Our school year must include 180 teaching days, usually beginning in the middle of August and ending in early June. Holidays include some of the major Korean national holidays, American Thanksgiving, three weeks at Christmas, Lunar New Year, and a week each for Spring and Fall Break. Take a look at our calendar to view the events each month.

• Elementary School: Students attend school Monday through Friday from 8:00 am-3:00 pm 
  • Pre-K 2 attend either 8:00 am-11:00 am or 8:00 am – 2:00 pm. Pre-K 3 attend either 8:00 am-11:00 am or 8:00 am-3:00 pm.  
• British School: Students attend school Monday through Friday from 8:00 am-3:00 pm. 
• Middle & High School: Students attend school Monday through Friday from 8:00 am-3:10 pm.  

Elementary School: The maximum class size is 14 or 15 students in Early Childhood  (Pre-K/Age 2 to 4), 20 in Kindergarten and Grade 1. In Grades 2-5, the maximum class size is 22 students per classroom. Teacher assistants are provided per classroom up to Grade 1. There is one Teacher Assistant for Grade 2 and one for Grade 3-5. In addition, parents and high school volunteers may assist teachers in the classrooms.

British School: The maximum class size is 22 students per classroom in Year Reception through Year 9.

Middle School: The maximum class size is 24 students per classroom.

High School: Class sizes range from 5 to 25 depending on the course.

SFS follows the UK National Curriculum enhanced by the IEYC/IPC/IMYC frameworks in the British School, and the International Baccalaureate (IB) program in Elementary, Middle, and High School.

All overseas-hired faculty live in school-owned apartments on the campus or in nearby residence hotel we lease. You may prefer one over the other depending on your lifestyle. We try to reflect your preference as much as possible, but the assignment is based on availability. Both housing options are private, functionally furnished, heated/air-conditioned, and we provide support for comfortable living through the housing service team on campus and hotel management off campus. The size of the units vary; some 2BR apartments are about 60 square meters and larger 4BR apartments are about 165 square meters.

A less than five minute walk from your front door will take you to your classroom. It is very handy and exempts you from the traffic problems that sometimes plague Seoul. Two shuttle buses run for commute to and from the residence hotel which is about 2 km away, less than 10 minute ride. 

Apartments are provided with cable internet and a cable box is provided in each apartment. The channels in English are rather limited, so many people enjoy using Netflix, Apple TV, YouTube, etc. for personal entertainment.

If you desire domestic help, housekeepers, and nannies are often available. They support a range of functions from laundry to childcare. Many teachers hire someone for a day a week for household chores while those with young children may have someone to primarily watch their children.

We generally discourage pets as there have been issues with them over holidays and while teachers are at work. On campus, we only allow cats. At the residence hotel, cats and small dogs are permitted if you agree to the terms set by the hotel. 

Overseas teachers living on campus receive a utility allowance which is designed to pay a significant portion of their electricity usage for the average teacher. The allowance is paid monthly from August to May. Teachers also pay for cable television, internet, and phone charges. The school covers other utilities such as heating and gas for cooking.

Nearly all items essential to daily life are available in Korea and as each day goes by, more and more international brands are entering the market. Online shopping is fairly easy to access and shipping is very fast in Korea. 

The apartment you will be living in is small but comfortable. A sofa, coffee table, end tables, beds, dining table/chairs, desk, and some other basic furniture are provided. In addition, you have access to washers and dryers (shared on campus) and a fridge with a freezer. TV is provided only at the residence hotel. We strongly encourage you not to bring furniture and large appliances. Small appliances are diverse and affordable in Korea. If you choose to ship things internationally (versus bringing them with you), HR will provide a hospitality kit with basic cooking utensils, pillows, towels, etc. until your shipment arrives. Many teachers find it easy to shop at places like Ikea or Costco for home decor. 

When new teachers arrive into Seoul in August, it is the end of the rainy season and it is rather hot and humid. Seoul winters are cold and dry, while fall and spring are beautiful and pleasant. Thus, teachers are able to enjoy the distinct four seasons and the changing scenery.

Food costs

Most people will find food prices in Korea high. Of course, this varies by the amount you eat out, and how many overseas/imported items you want to enjoy.

There are a wide variety of foods available. Fresh fruits and vegetables are seen year-round, though availability and prices fluctuate according to seasons. You should not expect to find all of the fruits and vegetables that you would in your home country. There are several local meat and fish markets but many teachers frequent the larger, western supermarkets.

There are many western food products available, and Korea is becoming more open to vegan and vegetarian diets.

