Are you thinking about teaching English in South Korea? Do you want to make a lot of money working overseas? Do you like to go to new places and meet new people? Then wake up! You'd better read this!

If you love the idea of being a teacher, do not go to South Korea. If you enjoy shaping young minds, avoid South Korea. If you treasure professional comraderie, do not make the mistake of going to South Korea.

They say that teachers are honored in South Korea. That used to be true. Just like it used to be true in the United States. But now the young are rebellious, just like in the States. No, South Korean schools do not have the apparent problems of U.S. schools like teenage pregnancy, drugs and weapons at school, or the like. But they sure don't respect their teachers, either. Especially "native speakers." Native English speaking teachers used to be a commodity in South Korea: now there is a glut of them. When Korea's was developing into a formidable world economy, native speakers were valued because they could help Korea enter the global community. Well, Korea is part of the global community now, and the attitude toward native speakers has gone from one of "great white hope" to one of disdain. Many Koreans have the impression that native speakers only come to their country to make money and marry their women. To be honest, that's a partially accurate stereotype. No one really comes to South Korea to teach -- the schools don't look favorably upon what Westerners would call education. They prefer rote memorization and standardized tests for everything -- even "conversation" in some cases. People come to Korea to save money, to pay off student loans, or because they couldn't get a decent job back home. Real ESL or EFL teachers know that the places to work in Asia are Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and Singapore. Korea is strictly Amateur's Night.

The kind of people who teach in South Korea ae, by and large, not professional teachers. To even call them teachers, or to pretend that they are teaching anything, would be blasphemous. They walk into a school, and handed a textbook and class schedule, and told to teach. The only requirements for teaching in South Korean universities are 1.) being a native speaker and 2.) having a 4-year university degree -- in any field! No teaching experience, no educational coursework, no relevant degrees are required. But who can blame the "foreigners"? It is the Korean schools that have created the problem. They are the ones who tossed the Master's degree requirement out the window years ago and have failed to reinstitute it.

As for the money, salaries in Korea haven't increased in about 5 years. Schools think less and less of the teachers they hire -- even the few good ones -- and naturally don't raise the pay. Most jobs don't even have annual raises for people who stay on more than one year. But will you get rich in Korea. Absolutely not. The only jobs that pay well at all are in Seoul, and those ones are in high demand. The positions are usually filled by a roster of teachers who circulate from one prime job to another; sort of a buddy network. The real irony is that these are among the most inept teachers in the country. They get the jobs because of who they know, not what they can do. Even if you do manage to land one of these jobs, you're not going to make a fortune. Many schools have been dropping housing provisions from their contracts. In Seoul, that's a serious factor.

The housing market in Seoul works like this. There are 3 types of rental agreements: deposit only, deposit and monthly rent, or rent only. Rent only is mostly unheard of, except for places that cost about $10,000 US per month. These are leased by corporations and embassies for ... well... people who don't need to earn money teaching English. Deposit only means that you put down a large sum of money, then live in the house without paying rent. The owner of the house collects the interest from your deposit, then returns the complete deposit after you move out. But interest rates are so low these days that it takes about $50,000 US to get a one bedroom above ground apartment -- and not in the good parts of town, either. Of course, most people don't waltz into Seoul with that kind of money, so they are out of luck. The combination system usually takes about $15,000 to $35,000 US in deposit, and anywhere from $250 to $1,000 US per month for rent. You do the math, and then tell me how much money you will save living in South Korea. At the end of one year, you'll be lucky to go home with a couple of grand in your pocket.

What about the promises the headhunting agencies make? The free round trip plane tickets? You'd be surprised how many people get here, and then cannot squeeze the return ticket out of their employer (so it comes out of their own pocket). The fun classes? Right. How fun do you think it is sitting around a table with a half dozen people who can't introduce themselves in English, expected to "teach" them for an hour everyday? Make great friends? The foreigners in South Korea are a motley crew of rejects from American society, and the Koreans wouldn't give you the time of day if you weren't their teacher. Learn a new language? That's the biggest crock yet. Your classes will always be scheduled at the same time as the Korean classes (in the extremely few schools which have any Korean classes), so you won't be able to study. Most foreigners leave Korean knowing very little more than hello, thank you, how much?, excuse me, and "Look, Mom! It's a white person!" Enjoy living in a quaint little foreign land? There is nothing quaint about Korea. The pollution from China blows over the sea and mingles with the smog they produce themselves; the summers are brutally humid; you get people staring at you wherever you go; this is the world capital of really lousy "pop" music; traffic is worse than L.A.; noise is worse than anywhere in the world (just try to sleep before 1 a.m. from late June to late September); the people are racist and intolerant of others, and spend more time and energy trying to convince you that their country and their customs are the only valid ones in the world (but what people doesn't do that?); the streets are filthy with pollution and litter, and no one even cares. The list is too long to attempt to produce here. Let it suffice to say, Korea is as industrialized as the U.S. was in the late eighties, and has none of the charm. Travel around the country? Take a look at your contract, OK? You won't have time for squat. You'll be working from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. (with sporadic breaks in-between) five or six days a week. You get no extended leave -- just weekends -- and there are traffic jams and sold out trains and buses every weekend because all Koreans take off at the same time like the start of a marathon. Almost no foreigners dare to drive in Korea, so you won't be getting into any friend's car and traipsing around the countryside.

Probably the most dehumaizing aspect of working in Korea is the attitude that native speakers are talking parrots or dolls, not professionals. You get walk-by "greetings" constantly. It works like this: a group of middle school kids sees you from a distance, they dare someone in the group to say something to you, they all giggle as you pass, then one of them beams a "HELLO!" after you have gone by. If it sounds cute, it loses its charm after the fourth or fifth time in the first two days. Worse than that is the way employers (even universities) treat the foreigners. They expect you to proofread anything they write -- just because you are available. They expect you to go to dinner with them and their friends -- like showing off their new pet (seriously, that's what it is -- it's not like these people are going to befriend you, except to exploit you). They think your only skill in life is speaking English, and since you were born into that, resent you for it. They do not want your input; they do not respect your opinion; they will not ask what you think -- except as a courtesy. So do not make the mistake of taking them seriously if they do.

In short, if you are the kind of person who has no pride, the kind of person who is oblivious to what others are saying about him, the kind of person who likes being confused, made fun of, and exploited at work, then Korea is the place for you!