Passing the teaching stick

Just last week I got an e-mail from my original recruiter, Scot, at Adventure Teaching, asking if I would take the time to talk about my job with a potential DYB new hire. While I've been putting off any sort of summary/wrap-up/lessons learned until I'm outta here and truly have time to reflect, I thought this would be a great opportunity to sort of step back and objectively examine the position I've managed to hold on to for a year now! To be honest I never thought I'd be offering insight to others about Korea as I myself still feel clueless, but here I am doing just that!

So, as long as I took the time to write the e-mail I figured I'd share it with you as well, ya know, just in case you're considering taking up a position at DYB's Juinggye Branch!

Below you'll find a modest evaluation and summary of, well, what exactly I've been up to since last fall. . .


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Hi Scot and James,

I'd be happy to answer any specific questions that James might have and if it'd be possible, it might be easier to simply give me a call (010) 8450-2258. If you're not in Korea yet James, it's real easy and cheap to make the call via Skype.

If that's not going to be possible, let me give you a little bit of background on the position that your consider as it seems to be the one that I'll be vacating in the next few weeks.

My experience at DYB as a company was fantastic. I was always paid in full and on time which, from what I've heard, is not always the case anywhere else. The staff was extremely helpful in helping me get settled in, getting my Alien Resident Card (ARC), setting up a bank account and making monthly payments into my Pension account and Health Care plan.

I was able to take my 10 allotted vacation days whenever I chose and they in fact offered unforeseen flexibility in allowing me to chose the dates. For example, changing my flight last and vacation days last minute when I realized I didnt' have the necessary paperwork to get into China. Oops!

That said, the downtime at DYB is, well, limited! Other than the 10 paid vacation days, there are only three other days off in the entire year. One for Chuseok and two for Lunar New Years. So, expect to be working and kept busy. If you're looking for a job when you can become a modern backpacking jetsetter and take off for an exotic destination every few months, this job will likely not allow that!

Okay, the job itself. I very much enjoyed working at the Junggye campus of DYB where I put in a full year. This in and of itself says something of the job as many people, even within the company, were continually moved around due to somebody's unhappiness. The staff and teachers at Junggye are easy to work with and the atmosphere is much more inviting then some other branches and hagwons. Then again, it pays befriend those in charge and I put in effort doing so right at the beginning, per the advice of the previous teachers.

Anna (A-Young), the head teacher at Junggye is wonderful to work with and will always try to be helpful though it often is difficult to see at first. My first day on the job I was handed a book and told to go 'teach.' 11 months later, nothing really has ever been clarified for me. I have never been given a list of expectations or goals and as far as I know, I'm not accountable for, well, anything really.

This has it's benefits and disadvantages obviously. For me, it was often frustrating walking from class to class to teach a room full of students whom I was totally disconnected from. As a Native Teachers, you will meet with the kids only once or twice a week which means that you're often left out of the loop as to what they're really learning with the majority of their time. This can make it hard to integrate the material that you are presenting but can also be good because it gives you the freedom to do your own thing for an hour or two.

As a previous Foreign Teacher put it, it's a real 'cushy' job. You don't have any real lesson planning and the most important thing is simply that you show up on time and look presentable. Do these things and you'll cruise through fine.

DYB also offers an 'evalution' and potential raise after the first month, followed by a six month evaluation and subsequent raise. This is definitely a bonus and really starts to add up. As a first year teacher without privates, I didn't meet a single teacher who made more than I did without working multiple jobs! Not a bad deal!

I really am still unfamiliar with the whole job opportunity scene in Korea as I was picked up by DYB first and spent the entirety of my one year in Korea there. Would I go back to DYB if I were to do it again?

As a first year teacher? Definitely, the ease of the job and amount of the money you take home at the end of the day makes it totally worth it.

Knowing what I know now? Maybe not, simply because I can stand the lack of accountability and simply not knowing what is expected from me. I'm a very goal oriented person and it was really hard for me to work at a job where I felt like I didn't accomplish anything at the end of the day other than bringing home the bacon.

Horror stories from DYB? Not one! Hilarious ones? Plenty! Mr. Lee, whom you will likely interview with or have already spoken to is without a doubt one of the most absurd characters I have ever met in my life. He takes it upon himself to keep up Foreign Teacher morale throughout the company and always manages to do so in surprisingly interesting ways! You won't get bored of the DYB Family (as it's called) as long as you keep a positive attitude!

Good Luck and I'll likely see you soon in Junggye!

Please feel free to e-mail or call me with any questions or concerns you might have!

Hope this helps!

-Adam