On campus dining

Teachers are given monthly allowance to use at the cafeteria but also have full discretion to bring their own lunch or to make other arrangements. Some of the teachers delight in heading home for a quiet meal during the lunch break.

Our two cafeterias at ES and HS serve variety of food (Korean, western, vegetarian, fast food, snacks, bakery & coffee). They use a pre-paid finger-scan system for both faculty and students, thereby eliminating the need for cash on a daily basis.

An eight-minute walk will bring you to a state-of-the-art hospital, one of the major medical service hubs in Korea. At the international Clinic there, a SFS school doctor is on staff, and they have an English-speaking on-call doctor at all times. Calling an ambulance through 911 is free of charge in Korea and the closest fire station is just down the hill from campus. Other medical facilities of different sizes are also available in the neighborhood.

For all Overseas Direct Hires and their dependents, we provide Scholars International Health Insurance in partnership with Cigna. For all local hires, we enroll them to Korea National Health Insurance. 

Once you are hired, HR will be in touch to clarify the paperwork needed to obtain your visa prior to your arrival as an overseas hire. A wealth of information will be shared to help you begin to understand life at SFS.

Once you arrive here in Seoul we will provide a full week of orientation to Seoul and to life at SFS. Initially this is focused on settling in and finding basic necessities.

We then move to school topics and the issues of living and working on campus. We also touch on how to deal with medical issues, contract benefits, computer systems and curriculum.

As the week draws to an end the returning teachers start to arrive and they help to support the new teachers in the following week as we prepare for the start of school. Additional orientation activities continue into the year as we try to help you settle in to your new home at SFS.

Banking at SFS is easy and accessible. We assist the new faculty to open foreign and local currency accounts with a local bank to receive salary. A bank teller visits SFS campus on school days so that the faculty do not have to take time off from work to take care of banking. There is also an ATM on campus. Teachers are paid in US Dollars but a portion of the salary can be paid at a fixed rate in Korean won. Generally this amount is seen as sufficient to live on and the remaining USD salary is typically paid into a local USD bank account. Faculty then wire funds to their home country bank periodically.

This depends greatly on the child, the school system from which they came, and the country you are coming from. We have a tradition of academic excellence, and this is an important to consider for any parent. We also have a wide variety of extracurricular programs that will spark the interest of many students.

Your salary amount in the contract is net pay (after-tax). SFS also covers other local taxes for all employees. However, if your home country has a tax exemption treaty with Korea, we require you to provide paperwork in the onboarding process.

Yes, there are many. Seoul Foreign School would like to encourage your family to maintain contact with the Christian faith by attending the church of your choice during your stay in Seoul. We will provide additional information on this topic during orientation.

We ask our teachers to make their decisions about the following school year as early as October each year. That means that openings become firm in the Fall and as the recruiting fairs start we are ready to start hiring. However, the hiring process can run until the end of the year as final changes are made and as needs are identified. In addition to this annual cycle, the HR office never stops the application process. That means that new applicants are continually being added to the system. Candidates that meet our criteria are highlighted as potential hires for our administration to consider in the future. 

Yes, we hire candidates with dependents (spouse and/or children). We often hire couples with children where both parents are teachers. Generally we do not hire families with more than three children. Singles and teaching couples with/without children form the bulk of our hiring.

Yes, we hire teachers that are living here in Korea. Predominantly we hire spouses of people that are already working here and that have arranged their visas and housing.

We also hire Korean nationals for a variety of our positions. These locally hired staff are provided virtually the same benefits as their overseas counterparts but some items, such as housing and airfare are not included in the local-hire package.

We do hire the various positions listed on our online application. There are professionals working in different offices and teaching assistants. 

Yes. A number of our faculty members are non-Christians, but do understand the Christian ethos and legacy of the school and actively support the Christian mission of the school.

In the British School, the majority of the teachers are from the United Kingdom. In the other three divisions, 26 different countries are represented and teachers came from the US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, and South Africa, just to name a few. Our foreign language teachers are often from their native countries. About two thirds of our teachers have earned their master’s or higher degrees and the average number of years of teaching experience is 12 years.

Unless you have a residential visa such as F-4 or F-6, we will work towards securing a work visa for you; E-7 for faculty members and F-3 for dependents. Requirements vary depending on your position, but generally for teachers, a government-issued teaching license/certificate (if not, a proof of two or more years of full-time teaching experience at an accredited school) is a must as well as a Bachelor's degree. A criminal record check results from your home country and a country of current residency are also required.