Top 5 things to pack when moving to South Korea

Are you moving to South Korea and not sure what to pack?

THE TOP FIVE LIST

1. Bed Sheets

2. Your Favourite Products

3. Deodorant

4. Advil Cold & Sinus

5. Your Favourite Non-perishable Foods

Your E2 visa has arrived and your flight is booked. Now it's time to pack. Here is a list of what I think are important things to take. Keep in mind, this a highly developed country and you will be able to get, more or less, anything you want.

1. Bed Sheets

This really took us by surprise when we first arrived at our officetel (What Koreans call small apartments- a combination of 'office' and 'hotel').

In South Korea, beds dress a bit differently than they do in the Western World. In Canada, beds like to wear a tight fitting bottom sheet, then cover with two additional layers. Normally a comforter or feather duvet (depending on the season). My beds have always dressed well and have usually opted for subdued, natural tones.

In South Korea, beds dress loosely, scantily, even flashy. We found our mattress lying naked, covered only with a loose bed mat & matching comforter. The mattress was exposing itself on both sides. To top this off, our mattress was wearing a bright pink garment with flashy blue designs. Luckily, with a little help from our co-teachers, we were able to order some more appropriate bedclothes.

***Side Note*** You may also want to pack some full-size towels. Koreans use, what we would consider, hand towels to dry off after a shower. I have grown used to these small towels and even prefer them to full-size ones. A lot of Westerners don't, so you may want to consider packing 1 or 2 big towels.

2.Your Favourite Products

If there are any specialty products you like to use for your skin, hair, or body - make sure to take them with you.

I am a big fan of Green Beaver products. I filled my suitcase with deodorant, facial cream, shampoo, conditioner, hand-cream, sunscreen, and lip balm. My only regret is I didn't pack enough to last the whole year. Green beaver is a fantastic Canadian company that uses wild, organic Canadian products. Their stuff is so natural you can eat it. Oatmeal facial cream, yum.

I also packed 2 bottles of Thayers Witch Hazel. I consider this to be the fountain of youth regarding skin care. I love it so much. Whether your skin is dry, oily, pimply, or blotchy, this stuff will fix and refresh your face.

3. Deodorant

Most Koreans don't sweat or stink to the same extent as Westerners. My Korean friends don't even wear deodrant and they smell fantastic, even in 40°C+ weather. Josh and I, on the other hand, don't. Pack a lot.

4. Advil Cold & Sinus

If possible, I always choose a natural approach to health: drinking lots of water, eating healthy foods with Vitamin C, and including fresh garlic in daily meals. However, you may still get sick, especially when you are exposed to the monster flu bugs that live in South Korea. They don't carry Advil here. When we got sick during our first month it was difficult to get the type of medicine with which we were familiar. Apparently, our local drug store carries Neocitron. Unfortunately, they had sold out during flu season, when we needed it.

You should also pack peptobismol, Buckleys, Advil Gel Caps, and whatever else you may need. I am sure you can find most of these products, or their equivalents, in South Korea. But, you probably don't want to be running around from pharmacy to pharmacy and calling the tourist help line translation bureau when you are suffering from diarrhea.

5.Your favourite non-perishable foods

I have had many conversations with ex-pats about the absence of good cheese in South Korea. Yes, you can buy processed cheese, and cheese sticks galore. But, it is very difficult to find a nice gouda and nearly impossible to find feta. For my birthday, my mother sent me a bottle of Parmesan and a bottle of Romano. As far as shaker bottle cheeses go, these are quite tasty. They aren't fresh, but they are the next best thing. Josh's mother also sent me some rennet so I can make my own cheese.

If you are like me, and cannot survive without cheese, I recommend packing some of the high quality, bottled, hard variety. If you're ambitious, some rennet. Other things to consider packing (for those moments when you want to be less than healthy):

• Kraft Dinner (or as the Americans say :Mac&Cheese)
• Salad Dressing (creamy caesar, ranch)
• Ginger Ale (you can't get it here)
• Crackers (Korean crackers are usually coated with sugar)

You will find many great products when you move to South Korea. Products you will probably be stuffing into your suitcase when you eventually return to your home country. 

