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Important Notice for Successful EPIK-Seoul Applicants

Congratulations on becoming a successful EPIK-Seoul teacher. Please read this 'Important Notice for Successful EPIK-Seoul Applicants' thoroughly and follow the guidelines carefully. Any problems or delays that may arise from your failure to follow the directions on this notice will be your own responsibility.

As a successful EPIK-Seoul teacher, you are given a teaching position in the SMOE (Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education) stated in your contract. Thus, withdrawing from the EPIK program without a justifiable reason will cause great difficulties to the SMOE and EPIK. Applicants who must inevitably withdraw with a reasonable cause must contact the EPIK office in Seoul by e-mail at epikintern@gmail.com and give their full name and the reason for the withdrawal. They should receive a reply from EPIK acknowledging their decision. Please write only “Fall 2011 Withdraw” in the subject line.

※ Applicants who withdraw from the program, for any reason, and do not notify the EPIK office within 48 hours of receiving their contract will not be eligible to apply for subsequent terms.

※ Applicants who decide to withdraw must return their contracts and Notice of Appointment to the EPIK office via post.

1. Contract Signing & E2 Visa Issuance

(1) Please sign your contract upon receiving it. Take the signed contract to the Korean Consulate/Embassy to apply for the E-2 visa. This contract is a temporary contract used for visa purposes only. You will sign two additional contracts upon your arrival in Korea. One will be for your record and the other will go to SMOE. You will not be able to sign these final contracts without submitting all missing documents. If you are expecting a pay grade that is different than the pay grade stated on your contract, this discrepancy can be addressed when you sign the final contracts in Korea.

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(2) Please ensure that you are in possession of the E-2 visa prior to arriving in Korea. You cannot attend the EPIK orientation or work in Korea without the E-2 visa (except F4 or F2-1 visa holders).

★ Please note that Koreans who have dual citizenship of a foreign country must enter Korea with an E-2 visa on the non-Korean passport.

(3) To apply for the E-2 visa at the Korean Embassy/Consulate, the following items are required: your signed contract, the Notice of Appointment, your passport, the visa application fee, and 2 recent passport sized photos.

* In some cases, a copy of the criminal record check and the original diploma may be required, so please check with the Korean Embassy/Consulate where you will be applying for your visa. Please inform the Korean Embassy/Consulate that you are a successful applicant for EPIK.

2. Arrangement and Notification of Flight Details

(1) Please arrange for your flight to arrive at Incheon International Airport (ICN) on August 17th , 2011 (Please refer to the next page). We will provide a pick-up service between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.

★ Current EPIK teachers or former EPIK teachers who have attended the mandatory EPIK orientation and have the orientation certificate do not need to attend the upcoming orientation again. Those teachers are required to come to the registration office at the orientation venue on August 24th (Wed) at 2 p.m. You are expected to arrange your own transportation to the orientation venue.

(2) When your flight arrangement has been confirmed, please inform your application offices of your flight details with your full name, flight number, departure airport, date and time of departure, and date and time of arrival at Incheon International Airport (ICN).

i) Applicants who applied through Korean consulates or embassies:

Please contact Korean consulates/embassies or

The EPIK Office: Dong Hee Kim (kdonny@korea.kr)

ii) Applicants who applied through their universities:

Please contact your university (MOU applicants only) or

The EPIK Office: Albert Kim (epik@mest.go.kr)

iii) Applicants who applied through the EPIK Office in Korea (direct applicants):

Please contact the EPIK coordinator who conducted your interview.

iv) Applicants who applied through recruiting agencies:

Please contact the recruiting company where you applied through.

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3. Orientation and Pick-up Service

* Detailed information about the location and schedule of the orientation will be posted on the EPIK website (www.epik.go.kr) in early-February.

* General information of the Fall 2011 Orientation

Team 1

MOE

Seoul

Period

Aug.17th(Wed) – Aug. 25th(Thu) Place Kyung Hee University Seocheon-dong, Giheung-gu Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do Registration Multimedia Building EPIK Office (Room 103)

Arrival Airport

Incheon International Airport(ICN) Pick-up Service Aug. 17th only (8:00 a.m~10:00 p.m.)

