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Hmm the thing is how it ends up being is highly dependent on your school(s). For Korea, there are public schools and hagwons (private after school academies). I chose the public school route and to do so you'll need to apply through EPIK (English Program in Korea). I think there are other programs but this is the main one. You can do this directly or through a recruiter. I chose the recruiter Canadian Connection just because I wanted a bit more support and guidance but there aren't any advantages or disadvantages between applying directly or with a recruiter as far as I know.

After applying and getting accepted you have to send all your documents which was more expensive than I expected due to having to expedite most things (cost me a total of $300 or so).

Then you fly over to Korea and do a 1-2 week orientation, which will be about Korean culture, some very basic Korean language, how to teach/lesson plan, and how to survive in Korea (setting up bank account, phone, etc). Note that you won't be able to buy your ticket until a month or so before so it can be an expensive upfront cost. You'll get this reimbursed with your first paycheck, which comes every month on the same day. So in addition to the document fees and airplane fee, you'll need enough money to live for 1 month. Many recommend at least $1000 but I spent about $500 the first month and that includes buying tons of stuff for my apartment.

Anyway on the last day of orientation, you meet your co-teacher/handler and they drive you to your apartment, show you your school(s), go to immigration, get a phone, set up a bank account, and do some shopping for necessities. It all depends on your co-teacher though. Mine did alllllll of that in the same afternoon so it was tiring but I'm glad we got it done early.

Then you go to work the next day. This first week was super incredibly stressful as I had to balance unpacking and setting up my apartment and figuring out how to teach and getting used to the textbook and actually teaching lol. I'd say it took me about a month honestly to get settled down and into a routine, after which the stress levels significantly subsided.

JLP vs EPIK

One thing to note is that because I was placed in Jeollanam-do, although you apply through EPIK, it's actually a different government program called JLP (Jeollanam-do Language Program) so my orientation may be different than EPIK's.

The start date for most schools is Feb/Mar but JLP is the only one that starts in April. I purposely chose this on my application because I had just graduated and my diploma took forever to be sent to me so I needed more time to prepare my documents. Region placement isn't guaranteed but I specifically indicated Jeollanam-do as my preference and I feel like I got where I wanted because few people probably indicated it as their preference lol

One benefit of JLP besides the later starting date is that, after your 1 year contract is up you can choose to transfer to any other area within Jeollanam-do (minus Gwangju) instead of renewing at your school. You don't have to prepare documents or really do much work so it's nice if you end up not liking your school/area but are too lazy to do the whole "document, application, interview" thing again.

A note about the co-teacher/handler distinction: It's common in Jeollanam-do for the native teachers to teach alone without a Korean English teacher. In that case your handler is the person who communicates to you what you need to know and who you'd talk to if you have any questions or issues. The only difference is that you don't teach with this person.

Another thing to note about Jeollanam-do is that it's common to have more than 1 school. In my case I have 3. This is my least favorite part of my situation. I really wish I had just 1 or 2 because I really hate my 3rd school sigh. I got placed in elementary schools. Middle and high school is possible but less common, especially high school.

All about my 3 schools

It's different for everyone but I teach at what's called my "main school" on Mondays to Wednesdays. At this school I have 2 co-teachers. 1 is more so my handler because I only teach 1 class with her. This school is a 1 minute walk from my apartment. I teach 3-4 classes a day and each class has about 20 students. I teach grades 3 and 5 and an after school informal class for the teachers at my school.

There's a separate English classroom so the kids come to me. Nice because you can always have the classroom and desks set up a certain way. At my other schools there's no English classroom so I go to each class's room which is less convenient as you have to constantly set things up and the desk arrangement may not be to your liking.

On Thursdays I go to my first travel school that's a 5 minute walk from my apartment. I teach 4 classes (grades 3-6 which are all the possible teachable grades for elementary). Here I have no co-teacher but the homeroom teachers stay in the room to help with management and translation if necessary, though their English level is pretty low (except for the 4th grade homeroom teacher who's English is amazing but I always speak to her and the other teachers at this school in Korean anyway 😂).

On Fridays is what I call my hell travel school which takes 30 min by bus to get to. I only teach 4th grade. Honestly the school isn't that bad. It's just the fact that I teach so many damn classes to so many damn students that I hate it so much. This school, unlike my others, is HUGE. There are actually 3 native English teachers, 1 who is only at that school. 2 of us travel there on Fridays.

