3 YEARS teaching in SOUTH KOREA | EPIK TEACHER | Would I recommend it? | Teaching English with EPIK?

As EPIK English teacher in South Korea for 3 years I talk a little about the salary, the working and teaching hours, the pay and benefits, the students and, vacation time, desk warming, placement and everything else. Is teaching English with EPIK a good idea, is it worth it? Many of these points also apply to TALK scholars of course, but there are some important differences between the two programs.
If you want to know why I'm leaving Korea and my EPIK teaching job:
• I QUIT MY JOB! 5 CLUES...
See what my apartment looks like in my 3rd year in Korea:
• FREE apartment in SOUT...
Low drag lifestyle is a channel about minimalist travel and lifestyle design. If that sounds good then get subscribed, hit the like button, and leave a comment down below introducing yourself!

[@InaDay_]

This video was so sincere and comforting- especially the part about impostor syndrome haha. I’m starting at a hagwon in Seoul next month and I’m so glad it’s not just me who feels overwhelmed to become a ‘real’ teacher 😵‍💫

[@LowDragLifestyle]

Really excited for you! It's a wonderful adventure and Seoul is a beautiful city. Imposter syndrome was a real thing for me but it passed. Enjoy your time there!

[@teshi1424]

I really love your positivity, I don't think that desk warming is bad, it allows you time to do other things and develop new skills

[@Mani-sh6td]

Hello! I have also applied through EPIK and will be going to a school in Busan. Loved your video! It helped to relieve some of the stress I have been feeling before I go. There is always so much mystery, but it only adds to the adventure!

[@LowDragLifestyle]

I'm so glad it was useful to you! After three years here I've still never been to Busan, but it looks like a beautiful city! Lots of mystery, I agree. The experience of actually arriving here and Korea going from a mystery to something you suddenly know is really incredible! Good luck on your adventure, I promise it will be something you'll remember for the rest of your life!

[@geraldcurle9301]

Wow, thanks for this video, its nice to see a video about what its really like there. I'm thinking about going and this is exactly what I needed to hear. Some other videos seem to be very negative, but with you I feel its very sincere and realistic. Well done

[@adrianklopper3550]

This is by far the best video I have seen, you spoke about all the important things. Thank you.

[@azeliaramos7718]

"It's a little sad" *plays the most uplifting, adorable song in the background* gotta love timing

[@TamaraVlogs]

Great informative video, thank you! 🙏🏼 I’m beginning my application for this August!!

[@LowDragLifestyle]

The beginning of an awesome journey, I'm so excited for you! When are you planning to be in Korea?

[@KC-io1yu]

Thank you for this video. It is very encouraging and enlightening. :)

[@seshhollow6876]

Watching your video just before the interview 😄

[@ptoughneighp]

I haven't started the process yet. This is all new to me. But your video was so informative and I think it's something I want to do

[@Gavinifyable]

Great video, you definitely deserve more subscribers! I'm currently teaching in China and planning to apply for the EPIK program to start in 2023. Glad to hear your experience was positive overall, your videos have helped me decide that Korea is the right choice for teaching!

[@LowDragLifestyle]

Teaching in China, I'm jealous! Where are you? EPIK was a great experience, I hope you enjoy it too. You're very kind. I'm sure more subscribers will come in good time.

[@Gavinifyable]

@@LowDragLifestyle I teach in Nanjing, not too far from Shanghai.

[@itstrueisay]

Great video!

[@mashiiiiro]

This was the most helpful video I've watching regarding experiences whilst in the EPIK program! That being said, I'm currently stuck in life and I'm thinking of teaching English in Japan or Korea but I'm really worried about many things. Like you mentioned, the imposter syndrome is hitting and I haven't even applied to any programs yet. How easy/difficult was the transition from being somebody who has never taught before, to becoming a teacher for hundreds of kids over the course of a few years? Was the beginning daunting? Did you get over the anxious feelings of teaching (if you had any) relatively easily?

