Well, I know my title is "Adventures in South Korea" but I wanted to start this a little bit before I get there for several reasons, the main one being that even just preparing for Korea has been an adventure in itself.
To be a little more specific, I originally started the "Laurie Goes to Korea" process back in March when I was referred to a recruiting agency that really did a pretty decent job of helping me to gather all my documents (of which there is a plethora!) in order to prepare for the visa application process. But once I had everything ready and was prepared to find a job, the agency kind of evaporated and I never heard from them again... SO after about a month of anticipation and uncertainty that they would ever get back to me, I decided on a new plan: Onward and upward! I hopped back onto the internet and sought out a new recruiting agency, which I very quickly found and contacted. Their response was almost immediate, and an interview and job offer didn't fall far behind. I got pretty excited at the prospect of potentially nailing down a job within a day of trying, but then the research began. The new recruiter, much like the first one, was in the business of finding teachers for private English academies (or Hagwons in Korean), which are business-owned, franchise schools that students attend after their normal school day. The job they found for me was at an academy that is part of a chain called Wonderland. I began Googling the school, trying to find out more about it, and suddenly realized that it might not be as "wonderful" as the name implies. The reviews and commentary I found on nearly every site I visited were horrible and I even found a site where I could buy a book entitled, "Prisoner of Wonderland: An ESL Misadventure" written by two Western English teachers who were so unhappy with their experience at the school that they felt the need to publish a book about it! Needless to say, I was a bit apprehensive about signing the contract the recruiter had sent me, but I didn't want to write it off completely until I had a little bit of personal, insider information. So I contacted some friends who have been/are in Korea to find out what they thought. The verdict was much the same and I was told that in South Korea, private schools are very hit-or-miss in the way that they are run, and that public schools are much more reliable regarding how their teachers are treated and the work environment.
So! Back to the drawing board. Head spinning, I again went back to the internet looking for recruiters, this time with public schools. I found one whose references were very positive and contacted her. Now, here comes my favorite part of the story... On Wednesday evening she sent me an email with a listing for a position at Jidong Elementary School in Suwon, South Korea. (Good luck with that link, by the way. Your guess is as good as mine!) It looked very good and so I asked her to please set up an interview for me with the school. The next morning, I copied and pasted the name of the school into Google to see what would come up and the first listing was the blog of an American girl who taught English at the school. As I browsed through the blog a little, I was happy to find that her situation was fairly similar to mine (an American going to teach English in Korea for the first time) and that she seemed to really enjoy her experiences there. I didn't think much more of it until later that evening when I received a call from the school for my interview. First I spoke with the Western English teacher at the school and finally I spoke with one of the Korean subject teachers. At the end of the conversation, the Korean teacher mentioned that she and Kate (the English teacher I'd spoken with) were both very glad to have spoken with me and then we hung up. Suddenly the name Kate sounded really familiar.... and then it hit me! This was the girl whose blog I'd just been reading a few hours ago! I guess the strangest part is that public schools in Korea generally only have 1 Western English teacher in the whole school, and I had managed to find the one currently teaching at this specific school. She was a complete stranger that I had just happened across by accident and here I was talking to her on the phone from half-way around the world! Rad, right?? I love huge, strange coincidences like that.
Anyway, the next day I got the employment contract for the school from my recruiter, so I signed and gathered all my visa paperwork to send off to the ROK. Since then I've been researching South Korea and learning all kinds of interesting things - and I cannot wait to get there to experience it first-hand!
To be a little more specific, I originally started the "Laurie Goes to Korea" process back in March when I was referred to a recruiting agency that really did a pretty decent job of helping me to gather all my documents (of which there is a plethora!) in order to prepare for the visa application process. But once I had everything ready and was prepared to find a job, the agency kind of evaporated and I never heard from them again... SO after about a month of anticipation and uncertainty that they would ever get back to me, I decided on a new plan: Onward and upward! I hopped back onto the internet and sought out a new recruiting agency, which I very quickly found and contacted. Their response was almost immediate, and an interview and job offer didn't fall far behind. I got pretty excited at the prospect of potentially nailing down a job within a day of trying, but then the research began. The new recruiter, much like the first one, was in the business of finding teachers for private English academies (or Hagwons in Korean), which are business-owned, franchise schools that students attend after their normal school day. The job they found for me was at an academy that is part of a chain called Wonderland. I began Googling the school, trying to find out more about it, and suddenly realized that it might not be as "wonderful" as the name implies. The reviews and commentary I found on nearly every site I visited were horrible and I even found a site where I could buy a book entitled, "Prisoner of Wonderland: An ESL Misadventure" written by two Western English teachers who were so unhappy with their experience at the school that they felt the need to publish a book about it! Needless to say, I was a bit apprehensive about signing the contract the recruiter had sent me, but I didn't want to write it off completely until I had a little bit of personal, insider information. So I contacted some friends who have been/are in Korea to find out what they thought. The verdict was much the same and I was told that in South Korea, private schools are very hit-or-miss in the way that they are run, and that public schools are much more reliable regarding how their teachers are treated and the work environment.
So! Back to the drawing board. Head spinning, I again went back to the internet looking for recruiters, this time with public schools. I found one whose references were very positive and contacted her. Now, here comes my favorite part of the story... On Wednesday evening she sent me an email with a listing for a position at Jidong Elementary School in Suwon, South Korea. (Good luck with that link, by the way. Your guess is as good as mine!) It looked very good and so I asked her to please set up an interview for me with the school. The next morning, I copied and pasted the name of the school into Google to see what would come up and the first listing was the blog of an American girl who taught English at the school. As I browsed through the blog a little, I was happy to find that her situation was fairly similar to mine (an American going to teach English in Korea for the first time) and that she seemed to really enjoy her experiences there. I didn't think much more of it until later that evening when I received a call from the school for my interview. First I spoke with the Western English teacher at the school and finally I spoke with one of the Korean subject teachers. At the end of the conversation, the Korean teacher mentioned that she and Kate (the English teacher I'd spoken with) were both very glad to have spoken with me and then we hung up. Suddenly the name Kate sounded really familiar.... and then it hit me! This was the girl whose blog I'd just been reading a few hours ago! I guess the strangest part is that public schools in Korea generally only have 1 Western English teacher in the whole school, and I had managed to find the one currently teaching at this specific school. She was a complete stranger that I had just happened across by accident and here I was talking to her on the phone from half-way around the world! Rad, right?? I love huge, strange coincidences like that.
Anyway, the next day I got the employment contract for the school from my recruiter, so I signed and gathered all my visa paperwork to send off to the ROK. Since then I've been researching South Korea and learning all kinds of interesting things - and I cannot wait to get there to experience it first-hand!
I've started this blog because I want to keep in touch with everyone from home while I'm gone for the next year, and I think it will be fun to share my experiences with you all. I hope you will read and enjoy and be able to share this adventure with me. For those of you who know me, I love to talk so I'm sure there will be plenty to share. 
More to come soon!
I think it is also a huge coincidence that her name is Kate :) Good vibes with this situation Belle! I am so excited for all your experinces! Thank you for setting this up to share them with us!
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