Hi Patrick! I just saw your message, sorry for the delay in replying! So far I absolutely love it out here and I've only been here since 26th November! Where are you from? I booked my flights direct with Emirates as I'm from the UK  and they were the cheapest but I know footprints have some good deals if you're flying from the US. I met my co-teacher when I arrived in Ulsan, firstly she took me for my medical and then to my apartment. You will probably have your medical right away if you land on a weekday as its closed at the weekend I think. It's important to do it ASAP as once you get your results back you can apply for your ARC (alien registration card) and you can get your bank account/phone once you have that. I wrote a few posts about some stuff to do before you arrive and things to expect when you get here so check out my blog. I'm going to be doing another video update soon as well so keep an eye out. They are very laid back about things in Korea so you have to kind of just go with it haha! My apartment was only sorted the day before I flew! As for orientation I didn't have it as I'm not with EPIK so I can help you there I'm afraid but look in the South Korea group, I'm sure someone there'll be able to help you! Feel free to email me with any questions! I will try to respond quicker next time! :)) Jenn

Yes, I have almost chewed off my hand over the last few weeks trying to get paperwork sorted. I passed the EPIK interview but that was the easy part. i am also worried now that if all my paperwork is ok and they send me a final contract will I end up living in a shack in the Korean equivalant of the Bronx and the school decide they want to be awkward about payment etc. Well, if i was going for a private school i probably would think that which is why i went through EPIK for a little bit of peace of mind. I heard that they may not have filled their quota of applicants for end of August and are going to re open for new applicants. So it may well be worth it to try them as well if the other one falls through. The EPIK interview was pretty straight forward, it was on webcam and once you speak clearly and just be honest about why you want to teach in Korea you should be fine.

Hey, I've not applied through EPIK... wanting to get out there as soon as I can and a friend who is already teaching there has recommended another agency. Pretty stressful stuff trying to get everything organised but I'm not far off now with regards the documentation. Got an interview coming up for a school which quite frankly terrifies me... Really not sure how to prepare best for the interviews as I'm just not sure what questions to expect :-S

The Interview was suprisingly quite easy. I had just come back from a weekend in london that morning but instead of going to bed I stayed up until the interview which was at 3am our time. I think Korea are waaaayyy behind us timewise. So after a red bull I layed out all my info and lesson plans for korea out of view of the webcam (it was a webcam interview by the way on skype) kacking myself and hoping i wouldn't fall asleep on cam. It only took about 20 mins and in that time the interviewer just confirms your personal details, name, address etc, asks a little about your course and what you learned, why do you want to work in Korea and not somewhere else, a time you may have found difficult when teaching, how do you deal with new cultures, and then she will tell you about how much you will be paid, when you will be expected to start and how much money you will need for the first month and then that was pretty much it. The last part i can't remember because I almost passed out from nerves. She will also ask about your lesson plan you submitted if you are applying for a position in Seoul so have it with you. My only problem now is getting the paperwork in on time for the Visa. At the moment I am waiting for my university transcripts from University in Cardiff which will probably be another 3 weeks, then i need to courier all paperwork over to Korea where they can send me an official contract that i can bring to the embassy here for a visa. So best case scenario I should have the Visa in 5 weeks. I think the orientation is around the 20th August so hopefully i will make it. If I were you I would start getting your paperwork sorted about 6 months in advance. If I miss the August intake I will be also applying for the february March round but at least I will be prepared.

Wow congratulations! I am thinking of EPIK for March intake. How was the interview anything you could advise me about?> :P

Just did an interview for EPIK in Korea and passed. yay. Now just waiting for my final uni transcripts before i send everything off to Korea for my contract. Time is flying by and the adrenalin is kicking in. Hope I make the August deadline.

I like your profile picyures in Portugal. Nive!

We are a recriuting agent from China. We recriut oral English teacher for china's middle high school. If only you are a native or close-native English speacker, you are welcomed to teach in our partener schools. Interested and need more info. pls contact helen by: helengan2006@hotmail.com