Teach English Online to Korean Students -17 Companies Hiring In 2023!

Do you want to teach English online to Korean students?

According to the Korean Times, “English fever” in Korea mainly stems from the belief that pushing children to learn English, especially at an early age, will be a great asset for their future success as national, or maybe even global, leaders.

This means that there is a HUGE demand for online English teaching jobs for Korean students.

Over my time as an online English teacher, I have taught quite a few Korean students and can confirm that they are a great pleasure to teach!

Korean students are polite, hardworking and they place a high level of respect for teachers.

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DISCLAIMER

There may be links to products and services recommended on here that are affiliate links and I may earn if you click on them, AT NO EXTRA cost to you. Hope you find the information here useful! Thanks.

Benefits of Teaching English Online to Korean Students

There are two positive aspects to this, teaching online and then teaching Korean students too.

Here are a few of the benefits I experienced when I was a home based online English tutor for Korean students.

I taught from various part of the world from my laptop
I earned more than $20 an hour
I had the wonderful opportunity of learning a new culture
Korean students are polite, respectful and hardworking
Korean students always pay on time (well mine did anyway)
I worked flexible hours according to my schedule
K-Pop… if you know, you know 🙂

How do I get started if I want to teach English online to Korean students?

Have a 120 hour Teaching English as a Foreign Language ‘TEFL’ certificate
Have a headset* and a laptop
A good internet connection
At least a good proficiency with the English language.

*It is good to have, but I just used my Apple earphones

A Teaching English as a Foreign Language ‘TEFL’ certificate

This is NON-NEGOTIABLE. If you want to teach English online to Korean students the ONLY way a school is going to hire you is if you have some form of teaching qualification.

The good news is, you can get one quick, for a reasonable price, online.

There is a 120hour online course ran by Let’s TEFL which focuses specifically on online teaching and has specific training to ensure your application, resumes, introduction videos for online English recruiters is done right.

The great thing about this TEFL compared to other providers:

It specializes in preparing you to teach English online.
It also prepares you to teach English as a second language.

By the end of the 120-hour TELF certificate, you will have both the qualification and knowledge to teach English as a second language.

As far as I’m aware, Let’s TEFL is the only course available online now which comes with a whole extra video module with specific training for teaching online – presented by an actual teacher.

Note- I have taken the course myself.

Without further due, here is a list of places that will hire you to teach English online to Korean students.

Skybel

Skybel is an online school that focuses on the IELTS exam. It prefers teachers with IELTS experience and pays up to $20 an hour.

Global IT

To teach with Global IT you must have a bachelor’s degree and 1-2 years of teaching experience. The pay rate is up to $14 per hour.

3. Tutoring Go

Tutoring Go is a popular Korean online teaching platform which is AUDIO ONLY! #workinyourpyjamas!

Students are all adults and The hourly rate is between $10 and $14 per hour but I have heard of non-native teachers earning much less. Please do your research first.

Also, the great thing about this platform is you don’t have to commit to any hours, you can simply log in and talk. So you basically teach whenever you want

4. Carrot Global

Carrot Global has a focus on adult Korean adult students who want to improve their English language skills. You can teach in many formats such as video lessons or even an audio lesson too.

The pay starts at $13 per hour and but it can go up to $17 per hour after a few months.

5. Global VCC

Global VCC has a focus on Korean teenagers and children. New teachers are normally paid $15 per hour.

Note – They only hire teachers with a North American accent.

5. Boku Tutors

Boku Tutors is an English teaching company that aims to prepare Korean students to study abroad. The students are mainly elementary and high school children looking for conversational practice and also test guidance.

You can earn up to $18 per hour if you are a native English speaker.

6. Nil English

Nil English only hires North American teachers and you need to commit to at least 10 hours a week (at least 2 hours per day for 5 days).

Lessons are conducted over Zoom or Skype and their focus is on Korean children. The average pay is between $12 and $17 per hour.

