(upbeat music)
- Good morning, ITA, my name is Perlie,
and I will be doing the story takeover for you today,
showing you what it's like to live in Busan, South Korea.
So let's go!
It's currently 8:30 the morning.
I am walking to school.
So everyday it's about a 15 minute walk.
Yeah, so it is right in the city where I live and work.
So a little bit about me.
I am 24 years old, from Los Angeles, California.
I moved to Busan, South Korea, in early February of 2021.
So I've been living here for about three months now.
So yeah, finally getting over that...
The adjustment period of moving to a new country.
But yeah, I got my total certification the summer of 2020,
so like, amidst the pandemic thing, but...
You know, super amazing, super convenient.
Could do your tasks at your own pace.
So yeah, learned a lot.
So it is wash time, and I'm in the bathroom,
so I could film this privately.
But yeah, just brushed my teeth
because it is part of the culture here
to what brush after every meal, no matter where you are.
So started doing that.
So yeah, for my working hours.
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays:
my working hours are 9:00 AM to 6:15 PM.
And Tuesday/Thursdays, it is from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM.
This is an example of one of the classrooms.
As you might've seen earlier,
our school isn't in a typical school setting.
It's in, like, a corporate building
that takes place on the second, fourth,
fifth, and sixth floors.
And we are actually right across the street
from the Lotte Giants baseball stadium,
so we get a great view of it from our classrooms.
It's pretty cool.
So this is one of two teacher's rooms in our school.
This is where we come to plan and grade stuff.
So there are co-workers who all happen to be
ITA alumni as well.
Say hi!
This is just a sneak peek
of the fruits and vegetables in the grocery store.
So generally, the cost of living in Korea
is cheaper than in the United States,
but fruits and vegetables prices are a little steeper
than what we're used to.
(metallic screeching)
And so entering the apartment.
So little place for all of your shoes.
This is where I keep my recyclables
that I need to take out very soon.
And so, yeah, this is a little apartment.
It is a studio, so it does not a lot of room,
but it's just me, one person, so it's totally fine.
Wallpaper is, you know, a little ahead of my time,
but, you know, I'm...
It's growing on me.
So bathroom.
It is called a wet room, or essentially,
the shower is all in one place in the bathroom.
So one of the biggest perks of South Korea
is that your accommodation and housing
is all paid for, rent-free.
Also, when I moved in here,
the apartment came with, you know, the necessities,
such as fridge, hot plates, bed.
It also came with the TV, dresser, closet...
The couch, literally picked up from the dumpster downstairs.
Other than that, everything was, essentially,
bought on my own.
To be honest, it is difficult, you know,
not knowing the native language
of the country that you live in.
You know, going to restaurants or, you know,
the store or just anywhere in public,
can't really read any of the signs.
Oftentimes, people do approach speaking Korean.
You know, I just don't know what they're saying.
So yeah, it could definitely be a struggle.
But as for getting away with not knowing any Korean,
let's just say translation apps have been my best friend.
Yes, I do have a bachelor's degree.
It actually is a requirement for you to have one
in order to teach English abroad
in the country of South Korea.
So yeah, I have a degree in economics
with a minor in environmental science and policy.
I also have a teaching credential in elementary education.
So I'd always been interested in, you know,
living abroad, one way or another, for a while now.
You know, I figure, you know, I'm still young.
Before I have to settle down into a career,
you know, take the opportunity to live abroad.
Actually, shortly after I graduated college in 2019,
I had accepted an offer to teach English
in summer camps all around the country of Italy.
I did find this also through ITA and...
But you do not need a TEFL certificate to do this job.
So this was to occur during the summer of 2020,
and then obviously the pandemic happened.
It all got canceled.
I wound up spending that summer
taking the online TEFL course, and yeah...
So my biggest questions were,
"How did I find my job,"
and, "How long did it take to find my job?"
So shortly after I completed my TEFL course
in August of 2020,
I reached out to my advisor that ITA assigned to me,
who was a great help.
She gave me a list of recruiters
that specifically worked in South Korea,
so I wound up working with several of them.
Each of them, you know, a very big help.
Ultimately, I had four job offers in the country.
The one that I did wind up taking in Busan, South Korea,
was with Teacher Tech.
So it was super great, super easy,
lots of help and resources all through ITA.
(waves crashing)
Ultimately, the largest selling point for me
to go towards the hagwon route
as opposed to the public school route
was preference in location.
So I believe the only things you truly, really need
to get to South Korea are a bachelor's degree,
a TEFL certificate,
and to be a citizen of either the United States,
the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland...
So it is time for me to go to bed
to get ready for the school day tomorrow.
But if you've made it this far in the takeover,
thank you so much for tuning in.
If you have other questions,
I will leave my main Instagram accounts below,
so you could ask me any questions you want over there.
But for now, thank you so much for watching.
Good night.
(upbeat music)