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EPIK Application Form
UPDATED August 2019
Scroll below the fold to see a step by step process of how to complete your online EPIK & SMOE application form.
EPIK announced that all applications for 2020 must be completed in their online system.
Reach To Teach has made an easy-to-follow video for you to use with your online EPIK application. We’ve also included step by step instructions below. Applying for EPIK has never been easier!
Part 1: Understanding EPIK/SMOE
Part 2: The EPIK/SMOE Application
Part 3: Required EPIK Documents
- Diplomas and Graduation Letters
- Criminal Record Checks
- Apostille/Notarizations
- University Transcripts
- Proof of Teaching Experience Letter
- Passport Photos
- Passport Photocopy
- Signed EPIK & SMOE Application Form
- Additional Documents
How to complete the EPIK Application Form online
Welcome to the Reach To Teach EPIK application tutorial video.
Today we’re going to show you how to fill in the EPIK application step by step, so your application is received by EPIK in completion. We’ve put our important application form tips in italics for you to ensure you double check these sections of your EPIK application form.
- In the EPIK application email that was sent to you, you’ll find the link to the EPIK online application and your password
- Click the link in the email and you will be taken to this page
- Click the sign-in button on the top of the page then enter your email address and the password that was provided to you by Reach To Teach
- Click ‘SIGN IN’
- After you signed in, you’ll see your name at the top of the page
- Click the ‘GO’ button in the apply now box
Waivers for Use of Personal Information by the EPIK program
- Click ‘I DO’ in the first box and ‘I’ve read the information above’ in the second box
**If you don’t agree to both of these terms, you won’t be able to proceed with the application.
- Click the ‘PROCEED’ box.
You’ll notice that a pop-up box appears before you start filling out the application.
**Remember! if you have the application open and you leave it untouched for more than 6 hours your data will be cleared and the application will reset to an empty application form.
You MUST finish each page of the application once you start it and click the blue proceed button at the bottom of the page, or the information you entered won’t be saved.
- Click ‘CONFIRM’ to access the application
We have pre-filled in this application so that the application is concise and easy to follow. Follow the mouse on the application form for each section.
All the sections with a red asterix by them are required sections, so if they are not filled in you will not be able to proceed to the next section of the application.
Classification
- Select agency and then click on ‘REACH TO TEACH’ from the box that appears below
Personal Information
- Start filling in your personal information
- Enter your full name exactly as it appears in your passport
- Enter your date of birth and age, sex, marital status, place of birth, and primary citizenship
- If you have secondary citizenship, please list this in the appropriate box – otherwise leave it blank
Korean heritage
- If you are ethnically Korean, click ‘YES‘. A new box will then appear below the current one that asks if you possess Korean citizenship. Confirm this with the Korean consulate and ask your Reach To Teach EPIK coordinator for the guidelines for a Korean nationality status check
- If you are not ethnically Korean, click ‘NO’.
- The next part is where you upload your photo for your application
EPIK is very particular about the photo that you upload, so please pay special attention to the requirements for the photo before you upload it
If you don’t currently have an acceptable photo, please have someone take a headshot photo of you with your phone against a plain white background and upload that photo.
Interview Contact Information
Please note that this is a part on the application that a great number of applicants get wrong with their available interview starting time!
Pay special attention to the instructions marked below with an asterix.
- Interviews are scheduled according to Korean Standard Time
- EPIK is available for interviews Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 5:00 PM. Be sure to convert your available time to Korean Standard Time
- Enter your primary phone number plus your country code
- Enter your primary email address
- Enter your Skype ID. *Note that this is a required field and must be entered. Do NOT leave this field blank.
- If you have a secondary Phone or email address please enter those as well
Living Abroad
- If you’ve always lived in your home country, click ‘NO‘.
- If you’ve spent at least one month living in another country, either through a student study program or employment abroad, click ‘YES‘ and then fill in the correct information
*Pay special attention to the format for the month and the year. Some sections want year, month, and day, while others want month and year. We can’t stress this enough with this application. Pay attention to how EPIK wants you to complete dates for employment and schooling.
- The next part is your mailing address and phone number. List your primary mailing address, as this will be needed later in the EPIK application process when documents are mailed to you to apply for your visa
- Enter your emergency contact information. Please only list a family member as your emergency contact and ensure that your family member knows that they have been listed as an emergency contact and that they are available for emergency calls.
Educational Background
In Part 1 – ‘Educational Background 1’
- Enter the schools you attended for grades 1 through 12 -elementary, middle, and high school.