7. Engliphone

Engliphone offers both video and audio classes to Korean students. The pay is a bit less for audio classed ($17 per hour ) and $20 per hour for video classes.

Note- The great thing about this company is you get a base pay of $13.50 which will be paid to you even if your students don’t show up!

8. Ziktalk

Ziktalk is an app-based Korean online teaching platform that allows you to work from your smartphone.

The great thing about Ziktalk is that it hires both native and non-native teachers providing that you have good proficiency with the English language and have a neutral accent.

The pay starts at $10 per hour but can go up to $15 per hour.

9. Nozlatalk

Nozlatalk is a Korean online teaching company that focuses on adults and college students. The company prefers to hire college students or graduates with an education major, but they hire work from home teachers too.

The pay is around $8-$10 per hour

Ringle

Ringle wages start at USD 15 per hour but can increase up to $25.

Mentor Phone

Mentor Phone wants teachers should be from North America with teaching experience, a university degree, and a TESL/CELTA certificate. The pay is CAD 18 per hour.

You can send your resume with a cover letter and picture along with an introduction video to mentorphone@gmail.com.

English Aloud

English Aloud are based in South Korea, they want American teachers to do 1 to 1 classes with Skype.

Spicus

Spicus are looking for North American teachers with a university education. Target students are government workers, university students, and business professionals. Apparently, they pay $2 for each 10-minute session.

Classo

Classco teaches English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese, German, and Italian to students. They prefer native teachers, but they will hire non-native teachers who have a high proficiency in the English language and teaching experience. Pay is USD 19 per hour.

Seven English
Serious Teachers
Preply

Note- don’t be afraid to find your own private students using FB ads or by posting your services on Korean Facebook groups. That way, when people search for ‘ Korean students looking for English tutor’ your name will come up.

Note 2 – A really good resource to find jobs to teach English to Korean students is here.

Teaching English Online to Korean Students- Common Language Problems Faced

From my personal experience teaching over the years, students from different countries face different language challenges.

Here are a few of the English language challenges my Korean students experienced.

Pronunciation

My Korean students often had difficulties with making a distinction between l and r, p and f, v, and b.

So they would sometimes mix up the letters in a sentence. The phrase ’it is very far’ would become ‘ it is bery par.’

Also in Korean, each letter corresponds to a sound. So a few examples of this are violin becoming ‘biolin’, ‘fish’ becoming ‘pishie’, and ‘lunch’ becoming ‘lunchie’, football – foottabol, etc.

Grammar

My Korean students faced problems with English grammar. The reason for this is the sentence structure of the English language is entirely different from the Korean language.

So for example, my Korean students would say ‘music playing’ rather than ‘playing music’.

Lack of conversational skills

The education system in Korea focuses on preparing Korean students to pass exams. This means when they learn English, they focus on grammar, exam questions, and textbook knowledge and but have little to no conversational skills.

The best thing you can do when you teach English online to Korean students is to focus on conversational English.

Speaking opening and directly

Koreans vary their language depending on who they are communicating with. For example, with someone more senior and someone who is a friend.

This difference doesn’t exist in the English language. So, my Korean students struggle to find a uniformed way of speaking as they found it impolite and against their social norm.

As a result, my Korean students preferred to stay quiet, so they didn’t offend. It would be really helpful for you to advise your Korean students that you won’t get offended by any language mistakes.

Them you can try and teach them to express themselves directly and openly. It will help them greatly when they work or travel abroad.

Online English teaching Korean students- How to Increase Your Rate

I am going to be honest.

There are so many, many online schools out there and some pay better than others.

It can be incredibly demotivating to find out you are going to be paid significantly less than others who may be native speakers or have more experience than you.

I have a solution:

Offer to teach English ALONG WITH A SKILL.

For example, I niched down to become an English IELTS Specialist and Business English Tutor

Why?

Because these two areas are in high demand and students will pay GOOD MONEY to learn how to pass IELTS exams.

