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:
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“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.
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*Featured image courtesy of Freepik
My plan was to apply for GEPIK itself, and I don’t care whether the school is urban, rural, an elementary or a secondary school. The changes to the system seem a little confusing. I am an experienced-some would say very experienced-EFL teacher from the U.K. I have a TESOL certificate, and a letter from the school that issued it, to prove the course was over 100 hours long. I also have a letter of recommendation from the previous teaching job I did in Korea.
I have several questions. For March 2016, should I just apply to GEPIK?
My criminal record check should be ready (with the apostille) in a week or two at the latest. At that point in time, will it still be possible to apply for any jobs for the current semester? Occasionally there are individual schools in Gyeonggi-do looking for teachers.
Considering that I have some experience in EFL, am I likely to be accepted? I read online that schools are looking for young, recent female graduates from North America. Of course, that information came from Dave’s ESL Café!
I look forward to your answer.
Hi John!
By being a Korvia recruit we can help you apply to both programs giving you multiple options. Having EFL experience is always good when applying for teaching positions in South Korea, however it is also true that schools can also have their own preferences for the kind of EFL teacher they would prefer to hire. As applying to any of the programs is free, it doesn’t hurt to try.
Hi!
My wife is wanting to apply for Gepik with myself as a student/dependent (제가 이미 한국에 샀고 한국에 있는 대학에 공부하기로 했습니다) and want to know, do we apply through Gepik until 2018 or should we apply through Epik instead?
Hello, the one thing they don’t mention is what happens to CURRENT GEPIK teachers who want to stay in their same school in March 2018 and beyond + the school also wants to keep them?
They only stated that for 2016 spring, current GEPIK teachers can renew their contracts under the same GEPIK contract and will not have to apply to EPIK. Anyone who is applying for the first time has to apply now through EPIK. Yes, I understand this. But what about in Spring 2018? Let’s say my rural gyeonggi-do school still wants to keep me for Spring 2018. Can I just sign a renewal contract with them under EPIK contract and just stay? Or do all GEPIK teachers have to be fired/laid off and then we have to apply to EPIK like a first-timer again and then randomly assigned to another school?
Thanks
Hi Joe,
As 2018 is quite a long way off, we cannot be sure for what policy changes will occur between now and then. Hopefully both programs will offer better insight into this in the coming semesters.
Hey Stephen,
I just got placed through EPIK for Gyeonggi Spring term 2016
I am a little in the dark on some detail from this article. Does this mean ALL Epik applicants from Gyeonggi will be placed in a rural area this term? Or will some go to the city hall schools too?
Thanks!
Hi Chris,
Great question! From our understanding, EPIK applicants placed in the Gyeonggi province will be in the areas that receive GPOE (Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education) funding which generally exist in more rural areas. City-hall funded schools will most likely still use agencies to still find their teachers, at least for 2016.