EPIK - English Program In Korea

My EPIK Adventure Part 1
So long story short I am going to teach English in Korea next year (2013). My plan is to document the adventure via this blog to share it with others :). In this post I discuss recruiting agents, the application process and the interview with EPIK. <read more>

My EPIK Adventure Part 2
I posted my Stage 2 documents last Saturday (20th). They sat in the Australia Post post office all weekend and for most of Monday (21st) too. According to the tracking service they were picked up late in the afternoon and...... <read more>

My EPIK Adventure Part 3
I called the ATO (Australian Tax Office) this afternoon to find out the tax implications of working in Korea. There is a calculator here which will ask you a series of questions and then tell you if you are still considered an Australian resident for tax purposes. To summarise... either way the ATO screws you..... <read more>

My EPIK Adventure Part 4
Good news! On the Christmas day I checked my inbox to find that I had an email from my recruiting agent (Gone2Korea). I have been offered a job in my city of choice, Daejeon. In the next week I should receive my NOA (Notice of Appointment) and..... <read more>

My EPIK Adventure Part 5
Stage 3 So it has been close to a month since I was offered a position in Daejeon teaching English and my contract and NOA only just arrived on Monday (almost a month after receiving an offer). I have had to wait for the documents to arrive before applying for my visa which has been driving me nuts. I still don’t understand why...... <read more>

My EPIK Adventure Part 6
Well, today my passport was returned with my E2 working visa attached. There is one thing I am confused about though. My application included $150 which is the fee for a multiple entry visa but to my surprise..... <read more>

My EPIK Adventure Part 7
Stage 4 The last stage to write about in the EPIK application process is Stage 4. There are a few different parts to this final stage of the EPIK application process. <read more>

EPIK Orientation Day 1
I was awoken by a loud "official EPIK announcement" at around 6:45am this morning which was blasted over the public address system informing the first group that they need to be down stairs at 7am for their medical exam..... <read more>



EPIK Orientation Day 2
I will keep this brief. Today has been a huge day. I have only just got back to my room. Breakfast was at 7:30am and we had a day packed with lectures and group work. Like I said. It has been a huge day but it has gone super quick because all the lectures have been really good. <read more>



The lecturers today were again all really good. One of them was called "Hidden Wonders of Korea". They got us all involved by dressing us in the traditional Korean dress known as Hanbok. <read more>


This is the first update I have posted in almost a week. I had the bad luck of getting sick (really sick) last Sunday (Orientation Day 4) when we spent all day out in the cold at a Korean Folk Village. Anyway, I am feeling better now so I thought I would do a quick rundown on the past week..... <read more>


My first class this week did not get off to a great start. Power Point was not installed correctly on the PC in the room I was assigned so I was thrown in the deep end for my first class. I bluffed my way through the first 15 minutes before I thought of running the slide show on my laptop and walking around the class with my laptop. My second class I had a working power point but I ploughed through my material way too fast and was left with 30 minutes and nothing to do. <read more>

Today I re-signed with the Daejeon MOE for one more year of teaching English in Korea. Luck for me I teach at a middle school. This year all but 8 of the high school teachers had their jobs cut due to budget restrictions..... <read more>

6 comments:

  1. Would it be possible to ask a few questions about the EPIK process frkm an Australian point of view? I am applying currently and am a bit confused about getting documents apostilled

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    1. Hey mate. Yeah. I'm happy to answer any questions you have, though it has been 4 years since I endured the process.

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    2. Brilliant. I am not too sure about apostilled documents. Did you have to have your original degree stamped? I'm getting a lot of different answers from the organisations.

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    3. I had a colour photocopy of my degree notarised and then had it apostilled. There is some info here http://gdaykorea.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/my-epik-adventure-part-1.html

      Check with your university on the process. At the very least yes, I think it needs the apostilled stamp. A quick google found this info here
      https://studenthelp.secure.griffith.edu.au/app/answers/detail/a_id/957/~/how-can-i-get-my-degree-authenticated-(apostille-certificate)%3F

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    4. Thank you so much for the help, you have no idea how much I needed this. I called my univeristies and the gov office involved in the process and they were confused, particularly the universities, about the process. You have made everything so much clearer. Thank you

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    5. No problem. Happy to help. Good luck in Korea.

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