Korean Job Discussion Forums

PBRstreetgang21 · Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 7:02 am Post subject: Top English School Jeonju

Does anyone know anything about Top English School Jeonju? Was offered a job there teaching Uni students; split shift but the director says its not extreme. Something like 8AM-11AM, 4PM-9PM. Something to that effect. Any info on the school?

aka Dave · Joined: 02 May 2008 Location: Down by the river

Do you really want to work mornings 3 hours and evenings 4 hours. You can do better than that. Though, if you don't mind the split shift and you're teaching Uni students you'll have less stress.

When I teach at the Uni i have split shifts during the school year, say 9 11am class, (then I go to the uni gym) then a 1 to 3pm class in the afternoon.

I guess it depends on what your want. They're essentially locking up your life for an entire day every day (except weekends hopefully). If you're cool with it, go with it.

PBRstreetgang21 · Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 1:39 pm Post subject:

so are the split shifts for Uni a lot less extreme than say for regular adults?

Also, how true is it that if you teach Uni its a lot easier to make friends with your students?

moosehead · Joined: 05 May 2007

that school has been around for a while - I've heard all kinds of various horror stories from there - I used to work in Jeonju, but not there.

one of the worst was how they fired all the FT at once, maybe in summer 2007?

apparently there were pay disputes, contract issues, the whole enchilada.

they are probably the biggest hakwon in Jeonju (maybe don't know) but are certainly the best known.

Jeonju is considered an "educational" city having a huge number of unis and excellent public edu for students. however, it's still a very traditional city and there is a lot of extreme prejudice against foreigners there.

that being said, the hakwon asso. is very strong and very united. I know this because the director of the hakwon I worked at was the head of the hakwon asso and she used to tell me things which later bore out talking to other teachers. that is, if you have a dispute with your hakwon and they aren't sure what to do, they'll go back to the asso and ask them and decide if it's something threatening to all the hakwons or not to relent on your request/issue.

that is it's rarely just between you and your hakwon - which to some extent, is the way they are all run anyway.

because TOP has been around for some time, it has some pull and hence got away with the mass firing - and has a rep for getting away with a lot. maybe some of their academies are better than others - but there are a lot of foreigners hired in Jeonju who have never been to K so they don't know any better - it's the normal way of doing business there - get the newbies in so they don't know we're screwing them.

talking to other FTs doesn't help all that much - often times they don't realize until it's too late - i.e., they get ready to leave - or aren't available to talk or are just not interested in sharing how much ass kissing they do on a regular basis.

just my two cents worth btw Shocked

PBRstreetgang21 · Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 6:58 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the heads up. I may need to reconsider.

I really wanted to do it because it seemed like a great way to improve my Korean and make korean friends-- teach Uni students, but when I couldnt get the Director to pin down a set schedule and he asked me a lot on my opinions of overtime alarm bells started going off. Not to mention that during the interview he actually mentioned that if I taught Uni students I could sleep with a lot of my female students. Not exactly the most professional selling point for his hagwon I thought (though not to say unattractive by any means).

moosehead · Joined: 05 May 2007