TEFL Heaven · South Korea · 2026 & 2027 · In-Person TEFL + Placement

Teach English in South Korea.

Everything you need to know about the In-Person TEFL + Placement — the job, the money, the visa, and how to apply. Jump to any section, or just scroll.

01Welcome
1 of 2 In-Person TEFL + Placement

TEFL Course
+ Paid Teaching Job
in South Korea.

Four weeks of in-person training in Korea, then a guaranteed job — free apartment included.

120hour TEFL
$1.6–1.9ka month
Freeapartment
South Korea
2026 & 2027 intakes
02Two routes to Korea
Before you read on

There are two placement routes to Korea.

You're reading this oneIn-Person TEFL + Placement Not TEFL-certified yet? Start here.

A culture and language week in Korea, then a 120-hour teacher-training course with practice teaching in a local school — then your paid placement.

Placement Program Already TEFL-certified? Start here.

A weekend culture trip — welcome meal, Hanbok experience, palace tour, Bukchon Hanok Village — then straight into your paid placement.

Same schools, same salary, same free apartment — the difference is whether you need the teaching qualification first. We also run three more Korea programs — a 6-Month Placement, an Education Assistant and an English Companion — ask at your interview. Not sure which fits? We'll help you choose.

TEFL Heaven
03A word from Mike
Mike Maitland, TEFL Heaven founder
A word from our founder

"Feel the fear and do it anyway."

TEFL Heaven started when I invited myself on a girl's flight to Bangkok. She said yes — and seventeen years later we've sent more than 3,000 teachers abroad, and it's still a family business.

Korea is the one people pick when the maths matters: the highest saving we offer, with the apartment thrown in.

TEFL Heaven
04Why TEFL Heaven
Why go with us

Seventeen years of putting people on planes.

2007placing teachers since
3,000+teachers placed
10countries
150+video testimonials

"Over 17 years we've placed more than 3,000 English teachers in classrooms from Bangkok to Buenos Aires." A family business, still run by the person who started it.

TEFL Heaven
05Why South Korea
Why South Korea

The biggest package in Asia.

Busan
Busan
Seoul
Seoul
Your people
Your people

$1,600–$1,900 a month, a free apartment, your flight reimbursed and a 13th-month bonus. Teachers here save $400–$1,000+ a month — and spend weekends in a country built for them.

TEFL Heaven
06Your four weeks
Your four weeks

Trained in Korea, not on a laptop.

Week oneCulture & language

Korean BBQ welcome, Taekwondo, a cooking class, the War Memorial, beginner Korean, a Hanbok experience and Gyeongbokgung Palace.

Weeks two – four120-hour TEFL

Full teacher training with practice teaching in a local school. Airport pickup and course housing included.

  • Course housing available— shared or single rooms, small refundable deposit
  • Then your placement— into a paid job with a free apartment
TEFL Heaven
07Your job
Your job

Public school or hagwon. Your pick.

Public schoolsCo-teach, daytime

Monday–Friday, 8:30–16:30. Classes of 25–30 with a Korean co-teacher. 21–26 paid vacation days.

Hagwons (private academies)Small classes, your own

5–15 kids, you teach alone. Younger learners 9:00–18:00 or older learners 12:00–22:00. 11 paid vacation days. Contracts run 12 months and renew.

Kids aged 4–16, English only. 40-hour weeks with 25–35 teaching. Placements anywhere in Korea — top areas are around Seoul (Gyeonggi-do), Daegu, Ulsan, Daejeon, Sejong, Gwangju and Gangwon-do. Public-school rounds fill in windows — Fall 2026 is closed, and we’re placing for Spring 2027 now.

TEFL Heaven
08What you’ll earn
What you'll earn

The package that does the saving for you.

Salary₩2.2M – 2.6M / month
In dollars$1,600 – $1,900
Typical savings$400 – $1,000+ / month
ApartmentProvided by your school — you pay ~$75 utilitiesFree
Flight + 13th-month bonusReimbursed up to $1,000, plus one extra salary on a 12-month contractBoth included
TaxUS, UK, SA, AUS and NZ teachers can claim a 2-year exemption at public schools4 – 7%
South Korea
TEFL Heaven
09Intake dates
Intake dates

2026 & 2027 intakes.

2026
19 Jan2026
18 May2026
27 Jul2026
26 Oct2026
2027
18 Jan2027
17 May2027
26 Jul2027
25 Oct2027

Every intake starts on a Monday. Sign up at least 4 months ahead — the course deadline is 3 months before it starts. Move your intake free with 35+ days’ notice.

TEFL Heaven
10Your investment
Your investment

Two payments. Months apart.

When you book$695

Your place is held and the work starts — placement prep and visa guidance.

90 days before you fly$1,802

Invoiced well ahead. Nothing else falls due after this.

$695 + $1,802 = $2,497 — the whole price. The deposit is part of it, never extra on top.

And the program can pay you back. $200 every time someone books through your affiliate link — free place on our Digital Marketing Program.

Apply free — it commits you to nothing →
TEFL Heaven
11What’s included
What's included

What your fee covers.

  • A guaranteed paid teaching job— with a free apartment from your school
  • Lifetime placement guarantee— it covers Japan, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam, as long as you’re eligible for that program
  • The orientation week + 4-week in-person TEFL— 120 hours, airport pickup, course housing
  • Flight reimbursement— up to $1,000 from your school
  • 13th-month bonus— one extra salary on a 12-month contract
  • 40-hour Korean culture course— plus an online Korean language course
  • CV, video and interview help
  • Full visa guidance— through the E-2 process, step by step
  • Trip coordinator— and a 24/7 support line
  • Free place on our Digital Marketing Program — earn $200 per booking through your affiliate link, plus paid content work

Not included: accommodation during the TEFL course and orientation (budget roughly $500), medical insurance, visa fees, food, fun and daily transport. Your school covers health insurance after your first three months — bring travel cover for those.

