It’s about to be a full two years since I began living and teaching in Seoul. I started my journey by applying to Aclipse. While I am so grateful for my luck finding Aclipse, I am particularly grateful to my recruiter Colette. The reason I am especially grateful to Colette is that she not only helped me find employment at my current branch in Gangnam, Seoul, but that she recommended me as someone to join the Aclipse team.
Read MoreTags: teaching in Korea, things to do in Korea, things to do on the weekend, teaching at Chungdahm, growing with Chungdahm, career, aclipse
As I complete my third full week living and working in Busan, South Korea, I am able to look back at my experience with gratitude. Many native-speakers working with Chungdahm may agree, the first few weeks working can be quite overwhelming, especially when thinking back to training week—which ended up being a five-day intensive of information and methodology which are essential for a smooth transition to the branch location. Using this opportunity, I will be completely honest about my experience thus far. I have no regrets about applying to work for this company, and look forward to this experience of a lifetime.
Read MoreTags: teaching in Korea, April Institute, applying to teach English, opportunities at chungdahm, aclipse
I had never dreamed of living abroad before I met the woman who would become my wife in 2014. She had taught English in Korea for a year and a half and talked so fondly about her time there. I actually have a Korean mother, but while I had visited the country a couple times, I hadn’t been there since middle school, didn’t speak Korean, and hardly felt any connection to the aunts and uncles I had there. When I casually mentioned how much I’d like to learn more about the Korean culture and to get to know my family there better, my wife let me know it didn’t just have to be a dream. We could make it happen.
Read MoreTags: teaching in Korea, applying to teach English, opportunities at chungdahm, aclipse
When my husband and I moved to Korea to teach English in June 2017, it wasn’t my first shebang. I’d lived there from 2012-2014 and fallen in love with the country. I moved back to the US to be closer to family; I had no idea then I’d fall in love and marry someone whose mom was Korean. My husband, Wayne, had heard me go on and on about how great my experience was in Korea, and it wasn’t long before he told me he wanted to teach there for a while, too! He thought it’d be a great opportunity to get in touch with his roots. I was ecstatic to hear this.
Read MoreTags: teach in Korea, chungdahm learning, teaching abroad, opportunities at chungdahm, teaching at CDL, aclipse, frequently asked questions
I lived and taught in Seoul, South Korea for a year from August 2016-September 2017 and it is definitely the best decision I’ve ever made. My first thought when I first had the crazy idea to move abroad was to, of course, talk to friends and family for advice! In these conversations, I actually learned that a friend of a friend had lived in Korea and loved it so much that he stayed for 3 years. Obviously, my next move was to talk to this person. He had the same goals as me: teach, travel and explore! He had enjoyed his time in Seoul and found it to be a very fun, interesting and safe place to live.
Read MoreTags: applying to teach English, teaching at Chungdahm, recruitment, aclipse
Taking the first steps of an adventure is almost never an easy ordeal. You have all these questions that zoom in and out of your head adding to the list before you can even answer the first ones that popped up. Will it work out? Will I be happy? What if I get lost? What if I do something wrong? What if a giant prehistoric creature ascends from the oceans and battles a giant moth? Ok, maybe that last one was a horrible reference to Godzilla vs Mothra but you get the idea.
Read MoreTags: applying to teach English, teach and travel,, traveling, growing with Chungdahm, chungdham, aclipse, Traveling Asia
A Smooth Transition
Starting a new job when you’ve not long graduated can be a daunting prospect, let alone when it’s half way around the world in a totally unfamiliar country. By choosing to go through Aclipse, my mind was put at ease. I was assured that I would be provided with somewhere to live throughout my time in Korea, which was one of my biggest worries. The overwhelming mountain of paperwork soon became manageable with the help of my recruiter, Colette. She replied to all my frantic emails in the middle of the night and addressed all of my concerns. From how to apostille a degree to how real estate agents work in Korea, Aclipse had all the answers!
Read MoreTags: teaching at CDL, professional growth, personal growth, aclipse