Korean Job Discussion Forums

[annabella]

6pm today my boss comes into the office to tell me 'I have to move'. My co-worker is leaving next week and his replacement already has his own place, so they need to ditch one apartment.

The boss's reason: the landlord of my building has already found someone new to move in next Tuesday. There's nothing he can do. They can't extend (apparently).

The real reason I suspect (and it's something my boss actually said himself), the other apartment is 100,000w a month cheaper than mine.

He's trying to do everything by the book, saying it will be clean, same conditions etc, i.e. it is a single, furnished apartment, as per the contract. But, having just returned from seeing my co-workers place, I'm not happy.

It's literally half the size of my current place. It has no gas hooked up, no washing machine, only a single instead of a double bed (not that there's room for the latter two anyway). The kitchen stuff is practically on top of the bed and desk, call me picky if you like, but I like them to be separate! In my current place I've got room for a computer desk, separate small table and chairs, a comfy chair, wardrobe, two bookcases, and my double bed, as well as having the kitchen and utility areas partitioned off. I like it here and I don't want to move!

My boss said it was his mistake that they only told me today, and he knows I'm not happy. My reply of 'I'm not moving' was just met with 'You have to' and I couldn't face speaking to him again before I left. I'm going to try and get the landlord's number to have a Korean friend call this weekend to find out the real story. I guess it doesn't help matters much that my co-worker has lived there for a year.

What can I do / suggest without calling him a bs liar to his face?

Ask him to give me housing allowance instead? Insist on him finding another place of the same size and standard?

I don't want to threaten leaving, and I don't want a showdown on Monday afternoon, or before that, but I've got a feeling it may come to that.

Rant over with!

[Fresh Prince]

[wylies99]

How much more time do you have left on your contract?

[annabella]

I have 10 months to go, I've just returned for a second year as I thought we had a good relationship, I've got low hours, a good hourly rate and I'm in a good location. In the past he's been fair, paying me on time, giving me my full severance early, paying for my airfare returns home and back to Korea on my break between contracts.

...but I've just found out that they gave my notice to the landlord a month ago, told the landlord I will be out by the end of the month, and ok-ed it for people to come and look round from tomorrow. There's no-one to take it over yet.

So, I guess I calm down tonight, call my boss tomorrow and tell him what I know, that I am absolutely not moving, and keep an eye on how things go over the next few weeks as to whether I resign or not.

[keseki]

i was with my old hagwon for two years. in between 1st and 2nd year, i went back home to canada for a few weeks for vacation. one of the demands that i had when i re-signed was that i didnt want to move apartments. the place was huge, the neighbours were great and i had tons of stuff.

so i arrived at incheon airport after my vacation. i called up my manager to tell him i had arrived safely. he tells me 'i will meet you at your apartment'. i told him not to bother cause it would be late, and i had keys and everything. then he drops the bomb on me...'oh steve, you have to move apartments'. unbelievable!

i get to my house to notice that the locks had been changed and some dude had already moved in half his stuff! the next day i had to wake up early, pack all my shit and move to another apartment. all while exhausted and jetlagged from 14 hours of flying. lovely...

[annabella]

So what did you do? Stick with them for the second year? How was the working atmosphere after that?

[keseki]

yeah i stuck it out. the second apartment was actually closer to school, smaller - but easier to clean.

the situation gave me some leverage when it came down to other parts of the job. i also made them pay in other ways, so they knew not to screw with my ever again.

[annabella]

how did you make them pay, aside from never giving another spare minute of your time of energy to the job?

i really don't want to end up feeling bitter and twisted for the next 10 months, but if my boss is going to be a pig and start creating problems, then it might be easier to leave now. it's only recently that things have turned downwards slightly (falling student numbers being their main concern), but it may well be a sign of what's to follow over the next year.

i'll see what he says tomorrow when i call his bluff...

[wylies99]

Stick to your guns. They need you more than you need them.
Plenty of jobs with a shortage of teachers.

[Young FRANKenstein]

To the OP, personally, if I were put in that position, and I was just as unhappy with the size and whatnot of the new apartment, I would simply say to him "If you move me to that apartment, I quit."

I would be willing to move to something "equal" (size, layout, whatever equal is to you) in case he really is telling the truth about the landlord, but move to the pillbox? Absolutely not. If I've been with the school for a while (and in Korea longer) I would have accumulated just as much furniture and stuff as you, and I like my comfort. Now I have to give all that up and live a cramped inconvenient homelife? F that.

If he is 100% going to move you out, you have 4 choices:
1) ask for an equal apartment
2) ask for a housing allowance and/or key money and get thee the hell out of school provided apartments altogether
3) quit
4) take it up the rear like the powerless little slave waegukin he thinks you are, and move into the shoebox

You're best off with option 2, with option 1 a good backup plan, but again, if he nixed all those ideas and didn't want to be reasonable about it, option 3 all the way. option 4 would never cross my mind.

Course, I'm not in the same situation as you, and I can afford to just walk away at a moment's notice. I'm not trapped by anything a boss can throw at me. I have no qualms of walking out the door without notice.

[dmbfan]

[hubba bubba]

In Korea, as in life, chose your battles wisely.

I would chose to fight on this one.

Your living situation isn't a small issue. He's trying to pull a fast one on you. F--k that. Tell him you'll move, but not into a sh-iity apartment.

You have to be willing to back it up as well. It's definately a deal breaker for me. There are thousands of jobs out there.

[princess]

[wylies99]

Yes. Familiarity can breed contempt ( ).
The next time you meet with your boss have a resignation letter ready for him. That'll show him you're serious.

[annabella]

thanks all.

i saw my boss today, started by telling him what i found out last night. he then started apologising, saying that they should've given more notice etc. shook my hand many times, apologising for bothering/upsetting me, saying i am a good teacher and they want me to stay.

but then, on the topic of the fact that there is no-one to take over my place yet, he denied all knowledge (ahem), and after a few choice words from myself, he said he would organise for me to stay in my place today, so i don't have to move after all.

he of course happened to mention that he would 'incur damages' from having to pay for two apartments for a month or so needlessly - tough s*t, you made your bed, lie in it!

crisis averted, but i definitely won't be doing anything extra for him anymore, and will be far more cautious in the future!