TEFL Heaven
12You won’t do this alone
Why people choose this

You arrive with friends already made.

  • You go as a group — you train together, explore together, and walk into week one already knowing people
  • Proper in-person training — real classrooms and real students before your first paid lesson, with trainers who taught here themselves
  • Support the whole way — a team that answers before you fly, while you train, and long after you’re placed

Most people sign up alone. Nobody finishes alone — the group you train with becomes your first circle of friends in the country.

TEFL Heaven
13Money to bring
Read this before you book

Bring enough to reach your first paycheck.

$2,500–3,500to bring with you

It covers you until your first paycheck, and includes a visa trip if your paperwork runs tight. Your apartment is free, so this goes further here than anywhere else we place.

We're telling you this early on purpose. If that number isn't realistic right now, you should know today — not after you've paid.

TEFL Heaven
14Can you apply?
Can you apply?

Korea's rules are the strictest we place for.

  • Aged 21 – 40— older can work with a teaching degree
  • A Bachelor's degree— from a university in the USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, NZ or South Africa
  • A native English speaker— from one of those seven countries
  • Clean police check— apostilled, no older than 6 months
  • No partners, kids or pets— the E-2 route doesn't allow them

South Africans: public-school placements only right now. Small visible tattoos may be fine — tell us at signup. Religious dress isn't usually allowed in schools here.

Tick these? Apply free →
TEFL Heaven
15The visa
The visa

The E-2, step by step.

Your school sendsOnce you're placedA Visa Confirmation Number
You take it toStamped into your passportA Korean consulate
Medical exam in KoreaBlood, urine and X-ray — required for the E-2On arrival
If timing runs tightA visa trip to Japan or Vietnam$500 – $750
Passport and paperwork
TEFL Heaven
16The honest bit
The honest bit

Korea pays the most — and checks the most.

  • The medical rules are strict. Epilepsy, TB, HIV, severe asthma and several other conditions are usually disqualifiers for the E-2.
  • Mental-health questions matter. A "yes" on the visa form means rejection, and anti-anxiety or antidepressant medication can fail the drug test — you'd need 6 months off them and a doctor's note. Talk to us before booking if this touches you.
  • It's a real 40-hour week — 25–35 of it teaching, and hagwon shifts can run to 10pm.
  • Sign up 4 months ahead — 5–6 is better; public-school deadlines are Dec 1 for spring and Jun 1 for fall.
  • Change of plans? Your date moves free with 35+ days’ notice — inside 35 days a $450 change fee applies. All payments for the program are non-refundable.

We'd rather you knew all of this today than at the consulate.

TEFL Heaven
17Teachers in South Korea, in their own words
From teachers on the ground

Reviews — in their words. ★★★★★

"I came for a year to save money for grad school. I stayed three. The morning freedom, the food, the travel — I didn't expect Korea to get under my skin the way it did. Left with $22,000 in savings, conversational Korean, and a group of friends I'll have for life."

James K. — Seoul

"I paid off my student loans in 14 months teaching in Busan. Housing free, salary solid, costs low. I wasn't even particularly frugal — I ate well, travelled to Japan three times, and still saved more than I ever could at home. Korea is just genuinely financially different."

Callum D. — Busan

"Busan completely surprised me. I chose it over Seoul for the savings figures and ended up staying for two extra years because of the lifestyle. Haeundae beach in the morning before work. Japanese BBQ in Fukuoka on the weekend. The quality of life here is genuinely exceptional."

Sophie L. — Busan

More video and written reviews — from our alumni, on teflheaven.com.

Read them in full on our site
TEFL Heaven
18Get paid to talk about it
Get paid to talk about it

Your free place on our Digital Marketing Program.

You’re going to post about this anyway — this pays you for it.

What you earn
Someone books through your affiliate link$200
Instagram takeover, two weeks$50
A day-in-the-life story$50
Podcast, uni talk, or a call$30
Photo bundle · written review$20 · $10
What you learn
  • Full marketing training — courses, workshops, live sessions
  • A Digital Marketing Certificate when you finish
  • A private group and a monthly mastermind

Plenty of our teachers are still earning from this years after they came home.

$200 per booking, no cap
TEFL Heaven
19How to apply
South Korea
How to apply

Three steps to your classroom.

  • Apply online — five minutes
  • Video call interview — thirty minutes, everything answered honestly
  • Accepted? Book your place — the $695 deposit holds it and the work starts

From there it’s guided the whole way — visa help, placement prep and your countdown to fly-out.

Start my application →
TEFL Heaven
20Common questions
Questions we get every week

The short answers.

Do I need a degree?

Yes — from a university in one of the seven native-English countries. It's an E-2 rule.

Do I need a TEFL already?

No — the 120-hour course is the first four weeks of this program.

When do I pay?

$2,497 total: $695 books it, the remaining $1,802 is due 90 days before you fly.

Is the apartment really free?

Yes — your school provides it. You pay utilities, about $75 a month.

Public school or hagwon?

Public = daytime, co-teaching, more holidays. Hagwon = small classes, evenings, 12-month contracts that renew. We'll match you.

What if my plans change?

Move your intake free with 35+ days' notice — inside 35 days a $450 change fee applies. All payments for the program are non-refundable.

TEFL Heaven
21Next step
Next step

Apply now. Talk to us.
Decide after.

Apply, then talk to us — the interview is where it becomes real — your intake, your school type, your route in.

$2,497total — that's everything
$695of it books your place
$1,802the rest, 90 days before
Apply now →
Places fill fast — spots are held in arrival order
TEFL Heaven