Rise Korea Review Summary

Rise Education is a language learning company in Korea that pays Native English Speakers $12+/hr to teach children online. 1v1 classes are 25mins long while group lessons last 40-90mins. You must have a teaching certificate and experience, and weekend availability is preferred, though teacher opinions are mixed.

Rise Korea Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Simple application process
• Potential for bonuses and pay rises
• Students are assigned to the same teacher for the entirety of their package
• 1v1 or group lessons

Cons:

• Less pay than a few months ago
• Compulsory video training is uncompensated
• Only child students
• Mixed teacher reviews

Is Rise Korea Legit?

Rise Korea, also known as Rise Education Korea, is a legitimate language school based in the Republic of South Korea. It was founded in 2014 as part of Rise Global Holdings, which operates over 200 Rise Education Centers across Asia (the Chinese branch marketed as Rise English Center is now a separate entity, having been sold in 2013). Its legitimacy is underlined by its coverage in national news outlets such as The Korea Herald and The Korea Times.

Here is Chairman and CEO Barry O’Callaghan discussing the philosophy behind the company:

What Is Rise Korea Online Teaching?

Rise Korea offers subject-based English language and leadership training to children between the ages of 5-13 years:

• At Kindergarten level (5-7 years) Rise teachers foster the child’s language development, critical thinking skills, and creativity through immersive and conversational play-based projects.
• Elementary students (8-13 years) develop through more inquiry-based learning, with discussions around topics such as current affairs.

While Rise Korea operates over 40 physical locations nationally, where foreign teachers develop practical experience whilst studying for their CELTA qualifications, the company also runs online programs.

Rise Virtual Class (VC) delivers one-on-one and group online learning from Native English Speakers, facilitated via the Zoom platform.

Lesson materials are provided, with the following programs assigned based on the teacher’s mock lesson performance:

• Phonics
• E-library
• Speaking
• Current Affairs
• Interview Preparation

The videos below provide insight into how Rise VC classes are conducted, with younger phonics lessons and more advanced group debates:

Rise Korea Salary Information

Rise Korea pay starts at US$12 an hour (it was $15 not long ago). You may receive a higher offer based upon your interview/mock lesson performance and by submitting supporting proof of a:

• Teaching Employment Letter
• Teaching Certificate, e.g. TEFL, TESOL, CELTA, etc.
• Certificate of BA or MA relevant to the English education field

The base rate can be supplemented by incentive schemes such as:

• Student retention monthly bonus (1:1 classes only)
• Fun group class ($3 bonus)
• Academic group class ($5 bonus)
• Research and Development
• Benefit from unused monthly leaves
• Periodic Events

It is possible to apply for a raise after 6 months, based on parent feedback and a class evaluation.

Rise payments are sent monthly via Wise.

Rise Korea Hours and Schedule

Rise teachers set their hours but the schedule is then fixed, with students allocated at least 24 hours in advance for the duration of their package.

One-on-one lessons are 25 minutes long and take place between 7.30am-11pm (KST), Monday-Friday (with a break between 9am-1.30pm), and 9am-11pm on weekends.

You must be available between 7pm-10pm in order to teach group classes, which last 40, 50, 60, or 90 minutes.

Weekend availability is an advantage during the application process.

Contracts are renewable every 3-6 months.

Rise Korea Requirements

To become an Online Teacher with Rise Education Korea, you must be:

• A Native English Speaker from the USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, or South Africa
• Certified – Someone who has a teaching certificate relevant to TEFL, TESOL, CELTA, etc.
• Experienced – Someone who has taught students on or offline previously
• Responsible – Someone who truly cares and guides students to the right path
• Enthusiastic – Someone who is able to engage students and share positive energy
• Able to provide a Teaching Employment Letter

While not mandatory, having a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in the English education field will help you negotiate a higher pay rate.

A LAN-cable internet connection is strongly preferred, as is weekend availability. Experience of the following textbooks is also helpful for group teaching:

• Bricks Reading Series
• Vocabulary Workshop Series
• 4000 Essential English Words Series
• Wordly Wise 3000 Series

Rise Korea Hiring Process

To apply for Rise Korea jobs, simply visit their website, select ‘Career – Online(VC)’, and at the bottom of the page submit your:

• First and last name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Nationality
• Attach or link to your resume
• Attach or link to your video: 20-30 seconds introducing who you are, where you are from, your experience, and credentials (Rise advises you “show your strengths in your video with energy”)
• Attach certificates and employment letters

If you find that the ‘APPLY’ button does not work, for whatever reason, you may email your application information and files directly to [email protected].

Those interested in actually working within Korea (not online) have an alternate link and email address they should apply through.

Rise Korea Interview and Demo

Should you be invited to interview, you will be emailed documents with which you should prepare your Rise mock lesson. Screenshare these through Zoom, spending only a couple of minutes on each document. Be sure to use positivity, gentle correction, TPR and props when demonstrating your teaching style.

Remember, your mock demo performance has an impact on both the pay rate you are offered and the programs you are able to teach.

Rise Korea interview questions have included:

• Why do you want the position?
• How would you describe yourself?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• What causes you stress and how do you deal with it?
• How would you refocus a group of distracted kindergartners?
• How do you discipline a student who is misbehaving?
• How would you teach the word “think” without using English to explain it?

Upon being hired, there is video training to complete which is uncompensated.

Rise Education Korea Reviews

The Rise Korea Glassdoor page currently gives the company an average rating of 3.2 out of 5, with 67% willing to recommend them. These Rise Korea reviews praise the timely payments and student nature, though opinions of the teaching materials and management are more mixed, while there are complaints about the work culture and length of time it can take to get students:

• Advantages:
  • “Easy material, staff are organised professional and they pay on time
  • Relatively organized as far as private English academies in South Korea go – Professional and friendly staff and management – Learning materials mostly provided – Good assistance for open class preparation
  • On time with payment.
  • Always pay on time. Honest. Understanding.
  • If you like children it is good place to work, and coworkers are nice and kind
  • Good teamwork. Work with kids. Supportive coworkers
  • Work from home, they provide materials
  • The kids were very cute
  • The work is straight forward and easy to accomplish.”
• Disadvantages:
  • “There are so many. It’s really hard to pick few [sic]
  • Takes a very long time to get students
  • Continuous work, last minute tasks
  • First month is a little slow.
  • Low salary and heavy work
  • Unorganized management, dismal hours, small classrooms with large student size, management will suck up to parents so they won’t lose face
  • Minimum breaks Unrealistic deadlines Shortage on staff
  • Money driven, no professionalism, zero benefits, constant breaking of contract, required to do make up days on weekends/holidays, no official training, very high turnover of staff and kids
  • They care more about parents complaints than the kids, micromanaging, unprofessional staff.
  • It was nice at the beginning. Then it went south. There is a long story behind this but they basically got rid of 11 online teachers because they are greedy. Perhaps don’t treat teachers as they are disposable. Work culture in Korea is so messed up. You are not human, you are treated like another thing to make them money.
  • There was a lack of management
  • Disorganized lack of communication between management/foreign teachers/native teachers. Long teaching hours
  • Long hours, pay is okay
  • Work can get monotonous at times and doesn’t allow much room for individuality. Korean work culture can seem backwards to westerners.”

Conclusion – Is Rise Korea Worth It for Online Teachers?

If you enjoy teaching children from an East Asian timezone, then Rise Korea is a well-established option with a simple application process. While the pay is higher than what some companies offer these days, it is still less than it was, and it can take time to acquire students. You should also take into account the mixed opinions of previous teachers to decide whether this is right for you.

Remember to check out our full list of online teaching jobs!