Letters of Recommendation (sometimes referred to as LORs) are letters written by an employer, supervisor, or past teacher to comment about your working ability.
Article updated 12 December 2024.
Who Should I Request a LOR From?
To teach in South Korea, two letters of recommendation are required. The EPIK program only accepts letters that are written from direct supervisors/managers from past or current workplaces or academic professors at colleges and universities. The letter must also have an issuance date from within the past two years from the start of the application period.
What Must My LOR Contain?
Letters of Recommendation must contain specific information and elements to be accepted by teaching programs in Korea. Your 2 letters of recommendation must have:
What if my School or Workplace Will Not Print on their Official Letterhead?
If your referee is unable to print on official letterhead, they are able to submit their official business card with the company information. Obtain the referee’s business card and submit it with the corresponding letter of recommendation.
Does it have to be ink-signature only?
For the EPIK program, it is okay if the scanned file has a digital/scanned signature. However, when submitting the physical letter with your final documentation after passing the interview, the letter must ONLY have an ink (pen-to-paper) signature. Letters will be rejected for final documents if they contain a digital/scanned signature at all, even if it has an ink signature on the paper.
Submission of Letters of Recommendation
Letters of Recommendation are submitted twice during the application process. Digital scanned copies (PDFs) are needed during the Initial Documents stage, and then the physical original ink-signed copies are submitted with your Final Documents package after passing the interview.
Hi there!
Its been a few years since my undergrad and unfortunately, I’ve lost contact with my professors. I have two people in mind; One is my former manager and another is a ‘lead’ team member who has been my main supervisor in conjunction with my manager. Is it alright to use this lead team member for my LOR? His title is Benefits Service Lead. Please advise.
Thank you!
Hello,
My former director is no longer working at the organization, so what should she use for a letter head?
Thanks!
Hi Korvia
Just wanted to know if my manager no longer works at my company, can I still use him as my reference, if yes what letter head should he use?
Thanks
Natania
Hi Natania,
You must obtain a reference letter who can provide a letterhead. However, a reference letter is valid for 2 years so you can use it if you already obtained the letter previously.
Hello!
I do not have an original physical copy, only a scanned copy. Would a print out of that scanned copy be acceptable in the final documents package?
Thanks
Hi Lorna,
The printed recommendation letter will not be acceptable for your EPIK final document.
Hello!
On the official EPIK letter template it says “Please write specific information attesting to the applicant’s ability to teach in Korea.” I don’t have teaching experience so I am planning to obtain a letter of recommendation from one of my university professors. However, I would like to know how would that work since my professors only know me as a student and not as a teacher. Can they just talk about my character in general or my qualities as a student? What do they need to mention in order for me to be able to use their letter?
Thank you so much!
Hello,
I currently teach at a Hagwon in Korea. I have two people in mind who can write a letter of recommendation. However, they live in America. To avoid the cost on their behalf to send the original letters to me, will the scan copy be sufficient?
Thank you
Hi Timothy,
EPIK require original copy of recommendation letter, and your current Korean employer must give one of them. Please contact your Korvia recruiter for better advice because it may vary depends on the program that you are applying.
Hi,
I have a few supervisors in mind who can attest to my teaching ability as well as my experience with children, however, many of them have moved on in their careers and no longer work for the organization. So is their any way they can still write the letters. My more recent supervisors are new to the job and can’t fully speak to my ability.
Hi Reagan,
You can still obtain the letter from him/her and he/she can use his/her current organization’s letterhead.
Hi,
The private school I once worked for in S. Korea in 2006 – 2007 is no longer operating. I have tried to contact the director and head teacher of the school, but the only person from the school I can contact for a reference is one of the Korean teachers at the school who is now living in Canada. She has been my reference recently for my current ESL job, however, she just had a baby and now stays at home. Since she’s not part of a company with an official letterhead, can she still provide a recommendation for me? It seems unfair that a person’s recommendation would not be accepted simply because they are no longer working for a company. Thank you for any assistance.
Hi Jo,
We advise you to talk with your recruiter for this matter, please.
Hello!
For PROFESSIONAL Letters of Recommendations, do these need to be sealed or not? Also, if I am to submit PERSONAL CHARACTER Letters of Recommendations, do these need a business card/letter head if they don’t work with me?
