How to Survive Your First Week at a Korean Hagwon

You’ve made it. After months of paperwork, visa processing, and a long flight, you’re actually here in Korea, standing in front of your new hagwon. Your apartment is smaller than you imagined, you’re running on three hours of sleep, and you start teaching tomorrow morning. Welcome to the club.

That first week is going to feel like drinking from a fire hose. Everything is new, nothing makes sense yet, and you’ll probably question your life choices at least once (maybe twice if you teach middle schoolers). But here’s the thing: everyone feels this way, and you’re going to be fine. Better than fine, actually.

Here’s how to not just survive, but actually thrive during those crucial first seven days.

Day One: The Welcome (Sort Of)

You’ll probably arrive on a weekend, which gives you a day or two to recover from jet lag before meeting your coworkers. Use this time wisely.

Get Your Bearings

Walk around your neighborhood during daylight hours. Find these essential locations within the first 24 hours:

• The nearest convenience store (your new best friend)
• A decent restaurant or two
• The subway station
• A coffee shop
• Your actual hagwon building (do a test run so you’re not frantically searching on Monday morning)

Don’t worry about getting lost. Korea is remarkably safe, and someone will help you if needed. Download Naver Maps or Kakao Maps – Google Maps is basically useless here.

Stock Your Apartment

Hit up a convenience store (GS25, CU, or 7-Eleven) for basics. Get water, some simple food, instant coffee, and snacks. You don’t need to do a huge shopping run yet – just enough to function for a few days.

Pro tip: Korean apartments often don’t come with basic items you’d expect. No dish soap? No trash bags? Totally normal. Make a list as you discover what’s missing, then tackle it throughout the week.

Fight the Jet Lag (But Not Too Hard)

Try to adjust to local time immediately, but don’t beat yourself up if you’re awake at 3 AM watching YouTube. It happens. Just make sure you’re functional enough for your first day at the hagwon. A little tiredness is manageable; complete exhaustion is not.

Meeting Your Director: First Impressions Matter

Your first interaction with your director sets the tone for everything. Most directors are professional and welcoming, though communication styles can vary wildly.

What to Expect

Your director will likely:

• Give you a tour of the hagwon
• Introduce you to Korean staff members
• Explain basic procedures (maybe)
• Hand you materials for your classes
• Possibly throw you into teaching immediately (yes, really)

How to Handle It

Be enthusiastic but not overwhelming. Smile, bow slightly when greeting people (follow their lead on depth), and express appreciation for the opportunity. Korean workplace culture values humility and respect for hierarchy.

Ask questions, but strategically. Your director is busy, and marathon question sessions can be overwhelming. Focus on immediately essential information: What time do I arrive? What do I wear? Which classes am I teaching? Save the rest for later.

Take notes. You’ll be hit with a ton of information. Write everything down, even if it seems obvious. You won’t remember half of it tomorrow.

Don’t stress about remembering names. You’ll meet a dozen people on day one. Just be friendly and know you’ll mix up names for at least two weeks. It’s fine.

Understanding Your Schedule

Korean hagwon schedules can be confusing at first because they don’t follow typical Western work hours.

Typical Schedule Breakdown:

Let’s say you work 2 PM to 10 PM (common for elementary/middle school hagwons):

• 2:00-3:00 PM: Arrive, prep materials, set up classrooms
• 3:00-6:00 PM: Elementary classes (younger kids)
• 6:00-7:00 PM: Dinner break (sometimes)
• 7:00-10:00 PM: Middle/high school classes (older students)

Classes are usually 40-50 minutes with 10-minute breaks between. You might teach 6-8 classes per day.

The Desk Time Question

Some hagwons have strict “desk time” where you must be present even without classes. Others are flexible if your classes are done. Figure out your hagwon’s culture quickly. Watch what other foreign teachers do.

Planning Time

You may or may not have dedicated planning time in your schedule. Many teachers do lesson prep at home or during breaks. This is one of those “it depends on your hagwon” situations.

Your First Classes: The Baptism by Fire

Most hagwons will have you teaching within your first 2-3 days, sometimes immediately. You won’t feel ready. That’s completely normal.

