE's previous lack of organization and communication with me, I did not advise them I was leaving the country, fearing that they might leak information to my school, and therefore put me in an even more hostile situation. When I did make it out of the country, I was sent threatening messages from my school. I was told I had better come back and apologize or i would be put in jail, and be forced to pay them. They actually contacted the local police, and when they realized I was gone, they contacted interpol to find me.

Most of the things promised in the contract were not what I received.

When I came back, I asked for a refund. They told me that it was my fault for not contacting them for help. They told me that they understood that I was "homesick".
I actually was trying to change schools, not leave South Korea to go home.

If you want to teach abroad in Korea, it is an amazing place to live! Simply go to Dave ESL Cafe online and look for your own job. You will save tons of money and probably end up at a better school.

Always ask to speak to a current foreign employee at the school you are going to work at. If I would have done so, I could have avoided an absolutely awful situation.

My experience with CIEE has been very positive. I was placed at a public school in a small town in Yongin, a city about an hour outside of Seoul. My apartment is comfortable and in good condition. The cost of living is relatively low and my neighborhood is safe. I teach 22 hours per week, the kids are awesome, and the other teachers have been supportive and kind. I've also made a lot of good friends. Overall, I'm very pleased with how my experience in South Korea has turned out so far.

On a few occasions, I've mentioned CIEE to the teachers involved in hiring me and, surprisingly, was met with confusion and blank stares. They were completely unaware that CIEE even existed. (Because I worked with CIEE's partner recruiter, TEIK (which I don't recommend,) TEIK received a payment from the school once I completed my first three months here.) As far as I know, CIEE has limited to no contact with the schools themselves. Although I am fortunate enough to have a very helpful co-teacher, there is something to say about having a support network of people who understand the experience of being a foreigner in Korea and who speak a language that I know well.

CIEE has provided me with the kind of advice, training, and support that has made interactions with my Korean co-workers and school administrators run a lot more smoothly. At first, a cross-cultural training session sounded a little corny to me--until I blew my nose too loudly and offended an entire room full of people. That was when I understood just how important that training would be in building relationships with people whose language I couldn't speak. Coming here with barely any knowledge of Korean language or culture (I know, I know, I'm awful) was stressful. It would have been so much more stressful had I not been able, say, to go over my contract with a CIEE coordinator during job cuts or to be reassured that I could go to a Korean-speaking doctor with the flu and not be treated for shingles instead.

In the end, I'm glad that I went with CIEE. Even though the program is expensive, it has been a good resource to have.