Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Mankind]

[osangrl]

If you could read you can see that i said i know the wedding is important.

THank you very much.

And if you think my little lecture was rough, you are definately not ready for this place!

I have stood up for you in the past, and given you as much helpful advice as possible, im just saying you need to let up on your "negotiations" get the wedding for sure, but as for alot of the stuff, such as freaking A/C??? Get over it, find a contract and stop asking about every little thing. Its getting ridiculous.

[wylde]

a/c is pretty valuable and a lot of schools offer it.. i don't have it in this unit but the rest of my deal was great, so.... i will just buy 1.. i don't need it until may/june but hell, it is 1 of the main things i usually ask for.

the humidity here can be too much in summer...
i am use to hot weather, but this is a joke... walk outside and sweat.. i want to be comfortable at home..

go for the a/c too, thats my advice....

anyway.. it doesn't hurt to ask

[KFTU]

The first question you need to ask yourself is what are you worth, dont under estimate or under sell yourself, sure they are offering a job, but they also need you. Are you a qualified teacher, or uni professer? The more experience / qualifications you have the more you should expect, that should go without saying,> the only problem is that people do under sell themself in Korea ad take whats given and this inturn lowers the standard for everyone! Be firm but polite, honest and to the point with what you want. Negotiate, after all a contract is an agreement that both parties agree upon, not just one!!

[jlb]

Based on personal experience, I can tell you that the labor board could care less about what is in your contract. They ONLY care about Korean labor laws and it really doesn't matter what your contract says. The whole thing about getting a release letter clause in the contract is a matter for immigration, it doesn't concern the labor board.

Any contractual disputes must be settled in civil court. This requires getting a lawyer proficient in English or a translator and a long, lengthy legal battle. It's usually not worth it for a couple thousand bucks or whatever your hogwan owes you.

I was lucky b/c my school fired me with no notice after I'd been working there 9 months. The Korean labor board cared about that....not about anything in my contract. Heck, they couldn't even read the contract, none of them knew English!

Don't think a well-written contract will protect you if something goes wrong....in all likelihood it's not worth the paper it's written on.

[KFTU]

[Lost Seoul]

Here is some advice from the US embassy regarding contracts:

http://usembassy.state.gov/seoul/wwwh3550.html

CONTRACTS

Foreign instructors in Korea occasionally have contract disputes with their employers. Many have observed that in the Korean context, a contract appears to simply be a rough working agreement, subject to change depending on the circumstances. Many Koreans do not view deviations from a contract as a breach of contract, and few Koreans would consider taking an employer to court over a contract dispute.


Instead, Koreans tend to view contracts as always being flexible and subject to further negotiation. Culturally, the written contract is not the real contract; the unwritten, oral agreement that one has with one's employer is the real contract. However, many employers will view a contract violation by a foreign worker as serious, and will renege on verbal promises if they feel they can. Any contract should be signed with these factors in mind.


BASIC FEATURES OF MOST TEACHING CONTRACTS
Contracts for teaching positions should include provisions for the following salary, housing, tickets home, working hours, class size, severance pay, taxes, and medical insurance. If these items are not included, one should negotiate until they are. Information on these topics is given below. When in doubt, ask; get it in writing, and remember that only the Korean-language version of the contract is legally binding in Korea.


SALARY
Most contracts provide for either a set monthly salary, or for a salary based on the number of hours taught. In any event, a guaranteed monthly remuneration should be included in the contract. Payment dates, methods, and currency should be specified in advance.


HOUSING
Few contracts provide for housing in Seoul. This can be a serious problem as housing in Seoul is among the most expensive in the world. Housing options include key money (yearly deposit), monthly rent, shared housing, dormitories, lodging houses, and inns. If your institute does not provide housing, it should at least be able to help you in finding housing, and in negotiating the appropriate rent and utility payments. Teachers who have been promised housing might want to request photos, floorplans or furniture inventories in advance. Koreans have very different ideas of what 'western' and 'furnished' housing mean. 'Furnished' might only mean a linoleum floor and a 2-burner stove. 'Western' usually just means an apartment with an indoor bath. Koreans measure housing space in 'pyong'. One pyong is approximately 36 square feet. Pyong measurements usually include the front porch, utility room, etc. Monthly rents can run from U.S. $1300 to U.S. $2000 for a modest apartment.


