Teaching in Korea: Hagwon vs. Public School

Are you interested in teaching in Korea? Maybe you already decided and can't figure out how to get started or where to look for jobs. Here's everything you need to know to get your teaching in Korea adventure started.

I taught in South Korea for two years, one year at a private after school academy (hagwon) and one at a public school through the EPIK program. I offer insight and advice about teaching in Korea, the good, the bad, the ugly, what your expectations should be, and what life is really like being an English teacher in Korea.

Options for Teaching in Korea

1) Private hagwons
2) Public school, through the EPIK program
3) International schools.

What's a Hagwon?

Most people teaching in Korea work at hagwons. Hagwons are private, for-profit after school institutions that specialize in a number of things. There are hagwons for math, swimming, science, art, English, and pretty much anything else kids do after school. Which in Korea is a lot.

It's common for kids to go to a hagwon everyday after school, maybe even two or three, and even on Saturdays. Kids usually go to a number of different hagwons spread throughout the week, usually going to go English hagwons 2-3 times per week.

In the past few years they made a law that hagwons have to stop classes at 10:00pm. Yes, that means some kids were going to hagwons past 10:00 at night, on a school night. And means currently many kids are going to some kind of organized learning center (school + hagwon) from 9:00am to 10:00pm. This is Korea.

Hagwon Teacher Requirements: a bachelors degree from an accredited institution from the U.K., the U.S., Canada, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, or New Zealand.

What's EPIK?

The English Program in Korea, or EPIK, is a program run by the Korea Office of Education that places native English speakers in public schools throughout the country. Every single public school in Korea has a full-time or part-time native English teacher. It's a less common teaching in Korea option.

EPIK Teacher Requirements: a bachelors degree from an accredited institution from the U.K., the U.S., Canada, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, or New Zealand.

A few words on International Schools

International schools are less common in Korea and are clustered in big cities, primarily Seoul and Jeju Island, with a few in Busan and Daugu. International schools in general are geared towards international students (kids of expats living in Korea), but in Korea, many are filled with Korean kids from extremely wealthy families who want to be fluent in English to eventually study abroad. If you're a credentialed and experienced teacher who's interested in teaching in Korea, International Schools might be it for you.

International Schools are for “real teachers” not just those of us who want to live abroad and are looking for a way to make some money doing it.

I don’t have experience in International Schools in Korea and they are such a small percentage of the jobs available, so I’m not including them in the comparison. If you want more information about International School jobs in Korea check out the Council for International Schools.

International School Teacher Requirements: a post-graduate teaching credential from an accredited institution from the U.K., the U.S., Canada, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand. Teaching experience in one of those countries is highly recommended.

Hagwons vs. Public Schools

So teaching in Korea is happening, let's see how hagwons and public schools compare so you can see which one fits you best.

Class size

Hagwons  

Hagwons have smaller class sizes, usually no more than 15 students. My hagwon maxed out at 12, and some classes were as little as 6 at times. Students come and go, depending on the month and the season. Hagwons are paid for monthly so it's not uncommon for a student to drop out for a month because they're taking a trip for 2 weeks.

Public Schools

Public schools have larger class sizes, up to 30 students. It sounds like a lot, and it is. By law, there must be a Korean teacher with an EPIK teacher in the classroom at all times. Though that doesn't always happen. The Korean teachers, for the most part, are good at laying down the laws and the kids are pretty respectful, in my experience.

Winner = Hagwon ... 12 is better than 30

Hours

Hagwons

I worked at a hagwon that had kindergarten 5 days a week in the morning (9-2:30) and then did traditional hagwon after school classes for 1^st through 6^th grade in the afternoon (3-7pm). So I was working 3 day/week 9-6 and 2 days/week 9-7. Long ass days.

Most hagwons only cater to the after school clientele, so work starts about 11:00 or 12:00 to prep, then classes until 9:00 or 10:00 at night. There is no limit to how many classes you teach at hagwons. I was teaching between 6-9 40-minute classes PER DAY.

Public Schools

Public school working hours are 8:30-4:30. You're limited to 22 40-minute classes each week in public schools, it's in the contract. That comes out to about 5 40-minute classes per day.

Winner = Public school ... 5 classes/day are better than 9

Quality of life

Hagwons

If you're someone who likes to sleep in, hagwons might be your best bet. But it also means you don't really have an (early) nightlife. You miss dinner with friends, movies or other happenings, but can meet up in time to hit the club, if that’s your thing. You work crazy long hours, and it can wear on you, making you feel too tired to do much during the week. It's definitely a work for the weekend kind of job.

But some hagwons require working weekends too. The vast majority of your waking hours are spent at work. While you are at work a lot, you are surrounded by other native English speakers, which if you vibe well, can make it so much more bearable. And can grab a 10:00pm dinner with your co-workers.

