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Hi Jon,

Go for it - just please mention my name (Jacqueline Mallais Yap) and my
webpage address: 
www.geocities.com/tokyo/ginza/5858

Thanks! :) 

Jacqueline
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Jackie's brief guide to Teaching In Korea...

                                            
                
The first big surprise about teaching in Korea is the students. I came over
(as many others did) with the expectation that they would be in uniforms, in
rigid rows, and quiet as mice. Ha! :) They're a boisterous bunch at their
best.  Discipline is key, or you're dead in the water. The fact is they are
well-behaved in their regular schools, but language schools (where you most
likely will be teaching) are like a mini-holiday for them, where they can
let loose. So the schools' administration encourages a firm-yet-fun approach
when teaching them... This is easier said than done -- but after 3 months
here, I'm very happy with my job and my students. They know my limits for
noise and behaviour and suffer the consequences (yelling at them in English,
or a cold stare till they're quiet) when they surpass those limits. You'll
soon realize that teaching for a private school is in no way like teaching
anywhere else -- you have to make the learning fun and enjoyable so that
they won't leave the school to study elsewhere. Most of us ignore this
"pressure" of keeping them entertained, and just do our jobs to the best of
our ability. You'll always lose the occasional student, and if you're lucky,
it'll be a shitty student. :) 

Next thing is: Leave the suits at home. I wasted all kinds of precious room
in my (no pun intended) suitcase bringing over suits.  Everyone wears proper
clothing, but relatively casual. Polo shirts, golf shirts, right down to
jeans and t-shirts. Shorts in the summer time are accepted, thank God, or
else we'd croak. Even those thong shoes (don't know what they're called
cause I don't have a pair!) So bring comfortable wear.

Bring plenty of deodorant to last you the year, as it's virtually impossible
to buy here. Shampoo, toothpaste, soap, etc. are no problem at all to buy --
not the same brands, but similar-looking ones are available.

Don't come over expecting to be able to save anything like 50% of what you
earn -- it just won't happen. Korea is expensive, as opposed to what it says
in the guidebooks and other information out there.  It's nothing like Japan
-- but it's nothing like Canada/US either. The only things that are cheaper
here are transportation (buses, taxis, subway) and local phone calls.
Everything else is more expensive. Even so, it's possible to save quite a
bundle by the end of the year, because your apt. is usually paid for. All
you're left with is food, utilities, and entertainment costs. One of my
colleagues has been able to save $10,000 CDN after a year -- of course, he
was working on the side, as well as his contract job; something illegal but
rampant and inevitable. Working 30 hrs at a school leaves you many hours in
the week to work elsewhere (private tutoring, other schools, businessmen
classes in their workplace, etc.), usually in the morning or late at nights.
For this reason many teachers own beepers -- no, they're not drug dealers,
much as I thought when I first got here -- so that they can be contacted
anywhere during their busy days. I myself am enjoying a leisurely 27-hr
schedule and therefore have lots of time to myself. I just came out of a
5-yr stint in university and I need a break. This is definitely a working
holiday, and a thoroughly enjoyable one.

As for the culture shock, I didn't have one thanks to reading a book called
"Ugly Americans, Ugly Koreans". I highly recommend it, no matter how much
you have travelled -- it tells you most of the differences between the two
cultures -- thus you are not surprised when they come up. And it's
especially helpful because it tells you the habits that Koreans find
disgusting or offensive, making your stay here more pleasurable and less
rocky. 

If you're a light sleeper, bring ear-plugs because the streets are very
noisy with women and children, trucks with megahorns selling vegetables, and
drunken men at night. The noise usually stops between 1am-6am; at all other
times, anything goes. 

There are some bad schools and there are some good schools.  Fortunately, I
work for a great school which deals with its employees fairly and honestly.
But they -- bad schools -- do exist; in fact, there's a white list / black
list at http://soback.kornet.nm.kr/~wiegand of schools that are good or bad. 

Reading their alphabet, hangul, is as easy as everyone tells you it is. I
learned it in 2 afternoons. This will allow you to read menus and start
recognizing stores that have English names but in their alphabet -- such as
"Bee-dee-oh" for video store. :) Learning the language itself is a challenge
-- some are interested in learning it, and others aren't. Personally, I
can't believe that you can have a great time here without learning it. I
bought a book on beginning Korean at the largest book store in Seoul --
Kyobo Book Store, which sells English, French, German, etc.  books as well
as Korean books -- and it's proven to be quite helpful.

The key words and expressions you need to know right off the bat are:


                   hello (good morning, afternoon, etc): ann-yong hah-say-yo 
                   thank you: kam-sam-nee-dah
                   please give me: choo-say-yo 
                   as in, please give me rice: pap choo-say-yo
                   goodbye: 1) you leave, they stay: ann-yong he-kaY-say-yo
                   2) you stay, they leave: ann-yong he-kaH-say-yo
                   How much is this? ohl-my-yo?

You'll learn other expressions along the way, just by hearing them over and
over.  You won't find many people who speak English, even in downtown Seoul.
They are, however, very friendly -- and even more so when you make an effort
to speak their language. They do stare, and small children point and yell
"hello", but I have had no harassment of any kind (getting touched or yelled
at, etc.) They are simply curious about our different appearance, and
therefore take some pretty long looks. :)  Naturally, the farther you travel
away from Seoul, the longer and more frequent the looks are. You'll get used
to the stares and may actually miss them when you don't get them -- you can
start to feel like a celebrity, believe me!

There's so much more I could tell you, but you'll discover it all in little
time. That's the great thing about travelling to another country -- it's so
different from your own! Every minute is an adventure! If you have any
further questions, don't hesitate to ask me via e-mail or snail mail! Who
doesn't love receiving mail?!? :) 

                   Written in my first year in Korea, 1996

                   Jackie Mallais, Taegu, Korea, mallaisj@hotmail.com