Support through the move
“GO ELMS made a big move feel manageable. They helped me understand the timeline, prepare my documents, and feel ready for my interview and arrival in Korea.”
— Andrea
Teaching in South Korea
Make your next year one worth talking about.
Live in South Korea, earn a salary, and experience everyday life somewhere new while teaching English. GO ELMS helps turn that possibility into a clear, supported path.
Starts with a brief eligibility check No documents needed to start Personally reviewed Free for candidates
The opportunity
More than another job after graduation.
For graduates ready to do something different, teaching in South Korea can provide a paid year abroad, professional experience, and a chance to explore a new part of the world. In partnership with Korean schools, GO ELMS helps qualified candidates find relevant teaching jobs.
Submit your initial profile
Submit a short form and résumé. Passport, diploma, and background-check documents are not requested at this stage.
We qualify and prepare your profile
GO ELMS reviews your qualifications, identifies gaps, and prepares your profile for relevant teaching opportunities.
Find relevant teaching jobs
In partnership with our Korean counterparts, we connect you with teaching opportunities that fit your qualifications and goals.
Twenty years of South Korea experience
GO ELMS has partnered with reputable Korean schools for more than 20 years. In partnership with our Korean counterparts, we find teaching jobs that fit your qualifications and goals.
About GO ELMS
We have lived the South Korea experience.
Hi! We’re Danielle and Rico. We moved to South Korea in 2007 and loved it so much that we started helping others make the move too. While living in Korea, we worked at private schools, universities, and international schools.
We fell in love with Korea and the lives we built there, so we began bringing others to teach. Over the last 20 years, we have helped hundreds of people find dream jobs and have the adventure of a lifetime while living in a free apartment and earning a living wage.
Initial readiness
What qualified candidates need.
These are the requirements to begin your South Korea teaching application.
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An eligible passport Applicants from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom (including Scotland), Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand are invited to apply.
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A completed bachelor's degree A valid four-year bachelor's degree is required. Art, English, engineering—any major is eligible.
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A passport with sufficient validity If your passport expires within approximately 18 months, begin the renewal process early.
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A clean background check You need a clean national criminal background check to qualify for an E-2 visa. Minor traffic violations are generally not an issue.
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Availability for a one-year contract Most teaching contracts require an approximately one-year commitment.
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Location flexibility Considering locations beyond Seoul generally increases the range of available opportunities.
Who can apply
Applicants from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom (including Scotland), Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand are invited to apply.
Drawn from the research file's summary of EPIK's published eligibility guidance (citizenship list, mandatory bachelor's degree, TEFL/TESOL/CELTA condition for non-education degrees) and its warning that these are programme-specific and must not be presented as universal Korea rules. That is why no nationality list or certificate-hours figure appears in this copy.
Confirm with the recruiting partner: the complete candidate requirements they actually apply — nationality, degree, TEFL, age, health, experience — before any of this section is presented as GO ELMS's own list.
Benefits
Teach, earn, and live in South Korea.
Monthly pay begins at ₩2.1 million. Your teaching package includes free housing, a flight to South Korea, national health insurance, pension contributions, and severance.
Housing
Free housing is included with your teaching position.
National health insurance
Eligible teachers enroll in Korea's national health insurance system.
Pension
Your employment package includes employer and employee pension contributions.
Severance
Receive a one-month service bonus at the end of a successful year-long contract.
A one-way flight
Receive a one-way flight to South Korea.
Salary
Monthly pay begins at ₩2.1 million.
Benefits wording is limited to the five items the April 2026 correspondence recorded, each labelled as partner-described and variable, per the handoff's instruction to label variable partner-provided benefits and keep unresolved claims out of public-ready copy.
The planning range is based on EPIK's official Fall 2026 public-school pay scale, updated May 4, 2026. It is labeled as a benchmark rather than a partner salary. The current recruiter's actual range remains an open launch question.
Preparing to teach in Korea
Teaching in South Korea requires an E-2 visa.
The best part of obtaining an E-2 visa is the simplicity of the paperwork. GO ELMS supports you with collecting documents in your home country. Your employer submits them to the Korean government, and you pick up your visa at the nearest Korean consulate.
Find and accept a teaching job
GO ELMS works with Korean school partners to find a teaching job that fits your qualifications. Once you accept an offer, the visa process begins.
Collect and submit your documents
GO ELMS helps you collect the paperwork required by your school, including your diploma copy and national criminal background check.
Collect your visa
Your school processes the visa application. Once it is ready, you collect your E-2 visa from the Korean consulate nearest you.
Two common E-2 categories
E-2-1 generally covers foreign-language instructors at private schools or academies. E-2-2 generally covers qualifying public-school teaching assistants. The responsible Korean diplomatic mission may require additional documents.
Public summary based on Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs consular guidance reviewed September 2026. Requirements must be confirmed with the Korean diplomatic mission responsible for the applicant's jurisdiction.
How it works
From “what if?” to South Korea.
GO ELMS secures your interviews with our Korean partner schools and assists with collecting visa paperwork, reviewing your contract, and answering practical questions. Your Korean employer submits documents, purchases your flight, and secures your housing.
Submit your profile
Provide basic qualifications, availability, and a résumé.
YouGO ELMS qualifies your profile
We review your qualifications, identify gaps, and assess readiness for current or future opportunities.
