Expert Info
on 5 Sep 2012
There are so many recruitment companies for the English teaching industry in South Korea. How does one tell the difference between a good one and a bad one? Can anyone recommend a good company to go through for someone looking to teach English in South Korea? Does it ever happen that you land yourself with a terrible company that plonks you in a bad school, or is it that you are supposed to look into the school itself and it isn't the recruitment company's fault if the school is bad? How does it all work?
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Where are you from? If you are interested in the EPIK programme, note that there are some recruitment agencies which are directly affiliated with th EPIK programme and these are a great middle man to go through. I can personally attest to Teach Korea in South Africa - when I went through them they were very helpful. There are six other recruitment companies worldwide which are directly affiliated with EPIK.
The agency depends on where you are - the thing is most recruitment agencies will have both good and bad schools on their books, so the most important thing is to research THE SCHOOL when you get offered a contract. Do some googling and find other English spekaing teachers who are at the school who can tell you what it's like.
For some on the difference between public schools in South Korea and hagwons (private cram schools), read our pages on Teaching English in South Korea and Education and Schools in South Korea.
For more on the difference between schools in the city and schools in the country, read one expat's account of Teaching in Rural South Korea.
If there is a specific area you would like to go to, and you want to know what good schools are in that area, try finding bloggers who are in the area and ask them directly. You can start with the folks listed on our Expat Experiences in South Korea page.