Korean Job Discussion Forums

[air76]

I'm not entirely sure what the purpose of this post is, other than that I'd like to say that I don't believe that working at a Public School is hands down better than working at a Hagwon. My girlfriend and I are coming back to Korea this Friday and after much debate we decided that a Hagwon is a better choice.

I think that the advantages of the Public School gig have been hashed out plenty on here...good pay, low teaching hours, lots of paid vacation, not having to deal with a Hagwon owner.

But teaching at a Hagwon has advantages too:

1. Schedule...personally I'd much rather work 3-9 than 9-5...starting work in the afternoon allows you to go on a motorcycle ride in the countryside, go to the gym, eat a nice lunch out, and go for a coffee, all BEFORE you start work....and finishing at 9 still leaves plenty of time for going out at night (and not having to worry about waking up in the morning)....the best things to do in Korea are done either during the day or late late at night....finishing in the early evening means that you lose your daytime hours and really only get home 4 hours earlier than Hagwon teachers

2. The teaching is MUCH easier....I worked a part-time contract at a public school through my Hagwon and it was horrible. 40+ students in a small town who spoke very little English and were very difficult to motivate...at the Hagwon you'll average 6-7 students and there are so many things that you can do with a small class that you can't do with a big class

3. My experience at the public schools I worked at was that the management spoke zero, zero, zero English...Hagwon directors can be difficult at times but at least they generally speak basic English and you can deal with them directly.

4. Lots of vacation time means that you'll spend a lot more of your savings...of course this is great, but if saving your money is a big priority you might actually end up with more in the bank working at a Hagwon

5. Sitting around time...at the public school you won't teach as many hours, but you'll spend far more hours sitting around doing nothing, trying to dodge the crazy old teacher that seems to have latched onto you in the teachers' lounge

6. Public schools are often in the boonies....I liked living in a small city and will be returning to another one, but a small city (100,000+) is a far cry from literally living in a village, which would be terrible any way you shake it

Anyhow....I just wanted to point out that there are plenty of reasons an experienced teacher might still choose a Hagwon over a public school or even Uni job. You may get fewer perks, but I think that at the end of the day the job is less stressful and much easier.

And now to be bombarded by the people who disagree.....

[Biblethumper]

I agree with your endorsement of private English schools, although some of my reasons are different.

1) Private English schools often have kindergarten programs and these can be the most rewarding classes, because after a year their progress is amazing. And no pre-teen angst or attitude.

2) You can work very hard at a private English school, but the real difference is the proportionate results from any effort. The children's parents will help you by enforcing and helping with homework, instilling motivation and enforcing discipline. (Those children whose parents do not care I subtly encourage to leave.)

3) There are usually many other foreigners working with you and the Korean teachers have good enough English to help you and converse with you.

[Flash Ipanema]

My hagwon is also very casual. I've worn jeans every single day, and even got away with cute flip flops in the summer.

[air76]

That reminds me of the other thing that I didn't like about the public schools I worked at.....having to wear uncomfortable slippers all day at work that were at least 5 sizes too small (I have very large feet so that is not an exaggeration.)

[Kimchieluver]

[Otherside]

In a simple "Pros" and "Cons" arguement there is a lot to be said for working for both a public school and a hagwon - depending on your preferences.

The biggest problem with a hagwon is the "dishonesty" factor. Chances of getting screwed over are much much higher than at a PS gig. Even if you do your research and the place checks out, there is still a risk. There was a thread here the other day about a guy who hasn't been paid for 3 months...and he's in his second year, similar story with a friend of mine (also in his second year). So there's always that big risk.

Secondly, On paper, the general hagwon offering is better than in reality. My Job began as a 2-9 job, which slowly evolved to a 12:30-9 job, and the overall dishonesty was quite high. Like other teachers I got suckered by the ol' "25" teaching hours a week (25x45min) but in fact they turned it around and said (25x60=1500 = 33 x45min).

Management speaks English, this is true...but it also gives them the opportunity to try and micromanage...I've heard plenty of stories of teachers given a set curriculum and still told they must prepare a "detailed" lesson plan...when the plan is pretty much there already.

Teaching is much easier, BUT, each student is merely a W200K cheque for the school each month. You have to keep them happy. If you teach a 100 students and 95 are happy with you...the school will complain to you about the other 5.

Vacation - it's funny arguing that too much vacation is a bad thing! Most public schools GEPIK/EPIK offer 14 days...vs. the generic hagwon offering of 10. Realistically, would you rather have 10 days vacation or 14? How much of your savings are you going to blow in 4 days? Not to mention, Hagwon's pull the ol' "5days in winter, 5 days in summer" routine...which they often interpret as "5days in summer...wed-sun, 5 days in winter wed-sun" i.e. 6 days....

Also, how do you feel about pension, medical, tax? Many Hagwons will try and register you as an independent contracter thus reneging on their obligation to pay pension and also resulting in you being taxed at a higher rate. Nevermind the ones which blatantly rip you off...by pocketing pension, charging ball-park tax figures and keeping the change and failing to register you for medical.

Simply put, you have better odds of winning in a Casino than coming out on top with a Hagwon.

[Kurtz]

after a year of constant critism, in which I was harrassed when asking about sick days..."DON'T GET SICK!!!!" and provided with next to no teaching aids, being treated like a slave as I was the only teacher by some stupid, dim witted, disorganized, childish, stressed out Korean bitch.....no thanks, I think I'll give the public system a go.
My hours were 3-8.30 but chuck in at least an hours prep, and on most occasions I'd arrive to an empty hagwon where my boss who taught them the new material failed to advise me where to start teaching from the book which meant I was just improvising for 50 mins with a bunch of unruly brats who have already been at school all day and don't want to study......it can't get worse then a hagwon

[nomad-ish]

there are always these hagwon vs. public school threads showing up, but the truth of the matter is that every school/hagwon/academy is different.

even if you're working for the same overall employer, branches can be very different. same with public schools- tons of people work for GEPIK, but not all of them have problems/complaints.

i do agree that there tends to be a lot less problems at public schools than hagwons, and you're less likely to get screwed with pension, vacation, etc. (which some hagwons consider optional)

[air76]

Kimchieluver.....yes, it did occur to me to buy my own sandals...it just so happens that the largest sandals available in Korea (outside of Itaewon) are 5 sizes too small for me (size 15 US)....and the contract only lasted 3 months for 2 days a week....nevertheless I would prefer to wear my shoes to work than to have to change into sandals every day, just a personal preference.

Otherside....I didn't realize that there were public school jobs with as little as 14 days paid vacation. I was under the impression that they were paid for winter/summer breaks? I could be wrong about this one. But Uni jobs definitely have a lot more vacation, like 3 three week breaks a year. How that would be a bad thing is that if I were given 3 three week breaks I would simply HAVE to take a trip outside of Korea, the temptation would be too great.

I do agree that finding an honest hagwon is more difficult than finding an honest public school, but I don't think that the hagwon situation is as dire as it seems to be. The last time I was in Korea I would say that 25% of the people in my town were very happy with their hagwon and found it a great place to work, 50% were reasonably happy and didn't have any major qualms (myself included), 15% were unhappy but getting paid what they were owed, and 10% were getting absolutely bent over and lost a lot of money. Of course a 25% disapproval rate is very high, but I still believe that there are more decent hagwons to work at than there are horrible ones. The horror stories we hear of course are very real and you always risk going to work for one of those schools when you come to Korea, but the odds are still better that your school will at least be OK than that you will work for a school that will rip you off. [/quote]