Korean Job Discussion Forums

pootle · Joined: 05 May 2008

Apologies if this has been posted before but we all know the issues with the search function.

GEPIK/EPIK contracts allow for 7 working days off during the summer but are most people getting more than that?

I'm only getting the 7 days and so I want to torture myself by hearing that someone else is getting 5 weeks off.

R. S. Refugee · Joined: 29 Sep 2004 Location: Shangra La, ROK

After doing a 1-week compulsory "English Camp" at my school (for no extra pay), I get 3 weeks off and then they tell me that students (and I) come back to class on August 19th.

Was considering doing the HUFS camp for 2 weeks of that for some extra money until I read the reviews of that camp on this forum.

icicle · Joined: 09 Feb 2007 Location: Gyeonggi do Korea

You will find that more people will just get the 7 days (though a few half days might happen) than will get lots of extra time.

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

I get 3 breaks of 2 calendar weeks each... 1 in summer, 1 in winter and 1 at the end of Feb for my "home leave".

GEPIK by the book... 14 working days for standard vacation, 5 working days for rural allowance, 1 day of "banked time" and 2 calendar weeks for the home leave.

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mick · Joined: 04 Mar 2005

I work for GEPIK too and the school goes exactly by the book when it comes to vacation.

I_Am_The_Kiwi · Joined: 10 Jun 2008

EPIK contract is 10 work days in summer, minimum.

dont know about GEPIK

Otherside · Joined: 06 Sep 2007

I'm hoping my school doesn't follow the book too closely...
I'm taking 12 working days in summer for a long haul vacation. (9 would have been ok thanks to the public holiday, but they threw in the the extra 3...final 3 days of the summer vacation, mon,tue,wed, which would have just been me sitting on my rear end for 3 days.) But that is gonna make winter a very lean period if they aren't generous ~~

xCustomx · Joined: 06 Jan 2006

Sorry to hear about the vacation time OP. I had 3 weeks of English camp last summer and got the standard 1 week of vacation. I also had to sit in the office until 4, even though all my lessons were planned for.

I renegotiated my contract this year and I will get considerably more vacation time.

You may want to have your co-teacher check the GEPIK guidebook that he/she should have received. Your principal or vice-principal are allowed to give you up to 3 additional vacation days per year as they see fit. Because of this I was able to get 23 consecutive days off last winter and it was all done by the book.

BS.Dos. · Joined: 29 Mar 2007

Although I'm only contracted for 14-days summer vacation (EPIK), I unashamedly asked for all of August off. They agreed, provided that I run a 2-class per day summer camp for 11-days (no extra pay), which will finish on August 2nd. I don't then have to come back until 1st September.

pootle · Joined: 05 May 2008

My contract doesn't provide for an extra 5 days for rural areas, even though I'm in the arse-end of nowhere. I must have missed that little sweetener! I'll keep trying to negotiate and see if I make any headway. Next year I should be able to sign a better contract.

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

poet13 · Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 4:10 pm Post subject:

"EPIK contract is 10 work days in summer, minimum. "

7 days....a maximum. You must have a different contract.

On the other hand...what kind of vacation are we talking about? Out of school, or out of country?
My school says I can only have 7 work days out of country...but the rest of the time I don't have to be in school either. SO in that sense, I will have almost 4 weeks off.

pootle · Joined: 05 May 2008

It's an EPIK contract and it clearly states 7 working days during the summer vacation and 7 during the winter vacation.

As regards the above poster, does a school have the right to dictate where you take your vacation? How can they say that you can go overseas for 7 days but have to be in Korea for the rest of the leave days? Surely it's none of their business where you go or what you choose to do with vacation time that they have approved?

poet13 · Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 8:54 pm Post subject:

Well, I only get 7 official days. Where I take them is up to me. Because I will be here looking after my wife during my home leave in september, they are going to pay for my summer vacation airfare and call that home leave airfare. Very nice of them. The rest of the days are not official holidays. Theoretically they could say, please come to school every day and sit for 8 hours during the summer and winter holidays. They don't, and I'm quite happy with that. My school is quite rational. They treat me in many ways just like the other teachers....except with a few bonuses. I don't have to be here during exams. I generally leave every friday by 1:30 or 2:00. I don't have all the ridiculous paperwork that the other teachers have. I have some, like detailed lesson plans for the after school program, and the teachers assignment during the winter holidays is to prepare a ten page paper detailing the coming years curriculum and rational. My school treats me well and in turn I respect most of their wishes.

Cornfed · Joined: 14 Mar 2008