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curtiscurtis
Joined: 28 Dec 2007
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 5:14 am Post subject: Hagwon Hour Comparison |
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Hey there I work in a hagwon in South Korea like many of you... The hours sorta suck but I didn't really mind that much until my director brought up a bunch of things that I'm doing wrong and also telling me I need to prepare for classes better. It really pissed me off but I want to know if I'm being a whiner in comparison to how other people are treated.
I work 9.5 40 minute classes 2 days a week and then 8.5 classes for the remaining 3 days... my work hours are 9:30 am - 6:30 pm
I felt i was prepared enough for class but on the 9.5 classes I don't have enough time to prepare. I'm thinking of giving the director a piece of my mind and saying if he wants to raise the quality of teaching then he's going to have to cut back on the amount of classes I teach!!! What yall think? |
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Ilsanman

Joined: 15 Aug 2003 Location: Bucheon, Korea
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 5:17 am Post subject: |
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Very reasonable. That's a lot of classes, unless you are being paid quite high. |
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cheeseface
Joined: 13 Jan 2008 Location: Ssyangnyeon Shi
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 5:20 am Post subject: |
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Seems harsh to me, I'm teaching from 2.10 pm to 8.50pm, no lesson plans needed, no student reports, 2.725 million won a months housing included.
My Korean wife helped me get the contract sorted with the boss  |
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daemyann

Joined: 09 Nov 2007
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 5:24 am Post subject: |
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I echo the notion that you had better be getting paid well.
This is a peak season, but if your hours were the same before the winter holiday, you are getting the short end of the stick. (Provided you are being paid similarly to those who work 30hrs/week for the same amount of money)
Pay concerns aside, I recommend that you request more preparation time. Remind your director that preparation time still constitutes work, for which you should be paid. If you're not opposed to even more time at work, request paid overtime several times a week for class preparation.
Regardless of your decision, it's always a good idea to be upfront and honest. If you believe you're not being given enough time to prepare, say as much. |
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cheeseface
Joined: 13 Jan 2008 Location: Ssyangnyeon Shi
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 5:25 am Post subject: |
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Ilsanman wrote: |
Very reasonable. That's a lot of classes, unless you are being paid quite high. |
Did you mean unreasonable? He or She is teaching pretty long hours!!
45 hours work time in a five day week!!! |
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curtiscurtis
Joined: 28 Dec 2007
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 5:42 am Post subject: |
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Yes I don't get paid that well at all... Seems kinda standard. Just 2.1 Million a month. Also the cut off is the end of the month however I don't get paid until the 10th of the following month which is quite annoying but I think he does it to prevent midnight runs...
Regardless... It's important to me because I'm debating getting a release letter and looking elsewhere because the workload is quite high. There is also tonnes of marking, report cards and other annoying extra stuff. |
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Ilsanman

Joined: 15 Aug 2003 Location: Bucheon, Korea
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 6:45 am Post subject: |
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I said the OP's idea to ask to cut his/her hours was reasonable.
But it's not 45 hours a week. He/she said a class is 40 minutes. But it's still a lot.
cheeseface wrote: |
Ilsanman wrote: |
Very reasonable. That's a lot of classes, unless you are being paid quite high. |
Did you mean unreasonable? He or She is teaching pretty long hours!!
45 hours work time in a five day week!!! |
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yingwenlaoshi

Joined: 12 Feb 2007 Location: ... location, location!
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 6:48 am Post subject: Re: Hagwon Hour Comparison |
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curtiscurtis wrote: |
Hey there I work in a hagwon in South Korea like many of you... The hours sorta suck but I didn't really mind that much until my director brought up a bunch of things that I'm doing wrong and also telling me I need to prepare for classes better. It really pissed me off but I want to know if I'm being a whiner in comparison to how other people are treated.
I work 9.5 40 minute classes 2 days a week and then 8.5 classes for the remaining 3 days... my work hours are 9:30 am - 6:30 pm
I felt i was prepared enough for class but on the 9.5 classes I don't have enough time to prepare. I'm thinking of giving the director a piece of my mind and saying if he wants to raise the quality of teaching then he's going to have to cut back on the amount of classes I teach!!! What yall think? |
Why are you teaching that many hours? Why didn't you give your director a piece of your mind when he told you this?
You shouldn't be teaching any more than 6 classes a day. WITHOUT ANY PREPARATION OR ADMINSTRATIVE WORK! If you give them the benefit of the doubt then a teaching hour is 50 minutes. 9.5 forty-minute classes is 380 minutes. That's 7.6 teaching hours. 8.5 classes is 6.8 teaching hours. That's 35.6 teaching hours/wk. Lets' round it off to 35.5. That's 5.5 hours OT/wk. Not to mention the overly long schedule. Then he's bitching at you about being prepared?
Shove it back in his face and demand overtime and he can forget about this preparing *beep*.
What the fk are ya? A slave? |
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Oreovictim
Joined: 23 Aug 2006
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 7:03 am Post subject: |
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You have every reason to complain; that's a lot of hours. With my last contract, I went in at 1:30, sat around for 30 minutes, then taught from 2:00 - 8:00, then I had to do phone conversations for 30 minutes. Aside from this horrible lecture class that I had on Fridays for three months, I had no prep time. It was nice.
I hate it when you see jobs online, and they say something like, "You're at the school from 8:00 - 7:00, but you only teach for seven hours." Screw that, even if I have free time, I'm still stuck at school.
Good luck with your situation. |
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daemyann

