Finally Enough To Say!

So I've been telling people about my plans to teach in Korea for a while now and a lot of people have asked me to keep them updated, so I decided this would be the easiest way. Now that I have dates and locations, I figured I'd get started! 

The program I'm doing is called E.P.I.K. (English Program in Korea) and I'm using a recruiting agency called EduCon which helps with the application process, interview, etc. I'll have a rent-free furnished studio type apartment and get paid approximately 1.2 million Korean won per month which is about $1,840. What's kind of cool is that the pay is more than it would have been if I hadn't had an education or English related background. I guess it kind of makes me feel like I'm putting my major to use. 

I started the application process around the end of January and I'm just now starting to get more specific information about my placement and everything. The ten day orientation is from August 19th-28th so they want me to arrive on either the 18th or 19th. After the orientation, I'll be in a metropolitan city called Daegu. It's in the South central region of Korea, about 2 hours from Seoul and a little under an hour from Busan. Apparently it's one of the hottest cities and can get pretty humid. Overall though, the Korean climate isn't super extreme one way or the other. From what I've read, it's a big city that has sort of a smaller city feel, which sounds like it could be kind of nice. Also, it's known for being one of the "fashion capitals" of Korea. I have mixed feeling about this one because it might make me feel self conscious... Anyway it's also known for sports, mountains, museums and good sightseeing (temples and stuff).

In case you're wondering, the title of this blog isn't an acronym. It's from a K-Pop song, which I'll post here for your listening pleasure. Anyone who knows me knows that K-Pop was one of the main things that first got me interested in doing this. I've read a lot of blogs that talk about how they were able to see some K-Pop groups perform. The way they talk about it like it's no big deal almost makes me have a heart attack...

 

Artist: 2NE1

Song: Clap Your Hands

Album: To Anyone

Released: September 2010

Next steps: Receive my actual contract which will hopefully include information about my specific school, classes, and co-teacher(s), and apply for a visa!