It's still possible to make money by teaching English in countries like Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. If you have the right credentials Hong Kong has the highest salaries in Asia. The rise of the Chinese economicgiant has led to higher salaries, and more and more people are heading there to teach and learn Chinese.

JAPAN

Once upon a time recent college graduates with any four-year degree could head off to Japan for a year and come back with the newest (and smallest) electronics, experience trekking around SE Asia, and 20 grand in the bank. Then the oh-so-sweet bubble burst, the value of the yen dropped, and more and more people became interested in going to Japan. The increase in supply turned the tides and simply being a Westerner with a BA no longer guarenteed a teaching gig in Japan.

There are still plenty of teaching options in Japan and, even though the glory days are over, you can still save money there as long as you don't go out boozing every night. If you are interested in teaching in Japan, the following schools and programs pay well:

• Jet Programme
• Nova Group
• Aeon
• GEOS

It is also possible to make money tutoring English. This article has some contacts where you can find tutoring jobs in Japan.

KOREA

In 1995 Korea launched its answer to the Japanese government's extremely popular JET Programme, and the English Program in Korea was born. The first years of EPIK were turbulent ones and teachers saw the dollar-value of their salaries but in half practically overnight when the Asia financial crises hit in 1997. Many foreigners left there jobs mid-contract and there is still some hard feelings about it today.

If you are interested in the EPIK program, their Web site is:

http://epik.knue.ac.kr/

The great majority of people who go to teach English in Korea do so at Hagwons, or private English academies. Salaries usually start around 2.0 million won and people who teach privates (most of them illegaly) can make up to 7.0 million a month in Seoul. However, teaching private lessons is illegal and the Korean authorities are known crack down on illegal teaching more that any other country. The minimum penatly is a 2.0 million won fine and possibly deportation with entry rights revoked for a year.

The financial rewards are high, however, and many people decide to teach English on the side in Korea. Some people even go there are tourist visas, teach private lessons, and make visa runs to Japan, Hong Kong, or Taiwan every three months. Any one who chooses to do this does so at their own risk.

CHINA

There is a high demand for English teachers in China. Hong Kong has a high demand and the wages are good.