Also, working professionals who want to improve their language skills, and climb the corporate ladder, have the money and desire to pay Business English teachers to help.

You essentially fix a specific problem for the student using the English language, so the student pays you more for the privilege of learning how to fix it.

You could also offer to teach:

English + Presentation skills
English vocabulary + conversation skills
English + business skills
English + Pronunciation specific lessons on accent modification
English + TEOFL/SATS/ TOEIC /IELTS

Those are just a few ideas if you are interested to teach English online to Korean students

How to become a Business English Teacher

The Teaching Business English 30 Hour Online Course will train you to become a Business English teacher. You receive personal tutor support, training on lesson plans, and an internationally recognized certificate, and anything you need to know about the job market.

Also, any work experience you have working for a company in an office will help you lots as you can use that experience to help with your lesson plans.

How to become an IELTS Specialist:

If you want to become an IELTS Teacher, take the Teaching IELTS 30 Hour Online course. It trains you on how to become an online IELTS teacher, so you can charge a higher rate.

Once I up-skilled and became an IELTS specialist and Business English, my rate went from $15 per hour to about $40-$65 per hour.

I could work less because I earned more and spend my free time learning how to create other income sources or gallivanting around the countryside on my motorbike.

Ps; If you like adventure travel, let’s connect on Instagram! I want to see your pictures 🙂

Teach English Online Korea- Are You Still Unsure?

From time to time I receive messages from teachers who prefer a bit more training or have specific areas they need training so they can increase their rate quickly.

I recommend you go through all the free information on my blog first and then if you still need some extra guidance,drop me a note. My coaching rate is reasonable and I give discounts to my existing subscribers.

I have course materials, my own lesson plans, and training summarised for anyone that wants to learn how to increase their rate and start finding well paid private students.

But don’t just listen to me, you can have a look at their reviews here and decide for yourself whether it is something you need.

I don’t have time to teach more than 2-3 hours so I intend to train you up and get you ready in 2-3 hours max.

Teaching English to Korean Students- Some tips on How to Succeed

Focus on their career
Be prepared
Pay attention to their reactions
Talk about food
Focus on conversational skills
Focus on their career

Most of my Korean students study English to enhance their career prospects. They are extremely career-driven.

Be sure to ask them before the class about the job they are working in or intend to work in, and tailor your class accordingly.

Be prepared

Korean students are diligent and hardworking and will expect to get real value from their lessons.

So make sure you take the time to prepare some topics beforehand and plan a good lesson.

Pay attention to their reactions

It was really difficult for me to determine when my Korean students were upset or displeased but over time, I realized if you pay attention to their silent reactions, you can discover how they feel.

If they don’t like something, they will pause, nod politely, and agree. However, if they like something, they will smile immediately, nod, and agree. Once you notice the tiny differences, you can enhance your classes.

Learn about the Korean culture

When you are on your journey to discover how to teach English online to Korean students, learning about the Korean culture will help you so much!

Koreans are proud of their K-pop culture and their history. So, it’s an easy way to get a student on your side early on if you demonstrate an interest in these areas.

Talk about food

The fried chicken in Korea is legendary. Or so I am told by my Korean students! I have never been to Korea but I plan to .. because of the fried chicken. Ask your students about Korean cuisine and you will have hours and hours of English teaching material.

Focus on conversational skills

As mentioned above, Korean students don’t really get the chance to practice their conversational skills in school as its Grammar and exam focused.

So, prepare English conversation topics like travel, food, family and you will enhance their language skills tenfold.

I thoroughly enjoyed being an English tutor for Korean students. It gave me the freedom to explore the world while working from my laptop and earn from random parts of the world like Bosnia, Vietnam, and Spain.

You can become an online English tutor for Korean students and teach English from South Africa, Japan, anywhere really! There are plenty of teaching jobs online to Korean students.

Korean students are a pleasure to teach and the pay is decent.

I also saved lots because I eliminated commuting time and costs. Overall I am a much happier person.

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