Hello Waygookins!

I'm Mel, I wanted to write about my experience teaching ESL in Korea. I decided to not renew my contract and will go back to Texas once my contract is up in December.

I used to work in tech and am from SF. My home is in Texas though, I came in Dec 2021. I was burnt out from work and decided to quit to teach ESL in Korea. The first 3 months were great. Learning Korean, Hangeul, exploring my small town, eating local Korean food, getting away from all my problems back home, it was truly the honeymoon phase.

I teach at a special public school in rural Asan. My kids are delightful - although they are low level, they are eager to learn. Everyday, my kids say hello to me, bow, want a hug, high five handshake, etc. My 3rd graders all run to me and hug me, it really is wholesome. They ALWAYS  use English to talk to me, it's so cute. They help me with Korean after class is over so we all encourage each other. My 5th graders are a bit of a challenge since they're about to be tweens LOL.

I teach at 2 schools - one in the rural side of town close to my home and then one in the rural rural side of town where there's cows, chickens, rice farmers, etc. I felt at peace while living out here in the countryside.

I decided not to renew because this job made me realize I can't assimilate into Korean life as a brown american guy and this  job isn't my passion. I get stared at all the time. People try to touch my beard, pull my arm hair, ask where I'm really from after saying I'm from the U.S. Getting services such as doctors visits, bank, post office, etc, requires me to travel 30 mins away from my home via bus. The buses near my home stop service at 10PM and taxi drivers don't like to drive into the country side. It requires careful planning of my days. I miss my family, the comfort of speaking English to get basic services, and being around my friends. I miss driving my car, it's my hobby to drive. Before I left for Korea, I took a US cross country road trip in my 2 seater car. I've taken public transportation before since I used to live in SF, but having a car it is just more convenient. I have made other ESL teacher friends here but they all live in major cities. Schedules often conflict so I don't hang out with them as often. I also made many Korean friends but the culture is much different here. I have to hold back a lot and be careful with what I say. It's not the same as back home.

It wasn't all rainbows and happy days. My kids really struggle to learn. Some give up, cry, fight with other students, handling kids is a lot of work. All my co-workers are extremely nice, but their English is not good as is my Korean. We all try though to communicate and my schools take extremely good care of me. I realized it wouldn't be fair to continue teaching if I'm miserable and homesick. The kids deserve a teacher whose passionate about this job.

This experience has been amazing and I'm thankful. I can proudly say I taught all my kids basic English and the alphabet. I showed them pictures of when I used to work in tech and my sports car back home, hoping to inspire them to go on an adventure like how I did when they're older.

It was a good run, I'm happy to be going back home soon and also saving quite a lot in the process. If you have any questions about anything in particular, please let me know!

Cheers,
Mel

Kids are great as long as you have a useful co teacher or homeroom teacher who disciplines and translates, then that part of the teaching can go well.  Just have fun games and activities.  Plenty of things to complain about here, but the kids usually aren't one of those things.

bro is leaving hangook i dont think he needs your epik orientation-level advice

I wasn't giving any.

"745sticky, Augustiner, Bakeacake, D.L.Orean, Lazio, Mithras, Renma, Rye are still blocked and I can't see them."

People try to touch my beard, pull my arm hair

You surely can't mean that Koreans in general do this?  You must be talking about your cute little students at the "special" public school?

... I was burnt out from work and decided to quit to teach ESL in Korea. ... this job made me realize I can't assimilate into Korean life as a brown american guy and this  job isn't my passion. I get stared at all the time. People try to touch my beard,... I miss my family, the comfort of speaking English to get basic services, and being around my friends... It wasn't all rainbows and happy days. My kids really struggle to learn. Some give up, cry, fight with other students,...

The rural site aside, along with the pining for your own transport, your experience has been expressed by others before.

This country CLICKS for you or it doesn't.

The variables have to do with rural vs. urban, car vs. public transport (a huge diff outside major cities), respect vs. tolerance, and a degree of classroom management.

This place ain't for everyone.

The variables have to do with rural vs. urban, car vs. public transport (a huge diff outside major cities), respect vs. tolerance, and a degree of classroom management.

re-read the post, i feel like you may have failed to mention another variable which came up pretty big in this particular case

I only cringe when I imagine what life in a small town must be like.

the attention would probably get tiring. id have to either accept that id be known all over as sloppy or give up the basketball shorts/tshirt convenience store runs. that said as long as it has basic amenities sometimes i wonder if id prefer a smaller town to the city... anywhere else i likely would, maybe not in korea due to language issues. plus grass is greener, i suppose

You seem like a reasonable person and your reasons for wanting to leave are perfectly understandable.  Too bad it didn't work out but at least you'll have a memorable experience to reflect upon and share with your family/friends back home.  Best of luck in your future endeavors.

Kids are great as long as you have a useful co teacher or homeroom teacher who disciplines and translates, then that part of the teaching can go well.  Just have fun games and activities.  Plenty of things to complain about here, but the kids usually aren't one of those things.

Agreed! The kids are wonderful. My favorite is teaching 3rd grade. They really pick up fast. 5th grade for me was quite challenging but hey, they're just growing up into teens so I understand.

Good luck back home, Mel, wherever that might be!

Thank you so much! Home is the lonestar state (Texas)!

The rural site aside, along with the pining for your own transport, your experience has been expressed by others before.

This country CLICKS for you or it doesn't.

The variables have to do with rural vs. urban, car vs. public transport (a huge diff outside major cities), respect vs. tolerance, and a degree of classroom management.

This place ain't for everyone.

You are absolutely correct. I also knew this coming into this job. The only reason why I didn't get a car/bike is because I have bad luck driving. The thought of getting into an accident and dealing with insurance while only speaking minimal Korean was giving me anxiety. Also the added expense of having a car and insurance to pay wasn't ideal. I think it would have been better to work at a Hagwon in a major city. Either way, I am thankful for the experience, it was a very good life lesson to be out here.