Teaching English in South Korea: An Interview with Travis
For the cash-strapped traveller, one of the best ways to see the world without going into extreme debt is by finding work overseas. Not only does it ease the financial burden of travel, it also allows a first-hand glimpse into daily life in a foreign context.
Travis is one such cash-strapped traveller. He is spending a year in South Korea, teaching English to a group of eleven and twelve year-old students and sharing his (often comical) observations of Korean culture on his blog.
TravelBlogs sent him an email in October to find out more about his experiences teaching English in South Korea.
Could you have chosen to travel around South Korea without working? Why did you decide to teach English at the same time?
Well, I couldn’t have really just traveled without working — a big part of the reason that I came over here, like a lot of the foreigners that come to teach in Korea, is I had some pesky student loans that I wanted to get off my back. I’ve always liked traveling and wanted to find a way to get out of the States, see the world and not have debt collection agencies stuffing my Inbox. After a little Google research, I found out Korea was the place to be.
If you want to travel and make money at the same time, I honestly couldn’t think of a better job
Why did you specifically choose South Korea?
I don’t want to sound like it was all about the money — but it basically was. I had never been anywhere in Asia, and I figured Korea was as good a place as any to start. I’m not exactly someone who plans things out — I pretty much just saw an opportunity and decided to go for it. And so far it’s been fantastic.
Have you traveled much previously?
I went to university at the American University of Paris in France, and so got to do some traveling around Europe during my undergrad years. But I’ve always wanted to come to Asia and see what these guys were up to.
One of the things I enjoy about your blog is the way you capture what it feels like to be a foreigner experiencing Korea. Would you say you’ve suffered a case of culture shock?
I think I expected the culture shock to be far worse than it’s been. Mostly because everyone kept telling me that I’d be culture shocked out of my mind. I’m not sure if it helped that I knew little to nothing about what I was getting into, but for the most part I’ve found all the differences and nuances extremely interesting and at worst, pretty hilarious. The hardest part for me was the language barrier — my first two months were literally spent frantically pantomiming everything I needed. It also helped that I have no qualms eating whatever is put in front of me - so pig intestine wrapped noodles didn’t really phase me. Probably because I couldn’t read the menu until a couple of weeks ago.
Are you planning to visit North Korea?
I would love to visit North Korea, but I’m pretty sure as an American those opportunities are limited to the DMZ tour. I have watched a couple documentaries about the humanitarian crisis that is going on up there, and am fascinated talking to my students and our school’s Korean staff about their country’s unique situation. Unification is obviously a big issue over here, and it’s been insanely interesting hearing everyone’s differing viewpoints on the subject.
How much longer will you be teaching? What’s the plan after that?
Plan? I should have a plan? I signed a one-year contract, so I’ll be over here at least until August 2008. After that, I’m not entirely too sure. I’m definitely going to get some solid travel time in, but another contract I guess depends on how the rest of the year turns out. I’ve met people who came to Korea for a summer and are now in their eleventh year — so I’m going to play it by ear.
What advice do you have for people who are interested in teaching English overseas?
Absolutely, one hundred percent do it. But do your research first. A great site that helped me find everything was www.eslcafe.com, which is pretty much the mother of all ESL sites. If you want to travel and make money at the same time, I honestly couldn’t think of a better job. But again, there are definitely horror stories of bad contracts, shady schools and awful kids — you have to know that the place you’re going is established, legit and reliable. Beyond that, I’d say go for it.
Keep track of Travis’ adventures as an English teacher in South Korea on his blog, Travis on Tour.
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Posted by Eric Daams on November 1st, 2007 in Interviews.
