Misty Mountains of Gwangju

The past couple of days have been pretty hectic. I’ve been traveling around to meet some schools as well as some of our business partners.

Right now, I’m on the bus heading for Gwangju. It’ll probably take about 2 and a half hours to get there from Daegu. The only other time I remember being there was in 2002 for the World Cup because we had tickets for a game there.

I have meetings with two schools in Gwangju today. It’s among the top 5 largest cities in Korea, so it should be a good place for people to go.

In the past couple of days I’ve visited schools in Gumi, Seoul, and Siheung. I was impressed with all of them in different ways.



We have one school in Seoul that is very high above average in terms of quality of students, pay, and housing etc… They have very high standards, and that includes who they hire.



They’re looking for someone who is really passionate about teaching and who has a great attitude. In order to keep up with the intelligence of the students at this school, the teacher needs to be very well educated and able to stimulate high-level conversation.

If you or anyone you know fits that description, e-mail me directly at jason at asknow.ca


They will basically hire at any time, as long as it’s the right candidate.

I really enjoy getting to visit schools and meeting the directors and staff. It’s fun to see what different schools are like. The overall quality seems to be improving. It’s great to be able to chat with people who have similar interests and who are very goal oriented.



Beyond that, I continue to learn about Korea and cultural differences. Doing business in Korea and negotiating with Korean counterparts is certainly different than doing business in Canada or the U.S. etc…

Without knowledge of the culture or the language, I think anyone trying to do business in Korea is at a severe disadvantage and will most likely have a hard time.

I’m glad that the years I’ve spent here were not wasted just spending time with other foreigners. Having jumped right into the local scene has given me a lot more opportunity than I would have had otherwise.

At the time, I didn’t know where I would end up a few years down the road, but if I did know, I would have done much the same.

So, I will sign off for now, at 8:18 am as I wind my way through the misty mountains on the road to Gwangju.