This post may contain affiliate links, which means I'll receive a commission if you purchase/sign up through my link, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure here.
Applying to the English Program in Korea (EPIK) is no small feat in and of itself. The process is about 6 months long, give or take, and there are countless hoops to jump through to make sure your I’s are dotted and T’s are crossed. So much of your EPIK timeline is spent waiting between stages in the application cycle.
I went crazy trying to gauge if I was “early” or “late” in hearing back from EPIK. I combed through numerous Reddit forums and Tumblr blogs looking for previous candidates’ application experiences. If you’re also wanting someone’s EPIK timeline as a point of comparison, here’s my data point based on my experience.
Why did I apply to EPIK?
Since I learned about EPIK when I was a college student, I always had it in the back of my brain as an opportunity I wanted to explore. I wanted to share my love for language-learning with others and get to know Korea from a firsthand perspective.
EPIK seemed like the better teaching option for me compared to a hagwon (private academy) with more time off, 9 to 5 hours, and more legal protections. And once the world began to open again, I figured, “Why not now?”
Important things to note:
Did I use a recruiter?
After looking into it heavily, I decided not to apply through a recruiter. I think a recruiter would be great for an applicant who considers themself an unorganized person, or if you’d like a little more handholding throughout the process. I had researched the EPIK application process for years at that point and felt comfortable preparing everything myself.
Because I applied solo (and early), that means my materials were reviewed weeks before those submitted through a recruiter. Keep this in mind when reading my EPIK timeline.
When did I apply?
I applied for the Spring 2023 intake. Since the spring is the start of the Korean school year, the intake is bigger because there are more jobs to fill. I wanted the odds to be as in my favor as I could rig ‘em. The application for the spring intake opens on August 1st every year, so I could easily plan out what I needed to do in advance.
My EPIK Timeline
For everyone preparing to apply or waiting to hear back from EPIK, here’s my personal timeline from application to placement and moving to Korea.
Getting qualified
1/11/22 – I started my online TEFL program.
4/15/22 – I started tutoring group ESL classes with a local organization, Hanul Family Alliance. This was to start getting my in-class teaching hours required for my TEFL.
I also had to do a separate set of training modules for Hanul before starting with them. While they were free (and helpful), they were still time consuming and included both online and live virtual components.
If you also need teaching hours for your TEFL, start getting them as far in advance as possible. While you don’t have to have completed your TEFL by the time you first apply to EPIK, you’ll have so many other balls in the air at that point with documents that I don’t want you to also worry about teaching hours.
6/22/22 – I completed my online TEFL course.
I took my sweet time with the online portion of my TEFL. I could have whipped through it faster than I did, but I was focusing more on creating good lesson plans for my ESL classes at the time.
6/26/22 – I reached out to my references asking for recommendation letters.
Getting started
6/30/22 – I mailed my passport off for renewal.
Your passport needs to be valid for at least 6 months after your contract completion date. Don’t wait until the EPIK application opens to check your passport. I paid extra to have my passport renewal expedited, but that still took weeks. Renewed the usual way, you’re waiting months to get that thing back.
8/12/22 – I submit the online EPIK application.
One of my references forgot about my recommendation letter, so I had to wait 12 agonizing days after the application opened before I could submit mine.
Mid-August – I received my new passport in the mail.
I think it took about 5 weeks, but I don’t remember the exact date it was received. Reminder that this was expedited.
8/13/22 – I got an FBI background check done.
While this is technically not required until you pass the interview, I was presumptuous to save myself time later. Many blogs I read said not to wait for EPIK to request your documents before starting to gather them. I strongly agree with that advice, and I’m immensely glad I did it myself.
8/14/22 – I ordered my FBI background check apostille.
This is one of the last documents to come back to you. Initiate it as soon as possible.
Getting asked back
9/6/22 – I received an email invite to interview.
9/14/22 – I had my interview with EPIK.
9/19/22 – I received an email that I passed the interview.
Getting all the documents
9/22/22 – I got a copy of my diploma notarized.
I went to my brick-and-mortar bank to do this. Call ahead to find out if your bank has a notary and when they’ll be available.
9/23/22 – I got my notarized diploma copy apostilled.
I’m an Illinois resident from the Chicago suburbs, so I went in person to the downtown Chicago Secretary of State office. I dropped off my diploma copy and waited in the office for around 30 minutes before they handed it back to me with the apostille. If you don’t live near your state’s Secretary of State office, add more time for mailing your documents back and forth.
9/28/22 – I received my apostilled background check.
10/29/22 – I mailed all my documents to Korea (with international priority shipping).
Dude, organizing your EPIK documents for the mail takes longer than you think. They want things in a very specific order, with your signature in very specific places. It took me a few hours with my mom’s help and the entire surface area of our kitchen counter before I felt like I could put everything in the envelope.
11/2/22 – My documents were delivered to EPIK.
11/9/22 – My documents were accepted after EPIK completed their review.
The sigh of relief I released upon reading this email cannot be overstated.
11/13/22 – I got the last of my 50 teaching hours.
I went for the 50 hours because I wanted to teach in Busan, where that sort of TEFL is required.
Getting ready to go
11/24/22 – I was officially offered a placement (in Busan)!
From everything I read, I was prepared to not hear anything until late December at the earliest. I think getting my placement so early was a combination of luck and getting all my documents in early. Getting this email on Thanksgiving definitely gave me much to be thankful for!
11/30/22 – I received my notice of appointment and contract.
12/6/22 – I applied for my teaching visa.
Luckily I lived an hour away from the nearest Korean embassy. Add more time if you need to mail your documents there and back.
12/21/22 – I returned to the Korean embassy to pick up my notice of visa issuance.
1/9/23 – I received my date of arrival info.
1/9/23 – I bought my plane ticket.
1/19/23 – I received my orientation information.
1/24/23 – I mailed tax form 8802 in order to get tax form 6166.
This is a hack to save some money during your time in Korea if you’re a US citizen. The US and South Korea have an agreement where, by providing your Korean employer with tax form 6166 (US Residency Certification), you don’t have to pay Korean income taxes for two years. Submitting tax form 8802 is the prerequisite for the IRS to send you Form 6166, which is the paper you actually need to give to your school.
I started this process too late. Fortunately I had orientation and a couple weeks before my first paycheck as a time buffer, but it would have been much less stressful if my mom didn’t have to mail the returned form to me in Korea. Send tax form 8802 earlier if you want form 6166 to get to you before you leave for Korea. I think it took about 4-5 weeks to come back.
Getting there
2/16/23 – I landed in Korea.
2/21/23 – I had my first day of orientation.
2/27/23 – I met my co-teacher and moved to my apartment.
2/28/23 – I had my first day of work as an EPIK teacher.
Late February – I received the tax form back at my home in the US.
My mom mailed the form to me, which fortunately made it in time before my first paycheck. But again, don’t be like me. Do this early so your mom doesn’t have to mail it to you.
Overall
Applying to EPIK is a stressful experience. Everyone’s EPIK timeline will be different, but I hope mine gave you some insight into what yours might look like.
I had the privilege of living near both a Secretary of State office and a Korean embassy, which saved me a lot of mail time. If that’s not the case for you, you may have to begin certain processes much earlier than I did.
Tips
- Apply early. You can easily prepare each part of your application in advance so that you can just plug your info into the application when it goes live.
- Don’t wait to start gathering your required documents. Some of them take quite a while to process and return to you, and EPIK can’t pass along your information to the regional offices of education until they approve all your paperwork.
- Your biggest asset in your EPIK application is time, especially if you’d love to be placed in a big city like Seoul or Busan.