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Street77
Joined: 10 Dec 2012
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 Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2012 8:10 am Post subject: anyone ever work HERE? |
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So I start in Seoul in a few months. I took the job because of good reviews I read on another site for the school. The INDIVIDUAL school ranked very well. The chain is Wonderland. Need I say more?
Anyway, I know there are a few good Wonderlands out there, but I wanted to hear from someone else who worked at the one in Junggyedong (Nowongu, Seoul).
Any of you out there?
Are the reviews true?
No offense to anyone working at another descent Wonderland. I'm just being cautious because of reputation. |
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newb
Joined: 27 Aug 2012
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2012 11:14 am Post subject: |
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You'll have a wonderful time in Wonderland.  |
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YTMND
Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Location: You're the man now dog!!
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| Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2012 12:11 pm Post subject: |
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| The INDIVIDUAL school ranked very well. |
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| I wanted to hear from someone else who worked at the one in Junggyedong (Nowongu, Seoul) |
Those two statements don't go together. Either you got an "individual" account of the school or you are blindly accepting the job.
1. Who ranked this particular school?
2. Did you talk to them?
3. Was this a recent ranking as opposed to something good said about the school when a teacher worked there in 2002?
4. With all the bad comments about Wonderland, you didn't ask to speak with a current teacher there before actually signing the contract?
Lastly, any comments on the school's site, recruiter's site, or comments made by current teachers have a high percent of being biased. The teacher doesn't want to say anything bad because they still want their last pay, severance, and airfare home. The recruiter wants to find a teacher, and the site should be pretty obvious to understand why they would be biased.
Good luck, but don't be surprised if it doesn't turn out as you expected. |
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Street77
Joined: 10 Dec 2012
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| Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2012 1:21 pm Post subject: |
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like I said, i wanted to hear from more people on the location. i've got a year old review on a site not associated with the school from four teachers (reliableteacher.com's hogwan review). i also spoke often to (almost interrogated really) an american teacher currently there. before i go, though, i wanted a few more sources. i was wondering if anyone had been there.
like any chain, there are good schools and bad schools. just as i have heard over-generalized horror stories about all hagwons or the entire esl experience in korea as opposed to anywhere else, i know it is a school by school matter.
i am, though, skeptical and cautious. i've seen enough, i'm not often surprised by anything. i can take care of things if it doesn't work out. |
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newb
Joined: 27 Aug 2012
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2012 3:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Then take the job and let us know when things go south. Good luck. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2012 6:35 am Post subject: |
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Well if you have a FIRST HAND source on the particular school then this trumps whatever is said on here.
Good luck. |
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young_clinton
Joined: 09 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2012 6:53 am Post subject: |
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| YTMND wrote: |
2. Did you talk to them?
4. With all the bad comments about Wonderland, you didn't ask to speak with a current teacher there before actually signing the contract?
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A good reason to go to Korea with all of your prepared documents and good savings first, and then find the school that you want and talk to the teachers at the school in person.
You won't get your airfare reimbursed, but think of the financial security and the headaches you are saving yourself from. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2012 6:59 am Post subject: |
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| young_clinton wrote: |
| YTMND wrote: |
2. Did you talk to them?
4. With all the bad comments about Wonderland, you didn't ask to speak with a current teacher there before actually signing the contract?
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A good reason to go to Korea with all of your prepared documents and good savings first, and then find the school that you want and talk to the teachers at the school in person.
You won't get your airfare reimbursed, but think of the financial security and the headaches you are saving yourself from. |
That is good advice in general terms. Especially the savings part. |
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Street77
Joined: 10 Dec 2012
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| Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2012 8:07 am Post subject: |
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| That is good advice. |
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EZE
Joined: 05 May 2012
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| Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2012 8:40 am Post subject: |
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| Don't work at Wonderland. If you do, please come back and tell us all what happened. |
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Son Deureo!
Joined: 30 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2012 1:35 am Post subject: |
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OP, I've never worked at that school again, but I think you really need to read those reliableteacher.com reviews (http://hagwon.reliableteacher.com/wonderland-english-%E2%80%93-junggye-junggyebon-dong-seoul/, this is the school you're thinking about working for, right?)a bit more carefully. In between the parts where the teachers tell you how much they love that school, notice things like this:
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the only con there was the hours
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| With the exception of these holidays foreigner teachers are expected to work from roughly 9am to 810pm on Mon, Wed, and Fri and 9am to 6pm on Tues and Thurs |
So on your easy days, you're going to be at work for 9 hours a day, but 3 days a week you'll be there over 11 hours a day. I worked hours like that my first year in Korea, trust me, it's exhausting. Any boss who expects that of their teachers is not a nice person, period.
Unless they pay a hell of a lot more than your average hogwon, on the order of 3+ mil a month, or you're really desperate for a job you should never take a hogwon job that expects you to be on site for more than 8 hours a day.
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| The foreign teacher apartment is a 30 minute walk from the school |
Could be worse, but for the hours you're going to be working, that apartment had better be across the street.
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| They will take you on a few trips around Korea. We went to a couple of mountains and temples. Some are overnight. |
Overnight trips on the weekend, too? Are these optional? Somehow I doubt it.
It's also pretty common for Wonderland to require it's teachers to work a Saturday a month. Is this the case for your Wonderland?
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| There are also many faculty dinners and workshops to enjoy. |
I'm sure you'll really enjoy all of those workshops.
I have friends who also work for a "good" Wonderland. The hours aren't quite as awful as the hours at the one where you're looking at working, but they're working longer hours for lower pay than pretty much every other hogwon teacher anywhere else. Maybe those reviews are fake, maybe those teachers really did drink the Kool Aid, but are you sure you want to work hours like that for a year to find out? |
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Street77
Joined: 10 Dec 2012
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| Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 11:35 pm Post subject: |
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there's a three hour lunch on the longer days. also, a teacher who will be living in the same building as me says it's a five to ten minute walk to the school (I will treat this with caution though).
I did speak with two more teachers who seem to like it there and there's another review here
http://greenlist.tokyojon.com/
the only thing is, I don't care for split shifts. a few of the teachers I spoke to at the school have a MUCH better schedule, so i'll have to negotiate this with the director. otherwise, I'll have to call this as I see it |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 2:05 am Post subject: |
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Let me be perfectly clear.
Like SLP and CDI the devil is in the details and it is all spelled out in your contract. Wonderland had earned its reputation over a LONG period of time.
You will work longer, get paid less and have issues with medical, pension and holidays (contrary to law and contrary to what is said in your contract).
If you are desperate to get to Korea and/or get ANY job then it is that.
You will get paid.
You will get your airfare.
You will get your severance.
You won't get pension.
You won't get NHIC medical.
You will work long days (a 3 hr lunch just means a long split shift day).
It is a job and it gets you to Korea.
BRING an EXTRA set of documents (CBC and degree copy with apositlle) so that when things go to hell in a hand basket you have options other than to just "suck it up".
Make sure you save enough out of your 1st 3 months to tide you over till you get a new job/visa should you decide that you have had enough of the crud when the honeymoon phase is over.
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