KOREA FULBRIGHT THREAD 2011-2012

[tweety11226]

could someone scan/pm me the stapled sheets of instructions for filling out the medical clearance forms (first mailing, from iie)? my physician walked away with mine and i realized that now i don't have a mailing address for my completed health form. =(

Would the letters be official if I am able to fax them or scan them

[tweety11226]

Hi, I'm actually an alternate for the Korean ETA program, and I'm just hoping that you guys could update me if you know of any other alternates or people who are considering turning down their award. I have a back-up plan, but I really had my heart set on teaching in Korea, and with so many amazing candidates applying to grad schools and other grants, it doesn't seem totally unlikely that an alternate or two will be called up to take someone else's spot. On the main Fulbright forum I'm the only listed ETA alternate for Korea, which surprised me. Congrats to all you confirmed applicants; I'm sure you'll have an incredible time.

OMG!! I hope you get the ETA grant so we can meet you in July

Our orientation is from July 3rd to August Pleas keep me posted!!

[blob192]

I was digging around the board and I came across this thread. I'm not in the Fullbright Korea program. But I do work in one of the alternate public school programs. Unless your particularly hung up on the Fullbright program. I suggest you strongly consider applying to other programs like: SMOE (Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education), EPIK (English Program in Korea), GEPIK (Gyeonggi-do English Program in Korea), or JEP (Jellong-Namdo English Program)

Only because the workload is the same but the pay difference is about 400-500,000 Won a month depending on what qualifications you bring to the table.

There's also the TALK program but their compensation is on par with the Fullbright Program.

Here's also two teaching sites to help you hit the ground running.

http://waygook.org/

http://eflclassroom.ning.com/

I forgot to mention, there's also a special program for public school teachers. Your tax exempt for 2 years.

Edited April 14, 2011 by blob192

[bulgogi]

they should send you the completed form which will probably have the mailing address on it. either way:

U.S. Student Programs

Institute of International Education

809 United Nations Plaza

New York, NY 10017

I have a question, if you are in university, did you just get the school's health center to do the examination and the "name of health plan" - is that the health insurance that I currently have?

Thanks

could someone scan/pm me the stapled sheets of instructions for filling out the medical clearance forms (first mailing, from iie)? my physician walked away with mine and i realized that now i don't have a mailing address for my completed health form. =(

[bulgogi]

I will definitely be there! *assuming I fill out this medical paperwork correctly*

OMG!! I hope you get the ETA grant so we can meet you in July

Our orientation is from July 3rd to August Pleas keep me posted!!

[JP-89-]

they should send you the completed form which will probably have the mailing address on it. either way:

U.S. Student Programs

Institute of International Education

809 United Nations Plaza

New York, NY 10017

I have a question, if you are in university, did you just get the school's health center to do the examination and the "name of health plan" - is that the health insurance that I currently have?

Thanks

I graduated in Jan so I couldn't go to a health center, but for the "name of health plan" I'm pretty sure they want the name of your health insurance plan (that's how I filled it out anyways!).

[JP-89-]

Thanks JP and I didn't receive my package because I wasn't home early this morning. Why were you in China and how was it?

My major was Chinese, and it would've been pretty impossible for me to become fluent unless I studied abroad, so I spent my junior year in Changchun, China. It was...different, both in good and bad ways, probably a lot like how life in Korea will be. I lived in the dorm with other international students, but I was particularly envious of was the fact that an American friend of mine lived with a host family, which is one thing I'm really pumped about for Korea. While I was over there I studied at a Chinese language center, and so I had other international students as classmates, including a lot of Japanese and Koreans. A lot of us became friends and for my winter break and before I went back to the US in the summer I visited a bunch of them in Korea, but only around the Seoul metropolitan area. I also did a language exchange where I helped teach a Korean classmate English in return for Korean lessons, so I have the basics down pretty well. Anyways, I reached my goal of being pretty fluent in Chinese, and having the basics of Korea down already and the fact that Korean shares a ton of Chinese-derived words makes me hopeful that I can learn a lot of Korean this coming year.

[LaPelirojita]

Wow, that's quite a language advantage you have there. I've been learning Korean with Rosetta Stone but I'll consider myself fortunate if I can become conversonationally competent by the end of the year.

