Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ronald]

I've recently had a situation where a teacher held back information about a school when I talked to them about working. They held back some frank comments because they hadn't gotten their severance pay yet. The plot thickens.... My questions is; Is it right or wrong for a teacher to hold back frank comments about a school until he/she gets paid? That particular teacher said they were just looking out for themselves since they did not know if I was really a potential recruit or if I was a "spy". Who can you really trust? Tell me what you think!

[Areut]

[wylies99]

When you talk to the current teachers at a school, you can NEVER be certain if they are being honest or if they even work at that actual school. Some rotten schools and recruiters get illegal teachers to pass themselves off as "happy teachers" at certain schools. This has happened to me, and others.

Don't trust ANYONE just because they're white or originally from a country outside of Korea. There are PLENTY of jerkfaces that help the crooked hogwan owners and recruiters cheat teachers.

[Ronald]

Thanks alot. It look like the best bet is to get on here and search out former teachers rather than current teachers. I even had one teacher call me back once and ask me if I was coming. You really can't trust anyone. I know there are good schools out there so I'm just going to keep on looking.

[wylies99]

You even have to be careful who you trust on this board. Some are hogwan owners and recruiters passing themselves off as teachers.

[Ronald]

Wow, that's crazy. Is this really all about money or what?

[BigBuds]

[Kimchieluver]

At my first hagwon, when they were looking for a replacement, I did not really care too much about getting paid my severance because I already knew I had another job and would be able to get it out of my director eventually. I told a potential candidate that the kindy was a pain in the a$$, they are slow in getting your medical, and that you will always be paid 3 days to a week late. Other than that I said it is a pretty good gig for a beginner and the kids were wonderful. I told her just to say I said only good things about the job if she was asked why she did not accept the job. She told them everything I said and tried to get more money out of them. She didn't get the job and my last 3 weeks was hell.

So, on the flip side, when you are telling the newbs about the hagwon watch your back because the fresh out of college idiots can really make your life hard spouting off their mouths.

[ttompatz]

[b_canadian_eh]

Talking to teachers who are already done is the best bet. When we talked to a current teacher we were fed a load of crap... which we thought sounded great so we took the job and arrived to find something other than what we expected.

About a month later a former teacher came through and had dinner with us and gave us the real scoop, the stuff we wish we had heard from the start. Everyone's looking out for themselves first, especially if it's a shady hagwon.

[hubba bubba]

Also be aware that the director will put in touch with his most spineless, total kiss a$$ teacher.

[sjrm]

[Homer]

As Tom said...maximise your information.

Contact more than one teacher. Do so by phone (preferably home phone) or by email in the worse case scenario.

If you are going to check out the school online be real careful about what you read, who posted it and what the report is based on. Many a blacklist for example is run like a joke where any complaint about a school is taken at face value and posted without bothering to check it out first.

If you ask for advice on here...same deal...take it with a grain of salt (thats just common sense). This goes double for any "legal" advice you may get on here!

Figure out what you should expect in a job (pay and conditions on par with your value on the market) before you start considering offers. The judge an offer according to that standard and not according to what you may read online where people will tell you you should ask for 3.0 million won with a palace and a limo with driver...

In short, do your homework and accept that whatever decision you end up making, you will have to accept a certain level of uncertainty and make some compromises....

Finally, it is not cool for a teacher to withold information about a school when you talk to him/her but it will happen..hence Toms' sound advice.


Best of luck!

[moptop]

I am one of the teachers that Ron talked to.

Here are a few of my "dishonest posts":

-on if i was telling him the truth:
"i think i have given you a clear idea of the HIGH
SCHOOL. i didn't work at the middle school. all i
heard was rumors. i know the teachers at the middle
school didn't have the best time this year. but you
would have to talk to them if you are that worried
about it. they may be the teachers holding their
comments that (*name withheld*) was talking about...."

-on his comment that as long as his apartment is
straight, and he gets paid on time, he doesn't foresee any
problems:
"trust me, there can be a heck of a lot more problems
for you than just getting paid and having a place to
live...if you read dave's you'll see what these can
be. it's not an easy life here and anything that could
make it more difficult, you want to avoid!!!!"

i do want to recieve my severence pay and letter of reference. i do want to protect myself. i won't jeopardize my future for a stranger, but i honestly answered all of ron's questions.

i had to field a call from my supervisor today,giving me a hard time because he heard that the current teachers (i guess that would be us) bad-mouthed the school and made the new foreign teacher quit. i don't feel this was true, that i bad-mouthed the school through the 5 long emails i sent ron. i was always honest. i guess this is the reason why a lot of teachers are not so honest BECAUSE IT CAN GET THEM IN TROUBLE.

i was honest about the job i had. i had a few issues with the school but nothing major. they were bearable, and i have put up with a lot worse. if you are proactive and organized, you would have no problem at this school. i was truthful about this. if ron had bothered to make more than one call to us at an inconvenient time, and say, arranged a good time to talk through emailing us, maybe we could have given him more details about the positive and negative aspects. i'm trying to pack up my life here, and i'm not making any extra money to spend HOURS of my "free" time reassuring prospective teachers....

[alabamaman]

Here are some questions you could ask employees at a school Ronald:

1) Does your employer deduct from your monthly salary for income taxes and pay them to the District Tax Office?

2) Does your employer deduct from your monthly salary for medical insurance and make an equal contribution?

3) Does your employer deduct from your monthly salary to be paid into the National Pension Fund and contribute an equal amount?

4) Does the employer have a history of pocketing deductions made from worker's monthly salary for medical, pension, and income taxes?

5) Does the employer pay the employees their monthly salary on time?

6) Has the employer ever withheld severance from an employee?

7) How many classes do you teach a day & how many preparation hours per day?

*) What's the English speaking ability of the director and other Korean Teachers?

9) What is the city like that you work in? (What are the main attractions?)

10) Why are you leaving?