Teaching English in South Korea

daveseslcafe.com is probably the best resource for teaching jobs you'll find. Other than that, there's tefl.com, and many, many others.

Tom:

I would also recommend Dave's ESL Cafe as the primary resource of serious job announcements (vs. recruiters looking for an easy score, though that may be a bit harsh). Some schools do advertise directly there, and, as you seem to suggest, I think that direct communication is better than going through a recruiter.

You do not need to have a TEFL certificate to teach in Korea, though it certainly would likely make you a better teacher.

I have not taught in China, but would suggest Korea as a 'stepping-ground", in part because you can save some money here that you will likely never have the chance to in China. Be advised that these days the Korean imigration system requires a criminal background check as well as a medical screening (HIV, drugs) so get started on the paperwork for a visa early if you do want to come (first you need to secure a job so they can sponsor you). On average it takes maybe 2 months, though I did it from the U.S.

Cheers!

--N

I went from US to Korea in less then a month but I was very busy.

Biggest pain for Korea is having your degree/criminal record apostilled, I had to go through two states and lots of headaches.

You can teach without a TEFL.

If you post on Dave's say exactly what you want....I wrote I was only interested in Public schools in Seoul or Busan, still had recruiters trying to push me into private academy/hogwans saying "all public school jobs are taken".

Korea is a good place to start in that most things will be taken care of for you, apartment usually paid by the school, airfare in/out, etc.