this is a really important video for applicants to see. i was super uncomfortable with all of these aspects not being clear to me beforehand. it feels like you could be set up for a position you’re not wanting after already flying to korea 😬
Hey! I'm glad that you found the video useful! Korea and EPIK is definitely the land of surprises so it's good to be prepared for what you're about to encounter. Best of luck with your journey to Korea!
places don't necessarily have an age requirement but an education requirement. Most countries want a bachelors degree/undergrad degree, although there isn't a specific subject requirement@@mauasvids4883
I work at a Hagwon after being rejected by EPIK and I’m kinda glad I didn’t do EPIK after watching this. I was told every single detail about my school and my living situation weeks in advance before I got to Korea. I think I would have freaked out if I didn’t know any of that.
Hey Charlie! I'm so glad you found a great Hagwon that you enjoy working at! I think EPIK is great, especially for first years, however there are pros and cons of both EPIK and Hagwon. I'm glad your decision was right for you :) Best of luck!
Hey Fiona. A lot of the time you can go through recruitment agencies such as Korvia to apply with Hagwons. Equally you can apply directly, check black and green lists online, or go with specialised agencies such as AppleTree. I hope this helps!@@fionam3904
I'm a big fan of the whole "Prepare for the worst" mentality, so I'm expecting the working environment to be hardcore - of course like you said, the type of struggle I'm sure will vary for everyone, depending on their placement. But I'd rather be pleasantly surprised than have to have a rude awakening thinking it will be a breeze 😅 I am kind of dreading the Korean surprise though, not going to lie! I hope I'll build up resilience quickly 🤣 Hope you're staying safe and taking some time to be with friends and family (virtually) this week ❤❤
I’ll be moving to Daegu in the Spring and your videos are really great! I’m grateful to have found someone already in Daegu. You help ease a lot of my thoughts/worries. Xx
Ahhh amazing news that you'll be moving to Daegu like me! Daegu is a great city so I have no doubt you'll have so much fun! If you need help with anything else don't hesitate to ask :)
I’m also going to Daegu in the spring! I have practically binge watched all of the videos to help answer a lot of the questions/worries I had! Very helpfully and love the energy
Thank you so much for all the insight ! I'm applying for the Spring 23 intake and your videos have been really helpful and grounding! All the love ! xx
Thanks for the video! I absolutely adore your energy, it definitely helped me feel less intimidated about these aspects of the program! I have my interview scheduled with EPIK this week so fingers crossed xx
even though I'm not with EPIK this video was quite useful. I'm actually in Daegu as well and I'm going to be working at a private school so I'm curious to see how it goes. I've only arrived in Daegu yesterday and I've already had so many surprises about my stay here, like I didn't realise my apartment was a two bedroom so I have a housemate that I work with. I'm glad though as I have no one here that I know and I find it very intimidating going into shops by myself as I don't speak Korean, definitely need to learn though. I'm definitely going to watch more of your videos as I love that you are from Britain as same here. Oh by the way do you find kids are curious about your accent as I have heard that apparently 90% of teachers here are American so kids might find British accents more peculiar
Hey Nat! Ahhhh this is so exciting that you just moved to Daegu too. I wish you all the best with your adventure as you're going to absolutely smash it :) And I think it's an interesting dynamic being a British teacher over here. As the curriculum teaches American English, it's great to teach the kids this however give them a taste of what it's like to speak/spell/learn in a British way too. It's another level of cultural exchange :) I find it no trouble what so ever.
@@itsalexmark thank you so much Alex! That's good that you don't find it troubling at all :) If you are ever in the centre of Daegu (if you still live in Daegu as I haven't caught up with your videos yet) and you would like to meet up I would love that. I'm just so new to Korea, I've actually never been to Korea before moving here, so I feel like I have so much to ask you about your experience here. But I won't bother you! Thank you for replying :D
really helpful video! my biggest concern about making the jump is the social aspect. as a pretty social person i feel a bit nervous about coming into the program without knowing anybody. how was the experience finding friends there/did you find it easy to make connections with the locals or other foreigners?
