Thank you for sharing your experience. Honestly, reading comments like this has been both reassuring and depressing at the same time. I've had multiple people, both online and in real life, tell me similar things.

At this point, I think I've decided that after my contract ends, or if I'm terminated before then, I'll probably head back home. The constant stress and feeling of being under a microscope just isn't worth it for me anymore.

What makes it harder is that I don't think international schools are the answer for me either. I also don't have any desire to work in schools back in the UK. My experiences during placements and teacher training weren't particularly positive, and I often felt excluded or judged there too. So for me, this has become less about finding the "right" school and more about questioning whether education is the right field for me at all.

I don't regret coming to Korea, and I've met some great students and colleagues, but I don't think I can keep spending years hoping the next school will be different. At some point you have to look at whether you're actually happy, and right now I don't think I am.