Job Discussion Forums

[William.]

I have recently begun applying to jobs in Japan and Korea like mad, and am wondering about Wishborn.

I have found 3 posts on various websites about this group. One was a stellar review, the other two were awful.

Has anyone worked through these guys?

[wackyama]

You can easily do better than Wishborn. They REQUIRE you to rent a company car w. advertising all over the windows (blocks your view, good luck going around town without people knowing your every move), no airbags most likely, some cars w. no seatbelts in back seats, for Y25,900 a month. Most cars are small yellow-plate cars, over 10 yrs old is common, though a few locations have newer cars. Only way around that is to buy your own car, not feasible if you plan to be here just a yr or 2, or live in a metro area w. public transportation. Look hard & you may be lucky to find a rental from a mechanic or auto dealer who rents cars - hard to come by. My mechanic used to charge Y12,000 - Y25,000 a month for car rentals, which earned him a bit of profit.

Gas is reimbursed at the rate of Y100 / litre, never any higher. Right now gas is about Y120 / litre; it was Y160 this summer. Reimbursement rate was still Y100 during that time. Not full reimbursement.

Health insurance & taxes - you pay for that. Not paid for by the company.

Housing - could be decent, could be a tiny 1 room rabbit hutch for Y60,000 a month, could be a dump. Wishborn will not pay deposits on any housing for you, should you want something different.

Deposit - they require you to pay a deposit of Y60,000 while with the company. This is to cover final utility bills or any other expenses after you leave. You may not get any of this back, even if you've taken care of all bills.

Side jobs are not allowed. Teachers have been caught & threatened to stop side work. Advertising on your car will mark you wherever you go in town, and you will be found out. Not a pleasant experience.

Visa - only 1 yr visas are given.

Training: none.

Internet connection: if your place doesn't have one, you have to get it on your own, no assistance provided. Getting a connection can take weeks or months, depends on your building & town.

Some of the positions see turnover every 6 months. You may have no choice whether to teach at public schools, M-F, standard business hours, or private school, Tue-Sat, aftn thru night.

Good luck w. your job search, and keep on lookin'.

[stillnosheep]

So they still charge teachers for driving their little Daihatsu deathtraps.

Last I heard they were also requiring new teachers to start work on tourist visas while they sorted the correct papers out later.

The Osaka general union had some run-ins with Wishborn in its previous incarnation as AEG.