Why NOT to become an English Teacher in Korea

aka Common Misconceptions About Teaching in Korea

I get asked a lot of questions about being a teacher. I don't really intend to talk about my job or personal life too much on Jabiless, but this topic is really linked in with K-pop and SHINee so I want to address it here. If I got a dollar for every time someone told me they wanted to be just like me and live in Korea and see SHINee all day long I'd be rich. I completely understand where people are coming from though. If you just look at my twitter it looks like I SHINee all day every day. But that's certainly not the case. I want to explain why it is a terrible idea to come to Korea as a teacher if all you want to do is K-pop.


There are literally only 2 options for living in Korea, excluding a few lucky exceptions and marrying a Korean guy (not that I'd recommend marriage as a method guys seriously o.O). You can study. Or you can work as a teacher. I've done both of these things. And neither times was k-pop ever the number 1 motivation for my coming to Korea. If I wrote a list of reasons why I chose to do University exchange in Korea SHINee would be reason number 25. I can't tell anyone how to live their life and I also don't think it's wrong of someone to choose to come on exchange or to study Korean because they want to be involved in k-pop. At the end of the day it's your money that's paying for the fees and you're not hurting anyone.

However, please do not come to Korea as a full-time teacher if you only want to be here for SHINee. You're not just screwing around with your own life and money; you're screwing around with students. It is so unfair to the kids that you are meant to educate and nurture. It's your job as a foreign teacher to not only teach them a new language, but to introduce them to another culture. A lot of kids take special after school classes in English, but if you work at a public school than you might be the ONLY shot some kids have at getting an English education. An English education that could make or break their future. You, as a foreign teacher, might also be the only foreigner they have ever had a meaningful interaction with. Korea has not ever had to co-habitat with another culture or race, with the exception of various forced annexations from China and Japan throughout history. Korean kids don't have a few white kids in their class or kids from other Asian countries. It's extremely rare if they do. As a native teacher you could mean the difference between your students growing into an adult with realistic mental representations of foreigners or a completely skewed perception.

I went to see Key in Bonnie and Clyde last night and left work at my normal finishing time. However I spend a lot of days staying late at school. I sit in cafe's marking and writing replies to letters from my kids. I go into work early to teach extra classes. I'm sometimes lucky enough to have holidays at the same time as SHINee promotions. I can go see musicals, but most recordings are during the week while I'm working. A teacher's schedule will NOT allow you to go to many SHINee things.

If you decide you want to teach English please do it for the right reasons. Do it because you have a passion for education and children and the English language. Do it because you want to participate in a cultural exchange, learn from these kids just as much as they learn from you. Do it because you want to make a positive change and spread understanding about your own culture or because you want to a job where you're rewarded by some little kids big smile or a hand written note saying how 'buttiful teacher is'. Please don't do it solely so you can see SHINee or whoever. I'm not saying that shouldn't be anywhere on your list of reasons but consider what you stand to gain and lose and whether you feel you are up to the responsibilities of being a teacher. Make sure you can do the lesson planning and the marking and the scrambling around printing things and making powerpoints and prying that boy away from pulling that kids hair out. It's really important not only for your own personal integrity, but for the kids you will spend everyday working with.

I want to know what everyone's opinion on this? I'm so curious, yeah~