Thank you so much. If you get offered a 12 month contract, does that mean you have to pack your bags and return to your home country after 12 months. Are there any opportunities to keep teaching, even if it's in another country?
Hey Olivia! Sorry for the late response - So all contracts are for 12 months, however, after about 8/9 months you will get asked if you want to renew your contract with the same school/different school in the same area/or different area completely. It's up to you for how long you stay :) I hope this helps!
oh, i wanted to know if you have a teaching degree! I do not, but I'm a translation major so I'm pretty nervous about not being an actual teacher (i've taught a few classes, but i have 0 experience actually planning them)
Hey Cath! So actually my degree is in Geography and Urban Planning so nothing teaching related. I'm sure you'll be absolutely fine as the majority of people that are with EPIK don't have a teaching degree :)
Thank you for the information!!! I'm impressed how similar all the points you talking about, teachers working in the government sistem in my country (USA territory) have the same "not about" and more. I'm a licensed teacher and I experience one year (private school) in the same hour teach 5,6,7,8,9 grades together. Per week I need to make 50 class plans. And in public schools few year ago integrated child with spacial need with regulars, that's mean sometimes you have one person assist you with this student but in the majority of cases no. Is nice you talk about the reality check but for this reason in the aplicación ask if you do aboard before. Only the people working and live in other countries now how to expected. Believe and is s lot full of surprises. (Including following with guns, revolutionary groups and you need to be escort by the national guard after each day of teaching). Very useful, work and study abroad is no a vacation time. Is time to tie the belt of adulthood and be a open mind and respect others culture and never pretend do whatever you do in you own country because you are in his place. Respect, patience and discipline is the key of success in this adventure.
Hello, I am looking to maybe applying through Epik. Are you the main teacher teaching? Are you like an assistant co-teacher?? I’m not sure if there is options.
I've been trying to decide on whether I should go with EPIK or with Gone2Korea which is with the SMOE. The reason I'm hesitant to go with EPIK is because I won't know where I will go in Korea and with Gone2Korea I will know. Which one do you think I should go to??
Hey Leah! Sorry about the late response. It's all down to personal preference - if you're not too bothered about your location then go with EPIK! With SMOE, you're more likely to be placed in a rural location, and despite knowing where you will be, it's more likely you will be placed rural so just keep that in mind. Best of luck!
About the blood test upon arrival - could you tell us exactly what they test for, like specific STIs and anything else? I'm struggling to find this information!
Hey :) For the blood test the things that they test for are - syphilis, philopon, cocaine, opium and hemp. I've heard rumors that they test for HIV however this is NOT TRUE. It would be illegal to discriminate upon this and they do not test for it. I hope this helps!
Hi thanks for all the videos! You’re channel has been so helpful. Quick question, is there anything I can do to affect the grade level I teach? I taught English in SEA for a few years and I really don’t want to teach any classes grade 2 or lower.
Hey :) I'm glad that you've been appreciating the videos! So with EPIK, you can put a preference of either elementary, middle or high school however the school/s that you are placed at is all about the demands of the programme. If you were to teach at elementary school, the English curriculum doesn't start from until Grade 3 so this is the earliest year group you will teach :) Hopefully that helps! Best of luck!
Hey! So for TEFL courses, I completed the 120 hour online course with tefluk. It was relatively straight forward and it didn't need any in person experience either! I also found it to be the most affordable. Best of luck with your Korean journey!
Hello , so I'm an Indian and I'm also completed my graduation in B.A ( education Honours) and I have my TEFL certificate, So am i eligible for epik teacher now or there need any other certificate?