- List all of the schools you attended in chronological order.
- Fill out the boxes for the first school, click the ‘ADD’ button under the heading on the left and another box will appear below.
Continue until you have listed every school that you have attended for grades 1 through 12
In Part 2 – ‘Tertiary Education 1’
- Enter all universities you have attended
- List schools where you received college or university credit
- List all the schools in chronological order
If you took classes at more than one college or university, click the ‘ADD’ button under the heading on the left after you have filled in the first school
Certifications
- In the first box, select the type of certification you have from the drop down menu
- In the second box, write the name or company that issued the certificate
- In the third box, select ‘ISSUE DATE’ if you have already completed the certification
- Select ‘EXPECTED DATE’ if you have not completed the certification
- In the box below, enter the issuing date or expected completion date. Example: 2019-08-15
- Enter your TEFL, TESOL, or CELTA course hours in the last two boxes. Include the number of hours for in-class or online hours for your certificate.
Career
- In Part 1 – list your current employment.
- If you’re currently a student, type in ‘STUDENT’ under ‘job title’ and your university name under ’employer’
- If you’ve graduated within the last 6 months and you’re unemployed, type ‘RECENT GRADUATE’ under ‘job title’
- If you’re currently unemployed, type ‘UNEMPLOYED’ under ‘job title’
- In Part 2, list any teaching experience that you have. *Note that in order for EPIK to accept your teaching experience it must be done with the school or organization. They do not accept self-employed teaching or tutoring as teaching experience.
- If you’ve taught at more than one school or organization, click the ‘ADD’ button under teaching experience. A box will appear under it for you to add another position.
- Contact information in Part 3 is only relevant if you have taught at a school in Korea. *If you have never taught in Korea, skip this section.
- In Part 4 – Orientation – Answer both questions. If you answered, “YES” to either question, contact your Reach To Teach EPIK coordinator, and inform them that you’ve taught with EPIK before
- In Part 5 – Non-teaching work experience – List all of your non-teaching work experience since graduating from high school in chronological order
- In Part 6 – Salary level – Visit the Reach To Teach website. Go to ‘TEACH IN KOREA’ in the navigation bar and then ‘TEACH ENGLISH FOR EPIK’. You’ll find the salary level chart for the EPIK program on this page
*Notice that there are two different salary qualifications that you need to mark down: your current qualification and your expected qualification. If you are unsure of your salary level qualifications, please speak with your Reach To Teach EPIK coordinator.
Application information
- Part 1 is for a joint applicant or dependent. EPIK only considers married couples’ as joint applicants. Skip this section unless you’re married and your spouse is coming with you or you plan on bringing your child with you
- Part 2 – placement preference. Select your preferred placement from the drop-down menu.
- Part 3 is your start date preference. Reach To Teach recommends that you choose the third option ‘FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL, FLEXIBLE‘ from the drop down menu.
- Notice the question under the drop-down menu. Click ‘YES’ or ‘NO’.
File upload
- Upload your letters of reference in the first two sections. If you do not have your letters of reference completed yet, upload the ‘BLANK LOR’ PDF that was in the attachment in the application email sent to you by Reach To Teach
- When you click ‘UPLOAD’, a pop-up window will appear and ask you to select the file you wish to upload
- If you do not upload a file for recommendation 1 and recommendation 2, the system will not allow you to go to the next page of the application
- Part 3 – Skip this section if you are NOT teaching in Korea right now
- Part 4 is for South African and Québec applicants. If you are from South Africa or Québec, Canada, you must provide proof that your primary language of instruction for grades 7 through 12 were taught in English
Consent to provide personal information for application currently in progress
- Click ‘AGREE‘ or you will not be allowed to proceed to the next page
- Click the blue ‘PROCEED’ button
- The next page will show you all of the information that you just entered
- Review all of the information
- If it is correct, click the blue‘PROCEED’ button at the bottom of the page.
- If something is incorrect, click the ‘GO BACK’ button.
- When you click the‘GO BACK’ button, a popup window will state that the contents of this page will not be saved. Click ‘OK’ on the popup. The information you just entered on the previous page will remain there, and you will be able to correct any mistakes you have made.
PAGE 2 EPIK & SMOE APPLICATION FORM
Additional Personal Information
- Contact your Reach To Teach coordinator if you cannot answer ‘YES’ to Question 1
- Contact your Reach To Teach coordinator if you answer ‘YES’ to Question 2
- Question 3 – If you have any piercings other than standard earlobe piercings you must answer ‘YES’. A box will then appear where you need to explain what and where the piercings are.
