I couldn’t wait to finally talk about what it’s like to work in travel schools. Prior to coming to Korea, and teaching for EPIK, I hadn’t read any information online about teachers teaching at more than one school or the term, “travel school.” It wasn’t until I arrived in my rural town and started teaching that I learned some schools are really small and therefore only have one English class with an EPIK English teacher every week. 

Advantages and Disadvantages of Working in Travel Schools in Rural Korea

Most people who come to teach English in Korea want to live in Seoul, the country’s capital city, or other big cities. The city life offers the ease and comfort of department stores, a convenient transportation system, a large foreign community and many things to do. You may be wondering what would incentivize someone to work in rural Korea? If you guessed compensation, you guessed correctly. Well, that’s just one of many benefits. 

There is a salary increase for working in rural towns and extra compensation for each additional travel school. Yes, most teachers teaching in rural towns will have to teach in at least one travel school. 

The other benefits of working in travel schools in rural towns are more intangible. One thing I like is class sizes tend to be smaller, giving teachers time to learn names, develop stronger relationships and give students one-on-one time. Also, the working environment has always been pleasant. The students are sweet and very curious about who I am. It helps that I’ve always had easy-going co-teachers.

Co-teaching dynamics vary depending on the class. I am the main teacher for all my travel school classes. The Korean co-teachers are either homeroom teachers or one of the teachers with a stronger command of English. They assist by providing translation, classroom management and help reinforce a positive classroom environment. It’s fun to see them participate in the lesson activites.

One of the disadvantages of working in a rural town is you may have to work at more than one travel school. It becomes more challenging if each school is using a different textbook for the same grade, so lesson planning can take more time. It helps that lesson topics often overlap.

Another disadvantage is the commute to and from the travel school. If a coworker doesn’t offer to carpool, you may have to take an early bus to get there and maybe take a late bus to go back home. And if the bus times don’t align with your schedule, you may have to take a taxi, which isn’t cheap. It costs 30% more to ride a taxi within a rural town for 30 minutes than it is to buy a KTX express train ticket to Seoul, that’s about one hour and a half away.

All EPIK teachers have a main school. This school handles all of their administrative needs such as paying their salary, allocating the cost of school lunch, accommodation, scheduling winter and summer camps, etc.

Depending on the number of hours the teacher completes at their main school (which depends on the number of students at the school), a teacher may be assigned to teach at one, two, or even three travel schools. Teaching at three travel schools (along with the mains school, making it four schools in total) isn’t the norm but it’s the reality for some teachers. It will take some getting used to, especially for new teachers and can be a little stressful at times but it’s managable.

The population in rural towns are significantly smaller than that of large cities. It is common to find less than 100 students attending a travel school. With any travel school, a teacher would typically go there once a week, for a full day or half day schedule.

My First Travel School

For the first half of the school semester, I worked at a travel elementary school that had only five or six students attending. It has since closed down but I taught only one class with two six grade students. I loved that class because it was laid back and you could closely focus on the individual students’ needs. My students were kind and full of character.

Lesson planning was easy and my co teacher there was easy to work with. I went there once a week for three hours then took a local bus back to have lunch at my main school. I was lucky that the bus driver at my main school drove me in the mornings. 

My Second Travel School 

Since my first travel school was closed, I started teaching at a new elementary school the following year. I was lucky there too when a staff member was so kind as to offer to pick me up and drop me home. Sometimes I like to bring her a small gift to express my gratitude. 

There was a bus that could get me to the school on time but I missed it one day and took a taxi. Though it’s a short ride there, I think they felt sympathy. Everyone complains about how expensive taxis are in my town. I liked teaching at that school, and still do. I have classes with either three or four students, then a much larger after school class.

I really like this travel school. The students and staff are warm hearted and fun to be around. I have four co-teachers there. After work, sometimes I’m invited to light dinner or a cafe. I really appreciate the accommodation they’ve made for me in the cafeteria. Whenever they make jjajangmyeon or bap, they set aside a small batch without any pork. They don’t have to do this, even if they’re a small school. Most students don’t have food restrictions so making accommodations is quite uncommon.

The food is also so delicious there. I always eat well. I am all but too happy to say the Korean expression 잘 먹겠습니다 jal meok-ke-sseum-ni-da “I will eat well,” before eating and 잘 먹었습니다 jal meo-geo-sseum-ni-da “I ate well” after eating.

Another reason I really appreciate this school is they introduced me to the Zumba class I attend. I saw the advertisement for the school for several months and was very curious but I never really made an effort to ask questions. Well, life would have it that one of the cooks at this travel school is a student there and now I am too.  

Final Thoughts and Insights 

Teaching at a travel school has given me insight on different learning styles and techniques. Since class sizes are smaller it forces me to think of new ways to teach such as creating more hands-on, total physical response (TPR) activites as oppose to computer based ones. I’m really glad to have this opportunity. 

I don’t know anyone who’s had a bad experience at a travel school. They may have issues with transportation but that’s as far as it goes. Most teachers have expressed feeling very welcomed and comfortable at their travel schools. One of the reasons for this is the lack of foreigners in those towns. It’s very unique for the students to see a foreigner and have an English teacher amongst them. They are also excited to expand their English language skills. I also see it as a privilege to share my knowledge and culture with them.

To all the teachers who have to teach a travel school, come with an open mind and heart. You never know how much of an impact you’re making on your students and the people around you.