TaLK (Teach and Learn in Korea)

TaLK scholars in the blue shirts during our orientation field trip to Seoul.

So my cousin Angel (beautifymeeh) told me I should blog about my experience teaching english in Korea.
I actually went to Korea through the organization called TaLK (teach and learn in korea).
TaLK is different from the typical afterschool academies aka Hakwons that a lot of people are familiar with.

It's a govn't funded program that brings a lot of college students in from 6 native english speaking countries such as Canada, USA, Australia, UK..etc.   There are a lot of people who are post grads that go through the program also so it's not all college students.

The job title is...

• Teach 15 class hours per week Mon-Fri.
• Work at a rural elementary school that has relatively low english leveled students.
• Most schools require you to submit lesson plans so you should expect to spend time lesson planning and preparing on top of your 15 class hours you teach. 
• Doesn't require a bachelors degree.
• Contract is 6 mos or 1 yr.
• Pay is 1,500,000 won per month which is roughly 1,320-1,380 us dollars depending on the exchange rate. 

A lot of people with bachelors degrees sign up for TaLK because of the short term contract (6 mos).  If you sign up for any other teaching job in Korea the minimum contract is usually 1 yr. 

If you are wanting to experience Korea and your main goal isn't solely to make money then I would DEFINITELY recommend doing TaLK.  You meet a TON of new friends all across the world through orientation unlike other teaching jobs and you will end up having friends that teach EVERYWHERE in korea so you can travel and have a place to stay pretty much anywhere.  

I do have a lot of friends that teach at Academies and through Epik.  The good thing about Epik and Academy is that you make more money usually the pay is 2,000,000-3,000,000 krw per mo. and you can be placed in Seoul or other big cities which means that your students will have a higher level in english so it can be easier to teach because they will understand you for the most part.  You do work a lot more though, you can expect to work 30-40 hrs per week. 

These are half my 4th graders that I taught.  Most TaLK scholars will teach in very small rural schools and only teach about 5-15 kids per grade class but I got placed at a fairly big school so I taught about 22-27 kids per class. 

My kids were giving me peppero for peppero day.  

The kids are what you learn to love about the job.  Kids in Korea are extremely witty and smart, they are like little adults running around in miniature bodies. =) They are also very affectionate if you allow it they will come running into class and attach on to you like an octopus and jump on you, hold your hand, and talk to you all day long if they could.  

My some of TaLK friends that taught in the same Province as me. 

Me, Friend Gabby and Friend Sylvia at Hip hop dance academy

My friend Nathan, Julie and I at the Lantern Festival in Jinju

So while in Korea I do recommend you to travel! There are so many fun festivals that are held in different places all over Korea and also try to get something out of your experience like learning something new. I joined a hip hop dance academy, a cooking academy and a yoga academy and I absolutely loved it. It's a great way to meet the locals also.

There are 3 things that you will need to know if you haven't lived in Korea before.

1. Prepare your liver because you will drink a LOT. Drinking in korea is something korean people take to another level.  It's even required sometimes when you go to "hwe-shiks" which are dinners with your coworkers and bosses. It's a beverage that seems to appear at all social gatherings.
2. You will shop until you drop.  Korea is VERY VERY superficial.  Koreans are known for their stylish fashion and you will quickly realize once something is "in" everyone will be wearing the same style and if you choose to not dive into the stylish fashion I guarantee you will stand out. 
3. You will spend a lot of time in karaoke, cafes and buses/subways/taxis.

Sorry for this extremely long post I'm hoping my TaLK friends are going to read this and pat me on the back for a good blog review. =) 

If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment to this post.