Korean Job Discussion Forums

[lastat06513]

I have read about alot of people STILL getting screwed over by their bosses.

Another easy way to prevent this, and newbies please pay close attention to this, is to ask for a bi-lingual contract written in English and Korean.

I know that it sounds meaningless for some, especially for people who have no clue about the language. But once you have a contract that is written in Korean and it is also written in English, when you go to the Labor Board to resolve your disputes regarding your boss, all the board members have to do is read the Korean and have an idependent translator interpret what was written and promised in English....

Sometimes, it pays to think of the worst-case scenerio to be ready for it...

I think if people start asking for this, it would save alot of people from a world of hurt...I guarantee!!!

[Ya-ta Boy]

[cruisemonkey]

Under Korean law, no contract is valid unless the governing language of such contract is Korean.

[Ramones]

Even in China, all contracts are given in English and the Chinese. This is standard prictice one would think - how else would we know what we are signing up for ?

[khyber]

Another IMPORTANT thing to demand is an official tax receipt. You want to make sure your boss ain't deekin' around with you cash, ask for that.

[trinity24651]

My contract was in English only. Am I in trouble?

[lastat06513]

Getting a tax statement should be a "give me", and they have to give you a copy when you ask for it, if they don't give it to you, then go (or threaten to go) to the local tax office and obtain a copy. If they give you any hassle, then you know they are hiding something and if they are hiding something, it can be found in an audit of their finances.

And if a person contributes to the pension fund, they should get a statement once a year stating how much you have total in your pension account.

My first contract was all in English, but since I was a teaching newbie, I never thought much of it until someone mentioned that all legal-binding contracts SHOULD (in a perfect world) be written in both English and Korean.

Trinity~~ You should ask to see the Korean copy of your contract (that is the one your employer submits with the English one with your signature to get YOUR visa, but what your boss doesn't tell you is that the English one is only used to see your signature, the valid one for the visa is the Korean one)....many employers don't mention that.....

[TheUrbanMyth]

However some employers make a different version of the Korean contract than the English one. If push comes to shove they can claim "Oh my English isn't very good, I thought "voluntary" meant the same as "mandatory" (in Korean.) Since straight translations don't work very well there are a lot of loopholes and gray areas that can be used to screw over the foreigner.

[Young FRANKenstein]

[the eye]