GO ELMSChoose a relevant opportunity
GO ELMS shares teaching opportunities that fit your qualifications and goals.
GO ELMS & youInterview and offer
Korean school partners manage interviews, job offers, and employment decisions.
Korean school partnerDocuments and the visa
Advancing candidates prepare the required authenticated documents and complete the applicable visa process.
You & the authoritiesTravel and arrival
Travel, housing handover, orientation, and the contract start follow the school's schedule.
School
Estimated timeline
The process typically takes three to four months. Candidates should begin four to five months before their intended start date because hiring cycles and document processing times vary.
Three-to-four months is the April 2026 partner statement; the four-to-five-month advance-application guidance and the seasonal-intake point come from the research file's summary of the public-school programme timeline and comparable recruiters.
Confirm with the partner which stages they own versus the school, and what feedback candidates receive after handoff (current-state decision 4). Step 4's wording depends on that answer.
Initial eligibility check
Start with five questions.
Complete a brief check before opening the full candidate form.
Step 1 of 2 — less than a minute
Check your initial readiness
Your answers are not stored or transmitted. This step identifies basic requirements before you complete the candidate form.
Which passport would you use for your application?
Have you completed a bachelor's degree?
Where are you with a passport?
Could you commit to roughly one year in South Korea?
How soon could you realistically move?
No identifying information is collected at this step.
This gate is a design proposal. It keeps the résumé upload away from casual traffic, filters obvious spam, and gives candidates who are not ready an immediate answer. It is a filter, not an eligibility decision — a "not yet" here is advisory and anyone can still email.
In production the full form should live on its own page rather than being revealed in place. Configure the selected form service's spam filtering, duplicate controls, file-type limits, and file-size limits before activation.
Step 2 of 2 — about 5 minutes
Continue to the candidate application
The full application and résumé upload are handled through GO ELMS's secure application form.
Open the candidate application
Upload only your résumé. Do not submit a passport, diploma, background check, apostille, health record, banking information, password, or other identity document.
Prefer email?
Send your name, location, degree, relevant experience, availability, and résumé to begin an initial review.
candidates@go-elms.com · Please do not email passport, diploma, background-check, health, or banking documents.
Teacher stories
Teachers who made the move.
Stories from teachers who built a life and career in South Korea with GO ELMS.
Clear guidance
“I had a lot of questions about housing, my flight, and the visa paperwork. GO ELMS explained each step clearly and helped me understand what to expect.”
— Jason
Finding the right fit
“They took time to understand what I wanted from a teaching job and connected me with an opportunity that matched my experience and goals.”
— Molly
Confidence before departure
“Moving abroad was intimidating at first, but I felt supported from the interview process through getting my visa and preparing to leave.”
— Nicole
Frequently asked questions
What candidates need to know.
Do I need a degree?
Yes. A valid four-year bachelor's degree is required. Art, English, engineering—any major is eligible.
Do I need teaching experience?
No. Teaching experience is not required. If you have experience, it can help us negotiate higher pay.
Do I need a TEFL, TESOL, or CELTA certificate?
No. A TEFL, TESOL, or CELTA certificate is not required. Like other education experience, it can increase your monthly salary.
How long does the whole process take?
The process typically takes three to four months. Begin four to five months before the intended start date to account for hiring cycles and document processing. All timelines are estimates.
What documents will I eventually need?
Common requirements include an apostilled national criminal background check, an apostilled diploma copy, and a passport with sufficient validity. Exact requirements depend on the program, nationality, and residence history. These documents are not collected during initial GO ELMS screening.
Can I choose where in Korea I live?
Candidates may state location preferences, but placements depend on available openings and school decisions. Flexibility beyond Seoul generally increases available options.
What does GO ELMS charge me?
Nothing. Initial screening, résumé review, candidate preparation, and teaching-job matching are free to candidates.
Is the process fully free?
You may pay small fees to order a background check, apostille a document, or travel to your consulate to pick up a visa. You never pay GO ELMS anything, and we advise you on the most cost-effective way to collect your paperwork.
What is my salary?
Monthly pay begins at ₩2.1 million. Your written employment offer confirms the exact pay and terms for your position.
Is a job guaranteed?
No. Korean school partners make hiring decisions, and immigration authorities make visa decisions. Once candidates move to the interview process, GO ELMS has a 95% hire rate for teachers we recommend.
Who sees my information?
Only the authorized GO ELMS screening team sees an initial submission. GO ELMS uses it to match you with relevant teaching opportunities and contacts you about next steps.
Why choose GO ELMS?
Danielle and Rico have lived and worked in South Korea since 2007, with experience in private schools, universities, and international schools. For more than 20 years, GO ELMS has helped hundreds of teachers find opportunities in Korea through trusted Korean school partners.
Our role
Clear responsibilities at every stage.
We do
- Explain the teaching opportunity and process
- Screen qualifications and review résumés
- Identify readiness gaps and preparation steps
- Obtain approval before each introduction
- Connect qualified candidates with relevant Korean school partners
We do not
- Employ teachers or operate a school
- Give immigration or legal advice, or act as your lawyer or adviser
- Decide interviews, offers, contracts, or placements
- Issue or influence visas
- Pass your details to anyone without your separate consent
Mirrors the professional-boundary language required by the handoff and the area guide: no individualised immigration advice, no implication that GO ELMS is the employer, school, law firm, or decision-maker.