Footprints Recruiting

Teaching Salaries in Korea

Salaries at private language institutes, or hagwons, as they are known in Korean, typically range from 1.9 to 2.2 million won per month. For the current value of the Korean won in your currency, visit: Universal Currency Converter

Your starting salary will depend on a number of factors- mainly your experience as a teacher and the location of the school.

Since the cost of living is higher in major cities, particularly Seoul, salaries tend to be slightly higher here as well. An average starting salary in Seoul is 2.0 million won per month.

If you choose to teach in a small town, you can expect your starting salary to be lower per month but really onlt by about 100,000 Won - or about $100USD. Because of the difference in cost of living, you could save the same amount of money in either location.

Although this may not seem like a terribly high salary compared to what you may earn back home consider this: since your flight to Korea is paid for, your housing is paid for (except for utility bills), and total monthly deductions for medical coverage and taxes will only be around 7% of your salary, your only out pocket expenses will be food, transportation and entertainment. Lucky for you, the subway in Seoul costs less than a dollar and taxis are much cheaper than in the United States and Canada as well. Without working much overtime, you can comfortably save USD $10,000 in a year.

1. Higher salaries for a much higher number of base working hours per week or month.
   • This is great if you don’t want any free time and you have as much energy as a used car salesman on amphetamines, but most people tend to burn out teaching above 30 hours per week. It takes tremendous energy and concentration to be an effective teacher - and remember for every hour you spend in the classroom, most teachers spend half an hour planning and correcting homework. If you sign a contract with one of our schools, they will normally be happy to give you overtime if you ask which will often raise your salary to a sum higher than what is being offered by that other school, the difference is that in a contract with the other school you are locked into working a very high number of hours.
2. Although the base salary may be higher - the amount they deduct for security deposits, taxes, and even rent mitigate the higher wage.
   • Read the fine print.
3. Other schools simply advertise higher wages and have no intention of ever fulfilling the contract.
4. Newly opened schools sometimes offer higher than-usual-salaries in an effort to get started.
   • They do this because they don't have a reputation and often this is the only way a teacher will come. This could cause huge problems in the future. If you do happen to sign with a newly opening school there might be delays for you to start, which means delays for you to leave, which means costs to you. Also, a new school will often hire all "fresh off the boat" teachers which simply means mayhem. Consider also that newly opened schools are usually disorganized and require a lot more administrative work from teachers.
5. Schools with high staff turn over may offer higher salaries to keep teachers and attract them... beware.
   • Established, reliable schools will often pay slightly less because they have less turn over and because they are organized enough to know market rates and can keep teachers.
   • Remember, once you are in Korea and have a visa to teach at a school it is extremely difficult to change schools without your employer’s permission. Unscrupulous school owners realize this and take advantage of this- and few foreigners have the time, money and linguistic ability to fight them in court.
   • Salaries are almost always paid monthly. This is true everywhere in Asia. Paydays range from the last day of the month worked to the 15th day of the following month. Your payday will be clearly stated in your contract. 

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites