Korean Job Discussion Forums

unknown9398 · Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Location: Yeongcheon, S. Korea

Some posters have written that no Koreans hogwan owners are trustworthy. I'd just like to say that not all Korean employers are dishonest.

I'll be leaving Korea in a month after completing my contract, and so today, I contacted the pension office to find out if my employer has been making payments into the fund. I was getting a little paranoid after all the negative comments here, but learned that the account is up to date and has exactly what it should have at this time.

Furthermore, my employers have been generous to me in many unexpected ways, and treated me like a valued employee for the entire year. Maybe my employer is unusual. I can't say for certain. But they're honorable people.

merkurix · Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Location: Not far from the deep end.

If people said that no hagwon owners are trustworthy, I am inclined to disagree with that statement. However, it seems that kind, good, and benevolent hagwon owners are few and far between. If you got yourself a kind one, congrats. Not everyone is as lucky as you.

jinju · Joined: 22 Jan 2006

what was your salary?

unknown9398 · Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Location: Yeongcheon, S. Korea

I just want to provide a little balance to this subject. Negative comments (as with bad news) always seem to be shouted the loudest, and perhaps rightfully so. I've been fortunate.

unknown9398 · Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Location: Yeongcheon, S. Korea

jinju · Joined: 22 Jan 2006

Masta_Don · Joined: 17 Aug 2006 Location: Hyehwa-dong, Seoul

garykasparov · Joined: 27 May 2007

Were you taxed at 3.3%?

jinju · Joined: 22 Jan 2006

merkurix · Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Location: Not far from the deep end.

Folks, what's with the 20 questions test of benevolence? If the OP is happy and has been given no reason to believe his boss is a wretch, well, then it just might be that his boss is a rare good guy. So what if he is not getting 3.2 mil with only 16 teaching hours a week, 8 weeks vacation and a 28 pyong apartment? He is giving a positive subjective evaluation of his boss's character, and if it's a good hagwon, it's a good hagwon. They are out there; flowers among many weeds.

jinju · Joined: 22 Jan 2006

unknown9398 · Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Location: Yeongcheon, S. Korea

The salary was 2.2 for 20 classroom hours a week, with virtually no preparation time. I never had to deal with a co-teacher, which I consider a small bonus. Working hours have been excellent (usually 3-9 PM), which means I can sleep in every day. If I didn't have to return to the U.S. to take care of some business there, I'd stay on. All in all, this has been the easiest, most stress-free job I've ever had.

I get the impression that the only people who think I've been taken advantage of for 2.2 are those that have little experience working a "real" job in the U.S., where the 9 to 5 grind is stressful enough to make you a little crazy. Comparatively, working in a hogwan is a breeze.

jinju · Joined: 22 Jan 2006

unknown9398 · Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Location: Yeongcheon, S. Korea

OneWayTraffic · Joined: 14 Mar 2005

And how long have you been in Korea? 2.2 is market rate for first jobs. Market rate isn't explotation. I too am making over twice this, though I work considerably more than 20 hours but then I've been here 6 years with an F2. My first job was 1.7 and I wasn't exploited at all.