UPDATED: 10/29/2015

Select schools in the Gyeonggi province received a letter from GEPIK program coordinators revealing new details about the gradual EPIK/GEPIK reformation.

Earlier this year, the EPIK program announced that it would start helping place teachers in the Gyeonggi province for the Spring 2016 intake. Previously, recruitment for teachers in the province was done exclusively as part of the GEPIK program, where schools were responsible for finding and interviewing teachers on their own. The EPIK program operates on a mass recruitment basis, where teachers are screened and interviewed by program coordinators, and then randomly dispersed to various schools around the country.

It’s important to note that that within the GEPIK program, funding for schools is split between being GPOE (Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education) based and City hall-based.

The letter, sent to schools on Friday October 23rd, describes that GPOE funded schools will all eventually switch to using the EPIK program to find teachers, whereas city-hall funded schools can continue to use their own methods of finding teachers. These schools usually recruit teachers either through direct referral methods or with the help of agencies.

Other key points mentioned in the letter include:

-All GPOE funded schools will aim to use EPIK by 2018

-The current GEPIK contract will not change for Spring 2016, but may change therein after.

-GPOE funded schools that will use EPIK will only be located in rural areas in the province.

On Thursday October 27th, a GEPIK coordinator released new information that helped clear up information many teachers had after learning about the news. In the FAQ, the coordinator specified that about 50 schools in the Gyeonggi province will use EPIK for the Spring 2016 intake. It was also further clarified that those renewing their current GEPIK contracts will NOT need to apply to EPIK in order to be renewed.

 

You can read the original letter sent to select Gyeonggi schools below:

“Dear GEPIK Teachers,

We would like to inform you on some of the latest changes in our operating system. As many of you have already suspected, beginning as of March 2016, GEPIK will be implementing the EPIK recruiting system. GPOE funded schools will gradually begin to participate in this new recruiting system, with the aim of all schools participating by 2018.

What does this mean to our GEPIK teachers?

1. Those who wish to apply for GPOE funded school positions undergoing this transition must apply through EPIK. As for the rest of the GPOE funded schools positions who are not yet under the new effect can proceed as before. The current GEPIK contract will remain the same for now, however there will be minor changes to the contract in the near future. As far as the pay category is concerned, it will likely remain the same, however it is subject to change. We will let you know promptly should any changes occur.

2. Those who apply through EPIK will be hired directly under the Superintendent of GPOE. (For City hall funded schools, the principal will remain as the employer.)

3. Successful applicants will work at a school designated by the GPOE. Because the GEPIK program’s goal is to close the educational gap, all GPOE funded schools will be located in rural areas. We strongly advise our prospective NETs to be mindful of this when applying.

4. Please note that this changes does not apply to City hall funded schools. Their method of employment will remain the same as before.

5. Because these are the beginning steps of the transition, some changes may occur in the near future. We will let you know of any changes through our new GEPIK website https://edup.goe.go.kr/gfe/e1_008/e2_017/bbs/bbsList.do?bbs_cd_n=284

With these changes coming into place, we hope this letter answers the questions many of you have had since hearing about this. Please, keep in mind, this is what we know as of now, and will inform you as the situation continues to progress. If you have any questions feel free to contact any of the coordinators listed below. To find more information about the EPIK application process you can visit their website at www.epik.go.kr

 

Sincerely

GEPIK Coordinators Team”

 

 

Korvia will release more news about the EPIK/GEPIK spring 2016 intake as it is officially released by both programs.

*Featured image courtesy of Freepik