What inspired you to work for Korvia Consulting?
The office space and the atmosphere of this firm was really what motivated me to come and stay. Everyone was friendly, and the traditional sense of hierarchy was there, but not as much as Korean firms. Also, the fact that everyone speaks English fluently here was a huge plus. This is because I am a lot more fluent in English and I can express myself a lot more clearly.
What is your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part of my job is the marketing aspect of it. Since this company is growing, I love to see the growth in it. I believe that my marketing efforts also have some sort of impact with the company's growth. Receiving appreciations from our applicants has also motivated me to keep doing what we do even if it does seem menial at times.
Airport Pickup
How do you use your education and international background in your current role?
I've been to international schools in Hong Kong through most of my elementary to high school years. This means that I have experienced what it is like first hand to be taught by teachers that were from native English speaking countries as well as how school systems work in both the US and the UK.
This also gave me a huge cultural understanding from pretty much everywhere around the world. Hong Kong is hugely diverse especially in the school (West Island School) that I went to the longest. My experiences from the past have helped me understand the people that are applying.
There are issues, problems, and a lot of hurdles. I help applicants avoid or jump through them by giving my personal experience. I also help out with our company by telling them how certain schools work, with what curriculums they've adopted, and which applicants will be the best for those schools.
What advice would you tell your pre-travel self?
To research the food, the reason why that place is famous, and a little bit of the history to understand the culture. I would tell myself to not be naive and respect the place that I’m visiting. To get mentally prepared for differences even if I think that I know everything about cultural differences.
Korvia Party with teachers!
Why should someone choose Korvia Consulting over competitors?
Korvia Consulting has been doing this process (especially with EPIK) for more than 10 years. This means that we have substantial knowledge of the program itself. Not to mention that we are the first exclusive partner of EPIK after they considered only using one agency. We also provide information that we have in our database through thousands of screenings to give the potential applicants the best advice and tips that we can give.
What is your organization's mission and how do you continue to work toward it?
To bring in great native speaking teachers in order to boost English speaking skills in Korea. The Korean equivalent of the SATs are incredibly hard and the English section is notoriously known for being extremely difficult. This has to change because it doesn't teach the students about the English language and only improves on the students' cognitive function.
Although this is important as well, there is no reason to do this with the English language. If they want to add in the cognitive aspect of it, the students will have to be fluent in the language beforehand. Considering that people can barely SPEAK English, this is ridiculous in my opinion.
We screen each applicant carefully to see whether or not they are eligible for the standards of teaching in Korea. Since our mission is to make Korea a nation of people who speak English well, we want teachers that are native in the language.
We also want to make sure that the teachers coming in aren't only looking to travel to Korea, but have a passion to teach students in general. Having passion and interest creates quality teachers in the subject.
Fun at the party!
What do you hope participants take away from your programs?
For them to get accepted into the programs that they've applied for! We do everything in our power to help them complete the best application they can. We can only help to a limit, but we do whatever we can to help. Since we have programs for both public and private schools, we try to match each candidate with the best possible workplace for them.
How do you help support participants?
We provide a step-by-step guide on each section of the application process. This could be put in better terms; we babysit the applicants to make sure that EVERYTHING is in order. If a tiny little error is found, then we find it, mention it, or correct it. We go through EIGHT screening processes just to make sure that everything is in order.
Why is it important for people to travel abroad and experience new cultures?
Experiencing different cultures first hand is extremely important. This helps you to broaden and open your mind to people and their preferences. Nobody makes stupid decisions by choice. And if it does seem stupid, then it is only stupid to you, not to them.
There was a whole process of decisions that that person had to have come to make that choice in the end. And the culture they grew up in has a huge role to play in this decision making process. This difference in thought process is hugely varied even between neighboring countries and definitely other countries from afar.
Welcome package!
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
Meaningful travel is something where you end up appreciating more about the country/place you are visiting. In order to do this, you should have a general interest in that place in the first place. I believe the main requirement for this is to live in the place for at least more than a month. This will help you understand how the day to day is for the locals living there.
How is your company handling Covid protocols? What should participants know about your Covid readiness? How are you assisting participants with navigating the new travel landscape?
Korea is easing off on the restrictions lately and recently they just announced that you don't have to wear a mask outside. The Korean government is really good at keeping in track with your health and rapid testing kits are available everywhere.
If one of your applicants contracted Covid during their stay in Korea, then we will try to help them when they need translating. We will also give them tips and tell them where to go for PCR testing, etc. Since we have information about where they are staying during their stay here, we can contact the school if we decide that it is necessary.
