Korean Job Discussion Forums

rrlawyer · Joined: 06 May 2008

There is a reason that this place is always looking for workers. I met Ian Windsor and worked for him. He is not an all together bad guy at first glance. However I do not recommend trusting him or anything he says unless you have it in writing and in your pocket 24/7. Any promises regarding block or even semi-human hours are meaningless without having it on paper.

Expect to get your monthly schedule the night before classes begin. It is not uncommon for teachers to start at 8am and finish at 9pm. I had classes basically one out of every three hours. You will not have time to have a life.

I heard a rumor about a firing quota - that isn't true - it is just a statistic that is pretty accurate. They never went 30 days without losing someone the whole time I was there. If a customer every suggests they are less than in happy with you - you will go before they lose the customer. You are easier to replace. You take money, customers give money.

Because it is a for profit enterprise - it does not matter whether you are at fault. They will make the decision that maximizes profit. In order to get rid of you they will make your schedule as miserable as possible. That way you quit and they don't have to pay your air fare. Expect the pressure to increase as the one-year mark hits on your contract. If you make the mistake of letting them think you are leaving at the end of the contract they will really hit you hard and raise the misery index to avoid paying that airfare. Then you must sign a confidentiality agreement to be released if you want to remain in Korea.

I paid my way out of the contract. I gave them notice and they milked me for every won they could get from the contract. It is not the worse Korea has to offer. They pay on time and they aren't about to go anywhere. My co-workers were what kept me alive. Good folks for the most part. However, I would never in my wildest dreams recommend that anybody ever work there. The office equipment was broken a majority of the time and it simply was a hostile work environment for me. I understand that it is a money first education second racket in many Korean hogwans, but this place really pushes that mentality to an insidious art form.

When I was there the housing racket was also something to avoid. Rocky was in charge of housing. He put me up in a "red light" hotel with those blue drapes to hide your face as you come in and out. It was about 6 blocks from the office. It had mirrors on the ceiling and prostitutes coming in and out all night. Then they moved me to a place without air conditioning. When I pointed this out they said that housing was not part of the contract and I had to deal with the landlord - who I had never met because the school - Rocky - had got me the apartment.

STAY AWAY FROM PAGODA TEACHING ACADEMY IN GANGNAM KANGNAM SEOUL SOUTH KOREA AT ALL COSTS!

anyangoldboy · Joined: 28 Sep 2007

Which Pagoda teacher are you??? I know most of them at Gangnam

Yu_Bum_suk · Joined: 25 Dec 2004

mountainous · Joined: 04 Sep 2007 Location: Los Angeles

I interviewed w/Phil Reynolds and Ian Windsor, they work side by side.

Phil sends me a contract to look over...I accept the position.

He fails to respond for a couple few days, then finally notifies me that the position beginning next week is no longer available, BUT

There is an open spot in Jongno coming up in 3 weeks...

He suggests that I should have no problem finding part time (ILLEGAL) work until then...

Clearly, PAGODA does not give a damn about the teacher, dirty hakwon.

postfundie · Joined: 28 May 2004

Phil and Ian are great guys period. Pagoda however is a business and seeks to make money. I hate that they don't pay for special training sessions. Seems like the high teacher turnover is just part of the game and they play along. If the customer complains confront them on it. I ask about every ten minutes during a class, "are you ok?" "are there any problems?", "what do you need?" and it keeps the complaints down. It's a business and you are expendable, get over it .

Young FRANKenstein · Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 4:12 am Post subject:

Dome Vans · Guest

rrlawyer · Joined: 06 May 2008

MrsSeoul · Joined: 31 May 2007

Removed

WoBW · Joined: 07 Dec 2007 Location: HBC

I worked at Pagoda in Gangnam and I loved it!

It was so easy teaching SLE to adults. I even got a GF out of it.

Ian is an ass but I never saw him after my first day.

Fishead soup · Joined: 24 Jun 2007 Location: Korea

I knew someone who worked there who claims
Pagoda has a rating system. Most school have at least 30 teachers. They rate you between 1-30. The number appears with your pay stub. They periodically fire teachers who rate between 25-30 on a regular basis.

Work at Pagoda for the dating opportunities not the great work enviroment.

cdninkorea · Joined: 27 Jan 2006 Location: Seoul

aarontendo · Joined: 08 Feb 2006 Location: Daegu-ish

They're all adults and it's not like it's a university, nobody's trying to barter sex for grades ala bookwormbitches.com. What's the harm? As long as they're not your student anymore I'm assuming it's no problem.

WoBW · Joined: 07 Dec 2007 Location: HBC

I don't see a problem either. The student I dated was no longer in my class when I asked her out. We're both adults. What's the big deal?

anyangoldboy · Joined: 28 Sep 2007

[quote="MrsSeoul"][quote="anyangoldboy"]Which Pagoda teacher are you??? I know most of them at Gangnam[/quote]

Good for you, do you sleep with them?[/quote]

Well only two of them...I live with two of them...Sorry I had to clear things up seeing that you needed therapy and keep calling yourself a hottie and have issues about walking around your flat naked...If you didn't have issues you wouldnt be talking about it...

F you too...