KEY MONEY SYSTEM (CHUNSEE)
Key money (chunsee) is a year's rent paid in advance; with no monthly rent payment. At the end of the contract period, the renter receives the chunsee back without interest. Chunsee can be risky because property ownership may change in the middle of the contract period, or an unscrupulous owner may simply decide that the foreigner is in no position to fight for the chunsee. One can reduce this risk by having the employer agree to pay the chunsee. Chunsee payments run from a minimum of 30 million won (US $ 25,000) for a studio in a less desirable part of town to 500 million won (US $420,000) for a small apartment in one of the richer neighborhoods.


Wolsee is a variation of chunsee. The renter pays a certain amount per month plus an initial deposit which he receives back when s/he moves out. The same caveats apply as with chunsee.


DORMITORIES, LODGING HOUSES (HASUK) AND INNS (YOKWANS)
Yonsei, Ewha, Seoul, Hanyang, Konkuk, and Hankook Universities all have dormitory accommodations available. In addition, the Korea Research Foundation runs an International House for foreign students. Sometimes these dormitories can accommodate foreign instructors, but they usually only accommodate their own regular faculty. Shared housing is a popular alternative, but be careful in choosing roommates and spell out financial arrangements in advance.


Lodging houses (hasuk) are popular with young Koreans in college or just starting out in their professional careers. Single rooms run about US $250 per month, and include Korean-style breakfast and dinner, and sometimes include laundry service. The disadvantage is the lack of privacy.


Another option is staying with a local family. This can be an excellent opportunity to experience Korean life and culture, but again the lack of privacy can be a disadvantage. Most instructors who live in such homestays eventually move into more private accommodations.


Finally, some people rent rooms in yokwans (inns) on a monthly basis. This is similar to staying in a lodging house, at about the same cost with no food provided, but offers far less security and less privacy as well. Some yokwans cater to short-term clients and criminals, so staying in a yokwan may cause some Koreans to treat you with a lack of respect.


TICKETS HOME
Some institutes promise to provide tickets home upon completion of a contract or to reimburse teachers for the trip to Korea. One should be aware that sometimes this commitment is not honored. Consider requesting an open-ended round trip ticket in advance.


WORKING HOURS
Most institutes require foreign instructors to teach five to six hours per day, Monday through Friday, and some also ask instructors to teach Saturday morning as well. Universities will usually require 10 to 15 hours per week plus participation in student activities such as editing school newspapers. Research centers usually require 40 hours per week, with occasional uncompensated overtime. Saturday morning is a normal part of the Korean work week. Teachers may have to teach early morning or late evening classes to accommodate working students.


CLASS SIZE
This is usually not spelled out in the contract. Private institutes usually have classes of between 10 to 20 students, while universities can have as many as 100 students in a class.


SEVERANCE PAY (Taechikum)
The Embassy receives many inquiries and complaints about severance pay issues. It is a good idea to broach this subject early in your employment, and to be prepared for resistance. By Korean law, discussed below, all full-time employees, Korean or foreign, are entitled to receive severance pay of one month's salary for each year of employment. Employers cannot ask you to waive this, nor can they get around it by employing you on an 11-month contract. However, Korean courts have ruled that unless a Hakwon instructor actually TEACHES 40 or more hours per week, as spelled out contractually, he is NOT 'full-time' and is NOT eligible for severance pay.


The Ministry of Labor has jurisdiction over severance pay matters. The Severance Pay Division can be reached at (02) 503-9727. The Ministry of Labor's general number is (02) 500-5543/5544. The International Labor Policy Division of the Ministry of Labor (Tel 02-504-7338) may, at your request, call employers to remind them of their legal obligations. The Ministry of Education may, at your request, call employers to remind them of their legal obligations. If you have exhausted all other avenues and feel that you need to take legal action, the Embassy can provide you with a list of local attorneys.