So basically, the school day consists of 6 periods, each 40 minutes long. There's a 10 min break between all except 2: after the 2nd period there's a 30 min break and after 4 classes there's lunch. Lunch is provided (you pay for it but can opt out and bring your own if you like).

But this school is so huge there are 2 lunch periods, so I eat during 2nd lunch which means there are 5 classes before lunch. Each class has about 28 students. So imagine 28x6 (I teach all 6 periods), taught almost constantly from 9 AM to 2:30 PM sigh. For my introverted self it's way too much and I'm always dead after this day.

The other reason I dislike it is because it makes it hard to prepare materials that need to be printed and cut out because it's A LOT to prep. So whenever the textbook has a game that needs to be printed I have to come up with something else. Plus at this school, there's no co-teacher and the homeroom teachers don't even stay in the room (even though they're supposed to) so it makes handling the kids harder.

Oh my god I just realized how long this is getting... sorry

Likes and dislikes about teaching

As hinted above it's not bad. There are things I dislike but ultimately it's better than some of the other teachers' situations I've heard of. I was lucky to be placed in a small city instead of the countryside so amenities are easily accessible. Sometimes I actually have a good time with the kids and we have some good laughs haha. With the exception of Fridays, my work load is good so I have plenty of time to lesson plan after classes so I never have to take work home.

Honestly the main thing I like about the job isn't the job itself but the fact that I can comfortably live and make money in Korea, which is where I want to live for the long-term. But if I could do a non-teaching job, I would in a heartbeat because teaching is just not for me. But at the same time it's not completely awful. It's definitely bearable and sometimes even enjoyable.

The things I dislike besides my hell travel school:

Dislike #1: summer/winter camps. This is a 1-2 week thing you have to do at the end of each semester. You have to prep for and it's annoying because there's so much work to do towards the end of the semester in addition to your normal work. My co-teacher didn't help with ANYTHING so I was walking into it fairly clueless. Plus I prepared activities that would require some Korean explanations but she also did nothing except sit at the back during the camp so I struggled to get the kids to understand me. Not sure about others but that was my experience.

Dislike #2: At the beginning you'll go into teaching completely blind. They don't tell you your region and school until during orientation and you don't even know what textbook you'll be using until your first day at work. Orientation is sort of helpful but I still felt like I was completely unprepared to teach. I feel like only recently after it's been 4 months or so do I know what I'm doing haha

A lot of it is trial and error and HIGHLY dependent on your students. In the beginning I tried all sorts of activities and games and ways of teaching to see what works best. For example some classes are so energetic that doing any game where they stand up and move around is difficult and so draining for the teacher, trying to manage everyone. Other classes don't want to participate in ANYTHING (note for some reason this is always the 6th graders, and not just for me. These kids are too cool for school).

Dislike #3: doesn't suit my personality. This isn't the fault of anyone but an important thing to note. I'm highly introverted, pretty low-energy and soft-spoken kind of person who doesn't like acting silly so teaching these young kids is so so so draining. I wish I were dealing with older kids but oh well. If you like kids this won't be an issue for you.

Dislike #4: not being able to speak Korean to the students. Now this is just a gripe I have and most other teachers don't haha. But because I had no idea how to teach when I started, I took the advice of others. During orientation and all my co-teachers highly recommended never speaking Korean to the students which I regret now, as I can speak Korean fairly well and I personally feel like completely removing the native tongue is NOT effective especially for grammar and lower level students. For my classes with co-teachers, it's fine since they do the Korean stuff, but at my travel schools, it'd be easier if I spoke Korean to them sometimes. I personally feel awkward about changing this suddenly this year so next year I'm definitely NOT going to follow that advice and will start to speak some Korean with my students. I learned later on that every teacher I know uses every bit of Korean they know while teaching, usually for classroom management, solving issues and giving instructions. I feel like this is the best way to go but everyone has their own opinion on it. Now it's not like you're going to be speaking Korean the whole class, but a little here and there would benefit the students, hence why Korean teachers tend to be paired with native English teachers in the first place!

Tips for Survival

The number one thing that helps me to get through (especially Fridays) is to not think about it too much. Complaining can be cathartic but too much will just make you bitter and hate your situation even more. I try to hold onto the good times which believe it or not I do have even at my hell travel school. I also try my best to cater my lessons to my students because when they're participating and cooperating and having fun, it's so much easier on me. I've come to know, for example, that my 6th graders absolutely ABHORE singing the songs in the textbook so I never make them do that. I may plan some other kind of activity with it, like a listening activity, but I don't make them sing. It's painful for everyone involved.

