Korean Job Discussion Forums

[icnelly]

I was reading in a post that the native English teachers in public schools get paid more and work less than their Korean counterparts; is that REALLY true?

I checked the net and found this page, but some of the info seems pretty wacky from my experiences:

http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/m/a/mar389/Edthp401/conditions.htm

My one co-teacher is working 10 less hrs than I am, but she is in grad. school, so I don't know if that accounts for her workload.

Anyone else got websites, personal info, etc??

[icnelly]

Forgot to mention the material I referenced is dated by about 8 years...sorry

[nautilus]

I get more than most K teachers. they work more than me.

However they get bonuses and holidays.

[Unposter]

In the public schools, the K-teachers make more. In the hakwons, it depends. Most K-teachers make less. But, there are some super-start teachers who make as much as Chaebol V-Ps!

[ttompatz]

[jeffkim1972]

Aside from hogwans, these school K-teachers have lifetime employment, foreigners don't.

But no need to get a hard-on just because you make more than natives. All foreigners here make more. Anyone that goes to a different country gets more and should get more for being out of their element.

[Real Reality]

Average Annual Salary

1. �ʵ��б�����: ����ӱ�: 3444(����)
Elementary School Teacher: Annual Average Wage: 34,440,000 won
http://know.work.go.kr/know/sub4/result_0.asp?search_code=04520&search_name=�ʵ��б�����

2. �ܱ����: ����ӱ�: 3664(����)
Foreign Language Teacher: Annual Average Wage: 36,640,000 won
http://know.work.go.kr/know/sub4/result_0.asp?search_code=04518&search_name=�ܱ����

3. ���б���: ����ӱ�: 3852(����)
Science Teacher: Annual Average Wage: 38,520,000 won
http://know.work.go.kr/know/sub4/result_0.asp?search_code=04515&search_name=�����

4. ��ȸ����: ����ӱ�: 3916(����)
Social Studies Teacher: Annual Average Wage: 39,160,000 won
http://know.work.go.kr/know/sub4/result_0.asp?search_code=04514&search_name=��ȸ����

5. �����: ����ӱ�: 3936(����)
National (Korean) Language Teacher: Annual Average Wage: 39,360,000 won
http://know.work.go.kr/know/sub4/result_0.asp?search_code=04512&search_name=�����

6. ���б���: ����ӱ�: 4019(����)
Math Teacher: Annual Average Wage: 40,190,000 won
http://know.work.go.kr/know/sub4/result_0.asp?search_code=04513&search_name=�����

7. �ι��迭����: ����ӱ�: 6907(����)
College Professor: Annual Average Wage: 69,070,000 won
http://know.work.go.kr/know/sub4/result_0.asp?search_code=04111&search_name=�ι��迭����

�ѱ����������ý���
http://know.work.go.kr/know

Korean teachers in Korea have guaranteed tenure until they reach the retirement age.
Annual teacher salaries, public schools (with minimum training) (US$)
Expressed in equivalent US$ converted using purchasing power parities.
Starting Salary: 25,177
After 15 years: 42,845
Top of Scale: 68,581
Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers
Country Note: Korea
John Coolahan, Paulo Santiago, Rowena Phair and Akira Ninomiya
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Directorate for Education, Education and Training Policy Division
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/26/49/31690991.pdf

"According to the table on page 207 of the OECD 2001, Secondary school teachers on the top end of the pay scale in South Korea receive up to $62,135 compared to U.S. teachers who only earn up to $44,394 on average at the higher end of the spectrum. Furthermore, the ratio of a teacher��s salary compared to the nation's GDP per capita is 2.5 times higher in Korea than the United States . Pay per hour is also higher in Korea with teachers receiving $80, while teachers in the United States only receive $38.