Hello my lovely :) I remember EPIK sent a PDF email a lot closer to the time to discuss more specific timings and important dates and details. As everything with EPIK, it's all last minute so don't get stressing too much! You also receive a separate schedule at orientation too :)
@@itsalexmark Ah the Korean surprise! 😂 How lovely! Ok 👌 I look forward to finding out the specific details closer to my arrival date when EPIK sends it! 💕
Hey Denise! You need access to the internet to complete online orientation, however this can be done on your phone or a public computer. In terms of teaching, you don't need your own laptop as you will have your own school computer so it's not an absolutely essential item that you need. Hopefully this helps :)
You can borrow a laptop/ go library for application. The school may lend you one if you had to do online lessons when over there. But I had to use my own. They didn't even ask if I had one. But guess they would lend a school one if I did not have one
Hi Alex! I hope you're well~ I was just wondering if you have a video about TEFL/TESOL certification or if you have any advice about getting certified? I'm not an education major, and will be needing a certification, but unfortunately my graduation date doesn't line up with any of the postgraduate TESOL courses that my uni offers (I won't have my bachelors by the time they start!) so I'm in a bit of a pickle... do you know if online certifications like i-to-i are accepted by EPIK? Would love any advice you have to share on this!
Hello :) Unfortunately, spouses have to get their own separate visa. Depending on what your spouse does/will do will depend on the type of visa you need :)
Just one question. I have heard Epik recruiters always prefer Americans and Britishers mostly for Epik program. And Indians barely have a chance. How true is that?
Hey! EPIK only recruit applicants from UK, USA, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. They do not have a preference of UK or USA applicants however - as this would simply be discriminatory. Unfortunately, due to the visa process (nothing to do with EPIK) they can not hire Indian natives. I hope this helps!
Hello my lovely! So you actually get 100,000 extra per extra school you teach at. It's funny you asked this as I have just finished a video about the pro and cons of teaching at multiple schools :) It will be up next week :) Have a great week my lovely!
@@itsalexmark will definitely be the first to watch lol, got placed in jeju for spring 2023 and I’m preparing for the good and bad 🌻🥺 your videos are a life saver! Thank you !
@@Wendy.Hlongwane i bet you won't see this but assuming you went through with the jeju for spring of 2023, how is it!! how are you doing? would you mind stating about all how it feels?
Hey! In all honesty, I'm not 100% too sure. I know you definitely need at least a bachelors degree (which you have) however I'm unsure if having a masters means you don't need a TEFL. I'm sorry!
So they don't tell you where they're going to place you, don't tell you what your class size is going to be or what grade you'll be teaching etc etc etc... Sounds like a complete con!
Hey Justin! I hope you're doing well! EPIK don't tell you the location/full details of the placement incase people are disappointed with their placement (for example, being rural when they wanted urban) as applicants would be more likely to not come to Korea at all and therefore hindering the entire process - potentially leaving schools without any native English teachers. EPIK is all about dealing with the card you're dealt in teaching English regardless of the placement/class size etc. If you plan to come to Korea soon, come with an open mind and then you're less likely to be disappointed. Have a great day!
this is a really important video for applicants to see. i was super uncomfortable with all of these aspects not being clear to me beforehand. it feels like you
could be set up for a position you’re not wanting after already flying to korea 😬
Hey! I'm glad that you found the video useful! Korea and EPIK is definitely the land of surprises so it's good to be prepared for what you're about to encounter. Best of luck with your journey to Korea!
@@mauasvids4883 As long as you have graduated from university plus TEFL certificate you can be any age
places don't necessarily have an age requirement but an education requirement. Most countries want a bachelors degree/undergrad degree, although there isn't a specific subject requirement@@mauasvids4883
I work at a Hagwon after being rejected by EPIK and I’m kinda glad I didn’t do EPIK after watching this. I was told every single detail about my school and my living situation weeks in advance before I got to Korea. I think I would have freaked out if I didn’t know any of that.
Hey Charlie! I'm so glad you found a great Hagwon that you enjoy working at! I think EPIK is great, especially for first years, however there are pros and cons of both EPIK and Hagwon. I'm glad your decision was right for you :) Best of luck!
I’m actually getting ready to apply for EPIK right now 😅 I’m a little worried about being rejected so how did you apply for hagwon?