Edited April 14, 2011 by LaPelirojita

[LaPelirojita]

I was digging around the board and I came across this thread. I'm not in the Fullbright Korea program. But I do work in one of the alternate public school programs. Unless your particularly hung up on the Fullbright program. I suggest you strongly consider applying to other programs like: SMOE (Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education), EPIK (English Program in Korea), GEPIK (Gyeonggi-do English Program in Korea), or JEP (Jellong-Namdo English Program)

Only because the workload is the same but the pay difference is about 400-500,000 Won a month depending on what qualifications you bring to the table.

There's also the TALK program but their compensation is on par with the Fullbright Program.

Here's also two teaching sites to help you hit the ground running.

http://waygook.org/

http://eflclassroom.ning.com/

I forgot to mention, there's also a special program for public school teachers. Your tax exempt for 2 years.

Thanks so much, blob192. A Fulbright would be great but I really just want to teach English in Korea, and I've been a bit reticent to do so without a Fulbright because the hagwan system can be really exploitative of foreigners. I'll definately check out these sites. I have some experience teaching ESL (to Italians, not Koreans), and I'm going into school pysch so I'd love some more teaching experience.

[blob192]

Thanks so much, blob192. A Fulbright would be great but I really just want to teach English in Korea, and I've been a bit reticent to do so without a Fulbright because the hagwan system can be really exploitative of foreigners. I'll definately check out these sites. I have some experience teaching ESL (to Italians, not Koreans), and I'm going into school pysch so I'd love some more teaching experience.

Just remember you need a lot of documents. Apostilled copies of your diploma, certified transcripts, FBI criminal background check, etc etc etc. Its mid April now. Most of the programs are hiring for the August / September intake. They work on a first come, first serve basis. Usually whoever gets all their documents in first.

A. For the Seoul District and national program. The recruiting arm is EPIK and you list your geographical preference with your age preference.

B. For the Gyeonggi-do Program (GEPIK), it's a mix of applying directly to the Gyeonggi-do Education Office and they're place you randomly or you can apply directly to a GEPIK affiliated school. They use the same contracts, they're under the same education office umbrella but, the education office let's them do their own hiring. For the later it's better to use a recruiter. I can't recommend you one though

C. For the rest of the programs I mentioned, you apply directly to them or through a recruiter.Once you sign the contract, the respective education offices will assign you to your school. They're try to take your preferences into account but it is ultimately up to them.

Edited April 15, 2011 by blob192

[bulgogi]

If anyone is reading this and is going to S. Korea for Fulbright, I think we should semi-connect before meeting in South Korea. Let's make a Facebook group or just start a forum on here where we can chat and get ready for an amazing year!!!

올해는 재미있을 까!

brian

[tweety11226]

If anyone is reading this and is going to S. Korea for Fulbright, I think we should semi-connect before meeting in South Korea. Let's make a Facebook group or just start a forum on here where we can chat and get ready for an amazing year!!!

올해는 재미있을 까!

brian

Yes I am going to Korea and there are 5 people I am friends with on facebook that are also going to Korea

[bulgogi]

This is so exciting! I think it will be a tough time in the beginning but it will be so so sooo so good!

Yes I am going to Korea and there are 5 people I am friends with on facebook that are also going to Korea

[tweety11226]

My major was Chinese, and it would've been pretty impossible for me to become fluent unless I studied abroad, so I spent my junior year in Changchun, China. It was...different, both in good and bad ways, probably a lot like how life in Korea will be. I lived in the dorm with other international students, but I was particularly envious of was the fact that an American friend of mine lived with a host family, which is one thing I'm really pumped about for Korea. While I was over there I studied at a Chinese language center, and so I had other international students as classmates, including a lot of Japanese and Koreans. A lot of us became friends and for my winter break and before I went back to the US in the summer I visited a bunch of them in Korea, but only around the Seoul metropolitan area. I also did a language exchange where I helped teach a Korean classmate English in return for Korean lessons, so I have the basics down pretty well. Anyways, I reached my goal of being pretty fluent in Chinese, and having the basics of Korea down already and the fact that Korean shares a ton of Chinese-derived words makes me hopeful that I can learn a lot of Korean this coming year.

Wow you're fluent in Chinese?! That's a great thing and an excellent accomplishment since Chinese is one of the toughest language to master lol. You speak fluent Cantonese or Mandarin? I hope I can learn Korean and become proficient . Are you planning on renewing your grant next year?

