If you've signed a contract to teach at a school that provides you with a plane ticket beforehand, you're setting yourself up for potential problems.

If you arrive at the school (using the plane ticket the school has provided) only to find you've been duped, you'll have to reimburse your new employer for that ticket if you want to be released from the contract.

This is especially true in South Korea. When you sign a contract for a South Korean school, the school submits your contract to South Korean immigration so the school can get the visa form for you. The school then sends the form to you and you then submit the form to your nearest SK embassy to get the work visa.

Immigration stipulates on this form that the work visa you get is good only if you work for the employer that submitted the contract. The name of that employer is even written on the visa when you get it.

If you terminate your employment before your contract is up, the relationship must be formally ended and noted in SK immigration before you will be allowed to work anywhere else in South Korea. In order for this to occur, you must be "released" from your obligation by your employer.

This means you will have to reimburse the school for the airfare and probably the visa costs, no matter if it's stipulated in the contract or not. They're gonna want that money back, you bet. On top of reimbursing the school for these costs, the formal release may take weeks to process. This means you will have to find costly accommodation while you wait.

After signing a contract with a school in a place like South Korea beforehand, you may arrive on the scene and not like what you see. Yep, you can then simply ignore the release process entirely and fly off into the sunset if you want. Remember though--you just won't be able to work again in that country.

Ask for the reimbursement instead of an employer-provided ticket. Don't take the risk.