Mission Statement

Image taken from Flickr

Welcome to my blog.  Since this is my first post here, I would like to express the reason for this blog - Chuncheon is an awesome city.  If you are interested in teaching English in a foreign country, South Korea would be a great place to do it; but more specifically, Chuncheon would be an awesome place to do it (wait, did I say that already!?).

* Sure, you could teach in big cities such as Seoul or Busan (with great subway systems), but why would you want to?  You could experience the hustled and rushed big city life just about in any country, and have less of the "Real Korea" experience (yes, I know - I'm starting to sound like Sarah Palin).
* Or you could experience the extremely small villages, but the question is why would you want to? You might be placed in an area where the express bus (city to city) transportation system does not have the best schedule, and if you miss the last bus you would either need to spend the night in a motel or 찜질방 (Jjim Jil Bang).
* You could be placed in other similar-sized cities as Chuncheon, but why would you want to?  Chuncheon has the best cuisine called 닭갈비 (Dakgalbi), has great scenery, and has a great hub to reliably take buses to nearby huge cities (such as Seoul, only an hour away).

Of course, I am only talking about the personal life side of teaching English.  English, the international business language, is very important and needs to be taught everywhere in Korea.  But as far as the personal life side of teaching English, Chuncheon is the best place to live.  Even if you are currently teaching English in Korea, and are not currently living in Chuncheon, you should do whatever it takes to teach there.

As of this writing,  I have been here for almost a year and a half, and I have successfully been transferred to a public school in Chuncheon.  I must say that teaching in public schools definitely has its perks over teaching in a 학완 (hagwon: academy or private school).  The only downside of what I'm recommending is that it is super hard to get in to a Chuncheon public school.  For EPIK teachers who already teach in Gangwon-do you must do whatever you can to show the homeroom teachers that you love your job by showing a love for your students and by being prepared for your classes.  If you are lucky, EPIK might place you in Chuncheon within your first year (but don't count on it).  Should you be desperate enough to get in and cannot get a transfer to a public school, then it would be easier to get transferred through a 학완, if you're willing to risk being placed in a bad school.

Whether you're an English teacher (current or soon-to-be) or just browsing for what it's like to experience Chuncheon, I hope you enjoy whatever experiences I have to provide for you.

Sincerely,

Nathan