Mazarine

I am going to publish my second chap-book this June. I am saving the money as we speak. It will be called, “The Faberge Wrecking Ball.”

It’s a mixed bag.

You can make and save a lot of money there. The best way to make sure you have a good experience is to go there before you sign any contracts and see if you like the place, the teachers you’ll be working with, and the bosses. See if you can email the people who currently work there and find out any concerns.

Korea is a mixed bag, and the state department advises against teaching english there. I have to say that I taught there for a year (2002-2003) and was never ripped off, then went back for 2 months in 2006, and was completely ripped off. My bosses never paid me anything, isolated me, and verbally abused me and other teachers, which is the definition of human trafficking. (They also did this to korean teachers too.) So really, you need to try before you buy.

eslcafe.com is a good source of jobs.

Seoul is a fun, but dirty place to work. Respiratory illness was common for me there. It’s very easy to find a job very quickly there.

Jeju Island is beautiful, but remote, and it’s easy for a working foreigner to get isolated and taken advantage of. Police, lawyers, labor boards and immigration boards are sitting on their hands. It’s a travesty of justice.

Stay away from Mr Lee Chan Won, and any of his hagwons (private english schools). (They have many names, including the Oxford School, the Korea Campus Group, and the Jeju International English Village)

Stay away also from ECC schools.

The ESL cafe job boards and blacklists online will tell you more about what to avoid.