Jin Academy (Oksu, Seongdong)

I actually did work for this academy for a short time. I'm just telling you about my experience here. This academy is mainly for teachers of Korean descent because everyone here is fully Korean by blood. You can check their teacher profile on their website too.

The students are well behaved.

There is a projector and a computer in each classroom.

The staff here are helpful, and accepted me as a Korean. They didn't treat me as a foreigner based on apperance or background which I appreciate because it matches with my Korean identity, this is the type of working environment I truly feel comfortable in.

I wasn't scolded or yelled at.

There's also no parent consulting teachers have to do.

It is an academic academy that doesn't focus on projects or activities. It helps students learn story books for younger learners and for older students it focuses heavily on TOEFL.

The academy does not provide housing for teachers but it does provide housing allowance for teachers.

The difficult part for me was that you have keep track of each student's homework assignments and upload it on Microsoft excel for each class. How many homework problems each student go t right and how many problems each student got wrong, as well as attendance. I also had to update the daily lesson plans online for each class. Then there is another administrative task to send the notifications to parents about homework assignments for that day which is done on a system written in Korean. The system is more complex than other systems I used at other academies, at least for me.

There was one week of training and I only worked here for a short time. The administrative part was too hard for me.

I did not get all the money I was suppose to get for the training and work I did based on the employment contract and what was told to me on kakaotalk messages. There was another employee who complained about not getting all of his money too. This is a fact. Be careful.

Nothing but good things to say about my time as a teacher at Jin Academy in Oksu-dong in 2024-2025. Throughout the seven years and three employers I've worked for as a teacher in Korea, this was by far the one where I learnt the most and had the best experiences. Personally, I developed more in one year here than I had in 3-4 years at other schools. I definitely recommend this academy to anyone! For experienced and motivated teachers, especially those with good organizational and time management skills, you ll really excel here.

- The academy has a very professional atmosphere and they take results and discipline seriously. All of the teaching and admin staff were incredibly friendly and easy to get along with.

- All of the materials, syllabi, lesson plans, schedules were all provided or were made by the admin staff. Something that I had not experienced at other academies.

- Management were very open to feedback on systems, lessons, materials and were open to implementing new ways of doing things. This was a huge thing for me.

- Communication and organization were very clear (even though my Korean isn't great), and there were no misunderstandings between teachers or FT/KTs.

- No parent consultations, random weekend events, or intensive periods.

- Training for teaching TOEFL iBT classes, as well as lesson feedback, which I found very helpful. Getting a bit of criticism on lessons and suggestions of ways to improve made me a much better teacher (never anything personal or toxic).

- Usually between 2-5 classes a day, with an hour or two before or after classes to prep lessons, check homework, or write reports. Never worked overtime.

- No sketchy business- Was always paid on time and paid well.

If I were to stay in the industry here in Korea, I would 1000% choose this academy. Easily the best place I ve ever taught at! I wish the school, director, and students all the best.

Hello, [redacted]!

I would like to submit Jin English Language Institute in Seongdong-gu to your Green List.

First, I've had the pleasure of working with friendly supervisors and colleagues. All my fellow teachers, the teaching assistants, and the administrators did not seem to care much for strict hierarchy, which I found quite rare in Korea. This made it refreshingly easy to approach anyone and get advice/help for pretty much anything, work-related or otherwise.

Second, more on the help thing, I had weekly training sessions for one month to facilitate getting accustomed to the Korean hagwon system. Although I already had experience working in Korean hagwons prior to working here, I probably learned more during this time, haha. The training teacher was also very thoughtful and I always felt like they truly respected me as a teacher despite my significantly fewer years of experience. They constantly asked for my opinions then thought of ways to integrate my preferences into lesson plans amongst other things, which worked out well for me!

Some other things I've noticed that I enjoy about Jin English:

*The supervisors get the teachers snacks to make sure we're eating despite busy schedules

*The work structure isn't too rigid so instructors have sufficient freedom to teach in their individual styles

*All necessary class material are already prepared or the hagwon provides them per request, but teachers are free to prep them on their own too

Though the workload was pretty overwhelming at first, the trainings helped me develop a know-how to managing it and my coworkers were quick to offer help even without myself asking. Overall, working here is quite comfortable and I hope only for the best for the hagwon and its staff!

I would like to add Jin English Language Institute in Seongdong-gu to your Green list!

I came to Korea to get rooted, and I was very nervous and anxious about the whole move. On top of that, this job was my first full-time position, and I just did not know what to expect. As every new job comes with some adjustment periods, my directors understood and waited for me through my journey. They listened to my concerns and asked for feedback. I appreciated how they created a safe and welcoming space where I could talk about literally anything (be open to initiate!). Whenever I needed extra time to prep or rest, they always listened and adjusted the schedule for me and the teachers. BONUS! They provided dinner (sometimes lunch, coffee, desserts ), which was very sweet of them.

The workload felt overwhelming at first because this was my first job. Once I figured out my routine, it became easier and helped me learn time management. I did not have to work extra hours. FYI: I taught 4-5 classes per day (with 2-3 hours of prep time every day). Also, they did not micromanage and were always open to hearing and communicating with the teachers. Overall, I loved how flexible they were! I truly thank them for making my time in Korea positive and sweet.

I highly recommend Jin English if you want to grow as a person/teacher and experience Korea in the heart of Seoul :)