[@LowDragLifestyle]

Thank you for your kind words, I'm really glad I could help! I know what you mean, I felt the same way. If you're comparing JET in Japan and EPIK in Korea I think the pay in Korea is a lot better and your job will be a lot more interesting. You get to plan and run your own classes in most cases. I think JET involves less autonomy, but I'm not an expert on JET! Imposter syndrome sucks. It took probably 3 days to get that out of my system. I'd compare it to riding a roller coaster. By which I mean, it's terrifying the first time you do it, but then you kind of know what to expect and you slowly get more confident. If you want a middle ground to maybe ease yourself into it, maybe apply to Cambly or another online platform just to see what it's like being a tutor. After a couple of weeks I had a good handle on everything. With EPIK you're going to have a textbook to work from so there's actually very little prep work to do. Maybe some planning for the first five minutes and the last 5 minutes of every class, but other than that you just kind of follow the textbook, which is all digital too so you can use it to present on the screen with videos and activities and everything. If you're confident enough to be thinking about this then I think you're confident enough to do it. It's a big adventure, and it'll be scary at first but it's a life changing experience that I wouldn't change for the world. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'm happy to help!

[@KairuinKorea]

I failed my first Epik application lol. The application and interview went fine UNTIL there was a roleplay. And it ended up being like talking to a brick wall. The interviewer was just watching and refused to engage even when prompted lol.. I then came to Korea anyway and now work in a Hagwon (a very nice hagwon compared to many I hear of though!) I've been here six months and I still plan to apply to Epik again somewhen in the next year or so. I wish I could hear a bit more about your interview process and how it went though. It's hard to find advice on the interviews.

[@sourdough9830]

Great video, Chris! I’ve only been thinking about teaching in Korea for about a week now so this was very informative. My original plan was to get my teaching certificate here in the states and teach high school. I still want to do that, but maybe start in Korea first for some experience/fun. Question for you, if I know I *really* want to teach high school (would settle for middle school), and I know I want to be in at least a mid-sized city, are there ways to get my preferences? Or should I suck it up and be open to whatever? Thanks!!

[@breakoutbusinessenglish]

Hi, sorry for the late reply. Would love to know what you're doing now! You can make your preferences known to whoever you work with, recruiter for instance, however there are no guarantees. I asked for Busan, was told to do more classroom time first, so I went and did the extra classroom time and still ended up in Jindo. Having said that some people end up in Seoul their first time. I think it's luck more than anything.

[@True-yj3ur]

We want more! We want more! We want more!

[@LowDragLifestyle]

Thanks for your support! Are you thinking of moving to Korea?

[@Jamellody]

Absolutely blowing my mind that you are from Newton Aycliffe! This video was in my KZbin suggested and I've just applied for Epik so thought I'd check it out. Straight away heard the northern accent and checked out the comments to see you're from my town!! What a coincidence - small world aha

[@LowDragLifestyle]

Haha, small world! Yeah, I'm 32 and went to Woodham CTC. Maybe we went to school together??

[@Jamellody]

@@LowDragLifestyle I actually went to school out of town! I'm also 22, so I was a bit after your time in secondary school aha

[@senorfootball2460]

It's too late for me to become an EPIK teacher this year, so going the Hagwon route for 2023. But after this video, definitely want to do EPIK

[@thomasgazzard506]

Thanks for your video. I've put in an initial application to Korvia teaching agency, so pretty early days for me.

[@LowDragLifestyle]

The beginning of an awesome adventure, good decision! Have you taught English before?

[@thomasgazzard506]

@@LowDragLifestyle I've taught during my CELTA and TEFL refresher courses, but no full time teaching experience. I was wondering, what is the teaching course book you referred to please? Is that English course book common within public Korean schools?

[@onefinalfightt]

Hello! I loved this video, thank you so much for making it! I am thinking about moving to teach English in Korea. I was wondering what your experience has been with making friends while in Korea? I’m quite concerned about feeling lonely/isolated. Thank you!

[@allibeebe]

I’m scared of this too

[@senorfootball2460]

live in a small town and go to local bars, people will find you. Or go to Seoul, finding foreigners as a last resort when you feel lonely is always an option

[@Mrneonsean]

This is so inspiring knowing you had no teaching experience because that’s my biggest concern for myself! 😂

[@WendyMeng]

China is paying average 3200-4800USD per month for a regular teaching job... due to a foreign teacher shortage

[@daydreamerpark9498]

Good job! By the way, you remind me my favorite actor 'Gerard Butler'. LOL! Happy New Year!

[@LowDragLifestyle]

Gerard Butler is awesome, so I'll definitely take that as a compliment! Big fan of the "Has Fallen" series, and 300 of course! What's your favourite movie of his?

[@moonbeamflowers4795]

Thinking about doing this program. Going to visit Korea first though😊

[@LowDragLifestyle]

Definitely worth a visit even if you don't move here! I didn't, it was a mystery to me when I arrived! Have you visited much of Asia before?

