Teach. Pray. Love.

A year in the Hagwons of South Korea

No cell phones, preservatives or dryers. No Chick-fil-a. No Waffle House. No Maroon 5 or Jason Mraz. Not even shower heads at a normal height. Angela Falkenburg’s mornings are devoid of many luxuries and conveniences the Northern Hemisphere is accustomed to.

A recent Georgia College graduate, Falkenburg descended the graduation stage last May diploma in hand with every intention of traveling with purpose. While most of her education cohort peers scoured around the South for local teaching jobs, Falkenburg scouted further away– 7,123 miles away in South Korea.

Submitted by Angela Falkenburg

Angela Falkenburg sightseeing at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul during her time off teaching in the Hagwons of South Korea.

Falkenburg began her one-year exploration of Asian culture last August at the well-reputed Chung Dahm Learning Insitute, a 12-year-old hagwon that employes 550 native English-speaking instructors throughout South Korea.

While she gets to sleep in every morning, Falkenburg teaches an intense, six-hour, lower-level Mega Memory English class four afternoons during the week. The after-school sessions focus solely on English as a Second Language. They have a carefully regulated schedule: attendance, homework check, review test, student counseling, and lesson covering readings, vocabulary, paraphrasing, and memorization.

Six hours of English classes after a full school day isn’t a piece of cake for the eight to 10-year-old students she teaches.

“They are like your typical kids in the U.S.,” Falkenburg said. “Some care, some don’t and they let you know that. And that can be frustrating. If they aren’t doing their work, they aren’t going to go to the next class.”

She has found the greater independence a rewarding aspect of her decision to teach abroad.

“In the classroom, I’m able to practice what I spent two years studying (at Georgia College),” Flankenburg said. “Outside the classroom, I’ve realized I’m learning to become more independent. It feels good being able to handle bills in another language without a problem. In college, it was often a struggle to pay for things, and now I find myself with more breathing room financially.”

Korean Culture

While Falkenburg doesn’t note big differences between American and Korean classrooms, outside the school walls she has witnessed a staggering difference in style in Seoul. She has witnessed Korean women’s fierce bravery of wearing heels no matter the weather forecast and compares the extensive subway system to a continuous fashion show.

Because cities in Asia have a high population density, the apartments rented by teachers are small by Western standards. Differences like the 13-hour time shift and Korean cuisine based on rice, noodles, tofu, vegetables, fish and meats have required adjustment as well.

This biggest challenge for Falkenburg, however, has been communication.

“People told me a lot of people would be able speak English which actually is not the case,” Falkenburg said. The hardest thing was realizing that it was not going to be that easy to communicate. Some hand motions and smiling and saying the one word of Korean that I do know has been a help.”

The one word she knows? “Please.”

Finding the Job

When Falkenburg suddenly decided the semester before her graduation to teach abroad, South Korea was at the bottom of her list. She went through a long list of countries and employers before pairing up with Aclipse, which specializes in connecting college graduates to teaching jobs in Asia.

Essentially, her recruiter was the go-between for her and the hagwon. Falkenburg’s recruiter helped her send in necessary papers, conducted video interviews that were submitted to her prospects, and gave her realistic expectations of the job.

While the main requirement for most employers is being a native English speaker, teaching and traveling experience is a plus. According to the Korean Ministry of Justice, 17,273 foreigners were teaching in Korea as of 2007 with 6, 724 of those classified as Americans.

“Although you really don’t need teaching experience to teach English overseas, it certainly helps in the long run, and makes you more hirable,” Flankenburg said. “Experience in traveling and interacting with diverse cultures or groups in general would probably also help you prepare for this experience.”

Falkenburg worked independently from Georgia College to obtain her position abroad; however, the International Education Center on campus is available to help students through the process of securing and applying for opportunities abroad in fields ranging from teaching to health science.

According to Study Abroad Advisor Leah Barber, volunteer, internship, and work opportunities abroad require students to be proactive and bring in their own ideas on what they want to do.

“Usually what we do is if we have student come to us and they have a company or organization in mind, we send out a call to colleagues across the U.S., emails, phone calls, and just ask if anyone has had experience with the organization, what their experience has been, positive or negative, (and) what the students have thought about it,” Barber said. “So that’s one way we try to help students check out things.”

In addition to gaining insight on the credibility of organizations, the International Education Center helps students apply for academic credit, get insurance and prepare for culture shock.

“Work, intern and volunteer opportunities require the student to be a little more independent,” Barber said. “But I think it works out well because that way they get find an experience that will be helpful for them and something they are really interested in and passionate about.”

Overall, adventures abroad require a balance of preparation and flexibility.

“(My advice would be) definitely talking and research and being open to what can happen,” Falkenburg said. “You don’t know where you will end up. I didn’t expect to live in Korea but I really like it here.”

Posted by Rebecca Burns on Jan 27 2011. Filed under Close Up, Special Sections. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.