Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ESL2007]

I have 3 questions.

1. Is it normal for public schools to deduct 50,000 won per month for the school lunch?

2. How close are schools supposed to place foreign teachers to the school that they are working at?

3. Is the school supposed to deduct money from your pay for a building fee if you live in an apartment (ie. 80,000 won per month).

[xCustomx]

1. Yes. If you don't want to eat then tell your co-teacher and they'll take you off the meal plan.

2. It depends. Preferably within 5-10 minutes, though I like to live away from my school.

3. If you live in an officetel then you have to pay a fee, though I see this as robbery since security guards are usually sleeping, watching tv or smoking.

[oldfatfarang]

(3) I pay 100,000 won per month for apartment maintenance fees (water, electrictiy, air con, heating, lift, gym, free computer internet access, basement lounge, filtered water). I pay extra for washing/drying machines and garbage bags/removal. That's 1.200,000 won per year for a supposedly free rent public service contract.

I tried to stop paying while on public school camps and vacations (many days per year) but my public school has locked me into an 'agreement' with the apartment. Them's the breaks.

[icicle]

My building fee (which I pay directly to the landlord while my school pays the rent part of the bill) is not as much as that ... But I do pay electricity, water, gas, internet and cable TV separately to that ... directly to the companies which supply them... It would actually be a lot easier for me if the school did pay them and then just deducted the money from my pay ...

In my contract my school is only responsible for the rent ... I am responsible for everything else ... It really does depend on the contract ... I think most public school contracts are similar to mine ... I know that I have got a good deal on internet and cable ... thanks to the fact that the actual contract is with the school rather than with me ... And I have no problem in paying what I am paying ... I expected to need to pay for them...

Icicle

[ESL2007]

Is the school supposed to pay and then deduct it from my salary? They told me that I have to receive the bills in the mail and then pay them myself. I realize that I have to pay for the bills out of my own pocket, but I thought that the school was supposed to pay and then have the teacher reimburse. Is this not correct?

[lowpo]

[pest2]

for 1, in my case, I get the lunch for free. but its mainly because they didn't give me a choice about whether or not to eat at the school... I work in the countryside and I dont have anywhere else to go.. I told them I would just brown bag it but they insisted I eat at the school.

for 2, my schools are very very far from my apt. I had to buy a car and drive between 5 and 40km each day to and from work. I dont think its the norm... but I also dont think its the norm to get a place close to your school unless you work in seoul or busan.

for 3, I just pay my internet bill and no others....

[icicle]

[Bear256]

1) My school gave me lunch for free for the first two years and then said they wanted 45,000 won a month for lunches as they were afraid they would get in trouble giving me lunch for free if ever audited.

2) Housing is completely up to the school and your location. I live in one side of a duplex on the school grounds. It is a nice 1 bedroom apartment and nice sized and was brand new when I moved in. It is a 45 second walk to my English classroom. My first year I was in an apartment about a 10 minute walk from the school.

3) My first year I paid 45,000 a month building fee, the gas heat, the electric, my internet, cable tv and telephone. These were bills sent to me at the apartment that I was responsible for paying at the bank. Here, where I live on the grounds, I only pay electricity, oil for heat, and telephone and these are deducted from my pay before I receive it. The administrator will also pay bills like my car insurance for me if I give her the bill.

[Atavistic]

Some of you sound ridiculous. Free housing is free housing, not free cable, internet, gym, filtered water and the rest. Are you housed? Then pay the rest of the bills. If you don't want internet or cable or whatever, cancel it.

OP:
1) I pay 40,000 a month.

2) I live a 40 min bus ride/walk from my school. I am on a different subway line, too. At first I didn't like it. Now that I have an overnight visitor frequently, I am damn, damn glad.

3) I pay for my bills. Gas, cable, internet, etc.

[Jizzo T. Clown]

My school says they can't deduct the lunch money because I'm "special," so I have to pay 50,000 directly to the cafeteria lady every month. It sounds a bit shady to me--I wonder if she's pocketing the money??

I live a full 5 minutes from my school, which has its pros and cons. If I go to the corner market to pick up some beer in the evening, I'm almost always greeted by students. Once or twice I'm sure they saw me pretty intoxicated.

The school pays my rent but I pay electric, internet/phone, gas, and water. I feel like I'm getting screwed on my electric bill--especially after finding out what the folks on this board were paying.

[gujer]

hi

Do I feel even more screwed right now, My maintenance bill is 155000won excluding gas which comes seperately .Then I have to pay something called a residence tax which is not the normal tax...
I do however live about 15 minutes away from school.


Well, the rest would be things of myself that I pay such as internet and phone , that I dont mind because it is what I use for myself....


The maintenance however is quite a hefty amount.

[LuckyNomad]

Wow. I've never heard of paying for lunches.

I don't pay the rent but I pay electric, cable, internet, etc. The bank has a machine that you can use to pay your bills.

I've never heard of any apartment fee either.

[sojourner1]

Are the apartment fees often called a management fee? My employer deducts 11,000 won a month for management fee. When I asked, I didn't get an answer.

Any of you paying gas once every 6 months? If so, how much might it come to?