※ Please check our website regularly for important updates beginning in early-August since the above information is subject to change.

4. Documents to be Prepared before Entry

(1) Missing documents: Please check the top of page 1 of the Important Notice for any missing required documents. The contract can be cancelled if you do not submit the required documents. Any missing required documents or additional documents must arrive at the EPIK office by the end of July. After August 1st, applicants must visit the SMOE office in person to submit any missing or additional documents and to correct the level on their contract if needed(Applicants cannot submit any documents at the orientation venue as there will be no EPIK document manger who can handle the documents.) If applicants cannot submit documents for a higher salary level(e.g. TEFL, MA, PTE) by the end of July, their salary level will be upgraded in October only if they submit the missing or additional documents by the end of September.

(2) 3 additional photos: As a successful applicant, you already submitted at least one passport photo with your application documents; you will be required to provide 3 additional photos shortly after

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your arrival for various administrative purposes. One photo must be submitted during the orientation for your medical exam, another will be submitted to your local Immigration office after the orientation when you apply for your alien registration card, and the third photo will be given to your school. Also, because the photos are for official purposes, it is important that they adhere to very specific guidelines:

① Photos must be 3x4 cm. (3 cm wide, 4 cm long).

② The photo must be a professional photo of your face and the top of your shoulders. Essentially, it must be a standard passport photo.

③ Please wear professional or semi-professional attire (no casual clothing please).

Additionally, you may want to request a few extra photos for other purposes after your arrival, especially if you are planning on staying in Korea for longer than just one year. With the orientation only a few short weeks away, we recommend obtaining these photos at your earliest convenience. We greatly appreciate everyone’s cooperation with this request, and we hope that obtaining these photos will not be too burdensome for you as you prepare to come to Korea.

(3) Original Teacher’s/TESOL/TEFL/CELTA certificates (for applicants who submitted one of copy of these certificates)

* Purpose: EPIK and SMOE (Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education) will need to verify these certificates because only copies of the certificates were submitted during the application process.

(4) Residency Certification (Official proof of residency for tax purposes)

(With the exception of Canadians and Irish)

* Tax laws vary from country to country, so please contact the tax or revenue authority in your home country for more information on how to obtain the proper residency certificate.

* Purpose: To qualify for exemption from Korean income taxes. The document is not required for your application to EPIK, but it is mandatory if you expect to be exempt from Korean income taxes while living in Korea. If you do not submit the document, you will simply have a small percentage of your salary (approximately 3-4%) deducted each month for Korean income taxes.

Also, if you cannot obtain the certificate before you come to Korea, you may still qualify for tax exemption if you can submit it to your school after you begin your contract. It is strongly recommended, however, that you submit this document to your school as soon as possible after your arrival, preferably before you receive your first pay check. If you submit the residency certificate after you have received your first pay check, it is possible to be refunded for the tax that has been deducted from each of the preceding month’s pay checks; however, to avoid

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confusion, we strongly recommend submitting the document before you receive your first pay check. Therefore, you should apply for your residency certificate immediately and try to either bring it with you to the orientation or have it sent to Korea as soon as possible after you arrive.

Please be aware that you can only be exempt from Korean income taxes for a maximum of 2 years. So, if you have already worked in Korea for 2 years or more and have qualified for tax exemption during that time, you will no longer be eligible for tax exemption.

Must be issued by the jurisdictional taxation department in your home country.

5. Entrance Allowance

* Within the first month of the contract, all EPIK-Seoul GETs (Guest English Teachers), regardless of level, will be provided with 1,300,000 KRW as an Entrance Allowance by SMOE.

* The entrance allowance is intended to assist with several initial costs for the GETs including: airfare, a medical examination in Korea ( ~70,000KRW), transportation to the orientation or school upon arrival, and transportation to and from the later orientation for latecomers.