The ratio of a teacher's salary divided by a nation��s GPD per capita reflects the salary of teacher compared to that of the average worker. The Bureau of Labor Statistics cites the average annual wage as $36,219. Teachers average pay on the higher end in the U.S. is $44,394, therefore higher paid teachers on average are paid 22.57% more than the average worker. The Chosun Ilbo, a premier newspaper in Korea , reports that the average worker earns $16,800. This means that Korean teachers make more than three times that of the average worker."
Source:
Comparing Educational Systems in South Korea and the United States
http://sitemaker.umich.edu/kimeric.356/societies_attitude_toward_education


"According to a recent survey, a growing number of Korean teachers of English conduct their classes in Korean only, contrary to efforts in creating an environment in which students can be better immersed in English.... The number of teachers using only English in class was 22.3 percent in 2003, but fell to 19.9 in 2004 and 17.6 last year. Meanwhile, the ratio of those using only Korean in class rose to 12.9 percent last year from 10.7 percent in 2004 and 9 percent in 2003."
Source:
School English Classes: Quality of Teaching Appears to Be Diminishing
Editorial, Korea Times (June 7, 2006)
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/opinion/200606/kt2006060717004354050.htm

College Tutors Can Earn 60,000-100,000 Won Per Hour
by Yi-Young Cho and Soo-Jung Shin,
Donga.com (August 03, 2004)
http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?bicode=040000&biid=2004080497078

Have you been paid late in Korea?
Never - I must be lucky! 38% [ 34 ]
Once or twice - no big deal, minor annoyance... 20% [ 18 ]
Several times - hate it! 17% [ 15 ]
Several times - but I understand the culture, doesn't bother me.... 4% [ 4 ]
Many times - sigh... 15% [ 14 ]
WTF! I've never been paid on time! ARGH!!!! 3% [ 3 ]
Total Votes : 88
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=18732

Do Foreigners have Human Rights, in Korea?
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=51789

Late pay... worth the wait?
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=37989

[Unposter]

On salary issues, Real Reality is the real deal. Korean teachers get paid very, very well, especially compared to the averages in Korea. They also get full vacations except for an occassional "training session" and opportunites for after school classes.

Korean teachers also get some of the best fringe benefits of any Korean worker and many, many free things. Some of them even get bribes. There is much, much more to the compensation package of being a teacher in Korea than just cash salary.

As Real Reality reported 40 -60 million a year plus fringe benefits sounds right. I'm sure principles are paid much more. Many of them even "own" the school. Almost all high schools in Seoul are private.

Now, there are some teachers who complain that teachers are loosing societal respect but the teacher is still "king" in Korea and many highly educated people compete hard for the limited number of teaching jobs. This is an elite position in Korea unlike Canada and especially the U.S. where teachers are very low in the social hierarchy. It is the exact oppositie in Korea. Teachers are a powerful position, especially high school teachers.

Teaching jobs can be so worthwhile and lucrative that some have been known to pay 100 million won or more to be given a job.

At the big prep schools (hakwons) in the Gangnam area of Seoul, hakwon teachers are paid by the students they can attract. Some of these teachers attract thousands of students and rake in the cash. On top of that, they sell book and videotapes of their lectures greatly increasing their take. These teachers are some of the highest paid people in Korea.

If you are a teacher in Seoul, especially if you are a woman, you went to the best schools (in Korea) and making a good salary. For some reason, the qualifications of male teachers seem to be quite lower. Maybe, for men, the real gravy is in the Chaeobols. But, for a woman, a Seoul teacher's position is the Holy Grail of jobs.

[hubba bubba]

I was going to chime in on the issue of me being the lowest paid guy at the school, but seems RR has covered that.

There's one thing you may not realize though. In order to be at the top of the pay scale, you have to have started teaching ages ago. Teachers didn't always have it this good. The woman that is making sixty now started teaching at least twenty years ago (I'm guessing).

Twenty years ago, Korean teachers weren't making shit. The conditions have changed alot in the last few decades. I'm by no means an expert on this, but I've talked to my coworkers enough to know that the old timers deserve what they are geting nowadays.

Want some interesting conversation? Find the oldest geyser at your school and ask him what it was like to teach here in the 1970's.

[jvalmer]