Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sarbonn]

I haven't been here very long. I was recruited for a Hagwon that is very poorly managed. It can sometimes be a massive struggle just to come into work each day because you just know it's going to be a nightmare trying to get through the day because the lessons are usually wrong, the schedule is completely whacked (scheduling people in two or three classrooms at the same time and then complaining because you didn't show up to one of the classes), and that sort of thing.

I have two MA degrees, and I actually am getting paid quite nicely here, so money is definitely not the issue. But I sometimes feel like I'm being treated like one of my middle school students.

People keep telling me I should really be teaching in a university, and all that, but I keep thinking that somehow this can all work out. The Hagwon boss is okay, most of the time. His supervisor is more the problem though, and her passive aggressive management style is very, very irritating.

Anyway, any advice, based on this limited info, on what should be done? Just stick it out and hope things get better? Are there better options available? Am I stuck here? I really don't know all the details about this whole political process here, so I'm wondering if any of you might have insight.

[Monkey82]

Now I'm still a bit iffy as to the rules about switching, but having come from a bad hagwon, I don't think you should stay unless things drastically change.

I felt that way, that it was really bad and I was treated poorly after about 4 months, but I was stubborn and stuck it out. And now I feel like an idiot and like I wasted 8 months. I was so confused about the way to switch though that I didn't want to get screwed if I couldn't. One good thing though - I have a sense of accomplishment - if I can deal with that bs I can deal with anything.

I would try for a university if I were you.

[cruisemonkey]

[The_Source]

If you do decide to go with a university, make sure it's not in Korea. Conditions at Korean universities aren't any better than your hagwon. Try Japan, Taiwan, China, etc.

[saw6436]

When I first got here the disorganization was very frustrating. My boss was great but he really had no clue about scheduling. My classroom changed on a daily basis though I had a class schedule printed out. I would frequently walk into a class expecting it to be a 101 level only to have it filled with 302 students. Used to drive me crazy.

Then, I began to see it more as entertainment. Now when my school FUBARs my schedule I just laugh about it. I work part-time in a public elementary school and Friday was a blast. All of my classes were rearranged but nobody informed me about it till at the END OF THE DAY. I would go to my class only to be told that I was actualy teaching a different class. I proceded to that class only to be told that this class had been switched with another class. Chaos!! I ended up just going to my car and taking a nap till my shift ended.

OP, organization is not one of Korea's strong suits. Planning definitely got forgotten in the genetic code of most people here. I used to bang my head over it. Now I find it amusing. If all else is OK with your job then learn to go with the flow. Your not likely to find a more organized place in Korea. University or not.

Good luck.

[cruisemonkey]

[sojourner1]

They sure are playing a head game with you. No one with any iota of common sense accidentally schedules an employee of any sort to be in 2 or more places at the same time. It's an irrational annoying game they are playing with you. I would go ballistic when I got a talking to about not being somewhere I was expected to be due to being scheduled to teach another class.

When you see this again, ask which one it's going to be and then ask them how they can be this absent minded. This will throw them off, but they would probably engineer something else to cause you more problem such as claiming you embarrass the director or getting complaints, but with no explanations for why you are wrong. It's a ruse.

I'd say to look for an exit as a shim sham school or company is not worth your precious time and efforts.

[sarbonn]

[MrRogers]

[cruisemonkey]

It's been my (limited) experience that K-employers/bosses will 'test' you to see how much you will 'take'. While this is true in any culture, in K-land the slightest sign of weakness (beyond culturally accepted age & sex defference) is read by the boss as a cart blanche invitation for abuse.

While it is true that in any culture most bosses will 'test' a new employee, in Korea it is taken to a different level than in English-speaking countries. How to say "No!" is the most important skill a foreign, English teacher can possess in K-land.

P.S. To all the 'apologists' and 'bleeding hearts' who want to jump on this thread and say something to the effect the students should be one's first priority... you're wrong. You can't teach if you don't look after yourself.

[ben-ja-mas]

I used to get 5 minutes notice about class changes etc..
Pulled the manager aside and told her if I did not get 1 days notice I would not teach the class as I needed time for prep.

Funnily it never happened again.

[cruisemonkey]

[call_the_shots]

[moosehead]

[sarbonn]

My MAs are in political science and communication. I'm also ABD in political science for my Ph.D., but I doubt I'll ever get back to writing the dissertation.