Recruiters in Korea – Finding great employment services

If you’re thinking of teaching English in Korea, then this article for recruiters in Korea will be your guide! The path to being an English teacher in Korea is an exciting journey.

To teach abroad, specifically in Korea, is a decision that should be well thought of. We’ll be glad to walk you through this life-changing decision.

We’re here to help! Below, we’ll cover the best English teaching recruiters in Korea.

Recruitment of Teachers in Korea

The first step towards finding a job and making your dream of teaching English overseas a reality is to choose a recruiter to match you up with a job and get you situated.

There are loads of recruiters in South Korea, so it can take some time to decide, especially if you’re doing your due diligence and researching all of your options. Some recruiters have plenty of jobs, whereas others have a few to choose from. Some are trustworthy and look out for their teachers throughout their assignments, whereas others are less so.

While there are job boards where teaching jobs are posted, it is often better to contact the recruiter directly and skip the job boards altogether as a first-timer. This is because they will be able to help you through all the steps between looking for a job and starting a career in Korea so that you’re set up for success right from the beginning.

Before you start to look for a recruiter, there are a few things that you should know.

Contact Recruiters for Teachers

Firstly, contact several different recruiters to give yourself a wide range of job offers. By looking at several recruiters, you have a better chance of finding a recruiter you trust, which also increases your chances of finding a teaching job that’s a good fit for you.

Many people who just visit one recruiter assume that all recruiters are the same, but this isn’t the case. While they are all businesses at the end of the day, how they conduct business can be very different. Some recruiters may tell you anything to get you to accept an offer without considering whether or not the jobs they have available will be a good fit for you (or vice versa).

Handling Offers

When you are offered a job, check that the location matches the recruiter’s description. For example, suppose the recruiter describes a position located in one area of the country or one type of school. Then you discover right off of the bat that details aren’t matching up; it is usually an indication of the recruiter being less than honest in an attempt to fill the open position.

By the time you get to the stage of sending documents, you should be happy with your recruiter and trust that they are steering you in the right direction. Make sure that they are honest (as much as you can) and have your interests in mind before sending any documents with identifying information.

Ask Multiple Recruiters and Recruiting Agencies

Although many recruiters in Korea are run solely by Koreans, the vast majority of the recruiters mentioned on this site have native English-speaking former teachers on their staff that can help you navigate the application process.

While Korean recruiters can speak excellent English, it’s helpful to talk to somebody who has been in a similar position to you in the past. This can help, as they will answer your questions from experience rather than just listing some guidelines and can help you form realistic expectations about the variety of teaching jobs they have available.

Getting a Teaching Visa

Important note: Before you apply, it’s best to check that you can obtain an E-2 teaching visa.

The English teaching visa is the E-2 visa. On the other hand, an E-1 (Professor) visa is applicable for an individual who seeks to give lectures or conduct a special study at a college or university in Korea.

While it’s unnecessary to know the Korean language to apply to these recruiters, it’s always a good indication that you’re eager and motivated to experience Korean culture. You can learn the Korean alphabet in the time it takes to watch a movie. At the very least, make sure you can pronounce Korean names.

Recruiters for Teachers in Korea

We have worked with many businesses in the past, but there is a handful of recruiting companies that we can vouch for!

Without further ado, here are some recruiters we recommend working with if you’re looking for a job in Korea (in no particular order):

Footprints Recruiting

If you want people who can relate to your situation, then you’ll want to contact Footprints Recruiting. Originally founded by two English teachers almost 15 years ago, they have continued to be one of the most well-known recruiting companies for teaching English in South Korea.

Their extensive experience matching teachers with teaching assignments means they know what to look for when they’re helping you decide whether or not a teaching position is right for you — it’s not likely you’ll be steered wrong by a company that has been successfully doing this for a decade and a half!

Consider reaching out to Footprints Recruiting if you want the peace of mind of knowing that you’re working with a company that has been around the block, so to speak, which usually means fewer surprises for you. Their representatives are also a great asset throughout the application process because they’ve placed thousands of applicants into teaching positions throughout Korea.

Adventure Teaching 

Adventure Teaching has positions in Korea and China and tries to ensure that prospective teachers know what they are getting themselves in for before they apply. That isn’t to say that they don’t believe that their teaching positions are full of exciting opportunities and adventure.

Still, they want to make sure that teaching applicants know what teaching in a foreign country entails before moving and committing to a position. They don’t have their positions listed on their site, so you will have to contact them first, and they will see if you’re a match for open positions, but even if you don’t use them, their website is very informative.

Teach ESL Korea

TeachESLKorea is widely recognized as having some of the best reviews and testimonials from their applicants and reliable jobs in all of Korea. After eight years of helping teachers, this husband and wife team of Dan and Aggie Henrickson still loves helping people experience Korea and is passionate about setting English speakers up with fantastic teaching opportunities!

They will ensure you can get in touch with a current teacher at your potential school to help your comfort level during this sometimes daunting process. Their no-pressure approach will ensure you find the job that works best for you and prevent you from committing to a position that doesn’t feel like a perfect fit.

They also pride themselves on excellent support once you arrive in Korea – with dinners and events around Korea to get you acclimated to your new home!

Gone2Korea

Some recruitment consultants, such as Gone2Korea, show their job listings on their website. This is great if you have your documents ready and have a specific location in mind. However, if you don’t have your documents ready, some of the current job offers may not be available. Don’t worry, as the company will likely have similar positions in similar areas later in the year.

