Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mysterious700]

Yeah, I know. But sometimes searches don't always work on here. Many of you have probably answered these already. I do hear these are better private schools (paid on time, not too stressful, etc). Please tell me the good and bad of these schools. (Specifically in Seoul.)

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Some hagwon chains recieve almost consistantly bad reveiws, and some consistantly good ones. YBM and GnB are in the middle, with teachers' experiences consisting of a lot of good, mediocre, and bad ones. Some people at YBM have recently gone on record making rather disparaging remarks about their concern for foreign teachers, and they definitely have a reputation for over-all mediocrity. GnB schools vary widely, the consitant negatives being their crap text books (which you may or may not have to teach from) and the infrequencey with which you see your classes (at most you'd see each class once a week, leaving little opportunity to effect a lot of improvement yourself).

[venus]

How your experience at a GnB will be is totally random and depends on the school.

I worked for one once.

They are a franchise but unlike wonderbrand or ECC etc it is a franchise only in the sense that you use their texts and the hakwan has their logo. They put no input into how the classes are taught or how the place is run - they are merely private hakwans with GnB signs and texts, nothing more.

YBM have a better rep but are considered tough and strict.

Interview with both (try to get a pub school job if you can) and see which you like the feel of best. It's customary here to interview with many places and promise them all you'll sign the contract and keeping it strung out until the last moment whilst you interview with others. The employers do the same thing, so don't feel bad about it...

Ive been offered better FT jobs than both this week even though I'm only advertising for pt (I'm already here) so play the field widely is my advice...

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Oh, and I should mention that ECC, YBM's children's academy franchise, is very different from their adult academies. YBM-ECC does have a much worse reputation than YBM adult hagwons.

[chronicpride]

YBM, ECC, and GnB are among the largest chains in Korea. So naturally, you're going to hear something about them. But given that there are hundreds of teachers who work there every year and in past years, the fact that there are no hundreds of bad reports coming in, actually reflects that their rep is not as bad as what gets made out to be. I've worked in all 3 at one time or another. I didn't have any problems at the locations that I worked at, but I worked with various other foreign staff and all of their opinions ranged from good to mixed to bad. And thats based on a group of individuals all working in the same environment, dealing with the same director and staff and walking away with different opinions. Unfortunately, that subjectiveness is all that we are left with, when factoring in opinions found in forums and blacklists.

You just hear someone come online now and then and complain, whereas the people who had a good time don't come online to burst out in glee. So don't read too much into what people say on here about school reps. You have no idea if you are hearing some concoction from a freaky waygook who knows that this is an overtly pro-teacher board and everyone will eat up his story without question. Best advice is to forget about the opinions that others have, as they are often voiced from people who have never worked there but are echoing what they read elsewhere who may or may not have worked there either.

Just be sure to talk to people who have really worked at the school you are checking out. Ask the school to provide contact info of current and past teachers.

As for materials and whatnot, some ECCs follow the prescribed system. At least ECC corporate ones, anyways. The privately-held ECCs often stray into their own methods and materials.

YBM also differs from one place to another. I worked at two locations in Daegu. One was slack and the other was a little more structured. The Free-talk and Hot Topic classes allow for you to choose your own material. The other classes such as CNN discussion, plus lower leveled classes, usually followed defined textbooks.

The knocks on YBM is that its an adult school, so the hours are often splits (ie., 7-12pm and 6-8pm, etc..). There are usually some schedules where 1-2 teachers will work a traditional afternoon-evening shift, though. Depending on the age range of the ECC students, it might be a 2-8pm, if elementary kids, while some ECCs have some kindy classes, so there might be a split.

GnB is the most varied environment. The GnB franchise books that I had to work with were brutal. But other GnBs often just use the name and marketing of GnB, while using separate material. Also, GnB is the cheapest hogwan franchise license to buy, therefore, you can often expect the school to be quite small and/or in small towns. Don't be surprised if you are the only foreigner there, unless you are in a big city.

[mysterious700]

Are there other good schools to teach at? (My main concern is getting paid on time and having decent working conditions.) I'd like to get near Seoul. I know to stay away from Wonderland, maybe SLP (too)? CDI gets a mixed review?

[mysterious700]

Also, with larger schools like YBM and GNB, is there job stability? I've heard of some hogwans firing foriegners for stupid reasons. (Though, I'm sure some were for smart reasons.)

[da_moler]

[chronicpride]