As the English education industry in Korea booms, so does the need for English teachers. And they're willing to pay for your round-trip airfare, furnished apartment, and monthly salary and benefits for 1 year teaching contracts with you.
At present, the employment qualifications to be hired as an English teacher do not require teaching education or experience. However, having some will give you some competitive edge for some universities and institutes.
To be employable as an English teacher in Korea, you must first meet the Korean visa requirements, outlined by Immigration. The visas for teachers are categorized as being E1 and E2 visas. E1 visas are only for teachers who are employed by universities. E2 visas are the most common form of teaching visa and are commonly issued for teachers working in public schools, private language institutes, and some universities and colleges. For more information on Korean visas and visa processes, please visit the visa page.
To meet the requirements of a teaching visa, you must:
- be a citizen of Great Britain, Canada, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, or South Africa. Unfortunately, Immigration is very strict and uncompromising on this, so if you are a fluent speaker but don't have citizenship from the above countries, you are out of luck. However, if you are a citizen, it does not matter if you were previously a citizen of another country or if English was not your first language.
- have a 4 year college degree or 3 year university degree (Australia and the UK only) in any major. They are also very strict and uncompromising on this rule. 2 year college diplomas don't cut it.
- you must be able to provide proof of citizenship, degree and transcripts, prior to their approval of the visa. For more information on that process, check out the visa process section.
If you meet the above requirements, you're all set to embark on your job-seeking journey into Korea. What?! That's it, you ask? Don't they worry about my teaching ability or if I can speak Korean? As a general rule, not really. The job openings that are listed on our job board will indicate if the school has any particular hiring requirements, but for the most part, you will get the full lowdown on what they expect out of you after you arrive.