My next tip is to ASK ALL THE QUESTIONS. I've heard this from other teachers as well: your co-teacher isn't exactly great in terms of communication. I always have to ask what her plans are for the lesson, how we'll split the roles, what I need to prepare. Not to mention other things like when are all the holidays and special school days where there are no English classes (sometimes the kids have full day events or go on field trips), what are all the deductions from my paycheck, etc. If there's anything you want to know, don't wait and just ask because your co-teacher will likely never tell you until it's like right about to happen and then you're not prepared.

On a similar note, one of the things that freaked me out before I started teaching was I saw some people mention that your schedule can change suddenly and you might end up teaching a class you weren't prepared for. While it's true that the schedule does change suddenly, it's not an issue for me because I prepare for ALL my classes a week in advance and I highly recommend getting in this routine too. During the first week you'll likely be doing introductions (talking about yourself) so take this time to get ahead with planning, then every week make sure you're always prepping for the next week's classes (you have to stay from 9-5 regardless of if you teach or not so might as well put that time to use). I'm never afraid of changing schedules because of that! I'm not even fazed.

Another thing to note. Start using korshare.org and waygook.org ASAP. These 2 sites are where other teachers in Korea share their lesson plans and materials so you'll have an easier time prepping since you don't have to make everything from scratch. And you can search by textbook. Waygook requires paying but it's worth it for me as there's more materials on there than korshare but if you're not sure if you want to pay, start with korshare. Me and some friends from orientation share the same account so you can get more bang for your buck by splitting it among a couple people like that.

My standard procedure, by the way, for teaching is:

An introduction or review PowerPoint (go over vocabulary and key expressions and do some drilling)

Textbook. (This tends to be an interactive CD that you'll show via TV to the students. They also have physical textbooks and a separate blank notebook. I highly recommend downloading the textbook CDs on a usb or something so you can access it anywhere)

Game/activity to get them practicing the vocab and key expressions. Sometimes I use the game in the textbook (there's usually one per class) but for some reason or other I find the game tends to not be suitable for my students so I prep something else)

I use korshare and/or waygook for the 1st and 3rd steps, editing the materials to suit my tastes and students. The main change I make is instructions for games/activities. I try to explain every last detail via PowerPoint as visually as possible so they can understand. Most of the PowerPoints you'll get from those websites don't have sufficient explanations.

Having this kind of routine is good for the students too because they know what to expect from you every class. Occasionally, I do special lessons, like I did a 4th of July and Halloween one. Sometimes I just do a whole class of playing a review sort of game. I do this because often the amount of lessons I have to do are way less than the total number of classes for the semester so there's tons of time for that kind of thing.

I like living in Korea a lot because I feel like it suits my personality I guess. For me, the pros outweigh the cons so I plan on living here for a long time (at least 5 years, but who knows). Anyway, here’s my opinion on the pros and cons.

The Pros:

Convenient public transportation, especially in cities and larger towns, but less so in rural areas. I haaaate driving so living in an area where I can move around easily without driving is very important to me.

Convenience in general. I live in a small city, so I’m not sure about life in rural areas, but for me, grocery stores, bus stops, convenience stores, the bus terminal, my work place, the farmers’ market, etc are all within walking distance. Larger department stores, a mall, and the train station are a 10-30 minute bus ride away. In comparison, where I used to live in Florida, you’d have to drive for 10-15 minutes just to buy some groceries.

Plus, shipping is cheap and fast, so even if I can’t go get something in person, I can easily buy it online and get it in 1-3 days with free (or cheap, usually under 2,500 won) shipping.

Can easily find a job (as a native English teacher). As a recent graduate, I appreciate that I can easily find a job and make a decent salary. It’s not the best job in the world and not what I want to do forever, but it’s a good way to make a living while I try to figure out what I’d like to do later. (On the flip side, it’s kind of hard to find a job doing something else because of visa issues so that sucks).

Mountains. I like hiking and everything just looks so beautiful to me, as someone who lived most of my life on flat land surrounded only by beaches :P

“정이 많다” (A lot of generosity/kindheartedness). It’s kind of hard to explain what exactly 정 is in English, but it’s a big part of Korean culture. In most places, whenever I needed help, people helped me, and people share stuff without me asking. Examples:

When I went hiking once, I didn’t bring mosquito repellent, and I was swatting them away like crazy. A lady stopped and told me to use some of her repellent, so I was able to hike in comfort after that :) Later on, so many people gave me food too lol even though I didn’t need it.

