From Pennsylvania to Honorary Citizens of Seoul — Monica & Benji's story

We met as seniors at Pennsylvania State University. Benjamin went on to pursue a Master's in Classical Semitic Linguistics at Oxford while Monica taught English in Madrid. After a long-distance year we relocated to the Pennsylvania suburbs of Philadelphia and worked in technology — but neither of us felt fulfilled.

We started looking for opportunities abroad that would have a real impact, exploring options in South America and Asia. After hearing positive feedback about South Korea from an acquaintance, we explored teaching there. Monica found Korvia through research, trusted the company's credentials and award-winning services, and decided this would be the team to help us make the move.

Rather than placing us in standard SMOE or GEPIK schools, Korvia recommended a specialised Seongdong-gu government program. We managed an "English House" where 8–12 students lived temporarily for immersion stays while we occupied a top-floor apartment, facilitating cultural exchange and language instruction.

Seoul gave us everything we hoped for: international restaurants, world-class medical centres, and weekends at Seoul Forest and along the Han River. Korvia and our coworkers were essential in those first months — the practical support during the early adaptation period made the difference between merely surviving and actually settling in.

Our son was born in Korea at a local hospital and now attends Korean public school, speaking Korean fluently. The program we run expanded from one centre to three full-time English Experience Centres. We were recognised as "Distinguished Foreigners" and received the title "Honorary Citizen of Seoul" in 2018.

Along the way we've developed expertise in curriculum development, staff management, and hiring. For other English teachers thinking about long-term roads, there are real options — pursuing US teacher certification, master's degrees in TESOL, opening private academies (hagwons), or leveraging international experience with Korean companies.

Our plan is to remain in Korea long-term. We are pursuing the F-2-99 visa for permanent residency after our fifth year. Korea isn't a temporary assignment for us anymore — it's home.