* Since you will not receive your entrance allowance until one month after you start teaching, please bring enough money to live off of for one month (approx. $1,000 USD).

6. Official Medical Report (after entry in Korea)

★ EPIK-Seoul teachers must complete a medical examination in Korea including a physical examination, a blood test, a chest X-ray examination, etc., and obtain an official medical report issued from a hospital which has been designated by the Korean Government.

★ EPIK-Seoul teachers must submit the original official medical report to an immigration office in Korea in order to obtain their Alien Registration card. EPIK teachers must also submit a copy of the medical report to the SMOE. Your co-teacher will be able to assist you with this process when you arrive at your final placement.

★ If any EPIK-Seoul teachers are found to be addicted to drugs/alcohol or are infected with HIV/contagious diseases, the contract will be cancelled automatically and they must return to their home country at their expense as soon as possible. In that case, any or all expenses for entry, departure, or stay in Korea, including medical fees, will be borne by the EPIK-Seoul teacher.

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7. Sixty Hours of Mandatory Training

* According to the Ministry of Education, Science & Technology (MEST)’s policy, all Guest English Teachers have to complete at least 60 hours of mandatory training within their first year of working in Korea.

8. Online Pre-Orientation Course

* A free online pre-orientation course is available to all successful EPIK applicants. The topics of the pre-orientation course include basic teaching principles, Korean language and Korean culture. The pre-orientation course is a part of 60 hours of mandatory training and it will cover 17 training hours while the on-site orientation covers 43 training hours. The pre-orientation course will be available from July 2011 to January 2012(6 months), however, we highly recommend you to complete the course before you come to Korea.

* You will be invited by EPIK through email for the verification of your ID and pin number. You can access the Pre-Orientation Course through our website by visiting www.epik.go.kr. On the left side of the page is a link to the Orientation Course. If there are technical errors, please enter the following IP address: 211.39.132.43 in the web address bar.

* If you do not receive an invitation, please check your spam box. If your e-mail account is from a university or professional organization, you might not be able to access the email, so please set up an alternative email account with a common email service provider (e.g., gmail or yahoo). Please give your recruiter or EPIK your updated email address. We highly recommend that you complete the free online orientation course before starting your contract.

- Course manager email for technical difficulties: Ms. Kim(E-mail: coco80@sda.co.kr/Tel:82-2-2211-3730)

Congratulations on becoming a successful EPIK-Seoul teacher. Please read this 'Important Notice for Successful EPIK-Seoul Applicants' thoroughly and follow the guidelines carefully. Any problems or delays that may arise from your failure to follow the directions on this notice will be your own responsibility.

As a successful EPIK-Seoul teacher, you are given a teaching position in the SMOE (Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education) stated in your contract. Thus, withdrawing from the EPIK program without a justifiable reason will cause great difficulties to the SMOE and EPIK. Applicants who must inevitably withdraw with a reasonable cause must contact the EPIK office in Seoul by e-mail at epikintern@gmail.com and give their full name and the reason for the withdrawal. They should receive a reply from EPIK acknowledging their decision. Please write only “Fall 2011 Withdraw” in the subject line.

※ Applicants who withdraw from the program, for any reason, and do not notify the EPIK office within 48 hours of receiving their contract will not be eligible to apply for subsequent terms.

※ Applicants who decide to withdraw must return their contracts and Notice of Appointment to the EPIK office via post.

(1) Please sign your contract upon receiving it. Take the signed contract to the Korean Consulate/Embassy to apply for the E-2 visa. This contract is a temporary contract used for visa purposes only. You will sign two additional contracts upon your arrival in Korea. One will be for your record and the other will go to SMOE. You will not be able to sign these final contracts without submitting all missing documents. If you are expecting a pay grade that is different than the pay grade stated on your contract, this discrepancy can be addressed when you sign the final contracts in Korea.

(2) Please ensure that you are in possession of the E-2 visa prior to arriving in Korea. You cannot attend the EPIK orientation or work in Korea without the E-2 visa (except F4 or F2-1 visa holders).