Hey Fiona. A lot of the time you can go through recruitment agencies such as Korvia to apply with Hagwons. Equally you can apply directly, check black and green lists online, or go with specialised agencies such as AppleTree. I hope this helps!@@fionam3904
I'm a big fan of the whole "Prepare for the worst" mentality, so I'm expecting the working environment to be hardcore - of course like you said, the type of struggle I'm sure will vary for everyone, depending on their placement. But I'd rather be pleasantly surprised than have to have a rude awakening thinking it will be a breeze 😅 I am kind of dreading the Korean surprise though, not going to lie! I hope I'll build up resilience quickly 🤣 Hope you're staying safe and taking some time to be with friends and family (virtually) this week ❤❤
Hey Pola! The "prepare for the worst" mentality is a good mentality to have! Thank you for your kind words also. Have a great rest of your week!!
I’ll be moving to Daegu in the Spring and your videos are really great! I’m grateful to have found someone already in Daegu. You help ease a lot of my thoughts/worries. Xx
Ahhh amazing news that you'll be moving to Daegu like me! Daegu is a great city so I have no doubt you'll have so much fun! If you need help with anything else don't hesitate to ask :)
I’m also going to Daegu in the spring! I have practically binge watched all of the videos to help answer a lot of the questions/worries I had! Very helpfully and love the energy
Thank you so much for all the insight ! I'm applying for the Spring 23 intake and your videos have been really helpful and grounding! All the love ! xx
Hey Kelly! Super exciting news that you're applying for Spring 23! Sending you the best of luck and maybe I'll see you in Korea once you arrive :)
Thanks for the video! I absolutely adore your energy, it definitely helped me feel less intimidated about these aspects of the program! I have my interview scheduled with EPIK this week so fingers crossed xx
Ahhhhh sorry about the late response but thank you for your kind words!! I hope your interview went well :)
Thank you for your video! I have a couple of questions but what sort of hours do you do? Also, do you have to do lesson plan for all classes?
even though I'm not with EPIK this video was quite useful. I'm actually in Daegu as well and I'm going to be working at a private school so I'm curious to see how it goes. I've only arrived in Daegu yesterday and I've already had so many surprises about my stay here, like I didn't realise my apartment was a two bedroom so I have a housemate that I work with. I'm glad though as I have no one here that I know and I find it very intimidating going into shops by myself as I don't speak Korean, definitely need to learn though. I'm definitely going to watch more of your videos as I love that you are from Britain as same here. Oh by the way do you find kids are curious about your accent as I have heard that apparently 90% of teachers here are American so kids might find British accents more peculiar
Hey Nat! Ahhhh this is so exciting that you just moved to Daegu too. I wish you all the best with your adventure as you're going to absolutely smash it :) And I think it's an interesting dynamic being a British teacher over here. As the curriculum teaches American English, it's great to teach the kids this however give them a taste of what it's like to speak/spell/learn in a British way too. It's another level of cultural exchange :) I find it no trouble what so ever.
@@itsalexmark thank you so much Alex! That's good that you don't find it troubling at all :)
If you are ever in the centre of Daegu (if you still live in Daegu as I haven't caught up with your videos yet) and you would like to meet up I would love that. I'm just so new to Korea, I've actually never been to Korea before moving here, so I feel like I have so much to ask you about your experience here. But I won't bother you! Thank you for replying :D
really helpful video! my biggest concern about making the jump is the social aspect. as a pretty social person i feel a bit nervous about coming into the program without knowing anybody. how was the experience finding friends there/did you find it easy to make connections with the locals or other foreigners?
😃Wow thanks for an informative video.
Thank you so much. If you get offered a 12 month contract, does that mean you have to pack your bags and return to your home country after 12 months. Are there any opportunities to keep teaching, even if it's in another country?
