Life Abroad : Clare Haggerty. American in South Korea
Clare has been in South Korea for just over six months now and based on our quick call, I can tell she is loving it. After her arrival in January, she did a quick 1-week quarantine in her own apartment and then it was off to work. No doubt there have been ups and downs, but the experience is priceless.
Clare got a job in a Hagwon, which are private language centres in South Korea and her hours are 9am – 6pm, Monday through Friday. Hagwons tend to get a bad name for working longer hours, but Clare doesn’t think that’s completely true.
“I have friends who end later, but they’d just start later. It all has to balance out somewhere.”
When it came to the apartment, she didn’t have to do anything except show up! It came with a bed, fridge and aircon. This part was a bit tough because she had to furnish the place herself, but that wasn’t completely unexpected. From my own experience in Japan, it’s very easy to find other teachers in Facebook groups who are leaving. Word travels fast, especially in smaller towns. You can either get things for super cheap or FREE. As Clare says, “With the foreign community, it’s all about paying it forward.”
“Some of the logistical stuff was tricky in the beginning, but overall I’m happy to be here and teaching is better than I expected.”
She knows she is one of the lucky ones who got placed in Seoul – which means she’s never short of things to do on weekends. It is so well-connected internally that you’d never have to leave, but if ever you did, you can get anywhere in a matter of hours – perfect for weekends away, or even a day-trip.
“I don’t even think I use half my
pay-check – so much saving.”
The biggest adjustment working in South Korea are the limited holidays – we know this. Most teachers get one week off in July and at the end of December.
This may come as a shock to most people, especially since teachers are used to getting longer holidays in western countries. The truth is, in South Korea and Japan, the kids don’t get that much time off. They work really hard throughout.
To prepare Clare for her new teaching job, we encouraged her to take our online TESOL course (recently this has become a requirement). As of July however, teachers can get qualified and take our TESOL course in-country! In our teachers’ final week, we even get them into actual classrooms to do practice teaching before the real work starts.
Document-wise, everything went smoothly. There was a little running around toward the end, but nothing out of the ordinary. Due to COVID, everything was done digitally at the time which was a blessing in disguise.
I had so much fun chatting with Clare. She is positive, hardworking teacher who loves traveling and exploring new places. Definitely felt a hint of FOMO while we were talking. If you’d like to see her full interview, head on over to our YouTube Channel. She also has her own blog which I follow! Such cool stories and photo’s to inspire any aspiring traveller.
Good Luck, Clare!
Thank You.