Korean Job Discussion Forums

blynch · Joined: 25 Oct 2006 Location: UCLA

i make 7 million (monthly)

jdog2050 · Joined: 17 Dec 2006

enns · Joined: 02 May 2006

So when looking to do a 2nd year in Korea, what kind of money should I expect? Should I use job boards to post my resume? I want the more lucrative positions but I'm not sure how they will find me.

xCustomx · Joined: 06 Jan 2006

fustiancorduroy · Joined: 12 Jan 2007

I came over here with a job earning 2.0m plus a free apt. My second job was 2.2m plus apt. But for my third job, I looked around a bit more and found a TOEFL position (that was will to hire an oegugin like me) with a base salary of 3.4 m for about 20 hours of class (and "clerical work") per week. Add the five 100K per hour privates I teach per week, and my salary comes out to over 5.0 mil per month...so, such jobs are out there, but not always easy to obtain.

phoenixstorm · Joined: 06 Mar 2007 Location: Seoul, South Korea

If you're already on a contract and your school doesn't offer overtime. Then how do you get more work if you have your mornings and early afternoons completely free?

Captain Corea · Joined: 28 Feb 2005 Location: Seoul

aka Dave · Joined: 02 May 2008 Location: Down by the river

byunhosa · Joined: 18 Jan 2006 Location: Center Ice

1) I don't doubt that there is some good money to be made for those willing and able to do private lessons. ESL salaries have to be taken with a grain of salt, as I understand that many teachers can obtain the base salaries with only 20-30 hours of work a week; this would mean a salary of 3-4 million Won/month if working a standard workweek of 40 hours.

2) Comparisons with Korean university professors are absurd. These professors have advanced degrees (usually PhDs from top universities) which are not required of ESLers; also, competition for Korean professorships is extremely intense; there are probably 5-6 applicants for every position.

3) I have met a few guys in Itaewon who claim they make 10 million KRW a month. This seems rather high, especially since the guy I heard it from seems to be drinking nearly every night. He is also single. Is this possible?

rebel_1812 · Joined: 17 May 2008 Location: Seoul

robot · Joined: 07 Mar 2006

aka Dave · Joined: 02 May 2008 Location: Down by the river

[quote="byunhosa"]

2) Comparisons with Korean university professors are absurd. These professors have advanced degrees (usually PhDs from top universities) which are not required of ESLers; also, competition for Korean professorships is extremely intense; there are probably 5-6 applicants for every position.

quote]

This is true, but when you're talking about English proficiency, the level of the older male professors is disgraceful. I teach in an English department, and am friends with the English lit. prof. He's a nice, smart guy.

However, I've had 3rd grade kids in hagwons who speak better English. Restricted to English, I can barely communicate with him. I've never heard him put together a complete sentence.

As a foreign language teacher (I taught French at UCSB), this just isn't acceptable to me. I know it's different and Korean is more difficult, but if you're an English professor you should man up and spend the time abroad or whatever to at least attain a base level of English ability.
It's like a math prof. who can't do basic multiplication. I know it's generational, as the younger head of the dept. speaks excellent English.

But the fact that the older profs don't take the time to improve their English (it's never too late) indicates a profound, irresponsable intellectual laziness. Probably they think they can simply teach in Korean, but the irony is in our dept. the theory of the day is CLT, which is opposed to teaching in the native language (they even teach CLT in Korean, which is sort of a double irony).

Mr. Pink · Joined: 21 Oct 2003 Location: China

There is something going around Korean circles cause yesterday my mother in law said she heard that schools were paying more these days and teachers got 5mil a month. My wife and I told her that was BS and most teachers got 2.2-2.5 plus housing at the public schools.

I hate it when the rumor mill starts circulating these lies.

xingyiman · Joined: 12 Jan 2006

Golem · Joined: 18 Jun 2008 Location: Seoul

My best friend regularly pulls in between 4.5-5.5 million won a month. He works part time at several different hagwon's (the employer who sponsors his visa doesn't mind). He also teaches privates. Granted, he speaks near fluent Korean. I often get close to 4 million myself once I include privates. I know that is higher than normal. I had a taxi driver act strange about thinking I made 5 million a month once. Very few people make that much.