Hey Olivia! Sorry for the late response -
So all contracts are for 12 months, however, after about 8/9 months you will get asked if you want to renew your contract with the same school/different school in the same area/or different area completely. It's up to you for how long you stay :) I hope this helps!
oh, i wanted to know if you have a teaching degree! I do not, but I'm a translation major so I'm pretty nervous about not being an actual teacher (i've taught a few classes, but i have 0 experience actually planning them)
Hey Cath! So actually my degree is in Geography and Urban Planning so nothing teaching related. I'm sure you'll be absolutely fine as the majority of people that are with EPIK don't have a teaching degree :)
@@itsalexmark omg thank you so much for answering~
Thank you for the information!!!
I'm impressed how similar all the points you talking about, teachers working in the government sistem in my country (USA territory) have the same "not about" and more. I'm a licensed teacher and I experience one year (private school) in the same hour teach 5,6,7,8,9 grades together. Per week I need to make 50 class plans. And in public schools few year ago integrated child with spacial need with regulars, that's mean sometimes you have one person assist you with this student but in the majority of cases no.
Is nice you talk about the reality check but for this reason in the aplicación ask if you do aboard before. Only the people working and live in other countries now how to expected. Believe and is s lot full of surprises. (Including following with guns, revolutionary groups and you need to be escort by the national guard after each day of teaching).
Very useful, work and study abroad is no a vacation time. Is time to tie the belt of adulthood and be a open mind and respect others culture and never pretend do whatever you do in you own country because you are in his place. Respect, patience and discipline is the key of success in this adventure.
Hello, I am looking to maybe applying through Epik. Are you the main teacher teaching? Are you like an assistant co-teacher?? I’m not sure if there is options.
I've been trying to decide on whether I should go with EPIK or with Gone2Korea which is with the SMOE. The reason I'm hesitant to go with EPIK is because I won't know where I will go in Korea and with Gone2Korea I will know. Which one do you think I should go to??
Hey Leah! Sorry about the late response. It's all down to personal preference - if you're not too bothered about your location then go with EPIK! With SMOE, you're more likely to be placed in a rural location, and despite knowing where you will be, it's more likely you will be placed rural so just keep that in mind. Best of luck!
About the blood test upon arrival - could you tell us exactly what they test for, like specific STIs and anything else? I'm struggling to find this information!
Hey :) For the blood test the things that they test for are - syphilis, philopon, cocaine, opium and hemp. I've heard rumors that they test for HIV however this is NOT TRUE. It would be illegal to discriminate upon this and they do not test for it. I hope this helps!
@@itsalexmark Thanks so much!
Hi thanks for all the videos! You’re channel has been so helpful. Quick question, is there anything I can do to affect the grade level I teach? I taught English in SEA for a few years and I really don’t want to teach any classes grade 2 or lower.
Hey :) I'm glad that you've been appreciating the videos! So with EPIK, you can put a preference of either elementary, middle or high school however the school/s that you are placed at is all about the demands of the programme. If you were to teach at elementary school, the English curriculum doesn't start from until Grade 3 so this is the earliest year group you will teach :) Hopefully that helps! Best of luck!
@@itsalexmark Thanks for the reply! Wow that is such a relief that the English curriculum is grade 3 and up😄. Thanks again for all the videos!
Hey I hope you’re well. I wanted to ask which TEFL course you did or you would recommend for those in the U.K.? Thank you :).
Hey! So for TEFL courses, I completed the 120 hour online course with tefluk. It was relatively straight forward and it didn't need any in person experience either! I also found it to be the most affordable. Best of luck with your Korean journey!
Hello , so I'm an Indian and I'm also completed my graduation in B.A ( education Honours) and I have my TEFL certificate,
So am i eligible for epik teacher now or there need any other certificate?
Hey Alex! Does EPIK send a pre-orientation packet or anything like that? Spring intake is coming up fast and I’m excitedly counting down the days! 🎉
Hello my lovely :) I remember EPIK sent a PDF email a lot closer to the time to discuss more specific timings and important dates and details. As everything with EPIK, it's all last minute so don't get stressing too much! You also receive a separate schedule at orientation too :)
@@itsalexmark Ah the Korean surprise! 😂 How lovely! Ok 👌 I look forward to finding out the specific details closer to my arrival date when EPIK sends it! 💕
I’m preparing to come over in August, currently embarking on the visa process and I wasn’t freaking out but now I am a little 🥲😂
You've got this! Don't be afraid - it really is a simple process!
