If you're going to teach English in Jeollanamdo I think it's better to arrive when the Jeollanamdo Office of Education is doing a 1-week orientation in Gwangju (coordinated by Canadian Connection). There was an orientation in late April and another one in late August. Attending an orientation gives you an easy first week in Korea. You're in a hotel with 40-70 other new western ESL teachers who are all going through the same experience. It also gives you a week to get over jet lag before you start teaching. I arrived in late November and had to get started without an orientation and I don't recommend doing it that way.
The orientation groups now establish Facebook pages to help the new teachers stay in touch. This is VERY important because you need a network of people you can get together with in Gwangju on the weekends. Go on Facebook and search for Jeollanamdo Teachers April 2010 and/or Jeollanamdo Teachers August 2010. They are both public groups so you can post questions on the wall. If you've been offered a job in a really small rural town then hopefully you can find someone who is already working there so that you can ask questions.
As a reminder, if you have questions about Yeonggwang and would like to contact me, please email me directly. My email address is jleonard518 AT gmail DOT com. Please put something like 'questions about Yeonggwang' in the subject line. Thanks, Jim.
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