Popple <—- (Click here to Apply) is based in South Korea. They hire native English speakers to teach Korean students from 5 years old to adults. Their classes are all group classes with a maximum of 6 students. They want teachers who can work from 4 pm to 10 pm Korean time from Monday to Friday. Teachers can work more hours if they would like. Pay starts at $17 USD per hour and if you work for 2 or 3 years you can earn a maximum of $30 USD per hour with bonuses and working different roles.
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Here’s a straightforward review of Popple and its 2025 update.
I’ve worked here for 3 years, and this is what I know:
1. Popple Education operates three distinct brands in online English education. New teachers are assigned to a team, and during the first two months, you shouldn’t expect a full schedule (they clearly mention this during the interview). Once you demonstrate your capabilities, your calendar will gradually fill up—typically within a month. For reference, it took me five weeks from interview.
2. Regarding the Good Air, I’m not sure when their last update was, but Popple primarily provides 1on1 classes for students of all ages. Group classes make up about 5–10% at most.
3. Payments have always been made on time, at least since I joined.
4. The starting pay is approximately $13/hr (they calculate in KRW). After six months, it increases to $14, then to $15 after one year, and $18 after two years.
5. Popple emphasizes retention and values long term teachers. From your second year onward, you’re considered a “senior” teacher, and you may be offered roles such as team manager, quality control reviewer, textbook developer, and more, taking these roles are all extra pay added. This is my fav part.
6. If you perform exceptionally well and are well liked, the pay increases may occur more rapidly than outlined above. I’ve seen couple.
7. I was referred by a friend who has worked with Popple for over five years and is now earning $23/hr. That was the reason I joined.
8. I’ve heard that some teams may have difficult managers, though I’m not sure which ones specifically. But honestly, that can happen anywhere.
Overall, Is Popple the best online teaching company out there? I can’t say for sure. But if you are confident in your skills and looking for a long term position, this could be a good fit. If you're just dipping around see where’s good or not, this probably isn’t the right place. Their system is structured the way the managers and teachers evaluate each other so they’re good at identifying who’s committed or not. Hope this helps.
Hello, would it be okay to contact you further regarding Popple? I'm interested in applying for the company and would like to hear more from you.
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lol you never find good reviews for any online teaching companies on good air but I need to say, popple isn't as bad as some of the reviews say they are. Despite seeing repeated reviews from someone here, who probably had very bad experience, I am currently with them for 9 months now and I see them as very fair. I've worked in the industry for over 7 years now and as long as the company is a real scam that just packs up and disappear, it's really about how they value you and it's always upto the teachers whether they want to stay or not. I was able to provide the teaching they were looking for and my schedule was immediately packed in my second month. Recently promoted to 15 usd and they are open for negotiation at anytime. I've asked for steady raise in every 10 months or so, if I keep a good record like I do now. This is the truth. Hope this helps, good luck!
A terrible school. False promises, scammers. They don't give you hours and the pay they advertise is false. Do not apply, report them.
The amount of FAKE reviews here is laughable. Kate and James are both liars and the most unprofessional pair I have ever encountered. It has been more than a year since I was asked to sign a new contract at 5 dollars less than what is still posted. I was never paid what was owed to me and I was removed without a word from their website. I promise all seeing this page that all positive reviews were done by the company and not current or past teachers. No teacher would use the word "crackerjack" to describe colleagues, no matter how underqualified one might be. It further proves the unprofessionalism of this joke of an online school.
I think we got you when you wrote your first review here Jason :) Sorry for the bad experience, hope you found a company that fits your needs!
I have never in 12 years of online teaching been treated so badly. Please be wary when dealing with this company. They are threatening to sue me because I got a much better offer from a huge well respected company. I gave notice and they remove my business account. My motherboard died and I did everything in my power to keep teaching. I was called a child and have been short paid a few thousand for this month which has a devastating effect on my financial obligations. My manager has now threatened to sue me. His partings words were ok bye. That is extremely childish. Please note the red flags here.
I have been with Popple for two years now, and it has been a wonderful experience with a warm atmosphere. Now, I not only teach but also handle teacher recruitment and management, which is another advantage of working with Popple as it offers additional opportunities. Regarding pay grade, I have no complaints, but I would like to remind those who joined the company from 2023 onwards to review the UPDATED WAGES. Please note that this is NOT an official advertisement from the company. Additionally, some individuals who have written negative comments here may have been interviewed by me. However, what surprises me the most is that with hundreds of people applying every day, and among them, many individuals who just paid some money online and obtained TEFL believe themselves to be genuine "teachers." Seriously! It is even more shocking that many of these applicants lack proper English skills themselves. The company has the right to remove these fake teachers from their student base, and how would you tell them apart with just papers?
Kayleighs. While I agree that many out there with a crackerjack TEFL and a B2 Level of English seem to think they are teachers, many academies, including this one, are exploiting professional teachers by offering incredibly low pay rates. I understand pay now starts way below $17 USD per hour. If you want monkeys applying that is what you are going to get. If you want to attract professional, qualified, experienced teachers then rates should start at nearer $20. Starting rates should reflect your quals and experience, so your rate should be higher for more qualified or experienced teachers. Pay rates in much of the English-speaking world have increased but these Asian schools are continuing to decrease their pay rates so you are tending to get the bottom of the barrel or desperate to apply. Even McD's with no quals pays more than this place pays per hour, so why would anyone apply to be exploited?
The post by anonymous was clearly posted by an admin of popple. Almost a year since the last class was completed and I still have not been paid. They never booked me for more than 3 hours a week and lied every step of the way. The job is a scam, they might hire you, they might give you a few classes but they probably will not pay you.
Maybe you should update your ad? Since it is completely false. Also you should mention how you take classes away and another teach will conclude them. And definitely mention how the pay is considerably lower than what is mentioned here. Most importantly tell the people that you will remove them from the platform and not bother to pay them. Kate and James are both liars. Don't waste your time working for thieves!
I currently work for this company and am fully booked and the staff have been nothing but professional and transparent. I suggest teachers who are not good at teaching find another job. Payment is prompt and they go above and beyond if you are good at your job. I could not be happier.
Why are you posting anonymously? What do you have to hide?
I was also strung along for several months after signing the contract. It was nearly 5 months before I had my first class. They would contact me through an app at all hours of the night, expecting me to prepare classes to do at 4am my time. I would respond when I woke up only to be told that I took too long to respond. All in all I was only ever given trial classes. I was never paid for the work I did for them and never offered a suficiente amount of classes. It was a waste of time jumping through their hoops to be essentially robbed of payment. This company is illigetimate and will not last. As others have stated DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME! I saw the reply comment on here threatening to sue the person who posted it and after my experience with poople I am certain they were telling the truth.
I was working for Popple when out of nowhere what few classes I had were taken from me leaving me no classes at all. A month passed and finally I was offered ONE class. When I asked about my previous classes I was told they had been concluded, but not by me! The expectations they had for my response time was laughable considering they left me high and dry and then expected me to be there at a moment's notice. Also and probably the worst is that I was NEVER paid for the last week I worked. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME HERE. It is not stable and the person of contact is extremely rude and unprofessional. I spent more time planning my classes than I did teaching. I was not paid for training and they do not even round up. This is a scam!