[@moonbeamflowers4795]

The only Asian country I have seen before was Indonesia - Bali to be specific. That was a few years ago. I’m really interested in going and teaching in Korea though. I’ve already started to begin learning Hangul a couple of months ago. At least so when I can visit I will be able to get around🙂

[@cheeseoreos493]

3:14 its interesting your saying that because another girl said that the salary wasnt enough to save with because of current cost of living etc

[@MerishkaSingh]

So what did you do for the 40 lesson plans that needed to be done in 20 Minutes?

[@MyPlaces]

Hello from Italy. I support you my friend 👍+🔔

[@LowDragLifestyle]

Thanks, I appreciate it! Your travel videos are really cool! Have you ever visited Korea?

[@dotmanhara2511]

How did you deal with the situation where you were asked to write down the entire year's worth of TL in 20 minutes? Do you have any advice for dealing with these situations? Great video! 😀

[@breakoutbusinessenglish]

Honestly, at that point I'd been there two years and I was better at turning down dumb requests! I said "no. I'll give you it one week from now. And you can go tell the principal that this is a dumb and unreasonable request." I think that surprised them a little! (commenting as my other channel)

[@kerianthomas]

lovely video and channel

[@LowDragLifestyle]

That's kind of you to say, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Are you thinking about coming to Korea?

[@kerianthomas]

@@LowDragLifestyle absolutely. your videos are great quality and seem really well thought out and balanced - positive perspective but honest and realistic. i would love to visit and maybe teach one day, but i imagine i’ll be staying at my current job for a while. i just enjoy watching videos like these in the meantime.

[@rtrrr7215]

How are your students English at the end of the semester?

[@ceciliafabiolas224]

Hi Chris How did you apply!

[@hemalatabudke1395]

Hello, it's been very motivational to bcome a teacher. But with Indian citizenship it's very dificult to get a job of teaching.

[@bobyonjo2975]

very good

[@LowDragLifestyle]

Thank you! I'm guessing from your name that you're Korean? Which city are you from?

[@ArielaShines]

Do they have an age cap? What about medical care? I taught ESL in the USA, so. I am about to be an empty nester, so it would be nice to teach again and I am learning Korean. Did you take the Topik tests?

[@LowDragLifestyle]

Not sure about an age cap but there are people far older than me teaching here. Medical insurance is quite cheap. It's arranged for you and comes out of your pay before you receive it. I haven't taken the TOPIK test, no. Maybe someday! My Korean still isn't good enough. I haven't really studied for a long time. Just got to a good enough level where I can get by and kind of stopped. Honestly, I have very little time these days! Haha it's definitely on my list for the future though. How long have you been studying Korean for? Are you aiming to take the TOPIK?

[@lalaforeverxxx]

I'm actually going to Jeonnnam province in February just sent my visa off today hoping it gets accepted 😭

[@LowDragLifestyle]

So excited for you! It's a beautiful province. Its famous for its beautiful scenery and awesome food. I'm sure you won't have any visa problems, just start packing! Are you coming here to teach?

[@keopiandpaste]

Finished my TEFL course last month and got my docs apostilled and notarised now. It’s just the process of finding a teaching job now 😅 Unfortunately I missed the spring time window for EPIK, so I’ve resorted to applying for Hagwons. The only problem I’m facing is that I’ve heard so many horror stories about hagwons, and it’s really made me worry/scared to apply for them. Furthermore I’m a Chinese guy born and raised in UK, but because I have an Asian appearance it’s definitely made the whole process even harder for me to apply for English teaching jobs. I’m trying to be strong and keep a positive mind, and this video has definitely helped me! So thank you so much for this and I truly hope life brings you many more opportunities to you!!

[@LowDragLifestyle]

Wow, you're about to start an adventure, that's so cool! If you're worried about your Asian appearance and teaching in Korean there are a bunch of KZbin channels from people in the same position. Search 'skycedi' to get Cederic's perspective. Hagwons are hit and miss. A lot of people start out with EPIK then decide to move to Hagwons. Check out Chen from Brooklyn's channel to hear more about that. Have you booked flights yet or are you waiting for a job offer?

[@Eric-ph4yw]

I'm teaching in Daegu currently. Do you know if we're allowed to teach English online as well or does it go against our E-2 visa?

[@LowDragLifestyle]

I really wouldn't like to say definitively. I'd recommend just not telling anyone! Unless it starts to affect your performance in school then what you do online in the evenings shouldn't be a problem. However, if you're worried I would contact your supervisor first. Are you an EPIK teacher?