Public Schools

If you're a morning person and like having your evenings free, the public school schedule is a better fit. And you work far less hours. After working at a hagwon, it felt like I had a whole other day getting off at 4:30. I much prefer having my evenings free. You can go to the gym, go shopping, go to dinner,really anything you need after work. And you always have your weekends free too, it's in the contract. You don't feel drained or exhausted after work. You have time to have an extra boost of energy after you're off work.

Winner: Public school ... I like my evenings free

Co-workers

Hagwons

There are between 5-20 native speakers at hagwons, from all different English speaking countries. Chances are you can find at least one person you vibe with. It's like a built-in social network which makes the transition to a new job abroad easier. The more veteran teachers can show the newer teachers the good restaurants around the school, the happening bars or things as little as a dry cleaner or best grocery store. This resource is very valuable in a foreign country. It's also pretty comforting.

Public schools

There is only one native speaker at any given public school. You're the only one. It can be pretty lonely and isolating. It's all on you to make the effort to meet people, which could be hard if you're in a more rural placement. You do go through a week-long training with the other teachers in your region, so you meet people there, but it's still more of an effort to make plans and hang out.

Winner: Hagwon ... built-in friends

Housing

No matter where you're teaching in Korea, you'll get housing, but there are a few differences between hagwons and public schools.

Hagwons

Hagwans provide housing for you and the other teachers in the same complex. They usually have someone at the school that is the contact person for any issues relating to housing. Most of the housing is decent, nothing fancy, usually kept to livable standards. The contact people are right there at your school so it's relatively easy to get things addressed once brought up (though just because you ask for something doesn't mean it's gonna happen) but they do have some kind of incentive to make it work for you.

Public schools

EPIK also provides housing for teachers spread throughout a few complexes. You'll be living near other EPIK teachers. There is usually 1 housing coordinator for each geographic region. Which means one person might be responsible for teachers spread across numerous apartment complexes throughout 3 or 4 cities. They are stretched thin and the ability to respond to questions or provide basic, necessary information isn't always there.

Winner: Hagwons ... more housing support

Salary

Teaching in Korea is the ultimate savings plan. Wherever you're teaching you'll make enough to live comfortably and save $10,000/year.

Hagwons

Salaries at hagwons can vary significantly, but I wouldn’t even think about any full time job with a hagwon offering less than 2.2 million won/month (about $2,000/month). Salaries are based on experience and credentials, but are definitely negotiable.

Public Schools

EPIK has a very clear salary schedule based on experience, credentials and where you’ll be teaching (out of the city is a bit higher) that ranges from 1.8 - 2.7 million won. This is not negotiable.

Winner = Tie ... how much does it really matter?

Some people make more at hagwons, while some people would make more at public schools. But in my opinion, you should put more weight on all the other variables when deciding what’s best for you.

If you really want to make that money, International Schools are the highest paying.

Curriculum

Hagwons

The amount and completeness of curriculum and administrative support varies tremendously among hagwons. The curriculum can range from just some broad topics to strict timing schedules on what exactly to cover, when and how. Most hagwons have textbooks or workbooks that they use and want you to get through a stated number of pages per class. The rest can be up to you, if you have time. They usually want to fit a lot into a class so they can report to the parents how much their students did in a given class. It leaves little room for educational games or non-textbook activities. Which can be both a good and bad thing.

Public schools

The public school curriculum is set at the beginning of the year by the Provincial Office of Education. This means that the topics and chapters to cover are not in your hands. For elementary and middle school there is a textbook to follow. It’s pretty much up to you how you present these topics and whether you skip a textbook activity all together. There are resources like Waygook, that has lesson plans and activities made and shared by other teachers based on the textbooks that can be used as compliments to the textbook. You have the autonomy to use games and non-traditional English learning activities in coordination with the textbook.

Winner = Public School ... teacher autonomy over too vague or too strict

Vacations

Hagwons

What’s vacation? That’s pretty much the reaction from hagwons. These private institutions are not schools, and therefor do not follow a typical school schedule. They do close on the eight public holidays, but there is no summer or winter break. I was lucky that my hagwon offered an additional 5 paid days(!) paid vacation for the year. But there were stipulations on when we could take them and could be denied.

Public schools

At public schools, teachers have 26 paid days off for the year in addition to public holidays. They say you can only take them during the summer and winter school breaks, but I was able to get a few days off during the school year for a wedding, with some serious emotional maneuvering. It wasn’t easy, but it was approved. It’s really all up to your school. The 26 days are less than the total vacation days for the school, so you’ll be at school when the students aren’t, which kinda sucks and seems pointless. There’s actually a term for this: desk warming (but I did write this during a summer desk warming session, so not all is lost).

