Korean Job Discussion Forums

Carmy · Joined: 12 Apr 2007 Location: Seoul

Here in Korea or anywhere else.

I just worked a 12 hour day. Started with my kindy's at 10:15 then finished with my elementaries at 7p.m. Then all us foreign teachers had to stay behind and judge a Speech Contest until almost 11p.m
And the best part is we don't get paid for this.
Talk about being worked to death!

Oh and we have to do it AGAIN on Monday.

And yes I do work for a hogwan where the owner is a psycho biatch!

Homer · Guest

18 hours..... Laughing

But that was for my consulting agency.

Longest teaching day...hmmm...back in 1998 I did a 11 hour day....never again!

ceesgetdegrees · Joined: 12 Jul 2007

i started kitchen handing p/t at a conference center when i was 16, saturadys was a 9am start through to a 3am sunday morning finish if we were busy. I was the richest kid at school.

sojourner1 · Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 7:19 am Post subject:

37 hours. I was in the US Army as a cook and during a field exercise, I finally said, "Hey, I need to rest, I have been laboring for 37 hours straight!" I just left and went to my tent and passed out on my cot. I was to the point, I didn't care any more. They just expect you to work to death until you stand up and say, "Hey, I have needs too."

Cliffhanger · Joined: 07 Sep 2007 Location: Anyang

Back in Canada, I had a job that I was regularly working 13 hr days. Not everyday, but maybe once or twice a week. It was a job that I generally liked and the overtime was nice, so it wasn't that big a deal. But I do remember it being quite tiring.

Dome Vans · Guest

I can't beat sojourner but i would regularly work 21 hour days in Sweden as a chef, something definitely wrong with with starting work at 6am and then finishing 3am the next morning. Unless you love your job though, puddings snare me in! I did this for three years. Seems to be something common with cooking and mental hours.

Being my own love affair with food, found the energy. Come Chantarelle or asparagus season there was definitely a spring in the step.

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

Back in 2004 I was working from 9:00 AM to 8:30 PM for 3/4s of the year. And here was the schedule:

9-12 Preschool / Kindy teaching

12-1 Lunch (on-site. Most teachers had to help serve the food and eat with the students)

1-3 Mandatory Prep Time for afternoon classes. No one was allowed to go home.

3-5 Early elementary school students teaching

5-7:30 Upper elementary school students teaching

7:30-8:30 Submission of written pre-schoo/Kindy lesson plans for the next day (mandatory) AND written post reflection lesson notes from lessons taught that day (ridiculous, but mandatory as well). Sometimes these took a little longer.

And all for 1.9 million won in 2004.

There were days were I've gone home at 9 PM. And I kept this up for almost 9 months out of the year at that hagwon. It almost cost me a piece of my sanity :::shudders:::. Never again.

Zutronius · Joined: 16 Apr 2007 Location: Suncheon

I've pulled a few 13 hour shifts at my previous job servicing septic systems.

demaratus · Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 8:40 am Post subject:

In July and August I worked monday to saturday 12 hours a day, with only one saturday off per month. It sucked, I was cranky, got noticably fatter and had little social life frombeing more tired. But man was that money nice!

Fredbob · Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 8:45 am Post subject:

hmm, during graduate school, my schedule during the week was 4am to 1230pm at work 1-5 internship 6:30-9:30 at school, AND THEN THERE WAS HOMEWORK (don't remember much of that year and a half)

My first hagwon job in Korea, basically M-T 9am-10pm, with a 45 minute commute each way

When I was COO for a small company, for 1 year I worked from 8am Sat until 3am the same day, back in the office 10am Sunday until anywhere from 1am-3am.

Just out of school, working at a brokerage 9am-10:30pm

Hmm, guess what I'm trying to say is, SUCK IT UP