Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Tiger Beer]

Every since I started working for my current employer, I've seen an enormous amount of the Korean staff come and go (all fired and replaced, or just fired). They also have yet to hire anymore foreign teachers, once gone they just aren't being replaced.

I'm trying to make it 4 more months.. but the rumors just keep coming. Heard multiple times from various sources that there isn't any way we're going to make it to the end and get the severance. Basically myself and a Kiwi guy were the last hired last April and just trying to make after seeing 5-6 others who quit (one made it one-year and the other will next month), then its just me and my Kiwi mate.

Hmm.. just curious.. anyone else have some serious job 'insecurities'?

[Mr. Pink]

The economy is taking a pretty huge beating.

If you guys read Time Magizine Asia, there was a very interesting article on how much debt Koreans are in, and how it is effecting the economy on such a huge scale.

So bascially a lot of companies aren't hiring - and it will get worse next year. A lot of people are maxing out credit cards to get by...a lot of businesses are opening that there is no demand for.

My buddy is a director of a new hawgwon, he tells me in his area there are 100 hawgwons for kids...and that 90% of them won't last a year.

I am guessing the small "mom and pop" type hawgwons won't last.

If you work at such a hawgwon, I'd suggest it is in your interest to keep the kids there.

Those of us working outside the hawgwon industry don't have much to worry about, as public education always seems to have enough money.

Good luck, I hope it all works out for you.

[just because]

Defiantly agree about the smaller hagwons. There is way too many of them to be sustainable. I can see a lot of them busting soon(only to be replaced by other ones).
Its the same with anything in Korea, overkill. Do you need mandu well I know of about 100 mandu restaurants. It seems especially with food there is 100 businesses that sell exactly the same thing. If only some of them would diversify into other nationalities food. Thy could be sitting on a gold mine(especially Mexican), why hasn't that taken off here?

[canuckistan]

Someone asked me the other day what my biggest recommendation would be to someone who just arrived to work here, and I said the way things are going these days with the hagwon business, save most of your money the first few months and keep it for emergencies. Then go spend. Seen too many people end up in dire straights after 4 months because their hagwon went bust without warning.

[crazylemongirl]

last week one of my bosses hagwons closed (it was bought out by another school) 1 teacher got his contract transfered to the new owner other got let go.

I think (touch major wood) I should be ok. 2 months to go and enrolment is ok at my school.

I think in richer areas the mom and pop schools should be ok, if there aren't a high concentration of hagwons. There is a definte oversupply at the moment.

CLG

[bosintang]

I ask nicely: does anyone have any hard facts to back the fear-mongering up?

It seems to me that there's been quite a few layoffs in the ESL industry but I'm only going by recent posts here on the cafe and through a few other personal anedoctes.

[rapier]

Even if your job seems fairly secure, and your hagwon financially stable, I notice directors are more tempted than ever to get away with not paying severance, deposit, and a host of other "minor" payments....
Theres a whole lot of cutting corners that a director can do to save extra cash:-
* Pretend to make pension contributions but actually keep them;
* Delay severance payment til the waegook has left Korea, then, dont.
*Don't reimburse for any expenses that aren't absolutely proven.
* Don't make health insurance contributions:
* Keep the tax contributions, whilst pretending to pay them;
* Deep the bills deposit, or at least charge double the actual amount owed;
etc etc etc etc...........................
yep, I reckon the average esl teacher needs to keep an eye out more so than ever before right now.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[TECO]

Or you could just follow Chi-Chi and Beckerson to Japan and get a better paying job in a nicer and more interesting country