For first-timers, Gone2Korea also helps applicants prepare for their interviews. This can be hugely helpful as the answers you think might impress an interviewer back home can have the opposite effect in Korea.

A good tip for doing well in a job interview for a teaching job is to focus on your voice, make sure that you speak slowly and clearly, and you will already be halfway towards being offered the job.

Korvia 

Korvia Consulting specializes in matching English speakers with teaching positions in public and private schools throughout Korea.

Korvia boasts of having placed over 10,000 English speakers into positions teaching in various Korean programs, so they’re good at what they do. They are also thorough in their dedication to their teachers — along with offering you dedicated assistance throughout the application process.

They will also meet you at the airport and make sure you’re set up in your new teaching position before leaving you to your own devices. Get in touch with a Korvia representative through their website to see if they have an open teaching position that would be a good match for your interests and skills.

Say Kimchi Recruiting

Many recruiters don’t care about after-service and will leave you to sink or swim on your own once you are in Korea without making sure you have everything that you need first.

Therefore, finding a recruiter that looks after you once you have started working is a big plus — you want to know you have a contact you can reach out to if you have any questions or concerns about an element of your new life.

Some recruiters, such as SayKimchiRecruiting, even help you obtain documents such as letters of recommendation for when you are thinking of your next position, so consider working with them if you want to have consistent contact with your recruiter throughout your time in Korea.

Reach to Teach

Reach to Teach focuses on transparency — they make sure they know as much as possible about the public and private schools that they work with to give their applicants all of the information they need to make an informed decision before committing to a position. This greatly increases the likelihood that their applicants end up in a teaching position that’s right for them.

This honesty also minimizes the stress of moving overseas. If you know what to expect from the position you’re moving for, it’s way easier to feel excitement instead of anxiety about your impending move! Contact Reach to Teach and see if they have anything that sounds like it’ll be a match for your skills and interests, and prepare yourself to receive a sincere answer.

Korean Horizons

Korean Horizons work with public schools throughout Korea, so wherever you’re interested in teaching, they’ll likely have an assignment that matches your interests.

Korean Horizons makes it a point, to be honest in response to any questions their applicants ask, so if you reach out to them with questions about the assignments they have available, they’re likely to be brutally honest with you about the great and the not so great elements of the job, which increases the likelihood that you’ll commit to a position that’s a good fit for you.

Check out their website for information on what you can expect regarding salary and working hours.

VivaCom Recruiting

VivaCom Recruiting dispatches teachers to various ESL Academies all over South Korea. They offer entry-level and experienced ESL teachers jobs and have close ties with reputable and stable Hagwons. The company has been around for about eight years.

It has a good reputation among the teachers that have experience with them. They have teachers who use them again to find new positions after they finish their contract. They also have an excellent referral program where you can earn extra income by referring friends to be placed by them.

Korean Job Boards vs. Job Recruiters

Of course, it is possible to look for a job on sites such as Dave’s ESL Cafe or Waygook.org, but using a recruiter in Korea can make your job hunt so much easier and help simplify the more complicated aspects of the application process.

It’s also nice to know that you’re working with someone who will remain a contact throughout your Korean adventure and potentially help you set up your next teaching assignment after your current Korean assignment has been completed.

However, if you are willing to work independently without a recruiter, Korean Job Boards may be the place for you.

Dave’s ESL Cafe Korea

Dave’s ESL Cafe is a great resource for ESL teachers. It features resources where you can ask for advice from the ESL community, search different job boards, and even learn about English grammar, idioms, and more.

Find a Korean Job that suits you

Now that you have a long list of recruiters that can help you get a job in Korea take some time to look at each of their sites and then contact several of them to see which company is a good fit. There’s no :right” answer in this scenario — you’re just looking to make sure you’re working with someone that you can trust.

You might also want to consider factors when looking for a Korean job that is specifically personal to you. For example, you might prefer to prioritize jobs with competitive salaries, or you might want a job that’s close to the capital city regardless of the salary, or you want a job with more paid holidays– these are things that you have to consider.

How Much do Teachers in Korea earn?

The common salary range for teaching English in Korea is around 2 to 3 million won per month (about $1700-$2550 USD). This will depend on your experience and the type of job. The school may provide housing or give you a housing allowance in addition to your salary. The housing allowance may cover most or all of the housing costs, depending on where you live.

Business Etiquette

Take some time to familiarize yourself with Korean culture, especially in dealing with work and business. For example, there is particular etiquette when meeting people or talking to people older than you in Korea. Remember, putting in the effort now to find people you are comfortable working with will pay off when you arrive in Korea.

Learn Korean

Another great way to boost your chances of landing a great English teaching job in Korea is to learn Korean. The 90 Day Korean membership program will teach you how to have a 3-minute conversation in Korean in the first 90 days. The program even provides certificates upon completion to help you stand out in your job applications!

Bonus: Vocabulary

Here are some useful vocabulary words that might come in handy when applying for a teaching job in Korea:

•  가르치다 ( gareuchida | Teach)
• 선생님 (seonsaengnim | Teacher)
•  교수님 (gyosunim | Professor)

For more vocabulary words, check out our article School in Korean – Words and phrases related to education

So there you have it. We hope you found our tips helpful. Have you ever taught English in Korea? What are your favorite recruiting companies? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!

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