Korea is a real possibility

A few days ago I put out my resume on a few job boards and emailed my resume to YBM in Korea saying that I would be interested in teaching over there. Tonight I got this:

Hi Elaine,

Thank you for applying to Korea's largest chain of ESL schools and Korea's largest employer of ESL teachers, YBM Education Inc, ECC division. At your earliest convenience, please stop by our website at www.ybmecc.co.kr for more information about our teaching program which includes detailed school listings as well as pictures of our ECC schools and locations.

After reviewing your resume and photo, we are interested in considering you for one of our 31 company-owned and operated ECC schools and have made note of your preference for our August and September preferences. We would like to talk to you a bit more in detail about the ECC program and determine if it is the right position for you. As such, if you are interested please be sure to update us with convenient times in your evening hours that you are able to receive a phone call and someone from the head office will be in contact with you as early as the end of the week or by early next week.

Before we have a chance to speak with you, we would ask that you please take time to look-over the attached E-2 visa requirements which contain all the information you need to obtain the necessary documents, including your criminal background check. In your reply, please update us with the status of the E-2 visa requirements including which of them you are in possession of and which you still need to obtain.

Thank you again for you interest in a teaching position and we look forward to hearing from you shortly.


Kind regards,


Jonathan DeBlois
Personnel Coordinator
YBM Education HR Division

They seem far more legit than many of the companies out there which was why I sent in my resume. The benefits also seem to be rather nice. According to their web page these include:

1. A competitive salary based on 26.25 hours per week or 105 teaching hours a month plus preparations
2. Rent free Furnished Housing (Most of our housing will be a private single studio apartment near the school)
3. Prepaid airfare from most major cities (Usually E-tickets)
4. Severance Pay (One extra month’s salary upon completion of one year contract).
5. Compliance with the Korean Pension Fund and National Medical Insurance.
6. At least ten pre-selected vacation days + all Korean national holidays.
7. Relocation allowance - 200,000 Won relocation allowance to help defray the cost of settling in Korea.
8. Visa application fee subsidy - 50,000 Won to help defray the cost of the work visa application fee.
9. Paid orientation and training - 30,000 Won per each full day of orientation.
10. Sick days - 10 paid sick classes with a medical note from a physician or approval by the employer.
11. Medical check paid for and arranged by YBM
12. Attendance Bonus: Under the 12-session contract employer will pay employee an attendance bonus for the following levels of attendance
.... * 300,000 Won bonus for missing no classes (Medical or non-medical reasons)
.... * 200,000 Won bonus for missing 5 or less classes (Medical or non-medical reasons)
.... * 100,000 Won bonus for missing 10 or less classes (Medical or non-medical reasons)

The rent-free apartments according to their pictures are actually very nice and larger and better furnished than lots of the pictures of the ones I saw in my research on Japan. The pre-paid air fare is also a very nice thing considering plane tickets are expensive. I also like the start-up bonus. The average pay for new teachers starting out in Korea is 2.2-2.7 million won a month. About $1700-2000 US. The company in Japan I was looking at paid about a thousand more a month but half of that it taken up by rent, utilities, etc and I'd have to pay my way over so it rather evens out. The other company does have more paid vacation days but that's not too big a deal with me. Considering full time in the US is 40+ hours a week and I'd be only working a bit over half that in Korea or Japan I'll have plenty of off time to explore no matter where I go.

So, I'm going to see about prying my diploma out of CSU's grasping fingers, save up some start-up money (starving to death before the first paycheck would be a baaad thing), see if my passport needs renewing (probably), and see about getting the other things the company needs. A year in Korea wouldn't be a bad thing at all. I've emailed them in response and hopefully sometime this week I'll be getting a call from Korea and talk with them more. Perhaps, in a few months time, I'll be off on an adventure. Perhaps even this fall instead of this January. Wouldn't be too soon for me! I want the hell out of Cleveland. Just want to make sure it's to the right place so that I'm not way in over my head on the other side of the world. I might be adventurous but I'm not suicidal=)