In fact, in the interview, they did ask me about my experience teaching freshman composition as a TA in graduate school in the US. They also asked me if I was familiar with the difference in writing style between Korea and the US.

I had actual done some research reading in the early to mid-1990s on that for a paper I did in that graduate school mentioned above. A couple of students focused on Korea, and it was interesting.

Every once in awhile, in the English versions of the Korean newspapers, you'll see an editorial written that matches exactly the kind of development I read about in those studies…

I'm going into the SMOE gig with mostly the mentality I would going into an American high school like where I've worked. It usually isn't a 9 to 5 job. It is a career.

Which is why I have made living inside Seoul and not nearby the highest priority: weekends might be the only blocks of time I can devote consistently to the NGO effort, and I don't want to waste 2+ hours in round trip travel time getting there.

I think either way I choose is going to be about equal. And the decision will be made soon. The SMOE visa should come through in the near future. And if I don't hear back from the univ. by the end of Tuesday, I'll probably just decline the position so they can locate someone else sooner rather than later since they start in September as well.

SMOE, my friend, now working at my university, worked for them for a year and a half. For the most part the experience was positive but it was a real time sucker because of all the other duties that were piled on. He was basically working from 9 to 9.

TOEIC is not that bad, I just finished teaching TOEIC writing. If you like teaching writing then it can be rewarding.

ANyhoo, to me it would be a no brainer. I'd take the uni gig.

Good luck!

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=1…

The person signed a contract with EPIK but without his knowledge the contract was shifted to SMOE and then SMOE dumped him without the option of going back with EPIK.

I also saw another post at Dave's that said 100 teachers who went through EPIK were shifted to SMOE.

I don't know the details of the EPIK program — specifically – whether or not they allow you to specify a province or other area designation you prefer to teach in — but since it is for the whole country, being shifted to Seoul specifically is not a terribly big deal, but it is still disconcerting to have that happen after you've signed the contract —

— but this is the ESL industry we're talking about…

And if EPIK does allow you to specify a region you want to live in, and you are familiar with Korea and had a specific region in mind, and especially if you have in-laws in country you'll be visiting periodically, being shifted from – say – Busan to Seoul would be a very big deal…

…perhaps it wouldn't be such a big deal with the average ESL instructor coming in, because they haven't been to Korea before and are not as focused on specifics as veterans tend to be.

The norm we might consider in the US or elsewhere isn't the same for the ESL industry in Korea where they are hiring a lot of overseas people in a process that takes up a considerable amount of time. It makes no sense for a job seeker to shop for one position at a time.

It's not unusual for a prospective employee to find a better position during the process and back out. It's also not too unusual to hear about schools backing out at the last minute on a client even after the contract is signed.

As I noted in the post, the point of no return for the ESL industry in Korea isn't the signing of the contract but the processing of the Visa. Once they have gone through immigration to get your Visa number and you've taken it to the local consulate and gotten the Visa stamp issued — then you are locked in.

The school could still drop you since you aren't in country, but you can't change without them releasing you from the Visa.

The system has been that way for a long time.

All these public school jobs and the system to recruit for them is newer to me, but from reading SMOE's description of the job and application process, they have had their fair share of people backing out even after getting the visa and arriving in Korea.

SMOE states that if you refuse a job placement, they can void your visa and set it so you can't get a position with them again.

Which means they're not telling people what they will teach ahead of time has resulted in enough cancellations at the last minute to create such a warning. It also means that they have had people balk at a school and reluctantly agreed to find them a different position.

From a few things I've read at Dave's from people who've worked for SMOE and the other regional school boards, they recommend you stick to your guns — even on things like the free housing that is provided if it isn't up to your standards. (On that one, since it's free, I pretty much believe you stick with what they give you unless the rats in the place are the size of small dogs…)

So, I wouldn't feel the least bit guilty if I took another job before getting my visa.

I'd feel somewhat guilty if I backed out after arriving in Korea. I'd have to do some heavy thinking.

But, I'm a high school teacher. Not elementary school. SMOE and these other places hire many, many people without teaching experience or a degree in English much less TESOL.

If I were one of those inexperienced BAs, I'd just be happy to have the chance to work and live abroad. But I think I offer SMOE enough to warrant being somewhat picky on the level I want to teach.

It makes little sense to put someone trained and experienced with high school in an elementary school or an elementary school teacher into a high school…

Koreans are evil but you don't mind taking their money.