TEFL Salary Index: English teacher salaries by country, checked and dated

Updated 9 September 2026. Four figures on this desk have moved. Korea’s EPIK range previously read 2.1–2.8M KRW; the official salary and benefits page states that the offices of education are not hiring Level 3 and that all applicants must qualify for at least Level 2, so the floor now reads 2.35M. Taiwan’s TFETP pay and its 980-position count have been withdrawn because both official pages returned no readable content when checked on 31 August and again today. Every euro conversion on this desk has been recomputed at the European Central Bank reference rates published on 8 September 2026, replacing a mix of European Commission and older ECB rates, so the Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Thailand euro figures have all shifted. Local-currency figures are unchanged apart from Korea and Taiwan.

Updated 23 September 2026. Three things have moved. Korea: the EPIK floor published here on 9 September as 2.35M KRW was wrong. The official salary and benefits page shows Level 2 paying 2.2M in most regions, with 2.35M the top of Level 2 rather than its bottom, so the range now reads 2.2–2.8M. Edition 4 carries the full correction. Japan: the JET 2027 application opened on 21 September 2026 and closes on 13 November 2026 at 11:59pm HST for US applicants, so the row moves from ON THE WIRE to LIVE WIRE and now carries the deadline. Both were re-read at source today. Online: the €9–22 an hour range has been removed. Preply and italki publish the commission they take, not a rate they pay, so no figure on that row traced to an official source. Every euro conversion has been recomputed at the European Central Bank reference rates published on 22 September 2026, replacing the rates of 8 September, so the Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Thailand euro figures have all shifted. Local-currency figures are unchanged apart from Korea.

Updated 30 September 2026. France: this desk said the 2027/28 assistant applications open in November. No opening date is published anywhere, so the row and its schema now say that the last cycle opened on 3 November and that early November is a pattern rather than a promise. The signal chip moves from ON THE WIRE · NOV to ON THE WIRE · NO DATE. Korea: EPIK’s salary and benefits page was re-read today and the 2.2M to 2.8M range is confirmed, with the offices of education still not hiring Level 3. Every euro conversion has been recomputed at the European Central Bank reference rates published on 29 September 2026, replacing the rates of 22 September, so the Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Thailand euro figures have all shifted. Local-currency figures are unchanged.