If you’re like me, one of the questions you always ask when you first land a job is, “what’s the dress code like?” Ever since I was a kid, I found fashion to be a chance to express myself and feel more confident, this includes the workplace. Moving to South Korea, I wanted my fashion up to par with the millions of people who looked like they stepped straight off a runway. The issue was not knowing what my school’s dress code was going to look like. Since I had no way to know which school I would be placed at till I actually arrived in Korea, I was unsure whether or not to lean more towards the business side rather than the casual side.
However, after some quick research, I found that majority of schools in Korea gear much more towards casual rather than business. But keep in mind, casual for Americans is much different than casual for Koreans. To help give some visuals as to what I mean, I took pictures of my outfits for a week working in a public Korean elementary school.
Disclaimer: What my school dress code is like may vary from what your school might want you to wear. Rural schools can differ from city schools and elementary schools can differ from high schools. But rest assured for those who hate blazers and suits, I have not heard of a single EPIK teacher having to wear full-on business formal clothes to school.
Monday
To start off the week, I went with a simple but cute white dress with black polka dots. I actually find dresses to be much more comfortable than pants so it was a great outfit to transition into the work week. You might be wondering if it’s ok to wear tennis shoes to school and the answer is: it doesn’t matter! You could wear bedazzled clown shoes and it still wouldn’t matter because in Korean schools, you take off your “outside” shoes at the entrance and put on slides or slippers to wear around school. Just a little culture tip for incoming teachers!
Tuesday
We had school pictures on this day so I wanted to put together a slightly more business-like outfit. I got compliments not only from the photographer but also my 6th graders so safe to say I did have a slightly bigger ego this day.
Wednesday
For the halfway mark of the week, I went more casual with just jeans and a t-shirt. Whenever in doubt, jeans and a t-shirt is always a safe option!
Thursday
In case you didn’t know, sweater vests have come full circle to being highly popular again; especially in Korea. You could walk down the street and count at least five people wearing a sweater vest at any given moment. At first, I was hesitant on joining the trend but now I love them! I think they add a sophisticated touch to a casual outfit.
I actually didn’t end up wearing the boots since they won’t fit into a shoe cubby at school but I just bought them and wanted to find a way to show them off anyway!
Friday
To end the week, I wanted to look sophisticated yet comfortable. I went with a simple blouse and beige wide-leg pants. These pants are the most comfortable thing, I could literally wear them as pajamas if I wanted to. Beige and whites are also very trendy colors in Korea right now.
And there we have it! These were my outfits for the week so as you can see, nothing too fancy. Most of them are very simple but still look put together. I also think being able to show personal style is important as an elementary school teacher since you want your kids to feel comfortable in their own style as well! If you are an incoming EPIK teacher worried about bringing appropriate school clothes, don’t be! Maybe bring a couple business casual outfits to be safe but you will also be fine bringing mostly casual clothes. Plus, if there’s one thing Korea has, it’s clothes…lots and lots of clothes!
Carly in Korea 
Thank you Carly, you have excellent fashion sense and I bet the kids, especially the girls, love seeing what cloths you will wear each do. You are a great example to them.
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