Teaching English in Seoul, Korea has been a very interesting experience to say the least.  I came here with no formal teaching experience.  I have a degree in Information Technology and spent my first two years after college as an IT consultant and the last 7 as a full time real estate investor and broker riding the wave.

I am extremely outgoing and had done my fair share of real estate training and tutoring over the years.  Still, I was a bit apprehensive about jumping right in to teaching.

I feel very fortunate to be teaching conversation classes to adults.  These students are here because they want to learn English.  Jobs in Korea are very competitive.  There are over 12,000,000 people living in Seoul along which is much larger then New York City.  Many of the best jobs are at companies such as Samsung and LG that require a certain level of English proficiency even if the job you are hired for doesn’t require them to speak English.  There are also numerous trading and import export companies which almost certainly require a proficiency in English.  I have a great mixture of students.  I have university students, young professionals, not so young professionals, and housewives practicing English so that they can help their children or travel abroad with their husbands. 

My first month, I was given higher level classes.  I taught only the top two levels at my Hagwon (Private English School).  At the high levels many students have studied in an English speaking country and are very capable of keeping up a conversation.  What I find is that overall they are able to understand me, although sometimes I have a bad habit of talking too quickly.  I tell my students even some of my American friends tell me I talk to fast sometimes.

Korean students start taking English at an early age.  A majority of students start learning English during early middle school.  Some students I’ve met started learning as early as 5 years old.  Nowadays, most students are starting to learn in elementary school as I know many other English teachers who are teaching 6 year olds basic English. 

The classes can be challenging for me in ways I didn’t think about before I started teaching English.  I didn’t realize how much of our conversation happens without really thinking about it.  I get a lot of questions like when would you say something is “under” and when would you say something is “below.”  I’m still not sure if there is a rule somewhere but all I could do is go through examples in my head and give them most of the common expressions I could think of for each of the examples. 

There have been far too many of these types of situations to chronicle here but it has turned out to be one of the more interesting and challenging parts of my job.

Re-learning grammar has been a bit interesting as well.  It can be embarrassing if a student in your class has a better knowledge of English grammar than you, however I remind myself that it is a conversation class and that these students have had grammar drilled into their head for 15 years more so than conversation.

One of the biggest problems I’ve had voiced by my students is that the middle and high school English lessons focused so much on grammar and memorization and not on conversation.  There are times I have been very impressed by a lower level student’s vocabulary, however they cannot put things together into a coherent sentence at the lower level.  

I went to a fun event Saturday night in an area of Seoul called Sinchon.  There are two subway stops on the Green Line called Sinchon and Honig University.  The area around Honig University is called Hongdae which also features a very large entertainment area with 100’s of bars clubs and restaurants.  I attended a party hosted at Hana Pub which is an international pub located close to exit 3 of the Sinchon subway station.  Sinchon like Hongdae has 100’s of restaurants, bars and clubs to visit and many that have signs in english welcoming Western patrons.  With the close proximity to many universities there is a mixture of english teachers, study abroad students and a few businessmen and women making up the crowd.

I arrived at the party around 9 pm and it was already jam packed.  They served some chocolate cake.  It was a very comfortable atmosphere and the only uncomfortable thing was it was quite warm in the club with the amount of people.  They did have a 4th floor room which was a bit cooler and with lower volume music.

I met a few people from the UK and also a few Korean women there with some of their other international friends.  I am planning to try to go to the casino with one of the girls sometime soon.  

The international scene here is quite interesting.  As much as I am enjoying meeting Koreans and learning about their culture, meeting westerns from all over the world that are traveling has also been great!  It reminds me a bit of college as I’m meeting new people from all over the world every day.

I have just completed my first week teaching english in Seoul, South Korea.  It has been an amazing journey and one that two months ago I wouldn’t even have imagined.  The desire to travel abroad and experience the world has always been there for me.  Unfortunately until recently I either wasn’t ready or was distracted by the rat race that all too often takes over our lives.

Over the last year I have faced a number of business challenges.  I split up from a business partnership and found myself for the first time in years free to make a major change in my life.  I moved to New York City one of my other dreams and while I was happy there I felt like something was missing.  The decision to come over to Korea to teach english wasn’t exactly an easy one but once I was made aware of the opportunities the desire to have a real adventure began to consume me. 

There is a wealth of information available for traveling abroad.  Websites such as studyabroad.com and daveseslcafe have tons of information both on programs available but information from real life students and teachers currently doing the exact job I was interested in.

Why I chose Korea: 

When I was decided I wanted to teach abroad I really didn’t have any favorite places. I just wanted to experience a different culture and see the other side of the world.  There were a number of different options available for people like me that didn’t have any teaching experience.

There are a number of companies that will give you a three week course and TEFLA certificate.  At that point they will help you place you in a job.

I was looking for a bit more stability my first time traveling so I decided I wanted to know where I was going to be teaching ahead of time.

I found that Korea had the best deal and was the easiest place to teach with no experience.  The benefits of Korea are that you only need to have a Bachelors Degree.  Also, the wages are very reasonable and much higher than in China or Thailand.  The wages are high enough that many teachers are able to save thousands of dollars per year. 

Wages in Thailand, Vietnam and other SE asian countries are good per local standards but will not be sufficient to save any money long term or send any money home.  

