This year has been a rollercoaster, to say the least. The coronavirus pandemic shifted the way teaching is done worldwide. In Korea, from late March to mid September, teachers in Korea juggled teaching online, partially-online, in-person with social distancing, and alternating between which grades will come to school. And due to various reasons, including the COVID-19 pandemic, many EPIK teachers have either transferred out of Korea’s smaller rural towns, into bigger cities, left the EPIK program, or left Korea altogether. The remaining teachers take on new and for some, even heavier workloads. Despite the new circumstances, there was always a bright side. And there still is.

Before COVID – 19

Sometimes it’s hard to imagine school life before COVID-19. Let’s reminisce. In my English classroom, students sat four to a table mask free. We could high-five, play various group activities. There were longer breaks in between classes. Student’s sat enthusiastically next to each other during lunch and had school trips to look forward to. All that changed due to COVID-19.

In my case, I was working at only one travel school prior to COVID-19. Read Everything You Need To Know About Working In Travel Schools In Rural Korea. I’ve been very lucky to have been assigned to amazing travel schools: one from August to December and my current one.

First Wave of COVID-19

Quarantine 

When the first wave of the coronavirus started in February, EPIK teachers started seeing the global change taking place. It started with some of the teachers who traveled to places like Hong Kong, Vietnam, China, or Japan being asked to quarantine for 14 days. I am glad many of us enjoyed our vacation before flight restrictions were imposed. I happily traveled to Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand in the first weeks of February. 

The Government Sets New Guidelines 

The quarantines weren’t an issue because the Ministry of Education delayed the start of the new school semester from March to April. But the pandemic started causing havoc throughout the country and the world. In a short time, working from home, reinforced hand washing practices, social-distancing, and taking your temperature daily became the new normal. 

Teachers would soon realize that Korea was doing a great job of constantly notifying citizens and residents on best practices, tracking COVID-19 positive patients, and trying to keep the country as safe as possible overall. Read my previous blog on How Life Has Changed in Korea Since the Coronavirus Outbreak here. This was a consolation given some of our home countries would start to fare worse in later months. Like my hometown New York City for example. I am grateful that my friends and family there have been doing well throughout this pandemic. 

Working From Home and Online Classes

While the reality of unemployment rose, EPIK teachers were asked to work from home. This was great because that meant we still had our jobs. To limit the number of staff members in public schools, teachers were asked to work from home two or three days out of the week. Most schools used Zoom to have online classes. Some English classes were held online in real-time, or  consisting of voice overs against PowerPoint lesson slides, or taught by their Korean homeroom teachers.

The “Foreigner” Label

Though EPIK teachers remained employed, some had to endure other issues.  In April, when a cluster outbreak happened in clubs in Itaewon, a neighborhood in Seoul frequently visited by foreigners, some teachers started getting treated differently. It was mandatory for anyone (native and foreign residents) who’d been in that neighborhood around the time of the outbreak to get tested. Even with a negative COVID test result, some teachers were constantly being asked about their whereabouts outside of work, spoken to differently, and some were treated by their neighbors as if they had positive test results. Native co-workers who visited the same neighborhood and had negative COVID results were treated slightly different. Some restaurants even started putting up “No foreigner,” signs. Today, the circumstances there are much better.

In-Person Social Distance Based Classes

When students came to school late May, they had to sit a few inches apart, skip a seat in lunch, and take shorter breaks in between classes so they’re in and out of school as soon as possible.  Teaching students with a mask made communication challenging: your voice is a bit muffled and students can misunderstand pronunciation. Luckily schools were very prompt with providing face shields, and other new useful supplies that would create a smoother transition. No one would have imagined the first half of the school semester lasting only two months and summer vacation for three weeks. 

Second Wave of COVID-19

A Drastic Change for EPIK Teachers in Rural Towns

Since the second wave of COVID-19, some of the EPIK teachers in the rural cities are facing an unfortunate circumstance. With fewer teachers in their towns, they have been assigned to teach at multiple schools, and work extra (compensated) hours. There are several reasons the previous EPIK teachers left this fall: some left Korea after teaching for many years, or transferred to bigger cities or provinces within and outside the EPIK program, and perhaps  left because of some of the circumstances mentioned above. Though some teachers were already teaching at multiple schools prior to COVID-19, the dynamic now is a little different. 

While the extra compensation is great, the workload is greater. Due to the increase in teaching hours, some teachers find that they have little time to complete all their lesson-planning at school and have to take work home. Just before summer vacation started in August, some teachers found out they would have to teach new grade levels (middle school or high school) in less than a month before classes would resume.

Effects of the First wave of COVID 

If we weren’t experiencing this outbreak, Korea’s Ministry of Education would have hired new English teachers for the Fall 2020 intake, to replace the teachers who left. Teachers also would have been able to travel this summer to their home countries or travel elsewhere. One thing led to another: the pandemic happened, which led to a hiring freeze, remaining teachers taking on almost double the work and some schools left without an English teacher for this year.

The next worry is that with the February intake contracts (March start date) coming to an end in a few months, there may be more teachers leaving Korea or transferring to bigger cities. Smaller towns will be at a disadvantage, with remaining teachers perhaps having to teach at additional schools. The deadline for Fall intakes (August start time) is fast approaching. Though it’s in February of 2021, if the pandemic and quarantine regulation continues, this will limiting employment of new English Teachers. One reason for this is new teachers have to provide their own quarantine cost (1.4 to 2.1 million won, approx. $1,800). Many schools in rural town may no longer have a native English Teacher for the Spring semester. We can only hope the climate of the world begins to change for the better so the fall intake is more successful. Otherwise, many English teaching positions throughout Korea may be left vacant. 

On the Bright Side – There’s Always A Bright Side

None of this is anyone’s fault. We are living in very unpredictable times. I want to encourage any teachers in Korea facing some of these circumstances to be strong, pursue your hobbies, check-in with trusted people if you feel overwhelmed and make sure you’re not being taken advantage of in any way (working outside of your contract boundaries). And for teachers who want to come to Korea and teach for EPIK, hang in there. I hope you are able to come and participate in an opportunity of a lifetime. As for me, I am staying hopeful about the future and always looking for ways to work smarter and not harder.

These circumstances have taught me that challenges create opportunities for growth. Though I am currently assigned to teach in four schools this contract year, instead of two schools (my first contract year), I must say, the overwhelming feeling disappears when I enter the classroom. The eagerness of the students: their questions, curious looks, and desire to learn silence the noise happening behind the scenes. My 200+ elementary and middle age students are the best source of inspiration a teacher could ask for.