Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Countrygirl]

I am planning to renew with my GEPIK school and want to renegotiate some better terms.

Many people at Orientation said that they were making 30,000 to 40,000 won per hour or money per student. My co-teacher said that I might be able to make more money per hour for overtime but she first would like to talk to the other co-teachers of the FT's who are making 30,000 won or more per hour. I've talked with the FT's in my area but they said they are only making the GEPIK 20,000 won/hour.

Also, I'm curious what else in the contract others have negotiated or how they negotiated. If you have any ideas, please share. I'm actually not in a position to walk away from this school, but, naturally, I would like to get the best contract I can get.

[fromtheuk]

I renewed with my school and got the standard contract. I don't mean to be cynical but the oft-repeated stories on this forum of native teachers negotiating with their schools for extra benefits may be true, but it doesn't sound real to me.

Apparently, it depends on your school. If you can get any extra benefits, all the best.

But if your school is like mine, they may expect you to be grateful for the standard GEPIK contract. In a country with a high demand for English teachers and short supply, Koreans don't appear to want to offer any additional benefits to teachers, even if those benefits won't cost them anything extra.

That's my 2 won's worth

[Kimchieluver]

I know several GEPIK teachers that had to negotiate just to keep what arrangements they had their previous years. Money is not exactly flowing around Korea these days.

[marlow]

[xCustomx]

[fromtheuk]

I don't know if you're in denial or cannot understand the written word.

Or to give you the benefit of the doubt, you may not have read my posts about the previous native teacher at my school.

She used to eat Korean food everyday at lunch with her colleagues. She attended many out of hours social events.

She even made almost 2 cupboards worth of brand new English resources from scratch, presumably to give a good impression and to show her boss she was worth the money they were paying her.

Do you know what benefits she got? Absolutely none, zilch, zero, nothing, not anything, just fatigue is what I suppose she got. Do you understand what I've just said?!!

I am the total opposite, I do the bare minimum and I get exactly the same 'benefits' the previous native teacher received, without even trying.

Now, that's what I call clever

[esetters21]

[xCustomx]

[Countrygirl]

I also don't understand fromtheuk's passive/aggressive approach to his school, but I can't help but think that he is correct in that schools don't seem to reward good employees in a consistant manner. It seems to me more luck than hard work that results in more overtime or more vacation time. I also see posters who say 20,000 won per hour is a joke for overtime or that they refuse to work camps but when someone asks directly for specific details, noone is forthcoming.

I think that most Koreans have no idea that there is a teacher shortage until they have to find a teacher. I've talked with the Korean teachers and they don't know anything about the new Visa restrictions or costs etc. I really believe that my Principal and Vice-Principal will not know my true worth until I am gone (and actually they will retire soon, so, in reality, they will never know). My co-teacher knows, but she doesn't hand out the money so that doesn't help much.

I'm really not in a position to walk away because I've booked my plane ticket for myself and the kids and taken the extra two weeks vacation that one gets for re-signing. If I resign, I'd lose all of that plus my kids would have to adjust to a new school and neighbourhood. It's not worth it to quit even if I get the same contract as before. The only thing I can think of is to quit doing all the extra classes that I took on and to stick to the 6 hours overtime that the contract requires. It sure makes privates look more desirable even though I hate the idea that only the kids with rich parents seem to get ahead.

Other than overtime and vacation, what else can be negotiated. Also, has anyone gotten their school to pay for their medical or visa fees?

[TheUrbanMyth]

[xCustomx]

[teachergirltoo]

I think a few of the above posters have hit on how to get the extra perks in a job that many of us would like - make yourself stand out instead of being a cog in the wheel. My school is very good to me, but I am also the type of employee that walks around with a big smile, has a pat on the shoulder for the boys as they pass, I stop by the offices regularly and labour through short nice broken conversations with the VPs and Principal. I also volunteered to run a lunch time reading group two lunch lunches per week with no pay, just so that boys that wanted or needed extra attention could have a small group setting. When the school told me they needed an idea to show the MOE that they were progressive thinkers about English I threw out the idea of starting a Musical Theatre Program. It's a ton of work even after the paid hours, but that is okay because I am having a great time and the school shows me that they appreciate me. I am not doing any more than many other teachers out there. I have met teachers here for quite a while that have really put their heart into their schools and their schools show their appreciation too, and they have ended up staying at those schools several years.

[Countrygirl]

Thanks, that's exactly what I was looking for. Just curious, for the posters who got the 100,000 won raise, was that on top of the 100,000 won raise that GEPIK renewers get?