★ Please note that Koreans who have dual citizenship of a foreign country must enter Korea with an E-2 visa on the non-Korean passport.

(3) To apply for the E-2 visa at the Korean Embassy/Consulate, the following items are required: your signed contract, the Notice of Appointment, your passport, the visa application fee, and 2 recent passport sized photos.

* In some cases, a copy of the criminal record check and the original diploma may be required, so please check with the Korean Embassy/Consulate where you will be applying for your visa. Please inform the Korean Embassy/Consulate that you are a successful applicant for EPIK.

(1) Please arrange for your flight to arrive at Incheon International Airport (ICN) on August 17th , 2011 (Please refer to the next page). We will provide a pick-up service between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.

★ Current EPIK teachers or former EPIK teachers who have attended the mandatory EPIK orientation and have the orientation certificate do not need to attend the upcoming orientation again. Those teachers are required to come to the registration office at the orientation venue on August 24th (Wed) at 2 p.m. You are expected to arrange your own transportation to the orientation venue.

(2) When your flight arrangement has been confirmed, please inform your application offices of your flight details with your full name, flight number, departure airport, date and time of departure, and date and time of arrival at Incheon International Airport (ICN).

i) Applicants who applied through Korean consulates or embassies:

Please contact Korean consulates/embassies or

The EPIK Office: Dong Hee Kim (kdonny@korea.kr)

ii) Applicants who applied through their universities:

Please contact your university (MOU applicants only) or

The EPIK Office: Albert Kim (epik@mest.go.kr)

iii) Applicants who applied through the EPIK Office in Korea (direct applicants):

Please contact the EPIK coordinator who conducted your interview.

iv) Applicants who applied through recruiting agencies:

Please contact the recruiting company where you applied through.

* Detailed information about the location and schedule of the orientation will be posted on the EPIK website (www.epik.go.kr) in early-February.

* General information of the Fall 2011 Orientation

Team 1 / MOE / Seoul  / Period

Aug.17th(Wed) – Aug. 25th(Thu) Place Kyung Hee University Seocheon-dong, Giheung-gu Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do Registration Multimedia Building EPIK Office (Room 103)

Arrival Airport

Incheon International Airport(ICN) Pick-up Service Aug. 17th only (8:00 a.m~10:00 p.m.)

※ Please check our website regularly for important updates beginning in early-August since the above information is subject to change.

(1) Missing documents: Please check the top of page 1 of the Important Notice for any missing required documents. The contract can be cancelled if you do not submit the required documents. Any missing required documents or additional documents must arrive at the EPIK office by the end of July. After August 1st, applicants must visit the SMOE office in person to submit any missing or additional documents and to correct the level on their contract if needed(Applicants cannot submit any documents at the orientation venue as there will be no EPIK document manger who can handle the documents.) If applicants cannot submit documents for a higher salary level(e.g. TEFL, MA, PTE) by the end of July, their salary level will be upgraded in October only if they submit the missing or additional documents by the end of September.

(2) 3 additional photos: As a successful applicant, you already submitted at least one passport photo with your application documents; you will be required to provide 3 additional photos shortly after your arrival for various administrative purposes. One photo must be submitted during the orientation for your medical exam, another will be submitted to your local Immigration office after the orientation when you apply for your alien registration card, and the third photo will be given to your school. Also, because the photos are for official purposes, it is important that they adhere to very specific guidelines:

① Photos must be 3x4 cm. (3 cm wide, 4 cm long).

② The photo must be a professional photo of your face and the top of your shoulders. Essentially, it must be a standard passport photo.

③ Please wear professional or semi-professional attire (no casual clothing please).

Additionally, you may want to request a few extra photos for other purposes after your arrival, especially if you are planning on staying in Korea for longer than just one year. With the orientation only a few short weeks away, we recommend obtaining these photos at your earliest convenience. We greatly appreciate everyone’s cooperation with this request, and we hope that obtaining these photos will not be too burdensome for you as you prepare to come to Korea.