Preparation Strategy

If you’re given curriculum materials, review them the night before. Even 30 minutes of prep helps. If you’re given nothing (also common), plan simple activities:

• Self-introduction (tell them about yourself, where you’re from, why you’re in Korea)
• Learn student names through games
• Simple icebreaker activities
• Basic assessment of their English levels

Managing Expectations

Your first classes will be messy. Students are sizing you up, testing boundaries, and figuring out this new foreign teacher. Don’t expect perfect lessons. Just aim for:

• Getting through the class time
• Learning some names
• Establishing basic classroom expectations
• Not crying (kidding… mostly)

Energy Management

Teaching back-to-back classes is exhausting, especially while jet-lagged. Pace yourself. It’s okay to do simpler activities early on. Your energy and teaching quality will improve dramatically after the first week once your body adjusts.

The Student Energy Problem

Remember, your students have been in school all day before arriving at your hagwon. They’re tired, they’d rather be home, and English class might be their seventh class of the day. Lower your expectations for enthusiasm accordingly.

Elementary kids might still have energy. Middle schoolers will be zombies. High schoolers will want to sleep on their desks. This is normal. Work with it, not against it.

Navigating Your Korean Coworkers

The Korean teachers at your hagwon will be your daily support system. Building good relationships matters.

The Hierarchy Thing

Korean workplaces are hierarchical. Your director is at the top, followed by senior teachers, then junior teachers, then you. Age also factors in. This doesn’t mean people are unfriendly – it just means interactions follow certain patterns.

When in doubt: be respectful, slightly formal at first, and follow the lead of other foreign teachers who’ve been there longer.

Communication Styles

Korean communication can be indirect compared to Western directness. “Maybe we could try…” might actually mean “Do this.” “That might be difficult…” often means “No.”

Pay attention to tone and context, not just words. When someone says “You don’t have to do that,” they might actually mean you should definitely do that.

Making Friends

Many Korean teachers at hagwons are young and friendly. Don’t assume language barriers mean they’re not interested in talking. Simple interactions – sharing snacks, asking about their day, showing interest in Korean culture – go a long way.

That said, don’t force friendships. Some coworkers will become genuine friends; others will remain professional acquaintances. Both are fine.

The Teacher’s Room Culture

Every hagwon has different teacher’s room vibes. Some are chatty and social; others are quiet work spaces. Observe for a few days before deciding how you fit in.

Offering to share food is a guaranteed way to build goodwill. Grab some coffee or snacks and share them around. This is huge in Korean culture.

Practical Survival Tips

Dress Code

Most hagwons expect business casual: slacks/nice pants and a collared shirt for men; professional but comfortable clothing for women. Avoid jeans (usually), shorts, and anything too casual unless you see other teachers wearing it.

When in doubt, overdress slightly for the first week, then adjust based on what you observe.

Lunch and Dinner

Some hagwons provide meals; others don’t. Figure this out immediately. If you’re responsible for your own food:

• Convenience stores have decent prepared food
• Local restaurants near hagwons often offer quick, cheap meals
• Don’t skip meals because you’re nervous – you need the energy

Korean coworkers might invite you to meals. Say yes when possible. This is relationship-building time, and you’ll discover great local spots.

The Bathroom Situation

Korean bathrooms often have squat toilets alongside Western toilets. There’s usually toilet paper in a dispenser outside the stalls, not inside. Grab it before you go in.

Shoes Off Culture

Some hagwons require you to change into indoor shoes. If there’s a shoe rack at the entrance with slippers, you should probably take off your shoes. Follow what others do.

Technology and Materials

Figure out early:

• How to use the classroom TV/computer
• Where materials are kept
• How the printer works
• WiFi password
• Any specific software or platforms you’ll use

Ask a Korean teacher to show you. Don’t fumble through lessons because you couldn’t figure out how to connect your laptop to the TV.

Managing Your Mental Health

The first week is emotionally intense. You’re adjusting to a new country, new job, new culture, and possible loneliness all at once.

Expect Emotional Ups and Downs

You might feel:

• Excited and energized one moment
• Overwhelmed and homesick the next
• Confident after a good class
• Totally incompetent after a rough one

This emotional rollercoaster is completely normal. It doesn’t mean you’ve made a mistake coming to Korea.

Stay Connected to Home (But Not Too Much)

Video call family and friends, but don’t spend every evening on social media comparing your new life to everyone else’s highlight reel. Give yourself space to adjust to Korea without constantly mentally being somewhere else.