- Question 4 – If you have any tattoos, click ‘YES’. A box will appear below where you need to list a short description of the tattoo, the size of the tattoo, and where the tattoo is located.
*If you have any tattoos located on your hands, arms, feet, legs, neck, or head, you must upload photos of those tattoos, or you will not be allowed to proceed to the next page.
- Upload a PDF or JPG file of the photos. if you are having trouble combining the photos into one file, please contact your Reach To Teach EPIK coordinator for help.
- Question 5 – Contact your Reach To Teach coordinator if you answer ‘YES’ to Question 5.
- Question 6 – Click ‘YES’ if you are vegetarian or vegan. A box will appear where you can complete your diet information.
- Question 7 – Contact your Reach To Teach coordinator if you answer ‘YES’ to Question 7.
- Question 8 – Are you applying with a friend or significant other that is not legal spouse? If you click‘YES’, write their full legal name that they are using on their application and your relationship to them in the box that appears below.
Self-medical Assessment
- Question 1 -You must answer ‘YES’ to this question. All teachers are required to do a medical exam when they arrive in Korea
- If you answer ‘YES’ to questions 2 through 9, Please contact your Reach To Teach EPIK coordinator
Acknowledgement of EPIK Policies
- Check the box to the right for questions 1 through 20
- Under question 20, type in your first name, middle initial, and last name
- Put today’s date in this date format. Example: 2019-08-15
- Click the blue ‘PROCEED’ button
- The next page will show you all the information that you have entered
- Review all the information
- If it is correct, click the blue ‘PROCEED’ button at the bottom of the page
- If something is incorrect, click the ‘GO BACK’ button
PAGE 3 EPIK & SMOE APPLICATION FORM
Personal Essays
Above each essay box, there’s a *red asterix and the topic that EPIK wants you to write your essay about.
Below each essay box is a word counter. Each essay must be between 250 and 400 words.
Your personal essays will be assessed on content, form, grammar, and style by EPIK. Off-topic essays are not accepted.
The essay is an important aspect of your EPIK application. Be sure to submit a proper essay that meets EPIK criteria and standards. Use spellcheck to check for spelling and grammar mistakes.
- After you finish writing all three essays, there is one last question. EPIK wants to know how you learned about them: Check the box next to recruitment agency for Reach To Teach
- Then click the blue ‘PROCEED’ button
- The next page will show you all of the information that you have entered
- Review all of the information
- If it is correct, click the blue ‘PROCEED’ button at the bottom of the page.
- If something is incorrect, click the ‘GO BACK’ button
PAGE 4 EPIK & SMOE APPLICATION FORM
Lesson plan
Make sure that you read through the document ‘Lesson Planning Guide and Examples’ that was attached to the EPIK application email from Reach To Teach before you complete this section.
There is a word limit for each box. You must complete EPIK’S word limits for each lesson plan. This requirement is listed above each section. There is a word counter under each box for each part of your lesson plan. Some parts have a 200-word limit. Others have a 400-word limit.
*Please pay CAREFUL attention to word limit requirements for this section.
- In the first box, select your grade level for your lesson plan. Reach To Teach recommends that you do an elementary level lesson plan
- In the second box, select the ability level for your lesson plan. Reach To Teach recommends that you select beginner or intermediate level.
- In the third box, enter your topic for your lesson plan
*Notice that EPIK is trying to give you guidance for every section of the lesson plan. If you hover your mouse over any box, a pop-up blurb will appear and let you know what to put in each section. Make sure to review the ‘lesson planning guide and examples’ that Reach To Teach emailed you.
- When you have finished all parts of the lesson plan, click the blue ‘PROCEED’ button
- The next page will show you all of the information that you just entered
Review all of the information - If something is incorrect, click the ‘GO BACK’ button
DO NOT CLICK THE BLUE ‘SUBMIT FINAL APPLICATION’ BUTTON YET.
AGAIN, DO NOT CLICK THE BLUE ‘SUBMIT FINAL APPLICATION BUTTON. This is very important.
- Scroll up to the top of the page and click the ‘SIGN OUT’ button
- Email your Reach To Teach EPIK coordinator and let them know that you’re finished with the application.
- Your Reach To Teach EPIK coordinator will then schedule a call time with you to go over your EPIK application before your final application submission
Thank you for your patience as we know that the EPIK application can be quite long. We are certain that if you follow our instructions to the tee, your application will go through without any issues!
Good luck! And remember to contact your Reach To Teach EPIK coordinator to let them know you’ve finished your application.
