Korean Job Discussion Forums

ruby_tuesday · Joined: 09 Apr 2008 Location: Seoul

I have a couple of interviews for teaching jobs lined up (I'm still in the US) and there's one that's definitely causing hesitation. It's with Readingtown but this particular franchise is acting kind of strange.

I've only communicated with this woman via a Hotmail email address and she won't provide contact information for current teachers--instead, she said they will call ME. (Other Readingtown locations communicated via an official email address and willingly gave contact info.) They are also offering a signing bonus provided I sign by next week.

Am I just being paranoid? Or is all of this a little odd? Obviously moving to Korea is a huge step so I don't want to do something wrong...

Join Me · Joined: 14 Jan 2008

In Korea, if it seems sketchy it probably is. Also, if it is sketchy at the start it is guaranteed to get ever more sketchy as time goes on. This is like one of the laws of nature in Korea. Don't take a chance as a year can be a very long time at the wrong place. There have never been more opportunities in Korea than there are now and there are good ones out there. Keep looking till you find one.

Fresh Prince · Joined: 05 Dec 2006 Location: The glorious nation of Korea

ruby_tuesday · Joined: 09 Apr 2008 Location: Seoul

She won't provide any contact info; instead, she said she'll have the teachers call me sometime this week.

There's also a lot of pressure to sign a contract by Monday to get a "signing bonus," and I'm not a huge fan of being pressured into make this kind of big decision.

At this point, I'm thinking I'd rather keep my options open and keep looking...

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

Roch · Joined: 24 Apr 2003 Location: Seoul

Have you ever worked for a Ruby Tuesday restaurant?

MissSeoul · Joined: 25 Oct 2006 Location: Somewhere in America

Zaria32 · Joined: 04 Dec 2007

Of course you don't see Korean hogwons without a native teacher...if they don't have a native teacher they quickly go out of business. And yes, there are between 30,000 and 32,000 ESL jobs in Korea.

it's full of stars · Joined: 26 Dec 2007

There's a hagwon on the floor below my apart, myself and my wife have never seen, heard or smelt a "native" teacher in all the time I've been here. Also seems to be doing fine.

poet13 · Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2008 8:19 pm Post subject:

There are probably 70 hakwons in my small city. 3 have a foreigner.

yingwenlaoshi · Joined: 12 Feb 2007 Location: ... location, location!

While there are many jobs available, you have to think that they'll just hire Koreans. That's a factor.

Don't kid yourselves.

poet13 · Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2008 10:58 pm Post subject:

Zaria32 · Joined: 04 Dec 2007

Are those hogwons English language hogwons? Or are they math? Test prep? Soccer? Cram? There are thousands of hogwons which teach
dozens of different things.

There are also English language hogwons which don't have a native teacher...some even try to make a virtue of the absence of a wayguk. (Remember the school in Seoul which advertized they didn't employ
foreigners because we had AIDS or were criminals?)

However, when a hogwon employs a native teacher, most of the parents of the students in that hogwon want their child to have a native teacher for English. And if the hogwon can't supply one, they usually send their children elsewhere, where there is a native teacher. That causes the hogwon to go out of business.