Winner: Public Schools ... 26 is better than 0-5 

Benefits

Hagwons and Public Schools

If you're teaching in Korea, whether at a hagwon and public schools, you'll get:

• Pension: A percentage of your paycheck will be taken out for retirement. The money taken out is matched by your employer. It equates to about a month’s salary if you work for a full year. For most English teachers, you can recoup this sum of money right before you leave the country. NOTE: some countries, such as South Africa, can not recoup this money (don’t ask me why, it just is).
• Health insurance: A percentage of your paycheck will be taken out to pay for health care. And it is amazing! (coming from America it was an eye opener of how well things could be run). Seeing a doctor and prescription costs are super cheap, like less than $10 total.
• Return flight: A return flight to your application address is covered once you’ve completed your contract. You can cash it out or have it purchased for you. This varies between hagwons and public school, but either way it’s covered.

The only benefit where hagwons and public schools vary are paid sick days.

Hagwons usually don’t offer sick days. So if you’re sick and stay home, you either use a vacation day or don’t get paid. Public schools give you 11 paid sick days.

Winner: Public school ... with all other things equal, paid sick leave tips the scale

Dependability of institution

Hagwons

Hagwons are less regulated than public schools and this can cause some uncertainty. Search online and you'll see horror story after horror story of hagwons not paying teachers on time, correctly, or at all. Of hagwons closing down without any notice. Of shady hagwons getting closed down by the government because they aren't following a law. I didn't experience it, but met a few teachers that came to my hagwon after some terrible experiences. They even have legal help just for foreigners that need to take legal action against hagwons. While its definitely not the standard experience, it does happen.

Public schools

Unless the government gets shut down, which is extremely unlikely, nearly impossible, you’ll get paid, on time, and correctly.

Winner: Public school ... the system is strong

Application Process

Teaching in Korea, whether at a hagwon or through EPIK, involves a lot of paperwork for your visa, background check, essays, and any other requests.

Hagwons

To work at a hagwon you can apply directly to the hagwon or through a recruiting company. There is a whole industry of recruiters finding English teachers for Korean hagwons. After an initial application and interview with the recruiter, they find job opportunities and set up interviews with hagwons you’re interested in. They can be a bit pushy because they make a cut if you accept the job offer, but they also get a bonus if you stay for the whole contract period, so there is an incentive to have a mutually beneficial placement.

The application process can be as long as 4 months and as quick as 1 month, depending on your documents and the hagwon needs. Hagwons hire year round, though most opening are in August and February.

Tip: when working with a recruiter, remember they are there to help YOU. Ask questions, say no, don’t feel pressured to interview if you know it’s not a match. They’ll send you more jobs.

Public Schools

To work at a public school, you apply through EPIK. You can apply to EPIK directly or through EPIK-certified recruiters. Some of the recruiters for hagwons also recruit for EPIK, but not all of them. The application asks for letters of recommendations and a few short essays about your teaching philosophy and experience. If you pass the initial paper screening, you’ll have a few interviews. You can request a specific geographic placement, but it isn’t guaranteed. You don’t find out about your placement until you’ve already accepted the job.

Winner = Tie ... same bureaucratic shit

Final thoughts: Korean hagwons

Hagwons have smaller classes, can pay more and the jobs are plentiful. With the other foreign teachers you have a built-in social network which is so valuable in a new country. They also have minimal vacation and sick days, are not always dependable and are motivated by profit and parent satisfaction.

Working at a hagwon is more demanding because of the parent demands: they're paying, they expect results. It is very clear who runs the hagwons: the parents, and that comes through from the top to the bottom.

Final thoughts: Korean public school

Public schools are much more chill and have enviable vacation and sick day benefits. Though I do miss the camaraderie of the foreign teachers and the social life that naturally comes from that. It’s a more authentic experience working at public schools. The little things like walking into school seeing the lunch ladies doing their morning exercises and stretches. Walking down the hall and having every single student saying hi or good morning. You're like a celebrity.

Hagwon vs. Public Schools

The Winner

Teaching in Korea: in General

Hagwons and public schools each have their pros and cons. Teaching in Korea, in general, you are really just a cog in the machine. You're not looked at as someone who can bring anything better to the organization, you're not valued for your opinions on how to improve things. You're not asked, and if you are, you're not listened to. And I can understand. We are temporary teachers, staying usually only one year, maybe two. There isn't much incentive to invest in the teachers and work together to make long term improvement. That is one frustration working at either a hagwon or public school. But that's just the reality.

I hope this helps shed some light on your options for teaching in Korea.

If you have more questions drop me a comment below and I’ll answer what I can.

And leave a comment letting me know what you end up doing!

Good luck!