(3) Original Teacher’s/TESOL/TEFL/CELTA certificates (for applicants who submitted one of copy of these certificates)

* Purpose: EPIK and SMOE (Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education) will need to verify these certificates because only copies of the certificates were submitted during the application process.

(4) Residency Certification (Official proof of residency for tax purposes)

(With the exception of Canadians and Irish)

* Tax laws vary from country to country, so please contact the tax or revenue authority in your home country for more information on how to obtain the proper residency certificate.

* Purpose: To qualify for exemption from Korean income taxes. The document is not required for your application to EPIK, but it is mandatory if you expect to be exempt from Korean income taxes while living in Korea. If you do not submit the document, you will simply have a small percentage of your salary (approximately 3-4%) deducted each month for Korean income taxes.

Also, if you cannot obtain the certificate before you come to Korea, you may still qualify for tax exemption if you can submit it to your school after you begin your contract. It is strongly recommended, however, that you submit this document to your school as soon as possible after your arrival, preferably before you receive your first pay check. If you submit the residency certificate after you have received your first pay check, it is possible to be refunded for the tax that has been deducted from each of the preceding month’s pay checks; however, to avoid

confusion, we strongly recommend submitting the document before you receive your first pay check. Therefore, you should apply for your residency certificate immediately and try to either bring it with you to the orientation or have it sent to Korea as soon as possible after you arrive.

Please be aware that you can only be exempt from Korean income taxes for a maximum of 2 years. So, if you have already worked in Korea for 2 years or more and have qualified for tax exemption during that time, you will no longer be eligible for tax exemption.

Must be issued by the jurisdictional taxation department in your home country.

* Within the first month of the contract, all EPIK-Seoul GETs (Guest English Teachers), regardless of level, will be provided with 1,300,000 KRW as an Entrance Allowance by SMOE.

* The entrance allowance is intended to assist with several initial costs for the GETs including: airfare, a medical examination in Korea ( ~70,000KRW), transportation to the orientation or school upon arrival, and transportation to and from the later orientation for latecomers.

* Since you will not receive your entrance allowance until one month after you start teaching, please bring enough money to live off of for one month (approx. $1,000 USD).

★ EPIK-Seoul teachers must complete a medical examination in Korea including a physical examination, a blood test, a chest X-ray examination, etc., and obtain an official medical report issued from a hospital which has been designated by the Korean Government.

★ EPIK-Seoul teachers must submit the original official medical report to an immigration office in Korea in order to obtain their Alien Registration card. EPIK teachers must also submit a copy of the medical report to the SMOE. Your co-teacher will be able to assist you with this process when you arrive at your final placement.

★ If any EPIK-Seoul teachers are found to be addicted to drugs/alcohol or are infected with HIV/contagious diseases, the contract will be cancelled automatically and they must return to their home country at their expense as soon as possible. In that case, any or all expenses for entry, departure, or stay in Korea, including medical fees, will be borne by the EPIK-Seoul teacher.

* According to the Ministry of Education, Science & Technology (MEST)’s policy, all Guest English Teachers have to complete at least 60 hours of mandatory training within their first year of working in Korea.

* A free online pre-orientation course is available to all successful EPIK applicants. The topics of the pre-orientation course include basic teaching principles, Korean language and Korean culture. The pre-orientation course is a part of 60 hours of mandatory training and it will cover 17 training hours while the on-site orientation covers 43 training hours. The pre-orientation course will be available from July 2011 to January 2012(6 months), however, we highly recommend you to complete the course before you come to Korea.

* You will be invited by EPIK through email for the verification of your ID and pin number. You can access the Pre-Orientation Course through our website by visiting www.epik.go.kr. On the left side of the page is a link to the Orientation Course. If there are technical errors, please enter the following IP address: 211.39.132.43 in the web address bar.

* If you do not receive an invitation, please check your spam box. If your e-mail account is from a university or professional organization, you might not be able to access the email, so please set up an alternative email account with a common email service provider (e.g., gmail or yahoo). Please give your recruiter or EPIK your updated email address. We highly recommend that you complete the free online orientation course before starting your contract.