Korean Job Discussion Forums

last goodbye · Joined: 13 Aug 2006

Anyone quit or get fired- not due to lack of merit, enthusiasm but problems with idiotic co-workers, etc..(where the boss takes their side)... and didn't get paid or a release letter? Have you heard it happening before, or often?

What's the recourse- being a legal worker with no complaints about performance- in fact praise not so long ago.... but things are getting too petty to stay... I hear you can go to the labor board. Has anyone done it? Does it work?

Any USEFUL replies (ie. where to look, who to contact, etc..) are appreciated... the others are not....

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

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

Yeah, LOR's are really not necessary, but they can make things easier. Immigration, however, will get to the bottom of it and figure out that you no longer work there. I worked at an after school program for WIN EDUCATION and they tried to screw with my pay. I gave them a hard time after that and they finally fired me. For me to get a new job, they just needed a statement from me outling the reason why I was fired. I think that WIN told them I quit at first. They gave immi a bunch of reasons why I quit or why I was fired (some bad stuff that wasn't necessarily false), but I told immi in my letter why I behaved in such a way. Not in too much detail, though. They were at fault and I was a fault due to their treatment. I got another job with no problem. I was only at that after school program from March until May and I started my new job at the end of June. I was given an exit order that let me stay in-country for 30 days after my last day of work for WIN (LOSE). I had to wait for documents, however, and needed to do a tourist-visa run before my docs came (criminal report/transcripts) from Canada. Then I needed to do a work-visa run. If I had had the docs on hand, I could've went for a wor-visa run as as soon as I signed the contract and immi processed the visa. That only takes a week or a little more.

last goodbye · Joined: 13 Aug 2006

Awesome info guys... thanks... not too worried now.

I just posted about getting a CRC from Canada. How'd you do it and how long did it take?

I will definitely get canned or quit... but have a very good reason if I have to justify it to immi. The program I work for doesn't hold my visa, the elem. school does, so I don't see why they shouldn't give a LOR (after school prog). So I should be able to stay on this visa. but, best to be safe. Thanks again...

jadarite · Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 5:33 am Post subject:

I don't know your situation, but I don't like the visa run option. It will be on your dime (which is what, 7 cents now?). Take a moment and see if you really need to leave. Dealing with the Korean "uppers" is not fun, I know it.

If you wait it out, things get better than leaving earlier in your contract period. You will have less time to wait if you want a change schools. If you bring up severance and the return flight, your school owner is more likely to give you a LOR in exchange for not paying either of them. Then you just change locations with another school, and this will allow you to stay in the country. It's a smoother transition.

You, the old school, and the new school save on airfare since no one has to pay. You are in the middle of it, so you have the upper hand when selecting a school where the new school would otherwise have to fly in a teacher or pay for the visa run. You will also still be in the country, so you can do several face to face interviews and really be able to decide if the next school will be what you really want.

If you leave, you will miss out on these two important advantages and run the risk of being in the same boat you are in now with the second school, or you might even be worse off.

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

last goodbye · Joined: 13 Aug 2006

Severance is 1/2 my pay and no airfare. So real leverage there. But, the company I work for doen't hold my visa, the elem. school I work for does and has no beef with me and therefore no real reason to not give me the LOR... especially if I tell them why I am leaving. Just being safe and covering all the "what if's". So, I think i'll be able to stay on the same visa. Mostly worried about the pay.

last goodbye · Joined: 13 Aug 2006

I have 2 sealed transcripts with me. Worked there since the end of May. been in Korea 5 years now, on and off- only since May this time.