Hello! I'm in Thailand right now but I want to go work in Korea next. I'd prefer to work in a public school, rather than a hagwon, but I'll take a hagwon if it's reputable and not just going to abuse me. If it's important, I'm an American male in my early 30's with about 3.5 years of teaching experience, 2 years experience teaching in Thailand specifically.
I don't actually want to work in a big city, and I kind of prefer smaller, rural areas.
So I want to know, what's the best way to make the transfer from Thailand into Korea? I'm not in a huge hurry, I just want to end up arriving in a good position, safely. Should I apply directly to schools or stick with an agency? If I apply directly to the school, will they still help me with getting a visa and documentation?
I used xploreasia to reach Thailand and they've been pretty good. They connected me with HandsKorea, but the recruiter was telling me that they don't do government schools and the students I'll receive are much younger than what I prefer (I really work best with older students. I can have fun with young learners but I can offer a lot more to older students). The pay was estimated to be like 2.1 mil Wan and I don't love that, or the idea of working in a hagwon. Again, I'll do it if it's a decent position, but I want to boost my chances of ensuring that the position is decent as much as I can.