Korean Job Discussion Forums

[nautilus]

So I'll be taking my 5th graders there next week for a look around.

Anyway I was really looking forward to showing them the famous dancing english clowns.

Does anyone still work there and can tell me what entertainments are on offer?

[wylies99]

See if you can actually find anyone who works there who speaks English-ee. I've been there three times with kindy field trips and genuine foreign English speakers are almost impossible to find. You can find plenty of Koreans and Russians.

Hey, don't forget to bring your wallet because you'll pay to get in and then to do ANYTHING. Prepare to be gouged. Example? It costs 10,000 won, per kid, to color for an hour.

Pack a lunch, too because the food is expensive and VERY Korean.

Have fun!

[alpope23]

[Bibbitybop]

No, it's not worth it.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[alpope23]

[Julius]

[marlow]

Looks so lame.








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[Bibbitybop]

Actually, the place is failing and was a waste of millions of dollars. I don't have the old news link that confirmed this...sorry.

[Insidejohnmalkovich]

My students enjoyed the place immensely. The cost was borne by the school of course. We went to the "fun museum," which was a bunch of nifty gadgets with which to interact. We wandered the main street. Then we ate the kimbap we brought with us in the square by the fountain.

[KYC]

My kids enjoyed it too. We even had lunch at their fancy restaurant...very Korean indeed. I only one "class" with my kids. They didn't know the answers so they kept turning around and asking me. The "native speaker" however was definitely Russian and had a very, very, heavy accent. I understood about 2% of what he was saying. Kinda funny when the kids asked me for the answers and I didn't know what the question was.

[PRagic]

Burried way back in all the paperwork, you should be able to find the consulting and management companies paid by the government to get these places off the ground.

All the money to be made was made before the doors swung open. There was no heed paid to the employment conditions for foreign staff, the educational purpose, or potential difficulties. All the consulting and managment companies knew was that they were gouging huge amounts of cash off the capital investment, and that they had to get the doors open. In many cases, these companies were formed spontaneously because someone had a connection to someone in the government doling out the coin. Usually, the head of the consulting/managment company had no background in education or international management.

So these places are a joke. They can't recruit sufficient foreign staff, and they can't keep enough native speakers on staff; two huge management f.ups that should have been addressed even prior to beginning operations. Complaints cropped up from the get go, and now these 'villages' are the laughing stock of the foreign teaching community.

Ironically, they might stay afloat if fuel prices continue to jack up airline ticket prices. Still, you never know. Never underestimate Korean parents' ability and willingness to pay top buck for quality education for their kids.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[wylies99]

alpop23- Enjoying your stay at English Village? They are notorious for not honoring contracts for genuine native speakers. The Russians? Give them a bottle of vodka and a place to sleep, and they're happy.

We did have a couple of drunken Russian males hit on our female Korean teachers and beg our kindy kids for food from their Hello Kitty lunch boxes. Was that part of the tour or was that included with the price of admission?

[nautilus]