However, there are things you will really miss and really wish you had. Hopefully this list will help you to pack smart and, when you arrive, maybe even ease the product separation anxiety from which many of us ex-pats suffer.

*** Side note*** If you live in the USA or close to the USA/Canada border (like my family) you can ask someone to send you a medium flat rate box of goodies using the US Postal Service for under 50 USD.

Thanks Mom :) 

Want to teach English at a Public School in South Korea? TAKE CELTA FIRST.

Whether you have just graduated with a Bachelor Degree or you are between jobs and looking for a year of new experiences and adventures, South Korea is a great place to go. It is easy to secure a job (assuming you meet the basic qualifications: you speak English, you have a Bachelor Degree & some sort of TESOL certificate, and you have a clean criminal record).

Within a few months of job seeking you can find yourself boarding a plane for Seoul. My husband and I started looking for teaching jobs in South Korea in early January 2012 and we were settled and working on the Asian peninsula by mid-March of the same year.

It is not surprising that people come in droves to South Korea to teach English. The money is good, accommodation and round-trip airfare are provided, and a year experiencing a new and exciting culture is offered. In order to make the most out of this experience and to save a significant amount of stress, I highly recommend taking a quality TESOL course. The Ministry of Education in South Korea has recently changed their qualifications for NETs (Native English teachers -- that's you). Until 2010, all you needed was a Bachelor Degree. Now NETs must have some sort of TESOL certificate.

***Side Note***

There are many reasons why teaching in the public school system in South Korea is preferable to teaching in a private school(hagwon). Instead of taking up space explaining these reasons - I will share this entertaining video from Eat Your Kimchi that sums it up rather well.

If you want to teach at a public school make sure you get a high quality certificate. Many teachers opt for an online TESOL course. Why? It's easy, cheap, and if you have proof of enrollment you can secure a teaching job and  finish the course once you arrive in South Korea. By taking an online TESOL course you will be cheating yourself and your students out of a valuable educational opportunity. Although some online courses may have value, in order to be best prepared for classroom teaching you should have actual classroom teaching experience.

There are many different certificates you can take for English Language Training. I did my homework and found CELTA to be the best course.

In 2010, I took CELTA at LSC Toronto.If you take a course like CELTA you will have the opportunity to teach real students in a real classroom while being observed by your fellow students and your CELTA instructors. This experience will help you to be confident and prepared when you start teaching. Bare in mind, this course will dominate every minute of your life for 4 weeks, set you back 2400 CAD, cause you an incredible amount of stress, leave you with invaluable language teaching knowledge, and, more than likely, some great friends.

One of the great things about this course is that it not only qualifies you to teach in any public school in South Korea, it qualifies you to teach in countries all over the globe. This course gives you a basic knowledge of classroom management and English language instruction. Teaching English as an additional language is very different than teaching anything else and taking a course like CELTA gives you the tools you need to have a successful first year teaching. Teaching English is not easy and merely speaking the language does not qualify someone to teach it.

Working in South Korea can be a great experience and I recommend it as a way to save money, experience a new culture, and meet new people. However, while you are in South Korea, the majority of your time is actually spent teaching. The type of experience you have will be directly related to how much you like or dislike teaching. How much you like or dislike teaching will be directly related to how successfully you teach your classes. 

All this being said, it is not impossible for an individual to teach English well without a TESOL course like CELTA. Some people are naturally gifted in teaching, have dynamic speaking skills, and ooze with charisma. And, even if that is not the case, it is possible to develop teaching skills and style over time. Internet resources aimed at NETs, specifically www.waygook.org, can aid a new teacher in this process.

I am not saying that by coming to South Korea without a certificate you are doomed to a year of misery. I'm also not saying that by taking this course you will morph into a star teacher. What I am saying is that your experience will be significantly better the more prepared you are. Taking a quality TESOL course is, at the very least, a  step in the right direction if you want to teach well while living here.

I could have come to South Korea and started teaching at a public high school without the stress and cost of CELTA, but I'm glad I didn't.

For further reading, check out this article which I found highly amusing: Don't do the CELTA