Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Seoulo]

Does anyone know anything about this school? Any help would be really appreciated!

[Pabo Boy]

Hiya, I did a spell with Yeon Sei a couple of years back and aside from the usual stresses associated with your usual hogwan, did OK. The boss, Mr Choi, was pretty good to me, and the studio apartment was good by Korean standards or so I as told by the other teachers in Gumi. The hogwan is in 2 buildings in Hyeong-gok Dong, around the corner from ECC. The school teaches elementary up to adults, in split shifts. (Split shifts really, really, really suck. Don't do them)

However, I kept in touch with a few of the teachers after I left and my understanding is that things have gone downhill considerably since then. It seems Mr Choi has succumbed to the temptation of the almighty Won. I think it happened as the school grew into 2 buildings and he realised how much money he could make from it. Before it seemed to be just a hobby for him, as he worked for Samsung as well. Then he left Samsung, started an affair with the office manager Sue, who is a shrew and is a real money/power grabber.

Teaching contracts have been changed midway through without consultation, hours have changed unexpectedly, admin work has increased noticeably, teachers are being made to work weekends where there have'nt been 20 work days in a month and now some are sharing apartments are just some examples that have been communicated to me by teachers at the time. What they, particularly Sue, are good at is forcing people to leave to save the problem of firing them.

There have been a couple of midnight runs plus numerous "forced" departures. One lady was fired for ringing a taxi for another Yeonsei teacher who she bumped into during the day. It turned out the teacher was doing a runner after just 2 weeks, unbeknown to the teacher who rang the taxi. She thought she was just going away for the weekend. An American lady left after Mr Choi would'nt let her take a months holiday which had been agreed to at the start of the contract. A Canadian guy was forced to leave because Mr Choi would'nt pay for an apartment. There was a Kiwi guy who had a rough time right near the end of his contract but to Mr Choi's credit, he did get paid his full bonus despite being forced to work part time for 2 months at the end of his contract. A similar thing happened to an Aussie, but I think it worked out OK for him in the end too. Accent problems in both cases, but British teachers have had no hassles in that respect. There have been others but because all I know is relative hearsay, I'm not going to say anything more other than to say that some, but not all, are due to the school conditions. Most of my contacts at the school have moved on, so I don't know what it is currently like but I would be surprised if it has changed for the better.

I believe the real measure of the place can be judged by the following. No one has stayed for a 2nd year, and I know a number of teachers were asked if they wanted to do a second year. No one, including myself, did.

[tomato]

Hello, Seoulo!

I was in Kumi two years ago.
I knew a teacher who had an unhappy experience at that school, but I don't know the details.
I was a Japanese student at Yonsei for several months.
Then the director kicked me out because he suddenly decided that my Korean wasn't good enough. I would have contacted a lawyer, but then I discovered another language school just a few blocks away.

While you're in Kumi, don't accept a job at Choi Yoon Hi without first writing back.

[Seoulo]

Thanks for the tips guys, I'll keep all this in mind for the negotiations!