Teach English as an Assistant Homeroom Teacher at Hwacheon County's after-school center in Gangwon-do — home of the Sancheoneo Ice Festival.
3.0M KRW
Starting Salary
22 hrs
Teaching / Week
Mon–Fri
10:00–18:00
Grades 1–2
After-School
The Hwacheon EduCare (HEC) Program is an after-school EduCare program run by Hwacheon County at the Hwacheon Community Center (화천 복합커뮤니티센터). First and second graders from local elementary schools spend their afternoons at the center, where Korean homeroom teachers and a small team of native English teachers look after them together. Teachers sign their contract with Hwacheon County.
The HEC Program aims to give children an everyday English environment: native teachers teach the English classes and keep English going through the rest of the day.
Each class is led by a Korean homeroom teacher. As its Assistant Homeroom Teacher you teach the English lessons and help run the class, based at the center during working hours.
Lead 22 teaching hours a week: prepare and adapt materials, run lessons, and check and guide each student's progress.
Work alongside the Korean homeroom teacher — escorting children between activities, snack time, tidying up, and keeping the classroom and displays in order.
HEC is an English-immersion setting. Use English with the children in every activity — classes, snack time and guidance — so they learn to ask, answer and get by in English. Korean is not used in front of students except in urgent safety or health situations.
Join regular meetings with homeroom teachers and the English specialist teacher (Head Teacher) on curriculum, coordination and feedback, plus orientation and in-service training.
Duties and pay reflect the proposed 2027 HEC contract, which Hwacheon County is finalising. The signed contract is the final reference.
One-year contract, 1 March 2027 – 29 February 2028, renewable.
Working hours are Monday–Friday, 10:00–18:00 with a one-hour lunch break. During school vacations (normally July–August and December–February) the center is at its busiest and morning shifts or adjusted schedules may apply. Paid leave needs 15 days' notice, or 30 days for five or more consecutive working days during those vacation periods. Resigning requires 60 days' written notice.
Hwacheon-gun is a mountain-and-river county of about 22,900 people in northern Gangwon-do. The center is in the county town, Hwacheon-eup, next to Hwacheon County Hall.
Room to save
Housing is provided (or paid as an allowance) on top of the 3.0M KRW starting salary — see Your First Year in Numbers below.
Everyday essentials in town
The county health and medical center in Hwacheon-eup runs a 24-hour emergency room. The town also has private clinics, dentists, six pharmacies, a traditional five-day market, Paris Baguette, Tous les Jours and Ediya Coffee, county sports facilities and a small cinema.
Mountains and rivers
More than 80% of the county is mountains, and the Bukhan River flows through it. Paroho Lake is home to wild otters. A riverside cycling course with a floating bridge loops from the county sports park, and the county rents bikes in town for 10,000 KRW, refunding 5,000 KRW in local vouchers.
Seoul is 2½–3 hours away
Seoul is a weekend trip, not a quick hop. The most comfortable way is the ITX-Cheongchun train between Seoul and Chuncheon, plus the bus between Chuncheon and Hwacheon.
In practice: The Chuncheon–Hwacheon bus takes about an hour and runs roughly every hour, so the change is easy. Incheon Airport Terminal 1 is about 3½–4 hours away via Chuncheon.
Very cold winters
On 20 January 2026 the morning low in Hwacheon was −19 °C.
In practice: Pack real winter gear and expect higher heating bills in winter (utilities are paid by the teacher).
A small foreign community
Only around 300 of the county's residents are foreign nationals.
In practice: You will have HEC colleagues, but learning some Korean makes daily life — and friendships with neighbours — much easier.
Hospital care means Chuncheon
The 24-hour emergency room in town treats emergencies and refers serious cases to larger hospitals.
In practice: There is no general hospital in the county; plan on Chuncheon for hospital and most specialist care.
Photo credits (images cropped and resized): Festival and Seondeung Street photos: Republic of Korea (Korea.net), CC BY-SA 2.0 · Hwacheon-eup panorama: Academy of Korean Studies, KOGL Type 1 · National Route 5: Jjw, CC BY-SA 3.0
Checked October 2026. Times and fares change — check the current timetable before you travel.
Intercity bus, roughly hourly from early morning to about 9 p.m. · about 6,000 KRW
ITX-Cheongchun from Yongsan or Cheongnyangni to Nam-Chuncheon (about 1 h 10 min), a 5–10 minute walk to the intercity bus terminal, then the hourly bus to Hwacheon · train + about 6,000 KRW bus
One bus, but a standard coach that stops on the way, including Chuncheon; only several a day, and the last one back from Seoul leaves in the early evening · about 19,000 KRW
Bus to Chuncheon, then the airport bus (about 2¼ h) · about 35,000 KRW in total
From the proposed 2027 contract terms, before tax and insurance, if you complete the year and then leave Korea. Housing is provided on top.
The entrance allowance is for teachers hired from overseas; the exit allowance is for completing the full term and leaving Korea within 10 days — both need flight receipts and boarding passes. Approved overtime is paid on top.
Every January the Sancheoneo Ice Festival fills Hwacheon-eup, the county town, with ice fishing and cultural events. The 2025 edition drew a record 1.86 million visitors, about 122,000 of them from overseas — expect busy streets and full buses that month.
A summer festival in Sanae-myeon, held 31 July – 9 August in 2026.
HEC roles Korvia is recruiting for right now. The job posting has the full terms.
Gangwon, Hwacheon
Both are required — applications without the form and two letters are not reviewed. See our guide to letters of recommendation.
A short demo-lesson video — ideally you teaching young learners — or other teaching materials such as lesson plans or a portfolio can give you an advantage in selection.
Submit your application at korvia.com/apply — see Open Positions above. Korvia Consulting is the exclusive recruitment agency for the HEC Program and reviews every application before recommending candidates to the center.
Interviews for the March 2027 start are planned for November 2026. Most take place by video call. If you can make the trip, an in-person interview at the center in Hwacheon is welcome — it is a long way, but meeting the team face to face often leaves a stronger impression. A reference check follows before any offer.
After an offer, Korvia guides you through your final documents and the E-2 visa, then hands you over to the center for orientation and your first day in Hwacheon.
Questions? Email support@korvia.com.
The Hwacheon EduCare (HEC) Program is an after-school English program run by Hwacheon County, Gangwon-do, for first and second graders. It is based at the Hwacheon Community Center (화천 복합커뮤니티센터), 38 Jungang-ro 9-gil, next to Hwacheon County Hall, where native English teachers work as Assistant Homeroom Teachers.
No. The 1,500,000 KRW entrance allowance is for teachers hired from overseas. The 1,500,000 KRW exit allowance applies to any teacher who completes the full term and leaves Korea within 10 days.
When you apply. Furnished single housing is provided by the employer; the 600,000 KRW monthly allowance instead is by agreement with the employer.
Send your application form and two letters of recommendation through Korvia, the exclusive recruitment partner for the Hwacheon EduCare Program.