Thank you for the prompt reply!
Can the letter be written in Korean by a Korean professor?
Hello,
I studied abroad for one year in Korea, and the exchange program required us to teach our Korean roommates English. I am still very close to the Exchange Program Director and program manager; I wanted to ask them if they could write me a letter of recommendation for me. The only issue is that they are in Korea while I am in America, how would getting the original copy work? Would they have to send it to your location in Seoul?
Hello,
I studied English Literature and Linguistics in Chile but the whole B.A. was held in English as the main language and with some native speakers as teachers. Also, I’m doing the TEFL online certification from a university in the United States.
Taking all this into consideration, would I be eligible for the program even though I’m a Spanish native speaker with fluent English?
I am asking because I am going to Korea and I wanted to get a job in my field, high school education.
I hope you can give me some guidance.
Thank you in advance!
Hello, can I request my letters from two different bosses at one position (ex, the Director and Associate DIrector)? Or do they need to come from two different locations?
Hi did you find an answer to this? I’m trying to find out the same thing!
I graduated and the letters of recommendation before might have passed more than 2 years and i haven’t contacted them much. Unfortunately, I volunteer to teach at my church for students and it’s not really a school and she is like the leader or principle there to take charge without officially has a business card, will her contact information be counted for? I can ask to see if my 2nd reference person can type it on the school’s letterhead.
Can I use the letter of recommendation from someone who is like the principle at church’s language school?
Hello, if it is from the same company but two different people, is it still acceptable? One is the head of the human resources department and one is the head of the primary department.
Hello,
I am unable to get a recommendation from my employer and graduated college 10 years ago so I am not in contact with my professors. My plan is to get 3 recommendation letters total from:
1. The Director the ESL program at a local church I teach out
2. My supervising teacher at a church I teach English at on Sunday Morning
3. My regional supervisor for a volunteer role I have had in my sorority for 3+ years.
I plan to choose the best letters. Would those work?
Hello Leigh,
The strategy is getting the best recommendation letter from supervisors. We suggest you discuss this matter with Korvia recruiter.
Regards,
Hello!
I am wondering if I could use a letter of recommendation from my supervisor of a nonprofit volunteer program that I taught English through overseas a few summers in a row.
Hello Cass,
We believe you can get a letter of recommendation from your supervisor of a nonprofit volunteer program. However, we suggest you obtain a letter from a full-time employment supervisor’s recommendation to maximize your chance of acceptance.
Hello,
I am wondering if it was possible to add the companies business card to my letter of recommendation? As my supervisors at Sephora don’t individual have one specific business cards for themselves or a letterhead available.?
OR can I use 2 different recommendations from the same company ?
Thank you!
You can add the companies business card to your letter of recommendation.
Also, you can have two recommendation letters from the same company for a different two-person.
hello. I have currently got 1 letter of recommendation from my current manager? But i am struggling to get a response from my lecturer from the college i graduated from in October of 2019. Can i get a letter from a teacher i did a fetac PLC course i did a few years ago? or i have 3 managers in my current job. Could i get my second letter from another one of those managers?
You can have multiple recommendation letters from the same company however we want to suggest you obtain a letter from fetac PLC course if you are having difficulties to reach your lecturer.
okay thank you!! the only thing is i completed this PLC in 2014? Is that too far back for a letter or can i still go get one? thanks again for such a quick response!
Hi, can it be a letter of recommendation from someone who I’ve tutored English to? I was their private tutor and it was not done through a University or company.
Unfortunately, tutor reference is not acceptable for the EPIK program.
Hello,
How old can a letter of reference be?
Thank you,
Jeff
Any recommendation letters for the recent two years.
My recommender didn’t include a “to whom it may concern” line. They just wrote “Letter of Recommendation for…” with my full name. Is this okay? Do I need to ask them to resend it? It has all of the information requested.
Hello! My Korean Professor at University has offered to write my letter of recommendation. However, she wants to know if it is okay to write the letter of recommendation in Korean so she can better express her feelings about me. Thank you!
Yes, she can write a recommendation letter in Korean. Both English and Korean recommendation letters are acceptable.
