Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jordy]

Stay away from this school. It is just another nasty hagwon on the long list of nasty hagwons.
The usual things happen here: lies, coming into your apartment without permission, working long hours, few holidays, getting fired towards the end of your contract, getting fired without reason or warning, a boss that doesn't speak English, managers that lie and use, no Foreign Teacher representation, working on Saturdays, forced Health Care sharing, no pension paid, etc.

I think you get the picture. Save yourself the headache and get a job at a reputable school...not Brighton Gwangju.

Good day!

[wylies99]

Thanks for the heads up.

[trinity24651]

Is it a franchise?

[spyro25]

shame. dang gam brighton in busan is probably the best hagwon ever. office hours, wonderful kids, great syllabus. i have loved working there since day 1. just goes to show that the boss really does make all the difference to the place of work.

[jordy]

Yes, it is a franchise. There are several around Korea. It is a very pretentious system. Very full of itself. And yes, in this case, the boss certainly can make or break your experience. This boss has had so many problems with so many people, firing people on whims and acting basically, insane (with power that it is).

Don't go here under any circumstances. They will lie to you. Honestly, you won't know that you've been lied to until you're fired and you hear it from the staff afterwards. The level of dishonesty coming from the Korean managers and directors is unbelievable. Basically, they believe that you, being a foreigner, are completely incapable of managing your own time or performing professionally. Be prepared to be judged very quickly, and micromanaged to death.

These experiences have come from a variety of people; those who have worked there for only 3-4 months, those who have completed their contracts, and even those who had the decency to re-sign contracts have been treated incredibly poorly.

At this school, be prepared to follow the letter of the law or else. The owner, director is always there watching what goes on. Every Monday, you will have new "ideas" and philosophies to incorporate, even though none of the management has educational experience and if they do, they fail to exhibit this to anyone, let alone any sense of professionalism.

The staff was always great and large (about 14 foreign teachers), but it ends there. You work too much, you are expected to be there 1 hour before you class (which is absolutely not necessary and is part of the control thing), and you are also expected to be present during breaktime to cover in the event that someone has to go home sick.

There are few options at this school. If something has to be done, you must do it. If you don't, be prepared to be blacklisted by management and labeled as lazy and useless (believe me, they label you very quickly).

To get into too many specifics would simply take pages and pages. While some of these things are commonplace throughout the hagwon world in Korea, believe me when I say that they were accentuated greatly at this school. It's simply too big, too many students per class, far too many managers. These people haven't a clue about anything, and yet they are the ones advising the owner and basically making all of the important decisions. You will clash with these people. The backwards logic is rampant here.

I hope that this helps.

[jordy]

I just heard that a teacher at this school did a runner on the weekend, and another one may be deported due to messed up visa issues.
They will be on the hunt for new teachers....please stay away, it is not worth it, there are many, many better schools out there.

[wylies99]

No problem. Thanks for the warning.