Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jurassic82]

I am currently looking into making the jump from hagwon to Public School. I have been working at a Hogwon for two years now and have to say I have mixed feelings about it. I enjoy the hours and I like the diversity of the students I teach. Also, I have so far found the material for the most part to be really good and have had no problems like not getting paid. I want to make the change for many reasons like the morning hours and the vacation time. I have been told by many that have worked at Public Schools that they get like 5 weeks of vacation time but when I see job postings they only say 14 days. Why is this? Is vacation time something you can negotiate before you sign or is it set in stone. Also, what are Public School teachers doing during winter and summer vacation? Are they sitting in their offices or working a camp? Also, is there oppurtunities to make extra at the school like working one of the after school programs. I'm sorry as I know these are a lot of question but I would really like to hear from people out there who work at Public Schools and what their experience is like. Any feedback would be appreciated.

[Dome Vans]

It depends between school and provinces.

Some schools will make you come in during the vacation and stick to the contracted 14 days. Usually when it's your first contract, negotiating can be a bit hard. The contracts are usually well written any adjustments are minor, not as ambiguous as many Hogwan contracts. I work out in the countryside, and although my contract says fourteen days I get 2 months for winter and one for the summer. That's not including the public holidays. It's the same for most schools in my city.

I'm sure if you asked about an after school program for earning extra your school would look into it. With the new government they are increasing the English budget, this will easily include extra classes, so I doubt there'll be a problem. If you want extra winter/summer/classes you can talk to your Office of Education I'm sure they'll have openings for these, and they are your visa sponsors so the legality is not a problem.

As for what to do. I'm a bit bored at the moment the holiday is a little long I went back to England for 4 weeks and now back a bit of reading, bowling, hiking. I get paid for all this vacation so really can't complain at all. But for others there's plenty of travelling to do, sightseeing. It's really up to you.

Good to hear you enjoyed the Hagwon world, nice to hear some positive stories with these.

[binjibadgy]

Doubt if its the norm, but i was contracted for 14 days of vacation
but eventually had 6weeks given that my supervisor had nothing for me to do and no one was in school during vacation time after the "special" vacation classes were over.

personally i think i was extremely lucky i got a public job for my first gig and a very kind boss.

Probably depends on the school and city you work in.

[chachee99]

The 14 days is standard. However, I negotiated to have summer and winter paid vacation in writing. All I have to do is a short camp at the end of each semester and the rest is paid time off.

[Dome Vans]

I got my EPIK contract pre-Sep 07, so it has 20 days stated, but I get three and half months in total. When I re-negotiate in June I don't see the point of them giving me the extra 5 holiday days they give you when you re-sign.

[poohbear]

whoah, was just about to ask a similar question!

Just to clarify, are these 1 month vacations common? do most public schools stick to the 14 days or do they actually give you this 1 month paid vacation? seems kinda hit and miss, with more misses than hits.:p

What if you're getting the position through a recruiter? can you ask them to ask the school for the 1 month vacation in writing?

thanks in advance folks.

[sargx]

I only get the 14 days. There are always camps going on and/or 'preparation' work to do. Off days can be spent playing on here or studying Korean.

[teachergirltoo]

Yes, vacation is negotiable. I work in public and most of my friends do. We all negotiated longer vacation periods in our initial contracts. Some is unpaid but is okay depending on how badly you want the extra time. When you meet with your recruiter or if you approach a school privately make known right away what is important to you. You may be surprised how reasonable the PS employers are when they can see something is important to you and if you've presented yourself as a professional and reliable teacher that they would want working for them. I have found that it is easier to negotiate the winter vacation off more than any other time period (January and Feb). This is highschool though, so I am not sure about elementary, but I would think it would be the same.

[poohbear]

ok cool, i'll pass that on to my recruiter. how do you approach schools privately? do they post on dave's job section or do you have to do that in Korea yourself?

[ardis]

Yeah, it really does depend on your school. I got most of my winter vacation off (about 5 weeks), plus I do middle school, so I get all sorts of extra days off, too. Whenever I finish teaching early or the kids get a half day, my co-teacher or vp kindly just tells me that I'm free to go home. But it REALLY depends on your co-teachers and vp--I have some friends who are basically chained to their desks during vacation.

[teachergirltoo]

To approach a school privately just pick the area you want to work in, get your resume in hand and go to their front office and ask them if they are hiring an English teacher (you'll find there is often someone there that speaks even minimal English), or have a Korean speaking friend phone and ask them for you. I have a friend that walked around an area recently and made a list of the PS schools she was interested in and had a Korean speaking friend call them. Four of them were looking for a teacher so she chose the one she was most interested in and arranged for an interview, negotiated the contract and signed.