The EPIK Interview

My EPIK interview via Zoom finally took place on Friday, September 17th. But my EPIK coordinator had trouble with Internet connection that day too, so his screen was pitch-black. Hence, I had my interview without seeing him, only hearing his voice. It wasn’t ideal, but regardless, I was grateful to just proceed with the interview at this point. Some of the first questions I was asked were:

– Why EPIK?

– How do you feel about having a co-teacher?

– What kind of teaching experience do you have?

– What is your 5 year plan?

The What-If Questions

Throughout the interview, my interviewer asked me many “what-if” questions. Some of the “what-if” EPIK questions I remember are: “What would you do if…

• …your co-teacher gave you more work than was needed?
• …your co-teacher was teaching something wrong?
• …you don’t work well with your co-teacher(s)?
• …the housing you were provided with lacked certain amenities/appliances?
• …the school’s class schedule changed suddenly?

The Lesson Demo

Now, I had an easy time answering all the questions, because they were all similar to the old EPIK questions asked to previous EPIK applicants. (Except for the ones about housing and class schedule). And I had prepared extensively, writing down the answers to about 40 potential questions I had compiled and practicing answering them repeatedly. In fact, towards the end of the interview, I wished the EPIK coordinator would ask me more questions, as I had my answers all ready.

But there was this section in the interview that wasn’t mentioned by the previous EPIK applicants on YouTube. It was only talked about quite recently in the Spring 2022 EPIK Kakao chatroom, when someone who had her interview earlier shared briefly that she had to do a lesson demo. Thanks to her information, I pulled out the lesson materials I had created beforehand. But to my surprise, the EPIK coordinator chose a random topic for me. He assigned me the topic of weather (if I remember correctly) and gave me some time (I think it was 5 or 10 minutes) to prepare. Afterwards, I had to pretend like I was teaching a class for 5 minutes on the designated topic.

Because I had this wonderful teaching material prepared already (I had created it for fun over the summer while waiting for the Spring 2022 application to open), I asked politely if I could use a topic of my choosing, mentioning the PowerPoint presentation I had prepared. My coordinator allowed me to proceed with my materials, and I presented my lesson demo without the given preparation time. I thought I did a great job, since I received much positive feedback on my demo lesson.

The Interview Ends

My EPIK coordinator was Jeffrey, and he provided me with much useful information about the program. Each time I answered a question, he gave me feedback (which were all positive), along with additional tips for becoming a successful EPIK teacher. He told me to maintain the positive, friendly personality that I displayed, as it was crucial to be outgoing during the first weeks at the Korean school(s) I would be assigned to. And for lessons, he suggested that I narrow down my English expressions to just one, and utilize as many hand gestures as I can while teaching (clapping, thumbs up, etc.)

My EPIK interview ended after about 40 minutes. I had much fun showcasing my abilities and potential to becoming a good EPIK teacher.

The Awaited Email & The Result

I had heard from a fellow applicant in the Kakao chatroom that he heard back from EPIK just 4 days after his interview. But my wait time was longer, as the Friday I had my interview was interestingly right before Korea’s three-day national holiday, Chuseok. So I did not hear back from EPIK until a week later, on a Friday afternoon.

I had my CRC ready to submit, a 180 hour TEFL Certificate, B.A. from one of the best universities in the U.S., 2 solid recommendation letters, and a 2 year professional experience. I had made it as far as the EPIK interview, during which I had shown my competencies and received positive feedback.

My heart was pounding in excitement. I paused a moment before opening the email to calm down a little.

This was it….!

I clicked and saw the following words:

Dear EPIK Applicant,

Thank you for your application to the EPIK Program, Korea’s government-operated native-English teacher selection program for public schools.

After taking time to fully consider your application, we regret to inform you that your application has not been selected to proceed forward for EPIK’s Spring 2022 term.

– The EPIK Team –

The email goes on for a couple more paragraphs, explaining that this term was “particularly competitive,” and that the decision is a reflection of my suitability for the term. It is “not necessarily a reflection of [my] ability or qualifications as a teacher.” Plus it kindly states that the decision is final, and that EPIK is “unable to release any information related to the reasons for this decision and will not reply to inquiries of that nature.”

That was my experience applying to EPIK. There were frequent changes which were often not properly announced beforehand. Plus, I spent $182 on documents no longer needed for the initial application. And since I did not get selected in the final round… Now I have an apostilled national level criminal record check just lying around on my desk.

Conclusion

My experience with EPIK was exceptionally expensive and definitely not so epic. But on the brighter side, I will no longer have to spend more money shipping my documents across the Pacific. Neither will I have to cover the costs of mandatory quarantine. The 1.4 to 2.1 million KRW (~1,178 to 1,768 USD), as stated by EPIK, will NOT be covered by the program.

I know that God has better plans for me, so I am no longer disappointed by the result. But I will miss the prospect of teaching and traveling abroad, of meeting new people and exploring South Korea for an entire year.

Alas, I will miss the path not taken.

P.S. For anyone planning on applying to EPIK, here are some great resources to refer to:

1) As mentioned in my previous post (HERE), be sure to check out YouTubers who’ve gone through the EPIK process. It’s really helpful to hear their experiences as well as the EPIK questions they were asked.

2) Check out bloggers who share their EPIK experiences! Some great blogs I came across are ariography and Korealizations. Ariography’s EPIK interview content is from 2018 and Korealizations’s from 2014, but they are still relevant and useful. The only thing I’d add is that as of 2021, there is an on-the-spot lesson demo. Plus the interview is via Zoom, not Skype. (And, of course, there was that CRC requirement (read about it HERE) that was cancelled in September. Hopefully EPIK doesn’t bring that back again!)