Teachers Share their Experiences While Living Abroad!

Not long ago, I wrote about my experience teaching online classes. Now, it has been a little over a month that my school began offering offline classes again. So, we started offline classes again in May, but not fully. At that time, the situation was growing increasingly stable, so many parents felt like they could feel comfortable sending their kids back to the classroom. However, not all parents felt this same sentiment. In order to accommodate everyone, my school decided to open a combination of offline and online classes. Thus, currently, my co-workers and I have a mixed class schedule of offline and online classes and I don’t see this changing for the next two months - at the very least. 

Going to a new country can be intimidating. There’re so many things to prepare before departure, and the added pandemic made things even more difficult. High death tolls back in the States, flights being cancelled, supplies difficult to come by. I was very stressed before coming to Korea. I was wondering if I would still be able to make it considering all that was going on in the world. I hope this article will answer some questions about what it was like arriving in Korea. The honest answer is it was perfectly fine.

While in late February, the world may have looked down on Korea for being the first country outside of China to face a covid-19 outbreak, it didn’t take long for the world to see how the Korean government and people have handled dealing with this pandemic. Now, many world leaders from powerful countries around the world turn to South Korea for knowledge and supplies to overcome the outbreaks being faced in their homelands. My family no longer expresses concern for me being in Seoul, and much like I’ve heard from colleagues and fellow expats, they now advise me to stay in Korea. While I can go down a rather impressive list of reasons why I feel I am in the best country to live in during this pandemic, I will condense my list down to my top three main reasons. 

Now, with the covid19 pandemic, many education systems and institutes around the world have turned to online classes. This has brought up some anxiety amongst teachers everywhere. While some teachers are barely starting their online classes, Chungdahm academies began online classes ahead of the rest. So, I’ve been teaching through Zoom meetings since March 6th. Since it has been a little over a month that I’ve been teaching online, I want to share my top four reasons why I am currently satisfied with teaching Chungdahm April classes online - while still commenting on how this experience compares to offline classes. 

These days it is so cold in Seoul! It’s mid-winter and the outdoor activities are limited. If you are an active and adventurous person like myself, then you’ll be happy to know that there is an indoor game and sports experience spot right outside of Seoul. The place is called Sports Monster. It is located at one of Korea’s largest shopping malls Hannam’s Starfield, which is about an hour and a half away from Gangnam by bus. It is significantly faster if you go by car or taxi. There isn’t a direct subway line that goes out to Hannam. So, I suggest planning a trip out there in advance to account for the transportation time it takes to get there. 

Lotte Tower had its grand opening in 2017 as the tallest building in South Korea. Since then, the tower has been a prime location to gather around and have New Years countdown and fireworks. Still, one can do more than merely enjoy this tower from outside. The top floors of the tower offer a unique experience. Seoul Sky Observatory occupies the top seven floors of the 123 floored tower. 

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. 

Why did you choose Korea? That’s a question I get asked often - both by foreigners and by Koreans. I knew early on that I wanted to live abroad after university. I just didn’t know where. Often people are surprised by my response. I guess they assume that I’ll see I was a huge fan of some K-Pop idols and/or watched a lot of Korean dramas. However, my appeal of Korean culture came in a very different manner. 

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.

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.