I haven't taught English overseas, but I lived abroad for several years when I was fairly young, and know people who have taught English abroad. I myself taught both English and a foreign language for over 30 years, in the States.

Some questions are:

How old is your son? Over 21,22, okay, if he's mature. As a teacher, he's going to be responsible for others besides himself. But he's going to have to be a self-starter, and creative and enterprising in his adjustments to Korea.

Would this be his first experience living outside the US? The first time "out" can be a shock, but not so severe if he's already travelled outside the country.

In what kind of school would he teach? Would he be teaching Americans or Koreans? Ethnicity matters, because cultural differences would be great in this case. Teaching adults would be much easier in some situations, although his youth might be a good thing if the students are children.

Your son has a solid college degree and is wasting his time at BestBuy IMO. As the mother of two grown sons, I know what it's like when they're at loose ends and still "finding themselves". We worry about whether they'll ever settle down, and when they want to do something dramatic, we worry about that, too. Keep in mind that many parents today hug their sons good-bye as those young men go off to deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Perhaps you could give us some additional information?

My nephew has been teaching English in Japan for a few years, and a co-worker of mine did so as well. The important thing for me would be who is hiring him? The Japanese government hired my nephew and my friend. My nephew has moved up and now administers some part of the system.

I did a google search of "teach english in south korea" and came up with this:

Here is a link that might be useful: warning

My son spent 2 years teaching english in south korea when he was 25 ; he was already a traveller so doing this was an opportunity for him to travel that area during breaks. He enjoyed it a lot ; the foreigners seem to find each other, there were a few bars where they would congregate and make friends.

DS was teaching primary school kids, he had a bachelor of commerce.
The learning of english is very prized there, the parents want them to start as early as 3. So for him , it was a positive life experience, learning about that culture, although he had had enough after his 2 years.

Today ~ Saturday ~ my 25 yo dtr is leaving to teach English in SKorea! This will be her second one-year term there; previously, she was in Incheon (near Seoul) from September 2008 through Sept 2009, today she leaves for a different city (I'm embarrassed to say I cannot spell the name of the new city.)

She taught 3 and 4 year olds in the daytime, but also met with three doctors twice a week so they could practice their English. It was a wonderful experience for her. There is a thriving ex-patriot community there, and she has met and traveled with people from So Africa, England, Japan, China, Austria, Greece.

Since Sept she has been living with us (which has been quite delightful, I must say) and looking for a job - any job! She double majored in Anthropology and Film with an eye towards teaching on the college level but "isn't in the mood for grad school yet." She's enjoying traveling and loafing too much.

She was paid very well and will be paid even better this time. She spent all the money traveling in Asia while she was there, and since her return has been to Europe and Ireland (where she went to school for a semester).

Two of her brothers visited her there, as did a friend or two; this time a sister and her 7 yo dtr will visit, and her life-long friend who is a Korean adoptee also plans to visit this summer.

We Skyped with her all the time while she was there, but, truth to tell, it's awfully hard having a child so very far away. I am sad about her departure today, but I know she is excited and will be happy and safe there. Your son will likely have a very good experience there. As mitchdesi says, learning English is prized in SKorea. My dtr has rethought the way reading and language are taught in the US because of her experience, and is considering a completely different career path because of it.

Sherry

I just read graywings link. My dtr's experience was nothing like that, though she did know one expat who made similar claims. All their friends rallied around that person, as did many SKoreans they made friends with while there, and the problem was resolved.

This time, my dtr will be teaching med students in a university setting, so it will be quite different for her.

Sherry

sherrman, my son also tutored parents of his pupils, on the side; they spoke some english but wanted to perfect their conversation skills; one of them had him over for dinner and treated him like a friend.

My son makes friends easily and is open to meeting new people; he found the south koreans to be the same way.

My brother and his wife are finishing up a 2 year contract (the end of May), teaching in Thailand. They have nothing but good things about the whole experience.

ML

This is why I love the GW - you learn so much! I didn't know about S. Korea's system of hiring English teachers. Most interesting.

Since so many posters have experience in this field I can't add anything, except to say that the experience of living and working overseas is life-changing, and almost always for the better. A crucial part of my life in Israel were the other Yanks, Canadians, Brits and South Africans whom I met. Some of them became life-long friends. I vote for going, with eyes wide open.

Thanks for all the responses. It is good to hear from other parents whose kids have done this. My son isn't exactly a "kid" anymore. He was an older college student and is now 30. He does have experience living abroad - he spent one college year in Germany. He loves traveling, learning new languages and makes friends easily. He has a friend that taught in Korea, but I'm concerned that he choose the right opportunity and not rush into anything.

This is the information that he sent me about this job offer:

School is in Iksan
Population: 320,000
teaching: elementary to middle school
hours: 2p.m. to 9p.m.

