Thank you for joining ATEK!

Letter from the National Membership Officer

Dear new ATEK Member,

Thank you for joining ATEK! You are now an Associate Member. (Click here to learn more about becoming a General Member.)

Language teachers have waited a long time for a national association able to address our unique needs and concerns. The Association for Teachers of English in Korea is a new non-profit organization operated by teachers, for teachers. We work to help each other adjust to living and working in Korea.

English teachers in Korea need support in a variety of ways, and ATEK is basically an organizer of information, people, and resources to make life in Korea better for teachers as well as for Koreans who are connected to English teacher community. (Click here to learn more about our Membership benefits.)

We also represent members, both locally and nationally, to governments, the media, employer associations, and others. We monitor media and legislation and respond when teachers are misrepresented or treated unfairly. We also provide you with a venue and welcoming community through which to voice your opinion and in which your ideas will be heard.

ATEK is a young organization, so you have an opportunity to help shape our initial priorities and goals. Make ATEK work for you!

Jeff Nunziata

National Membership Officer

members@atek.or.kr

Become a General Member

Step 1: Verify your legal residence in Korea

The first step is to determine whether you legally reside in Korea. Please email members@atek.or.kr with a photo of your ARC card* (for foreigners) or a copy of your passport (for Koreans).

Notes:

• Please limit the file size

• Please do not block out anything (if you feel you must, please only block the ARC number)

• Please check that the file is readable before sending

*An ARC card is your Alien Registration Card. When you come to Korea on contract, you need to be registered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an employee at your employer's legal address. This process takes anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Depending on the size of your employer, your employer may get this for you or your employer may ask you to go to the Immigration Office. You need your ARC card for everything, so get it as soon as possible.

Step 2: Verify your status as a teacher of English or any subject taught in English

The second step is to determine whether you legally employed as a teacher of English or any subject taught in English.

For E-1 and E-2 holders, this process is completed merely with a copy of your ARC card since you must be a teacher of English to obtain this visa status.

For F-visa holders, other visa types, and Koreans, the easiest way to complete this step is to email members@atek.or.kr with a copy of your contract (feel free to block out how much you make). However, there are other acceptable documents such as a certificate of employment, private tutor's license, a University ID Card, or a letter from your employer. Please note that general membership is only obtained indefinitely under unique circumstances. Usually, general membership expires 90 days after the end of your contract or visa, whichever comes first.

Notes:

• Please limit the file size

• Please check that the file is readable before sending

Why do we need this information? And is it protected?

The general membership process represents the legitimacy of our organization. Our organization is controlled by general members, and this process ensures that general members are and continue to be teachers of English or any subject taught in English. Your General Membership expires 90 days after the expiration of your visa status or contract, whichever comes first. Your information is not shared with anyone, and you can read more about the security of our data storage on DropBox.com.

Become an Officer!

atek.or.kr/officers

The proposed National bylaws have passed! We are now accepting applications for all of our roles in all 16 of our provinces. Apply today!

Please go to atek.or.kr/officers

A notice will be sent out to members in your province to call for competing candidates and to notify members of where they can ask you further questions on our forums.

Elections will begin a week later from the date of application regardless of the number of candidates, so make sure to recruit your friends and colleagues to become general members so that they can vote for you! 

Guidebook

English Teacher's Guide to Korea

Living and working in a foreign country where one doesn't speak the native tongue presents significant challenges. How does one access services? For that matter, what services are available, and how do they compare and contrast with services in one's country of origin? What does one need to know in order to minimize potential conflicts in a workplace with a substantially different set of expectations and social mores? What does one who has never taught before need to know before they step into an English classroom as a teacher for the first time? The questions are both substantial and without end.

This book is designed to help provide answers to some of these questions, and to report good, accurate information from reliable sources. Much of the information in this guide is scattered across the Internet on websites that cannot verify the truthfulness of statements contained therein. Other information is available only in Korean, and has been translated and presented in this guide. Still other information is original work written specifically for inclusion in this book. We hope this guide makes expatriate life a little more convenient, a little less perplexing, and generally better. There is something in it for everyone!

[ Go to atek.or.kr/guidebook to download the current version (.pdf, 368 pages) ]

Membership Benefits

Membership Benefits

There are two types of Membership: Associate and General. Associate Members get the same benefits as General Members, except for a few things.

General Members have the right to vote and to become an officer of ATEK. General Members also get access to the Employer Rater, Legal Complaint Form, National Council Forums, and Local PMA Forums.

For all members, we are developing a couch network for those who get laid off and need a place to sleep for a few days. We develop relationships with Volunteer and Human Rights organizations so that they can reach out to our teachers more easily and so that interested teachers can reach them more easily. We provide information on Swine Flu / H1N1 precautions. We provide information on social events including religious services in English, marathons, Korean Language Institutes, concerts, clubs, and bars. We hope to soon be able to create a fund for teachers with emergency medical needs. We also have many more membership benefits, and this number is growing every day because of people like you!

How to get a private tutor's license

A post from one of our members on our Forums

So far as I have seen and heard no one has been denied a private teacher's license if they have the proper documents and satisfy the residency requirements.

To be considered a legal resident you are either [A] Korean Citizen or [B] Resident Alien (F series)

Here are the steps to follow:

1. Verify your address for tax purposes:

(for foreigners) take your ARC to the local administrative office. In the cities that's your "Gu Cheon" or district office. In the countryside you would go to cityhall or in rare cases the provincial office if there is no city hall. Confirm that the ARC has the correct address on it. If not, they will update your card on the back.

(for Koreans) Go to the Gu-Cheon and confirm your address. The family address is often different, so be sure that it's the address where you want to pay taxes.

2. Goto the appropriate "Gyo-Cheon" (education office)

[This can be confusing. In some districts there is no education office, so you have to go to a neighboring office. For instance, in Busan, Suyeong-Gu has no Gyo-Cheon, so those teachers go to Haeundae. The Gu-Cheon should know where you need to go.]

Bring your diploma, 2 passport sized photos, your ARC or ID. Fill out the form. Wait until they call you to pick it up.

Membership Issues

ATEK Releases Membership Data

Our organization is divided into 16 PMA’s (1 council for each province). Please click here to see how your province is doing in terms of membership growth.

Membership Data

This page is updated monthly and you can view it at any time by clicking on the Membership Data button on the left menu on our home page atek.or.kr.

members@atek.or.kr