Edited April 17, 2011 by tweety11226

[rkddbfl]

Agreed! )) I'm super excited!!! I have a friend who did the fulbright program in korea a few years ago, so we can ask her questions too

If anyone is reading this and is going to S. Korea for Fulbright, I think we should semi-connect before meeting in South Korea. Let's make a Facebook group or just start a forum on here where we can chat and get ready for an amazing year!!!

올해는 재미있을 까!

brian

[keeran]

Hi everyone. I just so happened to stumble upon this thread, and as a current (and 2nd-year) Fulbright ETA in Korea, I thought I'd just put my 2 cents in regarding the different teaching opportunities in Korea. I would definitely stand by Fulbright being the best teaching opportunity in Korea, and for a number of reasons. Yes, we get paid less than literally every other teacher in the country, so if you're just interested in coming to teach English in Korea to make money you'll definitely want to consider other options. However, the Fulbright office does a phenomenal job working out any problems that we might have with schools or life in Korea in general. The Fulbright office is not a part of your school or a provincial education board; they have a serious interest in making sure that your needs are met. When it comes to hagwons, I'd steer clear. There might be a few good ones, but I've talked to a lot of hagwon teachers, and if you are stuck with a bad one, they really make life hell. It's really quite common for them to screw you over or take advantage of you in any way they can. Also, you will probably have almost no vacation time... maybe one week out of a year contract?

Fulbright ETAs are given extremely generous vacation time, and tend to have better luck getting out of coming to school on totally pointless days when you aren't teaching any classes and are basically seat-warming at your desk. If you are coming to Korea because you are interested in Korean culture, language, etc., and want to have your own independent time for studying or volunteering in other ways, this is a huge advantage.

The Fulbright program also has a much longer orientation period than other programs, incorporating serious language study, cultural acclimatization, and teaching workshops that make the transition to Korean life much smoother.

I definitely don't want to discourage people from teaching in Korea via other programs, like EPIK. I've had a few friends teach through EPIK, and they had wonderful experiences. I just wanted to put my two cents in about the actual differences in the programs. I hope this helps. And congrats to everyone coming to Korea. Yes, we miss 4th of July coming over here, but a lot of us got together and the end of our grant year last year and had an awesome grillout weekend.

Anyway,

Cheers

[JP-89-]

Thanks keeran! Having been in Korea and China and spoken to English teachers in both countries, the general consensus has been similar to what you've said: Going through recruiters into the private school system (hagwons in Korea) is generally a bad idea.

[eklatrojan]

should we make a facebook group? i want to keep in touch with you guys (less than 2 months to go!) but i don't really check this that often....

[LaPelirojita]

Well, I guess you're stuck friending me too. I just got the call telling me that they received extra funding and I've been updated to receive the ETA position! I'm in such a state of shock/ panic! I had to pull out of my contract for a teaching job in China and I'll be scrambling with the medical forms, but South Korea here I come!

[tweety11226]

Well, I guess you're stuck friending me too. I just got the call telling me that they received extra funding and I've been updated to receive the ETA position! I'm in such a state of shock/ panic! I had to pull out of my contract for a teaching job in China and I'll be scrambling with the medical forms, but South Korea here I come!

I am so proud of you for getting accepted as a Fulbright Scholar and yes I will see you soon

[eklatrojan]

Well, I guess you're stuck friending me too. I just got the call telling me that they received extra funding and I've been updated to receive the ETA position! I'm in such a state of shock/ panic! I had to pull out of my contract for a teaching job in China and I'll be scrambling with the medical forms, but South Korea here I come!

yay!!! congrats!!!

[tweety11226]

should we make a facebook group? i want to keep in touch with you guys (less than 2 months to go!) but i don't really check this that often....

Yeah make a facebook group please!

[eklatrojan]

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_111479832272468

I'm not sure how the new group type works, but it seems like we could have a group chat if we want!

[tweety11226]

http://www.facebook....111479832272468

I'm not sure how the new group type works, but it seems like we could have a group chat if we want!

Yes I am apart of the group now . Last name is J.

[myacu]

Hi guys! Dunno if you remember me, but after getting the rejection from Fulbright, I decided to apply for EPIK and just got placed in Seoul! I'd love to travel though to the other cities so it would be nice to connect with awesome interesting people!