Joined: 09 Nov 2007
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 7:12 am Post subject: |
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curtiscurtis wrote: |
Yes I don't get paid that well at all... Seems kinda standard. Just 2.1 Million a month. |
That's ridiculous. Wow.
I work 30 hours a week for the same pay. (6 hours per day including minimal breaks) No weekends.
I'm not bragging. To the best of my understanding, my salary and hours are average.
curtiscurtis wrote: |
Regardless... It's important to me because I'm debating getting a release letter and looking elsewhere because the workload is quite high. There is also tonnes of marking, report cards and other annoying extra stuff. |
Before you jump ship, shop for prospective jobs and discreetly show your boss the demand for your services. Allow him/her the opportunity to correct the discrepancy.
If they choose not to, then definitely go elsewhere.
You hold the most weighty bargaining chip here, you really are in high demand.
Last edited by daemyann on Sat Jan 26, 2008 7:19 am; edited 1 time in total |
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cheeseface
Joined: 13 Jan 2008 Location: Ssyangnyeon Shi
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 7:16 am Post subject: |
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Ilsanman wrote: |
I said the OP's idea to ask to cut his/her hours was reasonable.
But it's not 45 hours a week. He/she said a class is 40 minutes. But it's still a lot.
cheeseface wrote: |
Ilsanman wrote: |
Very reasonable. That's a lot of classes, unless you are being paid quite high. |
Did you mean unreasonable? He or She is teaching pretty long hours!!
45 hours work time in a five day week!!! |
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Sorry for the misunderstanding.
I get paid from 2.10 - to 8.50pm regardless of breaks that are 15 mins out of every hour. |
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ryouga013
Joined: 14 Sep 2007
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 8:48 am Post subject: |
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2.2mil a weird shifting schedule (housing included)
Two morning kindergarten classes (30min each) with no prep time other than getting the materials from the liaison. Lunch provided by the kindergarten and then work from 1:30-6:40 with 5minute breaks between the 40minute classes so i can gather the books from the other teachers etc, with only one teacher book for up to 4 different teachers it can be bothersome sometimes (not to mention only one cassette because the director chose not to splurge on CDs instead). So, counting the break time between classes and the kinder classes (that the director doesn't count), I am working on average 30.8hours
Except that when i was naive to these things I had agreed to do some extra work for the summer and winter... blah blah blah this month is 37hours each week, so 9:40-6:40.
Can't wait for next month and the month after's schedule... 1:30-6:40 only... about 24hrs/week...  |
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Biblethumper

Joined: 15 Dec 2007 Location: Busan, Korea
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 2:15 pm Post subject: |
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I could not imagine teaching without preparation: that would mean following the inappropriate curriculum and methods laid out by some Korean supervisor.
By preparing my own lessons I can give homework which is exactly suited to reinforce the lessons. I can make sure that points that need reviewing get reviewed.
I usually work from 8:30 in the morning till 8:00 in the evening every weekday. By then I am tired and ready for rest, so I leave the rest of my ideas for the next day. I always take the homework home to mark, since I can do it without much concentration while waiting for supper and listening to something on the internet.
Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work. |
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curtiscurtis
Joined: 28 Dec 2007
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 11:45 pm Post subject: |
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Thank you all for your replies. This is very valuable information. I'd like as many stories and opinions as possible. I forgot to mention that I get my housing paid for but I kinda thought that that was pretty standard.
I get a half hour break in the morning that i'm expected to prepare... but what pisses me off is that he thinks I should spend extra time before 9:30 or after 6:30 which he can basically shove up his ass... I'm gonna start looking around for better jobs... But I don't really know how. Any suggestions? I don't know any Korean and I've only been here 3 months.
Thanks! Keep them coming! |
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curtiscurtis
Joined: 28 Dec 2007
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 11:48 pm Post subject: |
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Bible thumber it sounds like your hours REALLY suck... 8:30 - 8:00 sounds terrible hahaha i hope YOU'RE getting paid really well! |
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