Andong English Village?

Anyone have any experience with Andong English Village? It's not a Hagwon and the benefits look pretty good just wanted to hear from someone who had worked their previously?

I haven't worked at one but I did visit one (not Andong, mind you) on a field trip with my academy and I was left to wonder around, observe and chat to the teachers for the day.

If it is like that English Village... You'll have many classes in differently themed locations like the post office, on an airplane and in a police station. You don't really get to know any of the students at all because they come in for a day or a week and go. You eat lunch with all the students every work day.  The employees of the one I visited had to live on campus and the village was far from the neighbouring town and basically up a mountain. They lived in what could only be described as dorm rooms (can't remember if they had to share with another FT or not) and they were in the same building, but different floor, as the students that stay for a few days-to a week. This meant that the foreign teachers had a very strict code of conduct and there was no alcohol allowed in your dorm and no over night guests.

The idea of teaching classes in that way was quite interesting and the younger kids did enjoy it for sure and if I remember rightly the pay was quite good for most entry level hagwon jobs (2.5-2.7m maybe) but the living experience is what you need to get information about.

Ask your recruiter or the person you interviewed with to speak to a current FT and get all the information you can about the exact location, what's around it and living conditions. I think if the living conditions are better then it would definitely be better than a hagwon job.

I worked at Andong English Village for three years:  2011, 2012, and 2015. I liked working there and only moved on when I nabbed a university job. (2013, 2014 I worked in China and then Japan)

meldrew is mostly correct. There are themed classes, and the students only stay for a week so you don't get to really know them.

You don't eat with the students. You can if you want, but none of the teachers do. Andong English Village is part of Andong National University, so nearby there is a student cafeteria, restaurants and convenience stores. But most teachers bring their own food from home and eat at their desks.

Andong University is a bit out of town (about 20 minutes). Accommodation is in a purpose built apartment block in Andong proper. There is a free Andong University bus that goes from near the apartment block to the university every day. You have to get a town bus back in the evening (1200 won), but they are pretty frequent. Although it can seem like the wait is forever on freezing winters nights.

There are about 20 apartments in the apartment block. Most are one-rooms, but there  are two-rooms for couples. Residents are all foreign teachers from Andong English Village and Andong University, so your neighbors are your co-workers. The apartment block is about 20 years old. The accommodation is fine. Rooms on the ground floor gets cold so you'll spend more for heating in winter than on the other floors, but not outrageously so. You're not allowed pets, but there is no code of conduct.

Better than a hagwan? Depends on what you like. You will teach the same classes six times a week, every week of the year. That can get a bit boring, but it means you don't have to do any preparation. You can change your classes if you like, management will check to make sure it is up to standard, but they are pretty easy going.

Andong itself is a sleepy little town, which, again, can get a little boring. Most foreigners head to Seoul or Deagu every weekend. From memory, Seoul is 4 hours away, Deagu is an hour and a half away.

Benefits: The pay is good, so if you can resist leaving town every weekend you can save a lot of money.  So your choice is bored but rich, or entertained but poor.

Another benefit: Andong English Village is officially part of Andong National University, which is useful if later you want to work at a university.  A lot of universities in Korea require that you have two years work experience at a university. Working at Andong English Village, even though you will be teaching elementary students, actually counts as working at a university. Yes. Yes, that is insane. Welcome to Korea.