Opportunity at a private institution in Korea teaching English means a wide ranging conditions in terms of job stability, living conditions, pay and risk.  Teaching English in private schools, however, can be a great deal more beneficial to you if you know what to watch out for.

Types of Private Institutions

1. Hakwon (or Hagwon)

Hakwon is a private English school for a varying range of students.  There are Hakwon for every imaginable subjects in Korea but English Hakwon is one of the largest market segments in Korea.  There are anywhere between 5,000 to 8,000 English Hakwons scattered across the peninsula and about 30~50% of them hire native English speakers.

Those that do hire native English speakers tend to focus on lower grade students (elementary to middle school) and adult (university students to business people).  For lower grade students, you will be expected to teach beginner to intermediate reading, writing and speaking while for adults the range will be wider, from beginner to way advanced.

The pay at Hakwon will be slightly higher than that you can get from public schools.  Also, due to the abundance of Hakwons across the country, you can choose where you want to work if you have a couple of years of teaching English under your belt.

One major draw for these hakwons is the risk, the risk you take of your employer cutting you loose in the 11th month to dodge paying you your severance pay, not paying on time or even worse going out of business.  The only thing you can do is to research.  Make sure your contract is water tight and that you are dealing with a reputable hakwon as well as recruiter.

2. English Kindergarten (aka kindie)

The insanely English-hungry parents of Korea have created a phenomenon called English Kindergartens.  These unique learning/playing environment has been created to expose children between the age of 4~7 to English-speaking environment.  Your focus, should you work for one, will be creating a learning experience for the children through play-like learning activities.  And of course since children are children where ever you are, you will be expected to play the role of a baby sitter often. 

There are a plenty of opportunities for you in English Kindergartens if you are interested as the supply often falls well short of the demand for teachers.

3. Corporate

Corporate positions are difficult to get on full-time basis as most companies hire part-time help for training their employees in English.  You will be expected to teach full day of classes to employees who view your English class as a welcome getaway from their daily job.  Still, you will find the students most civilized of all compared with younger students.  You won't go nuts trying to hypnotize yourself all children are to be loved...

Well, there you have it.  The private jobs in Korea are easier to get but harder to assess.  You should do your research on your potential employer and seek as much help from your recruiter as possible.

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