Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Kuval]

Can I break my contract & find a new job w/o losing my visa?

I was promised the moon when I got to my hagwon and received a very different set of circumstances. I was told that I'd be living 30 minutes from Seoul and a 5 minute bus ride away from my job. Well, it's true, the bus is 5 minutes... but it's a 30 minute walk to the bus. Many things have been... conveniently left out of the discussion.

My apartment is horrible. Very drafty, no appliances. Not that I really care that much about appliances... it's just little things like that.

The big problem, however, is the big things. I get no attendance sheets, no course materials, no preparation time, no communication. My bosses speak next to 0 English. They communicate with me through a different teacher. That teacher speaks good English... but she hates me and doesn't communicate important things to my boss. So really, it's a one way street.

The education of the children is not important. They just want me to talk, and they want to hear the way I sound. I can't have conversations with any of my students, and the advanced ones can barely answer simple questions like, "why are the Red Sox your favorite team?"

All the teachers all tell me how they're dying to quit... which makes me less and less happy about my situation.

SOOOOOOOOOOO, all this whining aside... what do I do?

What are my options? Can I leave my job and get a new job without doing all of the E-2 visa hoop jumping again? Or do I need a new criminal record check and everything? I'm Canadian, so any details I can get are appreciated!!!

[YTMND]

You can change to a D10, but you need to be with the school for a while. 6 months has been noted in threads but maybe you can do with 3 months or even less.

The other option is to get a letter of release. This usually involves working a little without pay to make the school feel they are getting something out of the deal.

If you become an annoyance to them, they are more likely to want to replace you. Start getting creative.

[ttompatz]

Changing jobs mid contract is awkward at a minimum.

It IS easier to just leave Korea, turn in your ARC on the way out and return with a new set of documents and begin the visa process again from scratch
UNLESS
you have some verifiable, justifiable reason to quit (breach of labor laws by your employer with an on-going file at the labor office).

Options:
i) get new documents. Leave Korea when you have them. Return and start again.
ii) quit, hope to get paid and pray that you can get a LOR (release from your sponsorship to seek new employment).
iii)quit with a claim at the labor office. Justifiable reason to change employers - usually allowed by immigration with a minimum of fuss.
iv) fired - see <ii>

The bad news (from the minimal details in your post) is that other than not being like home there is no legal reason to leave or to be released from your contract and sponsorship. You'll have to negotiate your way out or quit and wait till your visa expires and you can get a new one.

You may want to read through this from the Canadian embassy:
http://travel.gc.ca/travelling/publications/teaching-english-in-korea

.

[Troglodyte]

[cincynate]

[Troglodyte]

[young_clinton]

Having no course materials is the ultimate ripoff behind not getting paid. A plus however might be that with as little awareness of ESL as they probably have they might be easier to please.

[Kuval]

So here's the update:

I found a great new job beginning at the end of April. That's also when my old job's 6 months is up so I don't have to pay for airfare. That's good news.

The bad news is, I don't know what I need to get going at my new job. They're requesting full new documents... but do I need all of the new documents?

To my knowledge I need:

A criminal record check done in Canada... then it has to be notarized by a lawyer's office... then sent to the Vancouver Korean Consulate from my city (Edmonton).

I also need a truecopy of my degree notarized by a lawyer's office and then sent to the Korean consulate to get stamped.

My Problems
1) It's expensive. All in, gonna cost about $300-$400.
2) I can't really do all of that stuff from Korea.

I mean, can't they just see that I've been in Korea so I can't have a criminal record? Can't I substitute a Korean police certificate or something?

According to the post above at that website I can just get a release, plus new employer and act out my remaining visa at my job? Right?

[ttompatz]

If you haven't negotiated a LOR and/or do not have a valid complaint on file at the labor board you are unlikely to be able to transfer to a new employer.

IF you are able to effect a transfer then you need:

LOR
ARC
passport
new contract
application
fees
new employer's guarantee (sponsorship form_
new employer's business registration (copy).

If you leave the country and hand in your ARC to get out from under your current visa then you need all new documents for a new visa application (just like the original visa application). AFTER you get a new visa confirmation number you will need to do a visa run to the consulate in Japan to get a new E2.

.

[PREEST]

If you decide you want to leave, the school is not going to make it easy for you and just write you up a release letter. Seen many people up and quit because of similar issues, only to be denied a release letter, they pack their bags and go home with no severance pay and pension.

How far into the contract are you? Is it so bad that you can't stick it out for a year?

I understand your situation. I was in a situation similar several years ago. Was promised the moon, only to arrive and find I had been completely lied to in order to get me to take the job. Important details had been left out, I was dumped in the country side when told I had a city job, accommodation was appalling (a sleep out attached to some old man's house in the middle of a farm) everything down to the location of my 'apartment' was a lie. I was livid, and made up my mind to leave and start all over again. I was there 10 days. If you are not happy, you just need to go home and start again, it's not worth the mental strain. I was able to find a decent job after that which I was at for 18 months.

Good luck with your endeavors!

[zpeanut]

Just curious...

if you're on an E2 visa and want to quit.. would it be possible to just leave the country and come back on a tourist visa straight away? (after notifying your employer of your resignation of course)