Good schools in Korea

inman · Post by **inman** » Sun Dec 18, 2011 11:42 am

Seoul Foreign School (SFS) really does seem like a good place, but where else in Korea is good? I've read a few of the reviews and nothing jumps out, and there seems to be very little in the way of IB there. It's almost like SFS is your higher tier and the gulf between them and any others school in Korea is huge. Can anyone offer any insight on this. Are there any decent other/tier 2 schools worth going for? Are there any decent IB schools there, or schools that are in candidate status and ready to invest properly in becoming the real deal?

PsyGuy · Post by **PsyGuy** » Sun Dec 18, 2011 1:11 pm

No your pretty much right. The IB isnt really big (5 schools) in S.Korea. The main reason, is that there is a sufficient number of national curriculum schools that serve there respective expat population and those schools dont want to bother with IB. S.Korea has a pretty strong DODEA (DoDDS) presence for American students, and SFS pretty much serves the civilian business and embassy population, and is a great run school. The other schools serve minor/smaller outlying areas. Building a school is expensive, and if there isnt a demand because there is strong competition in the region, then new schools just dont happen.

SFS is a very good school and 1st choice for incoming students. The other schools have the problem of serving a smaller population, and lower margins for enrollment cause problems. Theres nothing really wrong with them, and theres nothing wrong with being a lower tier school. There isnt a mystery really why there lower tier schools. They dont have the enrollment to offer better compensation packages,and theyre not in highly desirable places, so they dont attract the highest quality teachers. Who wants to take less money and live in an uninteresting city like Busan, when you can get paid more and live somewhere more exciting/interesting. Lastly, There is also this perceived "safety" concern, that one day out of nowhere N.Korea will attack and start a war/conflict.

Tundra_Creature · Post by **Tundra_Creature** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 9:27 am

You make it sound like Busan is this barren wasteland of nothing to do. It's not as big as Seoul, but there's still fun to have. I personally would probably choose it over Seoul, but that's just personal preference of wanting to be in a slightly smaller city.

The one school there that does seem to be decent is the Busan International Foreign School. From what I can tell, the only complaints mainly came from people not liking the city, rather than the school itself. So it's really about whether you enjoy the atmosphere of Korea.

http://www.bifskorea.org/

Songdo has a new school there and it's not like it's that far from Seoul. I lived in Incheon as an exchange student and it was a 40-50 train ride from my stop. There are no reviews of it though, so I have no idea how it good it is run. Like anywhere though, you'll probably have more local kids than overseas ones.

http://www.chadwickinternational.org/

PsyGuy · Post by **PsyGuy** » Wed Dec 21, 2011 1:41 am

Didnt mean to offend you or paint that kind of picture, but I didnt use the words "Barren Wasteland", its just not Seoul....

peelish · Post by **peelish** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 9:48 pm

Seoul International School. While SIS doesn't have the package of SFS, it is up there. The school is very completive with SFS without the Christian element which is definitely part of the community expectations at Seoul Foreign.

ChoirGuy · Post by **ChoirGuy** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 11:19 am

Has anyone heard of Chadwick Int'l School in Song-Do? They are starting a HS in 2012 and looking for teachers. Any information about package, admin, atmosphere? Thanks in advance for anything helpful.

BocaJrs · Post by **BocaJrs** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 12:43 pm

Regarding Chadwick: you can check out this blog by a teacher currently working there. Maybe if you post a comment on it you might get some feedback.
http://loveinternationalliving.wordpress.com/

Sorry, that's all I've got...

gr8teach · Post by **gr8teach** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 8:37 pm

Two new IB schools have popped up in Korea- Branksome Hall Asia on Jeju Island and The Dwight School opening in the DMC. The facilities for both are state of the art and although both are start ups they are government backed and along with the reputations of the school's original campuses.

http://dwightseoul.org/

http://branksomehallasia.org/pages/

I talked a lot with the recruiters from both schools and considered taking offers at both before settling on going to China. The schools will require some heavy lifting but will be world class in a few years time!

I also talked with BIFS too! They seem like a nice little school and I've had friends who've lived in Busan and had a blast. Apparently a lot of the BIFS apartments over-look the sea!

Chinuk · Post by **Chinuk** » Fri Feb 17, 2012 11:58 pm

I would not agree that there is a huge gulf between SFS and other International Schools in Seoul and/or Korea. SFS is the oldest, and has a more international student body because of its location. SIS is also older, but located outside Seoul itself, with somewhat rundown buildings. KIS has a beautiful new well-equipped school, but also located outside the city, so few non-Korean students. YISS located in the city and more non-Koreans. In terms of quality of education, I'd put SFS, SIS, KIS and YISS in the same league. SFS and SIS get more kids into American ivies because of their reputation.

PsyGuy · Post by **PsyGuy** » Sat Feb 18, 2012 2:38 am

@Chinuk

Isnt the ability for a school to get you into a college what its really all about in Korea though???

Chinuk · Post by **Chinuk** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 5:56 pm

Perhaps, for Korean parents, but that's not what EDUCATION is about.

PsyGuy · Post by **PsyGuy** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 9:20 pm

I'll agree with that :)

Good schools in Korea

Good schools in Korea

No your pretty much right

Sorry

SIS

Regarding Chadwick

Inquiry