Konglish: The Ultimate Survival Guide for Teaching English in South Korea

by Matthew Waterhouse

Everything you ever wanted to know about teaching English in South Korea but were afraid to ask is contained within this book. Funny, fact filled and always informative, Konglish provides the necessary knowledge you need to make the right decisions. Jam packed with practical information, Konglish addresses all of the topics and taboos a prospective English teacher needs to know, from finding the right job and negotiating a favorable contract to individual chapters dedicated to the specific learning needs of different students.

While other books focus solely on educational concerns, Konglish explores life outside of the classroom, providing you with an in-depth and often hilarious guide to Korean culture. Food, friendship, drinking, dating, religion, health and history are just some of the subjects discussed in detail. Konglish also goes where others fear to tread, exploring the underbelly of the Hermit Kingdom.

Last but not least, Konglish looks at the embarrassing realities of life abroad, offering realistic advice on things like culture shock, social faux pas and learning the local language. As an added bonus, you ll learn how to order dog soup, avoid squat toilets, and say no to lice-infested accommodation.

Written by Matthew Waterhouse, a qualified elementary teacher who s been through the belly of the beast, Konglish is an irreverent and insightful survival guide for anyone brave enough to try their hand at teaching English in incredible South Korea.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Ebooks

300 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2012

Reviews

[Audra 손아름]

I rarely review books, but this one deserves it. While not a stunningly fascinating book (the style is basic, the writing sparse but good-humored), it offers the best overall view of teaching ESL in Korea I've yet read.

Knowing that I myself will soon be there teaching, I've been reading a few memoirs, blogs, and books about what it's like there. I've read the full spectrum of "it was the best thing ever and nothing bad happened and you should totally go" to "it was the worst thing that ever happened and my school was so awful and I had deranged housemates and you should never go to Korea."

This book felt more truthful in its interpretation. It gives a lot of culture and history as well as specific situations met by teachers. It's a good handbook for prospective teachers, and it goes into great detail about what we might face. Great detail. Almost too much, I-didn't-want-to-know-that detail. But we need to know everything and I feel better equipped now.

The book is written in a slightly offensive but who the heck cares kind of way which makes it entertaining but a little disrespectful. Still, I think it's an invaluable guide for anyone looking to teach English, and a much better buy than many other stories of teachers out there.

I give it 5 stars because it runs the gamut of awesome stuff to terrible stuff and everything in between.

[Glenn]

Konglish by the author Matthew Waterhouse is a good fun read. If you're thinking of teaching English overseas - anywhere - but especially Korea, then this is the book for you. There are lots of heads up about the paperwork involved and frustrated expectations but the underlying message is that it will all be worth it in the end. In a sort of devilish travelogue, Waterhouse mixes stories of his own teaching experience with heaps of Korean culture and history. Most of all, it's his style that captures you. The book is informative but there's hardly a page that goes by that didn't have me laughing out loud or at least grinning widely - and that's the best way to face this great big strange world, isn't it?Konglish: The Ultimate Survival Guide for Teaching English in South Korea

[Sofía]

Waterhouse does a bang-up job of providing an overview of what it's like to live and work as an ESL teacher in Korea. It has a good balance of very practical information (food, accommodation, etc.) as well as background on the culture and history of the country. The only things this book is missing are descriptions of other cities besides Seoul, and maybe some helpful Korean phrases. Overall, it proved to be much more informative and helpful than spending hours on the internet sifting through disgruntled forum posts and picture-heavy blogs.

[Bridget]

This a great read, probably even if you don't plan to teach there but are just interested in Korea and Korean culture (but in that case skip over the chapters specific to types of schools ha). The author also had a great sense of humor and was candid and straightforward about some topics that most might avoid but that many readers would still wonder about. Great book. I felt very prepared for coming to Korea!

[Julia Vermette]

I loved this book!! Very witty, and entertaining; it was a laugh-out-loud kind of book. I enjoyed the personal stories, combined with the valuable information I desired to plan a trip to such a fascinating country. Highly recommended!

[Dj Carvalho]

I wish I had started reading this earlier.