Severance pay rights are covered by the Labor Standards Act of the Korean Legal Code. English language translations of the Code are available at the Kyobo Bookstore, located near the Embassy. The key provisions of the Labor Standards Act as they relate to severance pay include the following



Article 28 (Retirement Allowance System) 1) An employer shall establish a system by which average wage of not less than thirty days per year for each consecutive year employed shall be paid as retirement allowance to a retired employee. Provided, however, that this shall not apply in cases in where the period of employment is less than one year.


Article 5 (Equal Treatment) No employer may include any discrimination in the terms of labor conditions because of nationality, religion or social status.


Article 10 (Scope of Application) stipulates that the act applies to all enterprises except small family businesses, domestic servants, and those exempted by Presidential decree.


KOREAN TAXES
Most foreign employees are required to pay Korean income taxes, which are generally withheld and paid by the employer. Teachers working for colleges or universities are sometimes entitled to an exemption from paying Korean taxes for up to two years because of the U.S.-Korea Tax Treaty.



Article 20 of the Korean tax code states An individual who is a resident of a contracting State, and who at the invitation of any university, college, or other recognized educational institution, visits the other contracting State for a period not exceeding two years solely for the purpose of teaching, or research or both at such educational institution shall be taxable only in the first mentioned State on his remuneration for such teaching or research.

The Tax Office maintains a list of institutes that are tax exempt. This provision applies only to teachers employed at universities, research centers, or university-operated institutes. (Teachers at hakwons and at private companies have to pay taxes.) The General Affairs section of the university or research center should be able to apply for the exemption. If the institute wrongly withholds taxes, it is required to pay a refund.


For guidance on these matters contact the Korean Tax Office, as they have been helpful in arranging compliance with these provisions. They also publish an English language Income Tax Guide for Foreigners. This guidebook comes out in April of each year, and is available free from any tax office. The Korean tax year runs from May 31 to the following May 1, with May income estimated. In most instances, one's employer files the appropriate tax forms, but if they do not file, the individual must do so.


If you believe that your employer is not complying with Korean tax laws, your first step should be to discuss the matter with him or her. If that does not work, you should discuss the matter with the Korean Tax Office, International Taxation Division, 397-1583/4, or the nearest Korean Tax Office. If the problem is still not solved, you may wish to contact an attorney.


PENSION PROGRAM
Foreigners living in Korea are required to pay into the national pension plan, just as foreigners living in the U.S. must pay into Social Security. No mechanism exists at present for refund of these payments.


These payments are a common source of concern for ESL teachers. Follow this link to learn more about how the system works in Korea (on the main page is a link to an abbreviated version of the site in English), or call the general affairs department of the National Pension at 02-2285-2618.



U.S. TAXES
Americans residing abroad are not exempt from filing requirements, but are, under certain conditions, entitled to exclusions on foreign-earned income. More information on overseas income and filing is available from the IRS publications "Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens Abroad" and "Overseas Filers of Form 1040." These and other Federal tax forms are available at the Embassy, or may be downloaded at U.S. Federal Tax Forms.

[2CuteNCanadian]

You're an angel Lost Seoul

[The Man known as The Man]

[Mankind]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[jlb]

was that the labor board is not concerned about what is in your contract....it is not in their job description. Nor do they have the power to force a school to write a release letter. They only have power to enforce labor laws, which they did in my case. I like the labor board! My school fired me at 9 months with no notice and the hogwan got the slam....quite delightful really. I ended up with a million won and a plane ticket home....not quite what was owed but I didn't want to hang around Korea anymore fighting with evil people.

So my purpose of my post was that I just wanted to point out what the labor board can and cannot do. I'm not saying the labor board is bad news, it's just that they're somewhat limited in their powers.