Teachers Share their Experiences While Living Abroad!

Hello everyone! You are now talking to (or i guess just reading?) an English teacher who has completed her first week. Some updates: Still no Wifi, still sleeping on an air mattress (waiting for my bed and it feels like forever), work is fun, and co-workers are great. Since we last met, I went to this place in Itaewon, Seoul – this is where a lot of foreigners go. I was able to hear this awesome DJ play, my friends and I loved him. That next day one of my friends from when I studied abroad in Gwangju, South Korea in 2015 visited me. We had Korean BBQ (when do I not??), strawberry macaroon bingsu, and we also went to ikea where I bought my first piece of actual furniture – a white little dresser.

Hi, my name is Giselle and I recently became a teacher at ChungDahm Learning's Daechi branch in Gangnam, Seoul this past November.  Last week in part 1 of my blog series I wrote about my first days in Korea and going through ChungDahm's training week. Today, in part 2 of my blog series I will focus on moving into my officetel and transitioning to life as a full-time teacher.  I hope through this blog series that it will help those interested in teaching in Korea get a better idea of the transition period one must go through to get adjusted to their new home and job abroad.

One of the biggest concerns I hear from people deciding to come to teach in Korea is about their new apartment. They are most concerned with how to get one, where to get one, the size, and if it will be clean or not. While all concerns are understandable, I would like to clear up some information about apartments in Korea.

Hello everyone, my name is Monica and I recently began teaching in Korea for ChungDahm Learning beginning this May.  To give you a little background about myself,  I have lived all over the United States and I received a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from Drexel University and a Master of Marine Science from University of North Carolina Wilmington.  Since graduating I had spent several years looking for a relevant job until a friend recommended teaching in Korea. After doing some research I decided to apply through Aclipse.  

After going through the application process, which Aclipse was very helpful guiding me through, I was finally placed with a teaching position at ChungDahm's Mokodong branch which is located in Seoul.  Despite doing a lot of research and reading the other Aclipse blogs written by current teachers abroad, there were still some things that I learned upon my arrival that I wish I knew prior to departing for Korea.  In this blog I write about five things that you will most likely not find in your research about living in Korea.

 Dreaming of saving money? Maybe you would like to travel to some exotic island or even pay for your wedding. Maybe your student loans are weighing you down and you would like to go to graduate school. Teaching in Korea can make all these dreams a possibility! 

Korea is a great place to save money. With efficient transportation systems, cheap internet and affordable health care, teachers can live comfortably while saving money. Living expenses can be considerably lower than in the West, especially when it comes to utility bills and phone contracts. Even bank charges are mostly free and international transfer fees are lower than what they would charge you in your home country. This is how I managed to travel the world, save money and pay for a wedding! Below are my top 3 tips for saving money in Korea. 

 So, you have finally settled in Korea, got through ChungDahm training week and finished apartment hunting. You are exhausted and starving after unpacking and now the real nightmare begins... how do you turn on the stove? How does the gas work? What can I make to eat?

When looking for housing while teaching in Korea, it is typical that most individuals will come across two different types of apartments; a studio apartment and an officetel. The studio apartment is a form of housing meant for individuals or couples.  Studios are usually unfurnished, but offers a larger amount of space. The officetel on the other hand is a blend, as you may have guessed, of an office and hotel. These apartments are designed to suit both the needs of an office and a hotel.  Officetels are usually furnished, however, they typically have a smaller living space.

I am so excited to share some of my Chungdahm Apartment in Gangseo, Seoul! 

After training week was completed, all successful instructors were taken to their respective branches, and new homes. I am staying in an officetel which is a multi-purpose apartment building where most new teachers are housed in South Korea. An officetel typically contains a 3 piece bathroom (sink, toilet, shower), a small kitchen, washer, and living space. They are designed so that their residents will be in close proximity to their work place. My officetel is a mere thirty second walk from the subway station, and luckily we are right on an express line, which cuts commuting time towards central Seoul in half.