I searched Daves ESL Cafe to find teaching jobs when I first decided that I wanted to teach in South Korea. I still visit the forums there. I use the site now, mainly to read the teacher banter. Now that I’m teaching in South Korea, I can see that a lot of the discussions about South Korea are jaded. Visitors are always complaining about South Korea. They don’t like the culture in Korea. They say that the people are rude, and on and on. People are always in trouble in Daves ESL Cafe. They didn’t get paid by their school or they are having trouble with their visa, or the school’s owner is not adhering to the contract. People go there to vent. They rarely post, saying that they love their jobs.

Today I wasted time by reading a discussion from someone in his 20s complaining about people over 30 who were wasting time by coming to South Korea, because anyone over 30 is too old to travel the world, teaching, experiencing a different culture, and earning a living. Yes. There are trolls or crazy people on Daves ESL Cafe, but it’s still a good site. Read more…

Here are some Frequently Asked Questions about teaching English in South Korea. I plan to keep this post updated.

Q: Is it difficult to get a job Teaching English in South Korea if you are black?

A: I applied through Footprints Recruiting, and my application for teaching English in South Korea was sent to the Ministry of Education to Teach in the public schools. After my interview I was told within a week that I had the job. So, it was easy for me to apply and get a public school job being black. I didn’t have problems with a public school job. It may be harder with some private schools.
Read more…

I’m learning Korean again. I can’t exactly say that I tried very hard the first go-round. I took one class last summer, struggled with hangul, and procrastinated. So now it’s a new year, and I am tired of not being about to read hangul. Read more…

Of course, the main reason that Korea is incredibly awesome is because we want to teach! Here are some other reasons to come. Have a laugh and add your own in the comments.

10. Losing weight from walking up and down millions billions of stairs
9. Learning Korean words like aujuma, kim chi and nori bang
8. Meeting awesome friends from around the world
7. Gawking over and buying cameras, laptops, cell phones, and ipods (and realizing that even 8-year-olds have awesome tech in Korea)
6. Learning how to mime not too spicy, no more rice, please, and I have no idea what you are saying…
5. 22 teaching hours a week
4. Parents who want their kids to learn English, really!
3. Being a millionaire
2. Paying off debt
1. Vacation on the beach in Thailand