Salary : 2.1 to 2.3 million KRW base pay per month - About $2,000 US
Housing : Studio Sized Apt.
Airfare: Round trip
Severance: at the end of the contract one month's pay will be given
Health Insurance: 50/50 provided
10 days vacation plus all national holidays
Teaching hours : 120 teaching hours per month max.
Over time : available(18,000 to 22,000/per hour)

I have a young friend who's teaching English in Japan. She graduated from college, got married, and both of them jumped at the chance to teach overseas. They are having an incredible time.

If your son is nearly 30, he should be able to handle anything. I might feel differently if you were talking about a 21 year old daughter.

I'm going to recommend my 19 year old aim for something like this after college. He lived with us in Europe and has traveled back there several times. He'd be good at living and working somewhere foreign.

Best of luck to your son. I wish my dh and I were going, too!

My friend taught English in Japan for couple years to earn money for his law school. He really loved the experience -- the students were very nice (they are teens in HS). A friend's DD recently came back from teaching English in Japan as well -- she did it to earn $$ for her grad degree. She loved being there, and made lots of friend.

I also worked abroad (as a translator/interpreter) to earn $$ for my grad school. It was a great to travel, learn about other culture, and I had lots of fun. Best of all, being abroad taught me how lucky I am to have the opportunity we do here in the US. It was a life changing experience for me.

I would strongly encourage your DS to go.

Thanks again for all the responses. I am happy to hear that most have had good experiences. My son ended up with several offers that he checked out, and went with the first one. The school is part of a larger franchise company, and he was able to "meet" the outgoing teacher via email, who sent him pictures of the apartment that he will be taking over, and told him about the job. The outgoing teacher would have stayed another year, but a close family member was diagnosed with cancer and he wanted to be home.
So my son is getting all of his paperwork together for his visa application and is due to leave on March 27th. He is planning on selling all of his furniture and car, since he doesn't have anything that is worth the storage costs. I will store all of his important documents, pictures, etc. And he needs to give me POA to take care of his banking/bills, etc.

Woo hoo! How exciting for your son. I wish him well on this endeavor and hope he has a fabulous experience.

I emailed by daughter, who replied today, but your post above answers many of her questions. She taught ESOL in Thailand for 2.5 years, staying on for an extra 6 months because one teacher cancelled at the last minute. She had a wonderful experience. She is now living and teaching in a private school in Arezzo in Italy and loves her job, teaches all ages, etc.

Here is her response, though some of the info might be too late for your son, it may benefit someone else reading this.

"As for the guy going to South Korea...it could be that someone quit halfway through the year. Who knows! It might depend on what kind of school it is - would he be teaching in a public school, or is it a private language institute? I know there are (or definitely were when I was looking a few years ago) lots of jobs in southeast Asia, and it's a lot easier to find work there than other areas, like Europe, due to demand.

It does sound like he might be jumping into the job just because his girlfriend is leaving, but is that really such a bad thing? If he's not putting his degree to use, in my opinion teaching English in South Korea would be a better/ more enriching alternative than working at Best Buy! A good life experience, even if it doesn't lead to anything career-wise.

It would be good to check out the school as thoroughly as possible - have they got a website? Are you sure they're a 'respectable' school? What kind of contract are they offering? Will they help him get a work visa? That would be one of the most important things to find out. Will they help him find accommodation, etc.? Can he get the email of other teachers working there and write them to get a firsthand account of what living there is like? How easy is it to get around if you don't speak Korean? etc."

Terriks, I second Sherry's recommendation for Skype if you don't already have it. That is how we usually communicated with her. With the video, we could also 'see' her apartment and friends.

Don't forget to start planning a trip to go visit him!

- Elisabeth

Thanks for passing on that info.
I think that my son has checked out the school as best he can from where he currently lives. I'm really excited for him. I wish that I had been more adventuresome when I was younger.
We do have skype now and use it with our other son who has been studying in Spain this year. I'd love to visit him, but not sure it will be in the budget this year.

Just a follow up. My son has been in South Korea for less than a week, and has already met some other English speaking people. I was incorrect in my post above that he took the job in Iksan. He is actually in Gimhae, which is very close to Busan, which is the 2nd largest city in S. Korea, and is in the southeast part of the country.

I have received almost daily updates and we have skyped a couple of times. He is the type to just go out and wander the city by himself, and that is how he met the other English speaking people. He is the only non-Korean teacher at his school, but he learned of an area where about 1000 "foreigners" live. His apartment is about a half hour walk from that area, but only 2 blocks from the school where he is working. He is dealing with quite a bit of culture shock, and gets a bit frustrated when he goes out to eat, because he can only point at the pictures on the menu to ask for what he wants. The other day he pointed at a picture of fried chicken only to discover that what he ordered was a complete family meal! He has some Korean language lessons that he is working on, and the school director has been very helpful - taking him shopping to buy a pillow, showing him how to work the thermostat and washing machine, etc.