Find One Enjoyable Thing Each Day

Could be a delicious meal, a pretty walk, a funny moment with a student, discovering a cool cafe. Actively look for these bright spots. They help counterbalance the challenging moments.

Don’t Isolate

Reach out to other foreign teachers at your hagwon or in your city. Facebook groups for expats in your area are gold mines for meeting people. Everyone was new once, and the teaching community in Korea is generally welcoming.

Sleep Matters

You’ll be tempted to stay up late exploring or chatting with people back home. Don’t. Your body is adjusting to a new time zone AND a demanding new job. Prioritize sleep this first week, even if it feels boring.

Learning from Mistakes (You’ll Make Them)

Let me save you some trouble by mentioning common first-week mistakes:

The Technology Disaster

You spend 15 minutes of a 40-minute class trying to get a video to play. Students get bored. Class falls apart.

Solution: Always have a backup plan that requires zero technology. Bring printed materials or know a game you can play with nothing but a whiteboard.

The Timing Miscalculation

You plan an elaborate lesson that you think will take 40 minutes. It takes 15. Now you have 25 minutes of dead air and restless students.

Solution: Over-plan, especially at first. Better to have too much material than too little. Simple filler activities (hangman, pictionary, review games) save lives.

The Boundary Issues

Students ask for your KakaoTalk (Korean messaging app), phone number, or Instagram in the first week.

Solution: Check your hagwon’s policy first. Many hagwons discourage or forbid direct student contact outside class. When in doubt, say you’ll ask your director first.

The Overpromiser

You enthusiastically agree to extra duties, special projects, or additional classes because you want to make a good impression.

Solution: Pace yourself. Learn your actual responsibilities before volunteering for more. It’s harder to pull back later than to gradually take on more responsibility.

Building Classroom Management Early

The habits you establish in week one will follow you all year. Start as you mean to continue.

Set Clear Expectations

Even if you’re easygoing by nature, establish basic rules immediately:

• Speak English (or try)
• Raise hands to speak
• Respect others when they’re talking
• Come prepared with materials

You can always loosen up later. It’s nearly impossible to become stricter after starting too relaxed.

Learn Names Quickly

Use name tents, seating charts, name games – whatever works. Students respond better when you know their names. It also prevents the awkward “you, in the blue shirt” moment.

Be Consistent

If something is not okay on Monday, it can’t be okay on Wednesday just because you’re tired. Students need consistency to feel secure and understand boundaries.

Positive Reinforcement Works

Korean students respond incredibly well to praise and positive attention. Stickers, stamps, verbal encouragement – use them liberally. The students who seem most disengaged often respond best to sincere praise when they do participate.

By the End of Week One

You won’t have everything figured out. Not even close. But you’ll have:

• Survived your first classes
• Started learning names and faces
• Figured out the basics of your schedule
• Located essential places in your neighborhood
• Made initial connections with coworkers
• Begun understanding your hagwon’s culture and expectations

That’s genuinely impressive for seven days in a foreign country.

Looking Ahead

The first week is the hardest. Week two will still be challenging, but you’ll know where things are and what’s expected. By week three, you’ll have routines. By week four, you’ll actually feel like maybe you can do this job.

Give yourself credit for the difficulty of what you’re doing. You’re not just learning a new job – you’re building an entire life in a country where you probably don’t speak the language fluently, navigating cultural differences, and teaching kids who may or may not want to be there.

The teachers who thrive in Korea aren’t necessarily the most qualified or experienced. They’re the ones who stay flexible, maintain their sense of humor, and remember why they came in the first place – whether that’s adventure, cultural immersion, saving money, or simply trying something completely different.

Your first week will be chaotic and overwhelming and probably feature at least one moment where you wonder what you’ve gotten yourself into. But it will also likely include moments of unexpected joy – a student’s shy smile when they understand something, a coworker’s kindness, the thrill of navigating your first successful subway journey, or the satisfaction of eating incredible Korean food you can’t even pronounce.

You’ve got this. Thousands of teachers before you survived their first week at a Korean hagwon, and thousands more will after you. The job gets easier, Korea starts feeling like home, and one day – probably sooner than you expect – you’ll be the experienced teacher giving advice to the nervous newbie who just arrived.