Hello Korvia! I have a question about LOR’s that hasn’t been asked yet. I have worked with and gotten teaching positions before with Korvia and I have LOR’s in Korean from former co-teachers/principals/headteachers (as well as proof of employment documents from past schools); however, they are over two years old as I haven’t worked in Korea since March 2018. I have currently been teaching online with various China-based companies, but they don’t do LORs because I (as well as all the other teachers) don’t actually have a personal relationship with the employers. What is a suggestion for this type of situation?
Hello, can my former Korean teacher write one of my letters? She is an official teacher at the University where I signed up for the classes.
Yes, of course! Just please make sure she follows the proper formatting for the letter and includes the University logo in the letterhead.
I am a Bachelor of education degree holder from South Africa, we attend practicals twice a year for 4 weeks each. Can I get a letter of recommendation from the schools that I’ve taught in during Work Integrated Learning?
Yes, you can! As long as it was completed face-to-face and your reference will be someone who was your supervisor or director.
Good afternoon
The school I worked at does not have a school letter head, however they do have a school stamp. Would this be accepted?
If the school you have worked at does not have a school letterhead, please have them put the school logo as the header. If not, you will need to obtain a business card and attach it to the letter.
Good day, I completed my schooling career in 1999, teachers and principals are no longer in the schools. How do I obtain the Letter to confirm that the lessons where thought in English? Would a letter from the schools I attended stating that lessons are thought in English on a general scale be accepted?
Even if the teachers and principals no longer work for that school, your school should still have your school records for attending that school if the school is still standing. Please, contact the administration office of your school and request the letters. Also, check out the EPIK final document download page on our website for the sample letter.
I have had trouble securing recommendation letters to apply for the Spring Term. One supervisor told me they would probably not be able to write one until November. If I submit my application in November and do not get accepted, or there are no more positions left to fill, am I able to reuse the same recommendation letters for the Fall application?
Hello Allison,
For our public sector, EPIK, the application process is in Spring and Fall. The Spring opens every August 1st and closes around the end of December so that teachers can come in for February the following year. Fall intake opens every February 1st, so teachers can come in for August of the same year. You can still apply with the recommendation letter if you have it now from the supervisor, as the application will not close until the end of December. If you wanted to apply for the next intake instead, you can still use that same letter.
Hi! Would I be able to use a letter of recommendation from my internship’s program director? Though the director wasn’t my professor, the internship was with my university’s Intensive English Program and I feel as though he would be best able to speak to my teaching abilities. Thanks!
Hi Taylor. Yes, you can get a letter of recommendation from anyone you have worked with in person and as long as they were your superiors. So, a letter from your internship program director is acceptable!
Hello Korvia.
I am a 34 year old female, will I be considered to teach English in South Korea?
Yes,
Anybody under the age of 62 is eligible to teach in Korea. You are most certainly eligible!
I would like to apply for this year’s intake am i late?
If you currently do not have all the required documents ready to be sent out, then we would recommend waiting for the next intake.
How should my supervisor submit the letter of recommendation. Is it through email or faxed?
Hello!
You will need to acquire the physical letter with an ink-signature on it.
Do you have a example template or explanation for the letter of recommendation in Korean? I’ve been looking online for something to give my current Korean supervisor, but haven’t been able to find any documentation in Korean to give them a good idea of what to do.
There is no example template for Korean recommendation letters, but since Korean schools usually don’t have a letterhead, they will need to make sure to include all of the writer’s contact information as well as the school’s information in the letter. The letter should also be officially stamped or signed.
What if you have been self-employed for the past few years ? How would one go about this then ?
Hi Bob, Unfortunately for EPIK, recommendation letters from supervisors/managers or professors are required. If you do not have any supervisors or managers, and if you do not have any university professors you can reach out to, you will not be able to apply for EPIK.
Does a volunteer role/organisation count as a workplace for the purpose of a reference? It is a worldwide organiseation if that makes a difference, similar to girl guides.
Hi Emma, A letter from a volunteer role should be ok as long as you’ve worked with the writer (supervisor/manager) in person.
I was a previous TaLK scholar and worked with a contracted co-teacher during my time in the program. I would like to request a letter of recommendation from her and she currently works as a contract worker for NIID. If she cannot provide the letterhead, but can provide a business card, would that be sufficient to make this letter meet the criteria?
Hi Megan,
Yes! If she can provide an official, physical business card, that will suffice in place of official letterhead.