I stayed at a hostel in Jeju-do and told the owner that the day before was my birthday (just making conversation), so he made me breakfast, including 미역국 (seaweed soup), which is traditionally eaten on one’s birthday.

I also met some older ladies while traveling around Korea who let me stay in their homes and cooked for me and stuff for free when I later visited where they lived.

Surrounded by Korean. Legitimately, speaking and hearing Korean just makes me so happy. It’s a fun language for me and I feel like I can express my thoughts and feelings better in Korean than English.

The Cons:

Always a foreigner. Despite how well you speak Korean, how well you assimilate, or even if you become a Korean citizen, if you have an obviously non-Korean appearance, you can never actually blend in. I stand out so much as a black person that some weekends, I don’t leave my house because I’m not in the mood to be stared at. Ironically, I’m a “blend in, stay in the background” kind of person so some days I can’t handle the attention.

Also since I’m vegetarian, I feel even more like an outsider since eating together is usually how people hang out and it’s hard for me to eat out because of meat and fish being in so many dishes.

Lonely. Related to the above, because you’re a foreigner, it can be really lonely. I feel this the most at work actually. Even though I can speak Korean okay, during lunch I can’t keep up with the conversations enough to contribute so I usually just eat alone in silence surrounded by everyone… 

It can also be hard to make friends because Koreans tend to be group-oriented, meaning once they have their little group, it can be hard to join it. But I feel like once you find your own little group, it won’t be as bad haha (still working on the friends thing myself).

Smoking. At least where I live, there are usually some men smoking outside of a lot of buildings and I just hate the smell of smoke so much.

Obsession with appearance. I’m a woman who doesn’t wear makeup at all, and on more than one occasion, other women have asked me why I don’t wear makeup etc. Interestingly, I spoke to an older Korean lady about this once and she also complained, saying that she hates makeup but only wears it at work because her boss and coworkers say stuff like “Were you in a rush this morning? You look unprofessional” etc when she doesn’t wear makeup.

Working way too hard. As a native English teacher, I’m kind of immune to this (my job is much more relaxed than the Korean teachers), but being stressed and overworking is just a normal everyday thing.

Everyone who can speak English will speak English. Just a pet peeve as a Korean language learner but it’s harder than you’d think to practice speaking Korean. This is why I tend to talk to older people more than people around my age (20s). From what I’ve seen so far, older people usually don’t know English and they don’t try. People in their 20s usually want to practice English.

I don’t think that playing the first game is necessary to enjoy the second... and considering some of the bugs they are still ironing out with importing game 1 saves, it might even be a bit easier to get started fresh on Deadfire without any attachments to previous world states. 

But that being said... there’s so much lore to absorb for this world, it’s really hard for me to picture playing it without already having a basic understanding of the events of the first game. Deadfire *does* have a lot of helpful tooltips to explain things to the player, but... I personally kept referencing the wiki while fixing my custom legacy because there was just so much that I struggled to fully remember, there was just *so much.* I do very much believe you’ll enjoy the game either way (I love Dragon Age and Divinity, so we’re pretty on the same page here!) but I guess you’ll have to decide if you’ll feel a little lost or dissatisfied not having a personal experience of the first game. 

Particularly if you’re into these types of games for the character interaction aspect... I’m coming into 2 already in love with the characters that I made friends with in the first game. And that history I shared with them is very important to me in how I interact with them now. Sure, they’ll fill you in on how you know them and remind you of some of the stuff you would have done or talked about in the first game... but it’s really different having actually quote-unquote been there.

So I guess my recommendation is to play the first game? If story and characters matter to you, it’s so much more satisfying to have made those choices and character interactions yourself. And it really isn’t that long if you just do the main quest and companion storylines. Aaaand honestly it might be worth it to give Deadfire time to get another patch or two in before you jump into it. 

But if you have your reasons for not wanting to play the first one--then rest assured that I still think you should play Deadfire! Very much! It’s an amazing, beautiful game and despite some kinks has still improved so much over what I loved about the first one.

i wanna play it so bad but i have to finish the first game, i kept creating new characters and played over like 160 hours but never finished the game lmao

I know the feels. I played through like 75% of the way several times before I finally made myself commit to finishing a playthrough. Which happened right around the time the sequel was announced because I was like OKAY I HAVE TO FINISH IT to have a save game to import.

BUT my game glitched in a way that prevented me from completing Eder’s quest properly. And I never managed to talk myself into playing through to the end again after that. So, I might end up using the no-save-import custom options for the sake of having all my companions’ storylines the way I want them to be...