Do you think it’s manageable to start working with Epik even though you don’t have a laptop ?
Hey Denise! You need access to the internet to complete online orientation, however this can be done on your phone or a public computer. In terms of teaching, you don't need your own laptop as you will have your own school computer so it's not an absolutely essential item that you need. Hopefully this helps :)
You can borrow a laptop/ go library for application. The school may lend you one if you had to do online lessons when over there. But I had to use my own. They didn't even ask if I had one. But guess they would lend a school one if I did not have one
Very informative. Thanks
You're welcome! Have a great day!
Hi Alex!
I hope you're well~ I was just wondering if you have a video about TEFL/TESOL certification or if you have any advice about getting certified? I'm not an education major, and will be needing a certification, but unfortunately my graduation date doesn't line up with any of the postgraduate TESOL courses that my uni offers (I won't have my bachelors by the time they start!) so I'm in a bit of a pickle... do you know if online certifications like i-to-i are accepted by EPIK?
Would love any advice you have to share on this!
Thank you once more
Hey Rele! I'm glad you found the video useful :) Have a great day!
When we come there and start working with epik, does they also offer visa for our spouse???? Please answer me
Hello :) Unfortunately, spouses have to get their own separate visa. Depending on what your spouse does/will do will depend on the type of visa you need :)
Just one question. I have heard Epik recruiters always prefer Americans and Britishers mostly for Epik program. And Indians barely have a chance. How true is that?
Hey! EPIK only recruit applicants from UK, USA, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. They do not have a preference of UK or USA applicants however - as this would simply be discriminatory. Unfortunately, due to the visa process (nothing to do with EPIK) they can not hire Indian natives. I hope this helps!
that’s a lot of crucial information they withhold lmao
Can we be friends I’m a photographer/influencer in Nj near nyc about to start teaching in Korea this November.
Hey 🌻 when you teach multiple schools does your salary stay the same or it increases?
Hello my lovely! So you actually get 100,000 extra per extra school you teach at. It's funny you asked this as I have just finished a video about the pro and cons of teaching at multiple schools :) It will be up next week :) Have a great week my lovely!
@@itsalexmark will definitely be the first to watch lol, got placed in jeju for spring 2023 and I’m preparing for the good and bad 🌻🥺 your videos are a life saver! Thank you !
@@Wendy.Hlongwane Jeju! How exciting😀 You’ve really messaged at the right time as I’m actually visiting Jeju for 1 week on Sunday😁
@@itsalexmark amazing !!! 💃
@@Wendy.Hlongwane i bet you won't see this but assuming you went through with the jeju for spring of 2023, how is it!! how are you doing? would you mind stating about all how it feels?
Do you get to choose where you'll be staying??
Hey! You get to choose a preference when applying for EPIK, however the process of actually getting selected is random :)
Really helpful, thanks!
I'm glad you found it helpful :) Have a great day!
Hello
Hello
can a master in english apply without tefl certificate?
Hey! In all honesty, I'm not 100% too sure. I know you definitely need at least a bachelors degree (which you have) however I'm unsure if having a masters means you don't need a TEFL. I'm sorry!
@@itsalexmark thankz anyway☺️
Stay away fro Epic
Why?
So they don't tell you where they're going to place you, don't tell you what your class size is going to be or what grade you'll be teaching etc etc etc... Sounds like a complete con!
Hey Justin! I hope you're doing well! EPIK don't tell you the location/full details of the placement incase people are disappointed with their placement (for example, being rural when they wanted urban) as applicants would be more likely to not come to Korea at all and therefore hindering the entire process - potentially leaving schools without any native English teachers. EPIK is all about dealing with the card you're dealt in teaching English regardless of the placement/class size etc. If you plan to come to Korea soon, come with an open mind and then you're less likely to be disappointed. Have a great day!