Teaching wages in Japan are good, however, the cost of living in Japan is significantly higher than in Korea.  Additionally, I found that most of the jobs in Japan required a certificate. 

All these factors made it pretty clear to me that Korea was the best option. 

My Job:

I teach adults at a prominent “Hagwae” or private english school in downtown Seoul.  I love my classes and the time goes be very quickly.  To start out they gave me high level classes where most students speak pretty decent english.  My main job is to simply listen to them and make notes on either grammar of vocabulary corrections.  For example, I recommend using the words “a lot of” instead of many as most of the time it sounds a lot less awkward.  The students are very driven as most are either trying to get a job when the graduate university or working professionally already where a mastery of english will help them to travel abroad or gain promotions. 

I was amazed at the level of discipline and work that these students put up with.  Many come in at 7 am before work and still more come from 7-9 pm after a full day or work and classes. 

About 1/3 of the students have spent some time studying abroad or traveling abroad in their lives and some of their english is very good. 

My favorite class is a topic based class where we discuss current events or controvercial issues.  It is really interesting for me to hear their opinions and perspective on things.  I also feel it is a great way for them to improve english conversation as the topics will really force them to think and express themsevles. 

Living in Seoul:

Living in Seoul has been a great time so far.  After spending some time in New York City prior to moving to Seoul I felt that I wanted a big city and all that comes with it.  The interesting thing about Seoul is that with so many choices to offer there are moments that I don’t even feel like I left America.  There are two main foreigner areas.  Itaewan, and now Haebonchon.  Itaewan is the more famous of the locations with a large selection of western clothing, and every kind of restaurant or bar available.  This area is quite busy on most weekend and is a mixture of US Military,  English Teachers and Local Koreans.  As a big guy this is also a good spot for me to find clothes and shoes that fit.  I’ve already had a laugh at the gym I work out at where they typically will provide a free uniform to their members.  The XXL Korean Size shorts looked like a pair of speedos on me. 

I live in an area called Haebonchon.  It is located about 5 minutes from Itaewan and is a lot smaller and quieter.  There are 3-4 western style bars and restaurants down the street from my apartment.  I really like it here as it has a neighborhood feel and reminds me a lot of college.

Any night of the week after work you can walk to one of these bars and there is usually some sort of group activity at one of the establishments.  It seems to me that Haebonchon has more teachers than any other profession with some more mature military personel looking for a more low key hangout than in Itaewan. 

Most nights you will find either trivia, texas holdem, pool or dart tournaments and numerous other activities available.  There are a number of western food options from Jacoby’s Burgers which feature a spicy BBQ sauce to Indigo which features a Meditaranian cuisine. 

My favorite late night snack is located at Cafe Alexandria which I’ve actually never seen closed yet however I don’t know if it is really 24 hours or not.  They have falafel and also a great grilled chicken sandwich on a pita bread which is a rare healthy alternative for me to eat late at night.

Eating in Korea: 

Before I arrived I had illusious that I would easilly lose weight here with the healthy food and being away from western style vices such as pizza and french fries.  That thought was dispelled less than 24 hours after arriving.  I work in Jongno in downtown Seoul.  There is a Burger King next door to my school as well as a KFC and McDonalds less than one minute from me.  Needless to say I have unfortunately eaten more fast food here than I have back home which was tough for me to do.

I have discovered some Korean food that I like although until I learn to read and become more comfortable with the choices I typically have reserved Korean meals for times where I am with other Koreans. 

The Korean BBQ has two varieties,  samjapsam which is a pork BBQ and Bulgogi which is BBQ beef.  You typically use a piece of lettuce and create your own wrap with the meat and various side dishes including rice and vegetables. 

For a snack there are numerous street vendors downtown with spicy rice cakes and or my favorite spicy chicken on a stick.  The first few times I ate this snack I told the server just a little spicy.  After a few days I got brave and told him to give it to me spicy.  I was able to finish it however I did get the hicups from the spice and needed about five glasses of water to wash it down.  

Back in the US I can typically eat hot buffalo wings and I went to college in Rochester 1 hour from Buffalo, NY, where the original wings were created.  Rochester takes its hot sauce seriously and I found it to be hotter than most parts of the country I visited. 

Needless to say the Korean spices are a bit different and seem to have a different effect on me.  I do enjoy it though and I’m sure I will get used to the spice.  It almost feels like it gives you a buzz if you have the right amount of spice but it isn’t too overwhelming.  

Seoul Night Clubs: 

I went out to Hongdae which is a major nightlife area near Honig University.  I’m well past my dance club stage however since I am half way across the world I jumped at the chance to go to a club with a few of my students.  It was interesing for me to notice some differences and many similarities between club experiences in the US and Korea.  The first thing I noticed is that all the clubs have a locker type system for people to leave their belongings.  It is more than a coat check as many carry bags with them that need to be kept safe.

The music at the clubs I attended was a good mix of dance music and western hip hop.  One of the more comical things for me to see was a few Korean guys dressed up in full hip hop gear.  I’m talking really baggy pants and oversized retro sports jerseys such as the 80’s Orange Houston Astros baseball Jersey.

Even more comical was a group of three guys dressed up as Mexican Gangsters complete with a bandana tied around their neck and hanging in front of them like a bib.

It is great to see that of all American, styles the most comical ones, appear to be gaining a foothold in other parts of the world.