Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mattfearsatan]

Hi there, long time lurker, but first poster.

I'm currently living in the UK, but have been considering the move to ROK to teach English for some time now. Have finally but in my application with a couple of recruiters, and plan to move in late April/early May. Have had some offers back and the best two are the two in the subject line:

Changwon 'Kid's Club' or Masan 'Ewha'

I'm wondering what people's opinions are about which of the two (if either) I should accept. Don't want to write too long a post or people'll get bored , but here's the breakdown of pro's/con's

Changwon pro's:
- nice place (big thing, want parks/mountains - outdoorsy type stuff)
- apparently good couple of K language courses
- fair few foreign teachers at school and in city
con's:
- I hear BAD things about Kid's Club/College, but it seems that with franchises it depends on the director rather than the franchise - anyone at THIS Kids Club/know anyone who is?

Masan pro's:
- higher pay
- smaller classes
- essentially same city as Changwon/Jinhae (?) so still plenty of outdoorsy type stuff to do
con's:
- would be only foreign teacher at school
- not much info about this school on the boards or even thru google

I think that's it - what do people think? I'm a newbie so can't really be expecting the 'perfect' school, but I don't want to be walking into an absolute stinker of a city/school if at all possible!

Got interviews next week so any quick replies would be much appreciated

Thanks,

Matt

[Whistleblower]

I suggest you apply for Kid's Club. Go on a dare you.

[garykasparov]

I cannot speak for the reputation of both schools. It would be a good idea to ask questions to the foreign teachers when the employer isn't listening. For example;


Working Hours

( 1 ) What are your working hours?
( 2 ) When do you start preparing for classes and how long do you prepare for them?
( 3 ) How long is your break and does your employer allow you to use it freely?
( 4 ) How many classes do you teach per day/week?
( 5 ) How long do you teach per class?
( 6 ) What does a working hour consist of?


Wages/Overtime

( 1 ) Does your employer pay overtime wages or avoid paying them?
( 2 ) Does your employer pay in cash or by electronic deposit?

Payslips/Pay receipts

( 1 ) Does your employer provide teachers a pay receipt that clearly defines deductions from your monthly salary for (1) pension (2) income tax (3) health insurance?

Health Insurance

( 1 ) Has your employer provided you with a health insurance card?
( 2 ) Does your employer pay contributions for both parties to the National Health Insurance Corporation?


Pension

( 1 ) Does your employer pay into the Korean Pension Plan?

Income Taxes

( 1 ) Does your employer deduct the correct amount for income taxes from the teacher's monthly salary?
( 2 ) Does your employer pay deductions from your monthly salary for income taxes to the tax office?

Severance Pay

( 1 ) Does your employer always pay teachers their severance prior to/upon completion of their contract?

Living Conditions

( 1 ) Was your apartment clean upon arrival?
( 2 ) Were you provided with all the furnishings as stated in your contract?
( 3 ) Were the furnishings/appliances in working order when you moved into your apartment?
( 4 ) Are the bills in your name or your employer's name?
( 5 ) Does your employer respect your right to privacy?

Paid Annual Leave

( 1 ) When and how do you use your paid annual leave?

Dismissal

( 1 ) Does your employer have a reputation of firing teachers for the sole purpose of not paying them last month�s wages, airfare and severance pay?

Financial

( 1 ) Is the school in financial trouble?

Discipline Methods

( 1 ) Is your employer abusive towards the students or teachers?

Paid Sick Leave

( 1 ) Have you used a day of paid sick leave?
( 2 ) If so, how did your employer react?
( 3 ) If teachers use a day of paid sick leave, does your employer require them to work another day to make up for the hours missed?

Students/Teachers

( 1 ) How many students attend the school?
( 2 ) How many teachers, foreign and Korean, work at the school?

[cbclark4]

Changwon is little cleaner than Masan.

Are you experienced with Hagwons?

Good luck really I mean it.

[just because]

Not sure which kids Club it is in Changwon (maybe there is only 1 left) but it doesn't have a good reputation among the foreigners that have lived here a while....just some food for thought.

[Saxiif]

There are a lot of good hagwons out there, but if you're applying for jobs sight unseen and not going through local word of mouth you'd be much less likely to get burned teaching at a public school and probably have shorter hours as well.

Also if you want something rural, you'd have public schools fighting over you. Maybe shoot for something in the NE by Seokcho, that's an astoundingly beautiful part of Korea with the mountains (Seoraksan) etc. while still being not that far from Seoul.

[Roch]

Ewha A.L.S. has, overall, a much worse reputation as a corporate entity than Kids' College ever will, mate.

Please send me a P.M. for a list of the latter company's branches in the Seoul City area: I have a list of the ones possessing a decent anecdotal history face-to-face we foreign instructors.

Sincerely,

Roch

[mattfearsatan]

wow - thanks for the heads-up (head-ups? heads-ups?) guys/gals

here's me thinking that the Ewha one was going to be the more legitimate one!

have interviews with the both tomorrow, but, let's face it, I'm probably not going to take either... time to look for a new recruiter I think (well, actually, I've got another one already, who may well have found me much better jobs anyway...)

@Saxiif: I've been told by a friend that public schools are much harder to teach at that hagwons (kids are tough, etc) - what's your opinion?

@garykasparov: am definately going to speak to one or more foreign teachers wherever I go before signing anything, that looks like a really good list of things to ask, thanks

thanks for everyone's help