Working Conditions

All standard contracts in Korea will contain provisions for the conditions detailed below. If you have any questions regarding any of these conditions, please ask one of our recruiters or the director of your school.

  1. Contract length: One year (12 months). Contracts are renewable if agreed upon by both the teacher and the school.
  2. Working hours: Standard contracts call for 25-30 hours per week, averaging 100-120 hours per month from Monday to Friday. A few schools have Saturday classes and some schools, particularly those with adult classes, have split shifts. In your online application you should specify if you are willing to take Saturday classes.
  3. Salary: Salaries normally fall between 2 million and 2.5 million won/month depending on experience and qualifications.
  4. Class size: Most class sizes are quite small, usually between 7-12 students.
  5. Student ages: Most schools have a variety of ages. Most have some kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school classes.
  6. Housing: Housing is provided free of charge either in a single studio apartment or in shared housing with other teachers. You should specify on your application which type of housing you desire. Shared housing is more common in the big cities (Seoul, Busan) where housing prices are higher. In the case of shared housing, each teacher will have their own bedroom and the living room/kitchen area will be shared. The apartment will be fully furnished for the teacher and furnishings provided include bed, TV, microwave, wardrobe, table and chairs, kitchenware, gas range and washing machine. While the apartment is provided free of charge, the teacher is responsible for utilities (gas, cable) and phone charges.
  7. Cost of living: In general about 500,000-700,000 won/month will cover a teacher’s entire living expenses for one month including utilities.
  8. Airfare: The school agrees to purchase a one-way ticket for teachers from the closest international airport in their home country to their location in Korea. After completing the one-year contract, the teacher will be provided a return ticket back to their point of origin or a ticket of similar value so that they can travel elsewhere. In the event that the teacher quits before completing their contract, the teacher agrees to reimburse the employer the cost of the paid airfare. Your airline ticket will be reserved by Morgan Recruiting once you submit your paperwork for your teaching visa to the Korean consulate in your home country. The airline ticket will be sent to you either as an electronic ticket to your email or as a paper ticket to your home address.
    Note: Many schools prepay the teacher’s airfare to Korea in advance but some schools will request that the teacher purchase their own airline ticket and then be reimbursed for the airfare upon arrival to Korea. In the event that schools ask teachers to purchase the ticket themselves and be reimbursed upon arrival, Morgan Recruiting Services will purchase the ticket for the teacher on their behalf and will be reimbursed by the school instead of the teacher.
  9. Paid vacations and holidays: Most schools offer 10 days paid vacation. This is usually one week vacation in the summer and one week in the winter. In addition, the teacher will receive off all Korean national holidays, usually between 9-14 days per year.
  10. Overtime: Overtime varies from school to school but usually falls between 18,000-25,000 won per hour ($18-25).
  11. Severance Pay: Upon completion of the contract teachers will receive a one month severance bonus (one month extra pay). This one-month bonus, paid in the last month, is standard with all contracts and is legally required from all schools under Korean law. The school is not required to pay this bonus if the teacher terminates their contract prematurely.
  12. Tax rates: Income tax rates are extremely low in Korea. For many teachers the rate is around 3%. To check out the amount of income tax you would pay, visit the National Tax Service website in English at: http://www.nts.go.kr/eng/
  13. Health insurance: Korean employers are obligated to provide their teachers with health care insurance and most schools choose to go with the National Health Insurance Plan. The cost of the medical insurance will be split 50-50 between the school and the teacher. The amount that the teacher would pay amounts to 2.59% of their monthly salary. This insurance is not effective until your residency in Korea has been provided (when you receive your Alien Registration Card), which is usually around 2-4 weeks after arrival to Korea. It is advised that all teachers buy travel insurance with medical coverage for 30-45 days following arrival in Korea. To get more information about the Health Plan, please visit the National Health Insurance website at: http://www.nhic.or.kr/eng
  14. Sick leave: Most contracts do have provisions for 3-4 sick days with a doctor’s note. However, it is important that teachers use these sparingly as other teachers will be the recipient of your classes in case you need to miss. Emergency leave of up to one week can normally be provided in the case of serious family emergency.
  15. Pension Plan: Teachers pay 4.5% of their monthly salary which is fully matched by the employer who also pays 4.5% (so a total of 9% is stored in the national pension). Paying into this pension is legally required in Korea. The teacher will receive their full pension refund (both their contribution and their employer’s contribution) when they leave Korea. This can add up to almost an extra month’s pay for the teacher at the end of the year. This full refund only applies to teachers from Canada, the U.S. or Australia. Currently, teachers from other countries are unable to get this refund as their government has no reciprocal agreement with the Korean government. For more information about the National Pension Plan, please visit their homepage in English at:
    http://www.nps.or.kr/jsppage/english/main.jsp
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