Korean Job Discussion Forums

[djmphan]

Hey guys,
I am looking for some input on a school I am thinking of taking a contract with, ECC Kimpo (Gimpo). I would love to hear from anyone who has experiences with this school. The good, the bad, lay it all on me.
I have a cousin who is there right now and he seems to like it, good hours, decent pay, (2.0mil, 26 teaching hours a week, 30 total). I like the fact that you can choose to work overtime month by month, paid out at about 24,000 an hour, nice apartments, i have a pic from my cousin, big school with lots of canadians and americans.
Can't wait to hear from you guys.
My other option is Poly School Ilsan, which I hear is garbage...

Thanks,

Josh

[PaperTiger]

I never worked there but I worked in the next building over and I knew a few people who worked there together. I heard the classes are a little big, and they were good about giving and paying for overtime.

The most significant detail I can provide is that the director had given several people home leave that overlapped. The way that he dealt with that is just to hire someone for three months to cover the shifts so he could cover his people without letting them go or goofing around with their scheduled vacation time. C'est ca.

Good luck. Kimpo's a nice area as long as you don't live in that officetel surrounded by restaurants and bars, nothing a good pair of earplugs won't fix I reckon. There's a nice place to go walking around the rice paddies and canal that wraps around it. It's not easy to get into Seoul, you'll have to take a bus to the purple line and then it's a good 40 minutes to Hongkik station. Sa-oo-dong is pretty okay, especially by Kimpo city hall. Some parts of Kimpo of pretty far out there, be sure to visit before you sign anything. Good luck.

[djmphan]

what do you mean be sure to visit before i sign anything? I am in canada right now and they are going to be sending me the contract while i am stil lat home, so i will have a contract before i arrive.
This is normal is it not?
Any suggestions?

[plutodog18]

[djmphan]

i have just done a general search for them online. there are several threads on this site that are heavily weighted against poly ilsan, as well i have found some other threads on other sites that are also quite negative towards poly ilsan.
Why, what do you know about them??

[plutodog18]

This past week I requested specific info on this school (if you do a search you will see my thread) and while some said Poly has long hours (but they pay consistently much higher; around 3.0/month with full benefits; what did they offer you?) there were no other negative comments really.

In fact several commments were that Poly is very professionally managed and the students are the most well behaved.

[djmphan]

i was offered 2.7 from poly ilsan.
i am waiting to have an actual contract sent to me. One of my big problems with the school is the hours, it works out to 52.5 hours per week, which is almost double the amount of this other school i was looking at in gimpo. The school in gimpo has 26 teaching hours per week, 29.5 hours total. i crunched the numbers and ilsan works out to around $14 an hour, while this school in gimpo works out to $17.50 an hour.
the guy who was pushing gimpo on me said that he used to teach there and its the best etc... but he seems too pushy and it seems too good to be true, i dont know what to think. the thing is that i have a cousin at gimpo, the same school im looking at and he loves it, however this is his first time so hes a newbie too, but i like the idea that he can vouch for it. even though it is less hours, its still higher pay per hour, with the availability of overtime...

*edit* after checking out the other threads from you other post, i am even more convinced that I do not want to teach there. Lots of bad comments.

[plutodog18]

Poly Ilsan offered me over 3.0 (but I really pushed on the salary). One reason is that they are paying for prep time (where most other schools do not).

I have seen the contract and its fairly written.

The teaching and prep hours are 8/day Monday through Friday...I figure that to be 40/week. At 3.0/month I calculate that to be $20/hour.

My research also reveals that Ilsan is a very well to do suburb of Seoul and a nice place to live. If it is more upscale, and you want to do "extras" I would rather be in a more affluent neighborhood.......you can charge more.......nice!!!!!!!!!!! Plus Ilsan is on the bus and subway line into the heart of Seoul.

I cannot respond to your cousin's experience, you have to judge that. Is he going to sign for a second year? If not that is a sign.

[djmphan]

well it seems like you are set on ilsan. But i hear that it is actually not that nice of an area, so check into that.
Also, i think ilsan is standard 0900-1930 work hours, so check into that as well. 8 hours isnt bad.
Just keep in mind that they work you very hard, you work for that extra money. I am more interested in a more relaxed atmosphere, and like the fact that i will have more time throughout the week not working, my hours at this school would be:
m 3-8
t-430-8
w-1-8
t-1-8
f-1-8
i dunno i dont get a good vibe from ilsan, you seem to not be heeding the advice of the vast majority of the posters on the other threads...why is that?

[plutodog18]

I am not necessarily set on anything. Like you, just trying to do my homework.

I have read many thread responses on Poly as well as experiences at many other schools. I have separated the wheat from the shaft and I do not see that many complaints about Poly other than the longer hours. I do like the fact that they have been around for a long time (therefore not going bankrupt as many schools do; and have the where with all to make sure you are paid correctly and on time). Being honest and stating upfront their hours is far better than the majority of schools that seek to have you work extra hours time and again for no pay. (Read the hundreds of threads about this common practice in Korea.)

The hours are 12:30PM to 9:30PM (hour for lunch). So prep and teach time is 8 hr/day.

As far as Ilsan is concerned it is a very new (a few years old) suburban area. I have inquired and not heard anything but positive comments about this place.