[@Eric-ph4yw]

@@LowDragLifestyle Currently in a Hagwon. I only work like 18 hours a week and have a lot of extra time. I'd like to pick up some more skills with online teaching as well. If I teach English online, I don't know if I'd pay taxes here in Korea or my native country the US? I think that's where the conflict with doing it comes in? Can't seem to find a solid answer anywhere I look.

[@LowDragLifestyle]

I probably wouldn't mention it to your Hagwon. I've never worked in one but from what I've heard they're far less forgiving and understanding than public schools. You definitely couldn't pay taxes in Korea because you definitely have a second job which definitely is not allowed on your visa. And I'm not American but I'm pretty sure they want taxes wherever you are in the world. Actually one of the only countries that does I think.

[@anhhel]

Do you know what the general consensus is regarding EPIK teachers and piercings? I don’t have any facial piercings but I have additional lobe and ear piercings, just hoping it won’t jeopardize my potential to be accepted since it may be seen as unprofessional

[@LowDragLifestyle]

As far as I'm aware it shouldn't be too much of an issue, but maybe pop them an email and ask. They're still pretty strict on as tattoos I think, but regardless I've known a bunch of teachers out here who have some pretty big tattoos! When are you hoping to start?

[@anhhel]

@@LowDragLifestyle okay awesome thank you!! I just enrolled for the 168 hr tefl course, hoping to have it completed by May and apply in august!

[@ptoughneighp]

Hi there, my name is Anthony. I was wondering if I can get your contact info to ask you some personal questions about this. I really would like to teach English in Korea.

[@hunterlord101]

Me applying: "I think Incheon would be cool to teach at!" EPIK: "Gyeongbuk it is!" For real though- I'm excited. Just waiting on my email with my visa info to send off to the Korean consulate.

[@LowDragLifestyle]

Haha, that sounds about right! You'll have an awesome time in sure of it. When are you planning on arriving? Where are you from?

[@hunterlord101]

They said to plan for early February so I'm thinking here in a month. I'm honestly not sure if I'll wanna risk mailing my visa stuff in such a short time frame or if I'll wanna drive 2 and 1/2 hours to my nearest consulate with an appointment to speed things along. I'm from Texas!

[@LowDragLifestyle]

You'll be coming just as I'm leaving, I'm so excited for you! I agree, the less mailing the better. I'm from the UK so I took a train to London for mine. Quick tip, call ahead to see if there's a procedure. I arrived at the UK Korean consulate at 2pm and thought I had at least 3 hours until they closed. When I arrived they told me that they only deal with visa applications before lunch time. I ended up having to find a hotel in London for the night! Don't know if it they will have the same rules where you are but it's worth checking!

[@SC-mf1gc]

If youre teaching 22 hours a week, and desk warming the rest. Do you get paid for the desk warming too?

[@breakoutbusinessenglish]

Yes. You're salaried so you get 1/12 of your annual salary every month regardless of how much you work. Plus overtime.

[@lbfaith]

Do you need a degree?

[@renaes2008]

So, if you are thinking to move to Korea to teach (coming from someone who's been teaching here for 13 years): 1) Be flexible 2) Don't be able to say, 'no, I can't do that.'

[@LowDragLifestyle]

I definitely agree with that one. Finding out about things last minute and needing to change plans quickly was a big part of working in Korea for me!

[@johnjl23]

might look at this EPIK carry on like...

[@LowDragLifestyle]

It's definitely one of the best decisions I ever made. An incredible adventure that changed my life. Have you taught before?

[@johnjl23]

I'm currently teaching in China. I'm about to go home for a little rest before going.... Wherever really. Are you Geordie BTW?

[@LowDragLifestyle]

Haha, well spotted! Are you? I'm actually from Newton Aycliffe, spent most of my teenage years in Darlington, then most of my 20's in Hull. My accent is still strong then?!

[@johnjl23]

Ahh it was a toss up between Geordie and Yorkshire, I lived in Hull for a while (never again 😅) and I'm from Northumberland. Due to return in 58 days now, before I get bored and jet off to tefl again somewhere else. Was considering Korea, buuutttt I dunno. I'm leaving China for some pretty legit reasons, like most foreigners now, and so I want to move somewhere that doesn't have the same issues as here. My point is, I don't know if Korea will have the same problems as here, I don't know anyone who's worked there 😅 What are your plans? Will you stay in Korea? Or is it time to move on?