King’s Kids World: Garak-dong, Seoul

This was my first contract in Korea, and it was a great experience. The other teachers and staff are friendly and open, and really make an effort to help you adjust to life in Korea. I was always paid on time, no problems there, and there were occasional bonuses as well. The school opened in March 2008, so it’s fairly new.

Classes are half an hour long in the mornings (from 930-1430) and an hour in the afternoons (1430-1630), with breaks depending on your schedule. The English teachers rotate between the classes each period. When I was there, there was a real problem with the organization of the curriculum – mainly, there wasn’t one. Or there was one, but in trying to finish the books to satisfy parents, they were completely disregarding the level of the students. I’ve heard from my former coworker that this is being fixed.

This is a Christian kindergarten – there are weekly Bible lessons which the foreign teachers are expected to participate in. There are two foreign teachers, neither of us were Christian, but that was not an issue.

The school is located a few blocks from Gaerong station, line 5. It’s a quiet area with lots of parks and not many foreigners, but there are restaurants and bars, and Jamsil station is a short bus ride away. The housing for the school is nice, by Korean standards, though be prepared to live on the 5th floor of a walkup. You get a balcony, though. The apartments are literally in the same building as the school; the building is also meeting areas for Jamsil Presbyterian Church, which the school is affiliated with.