Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Miles]

This hagwon is now advertising for teachers. - Here's the first red flag.

As an example of honesty, consider the accuracy of this statement taken from their advertisement:-

"Our teachers receive many benefits NOT FOUND IN OTHER LANGUAGE INSTITUTES, including non-share furnished one room apt., medical insurance, one month severance bonus and airfare from the closest major international airport to you." - Really?

These "benefits" include 3 split shifts. You will start at 6:30am and finish at 9:20pm, EVERY DAY from Mon-Fri, and teach from 2:00 till 3:20pm EVERY SATURDAY, leaving you Sunday to sleep. Very relaxing.

Your apartment may be a 30 minute walk from the school. If you make the trip both ways 3 times (between shifts), that adds up to 3 hours per day or 15 hours per week of free exercise. That's Mon-Fri only, not including one extra hour on Saturday. Healthy, but tiring.

You could take the 10 minute bus ride both ways for a commute of 1 hour a day or 5 hours a week, 20 hours a month, not including Saturdays, plus a cost of over 50,000 won per month in bus fares. Less tiring, but still more than a little time-consuming and costly.

Either way you will have to leave your apartment at the very latest by 6:00am from Monday to Friday and you will not get home much before 10:00pm. That's a LONG DAY.

"Salary is based on the number of HOURS you teach;" - RIGHT!

You are actually paid by the MINUTE. Classes are 40 or 50 minutes, or 1 hour twenty or 1 hour fifty minutes in length and you are paid for exactly that. In theory at least.

This means that you have to spend valuable time on a daily basis keeping a meticulous record of your hours (minutes), and then at the end of the month the management's calculations of your hours are ALWAYS different from yours and their figures are ALWAYS less.

Another benefit, which actually isn't found in most other language institutes, is that if you show up for a class (even at 6:30am) and no student arrives, YOU WILL NOT BE PAID for your time, because "you didn't work, you didn't teach, you just sat around and drank coffee." A much appreciated benefit.

"our teachers' average 1.9 million- 2.0 million won/month with teaching hours average about 30 per week." - WRONG! Completely false.

Even if they offer you 1.8 million won per month, which is the highest pay I have heard of at this place (and they may offer you as little as 1.6 million), you will RARELY, IF EVER get that much. Remember, this is not a guaranteed 'salary'. However those theoretical 'salary' figures are based on 100 hours (6000 actual minutes) teaching per month, but because this hagwon has low enrolment and high student turnover you will be lucky to get 100 hours more than once or twice in a 12 month period.

Management constantly changes your class schedule and juggles the hours that teachers are given in a conscious effort to ensure that you rarely get 100 hours per month and you usually end up with less. Your hourly rate is based on 100 hours per month, so if they offer you 1.8 million, you get 18,000 won per 60 minutes of actual teaching time. If you only teach 80 hours, and that can happen, you get 80 x 18,000, or 1,440,000 won - GROSS ( gross, meaning both before deductions, and disgusting - bearing in mind that to receive such a handsome reward you have been available for 6 days of the week and for 5 of those days from 6:30am until 9:20pm).
Overtime, in excess of 120 hours per month, at 15,000 won per hour? - Forget it, it will never happen, should you by any chance have the energy or the desire to be up for it.

You are paid on the fifteenth of the month following the month you worked, meaning you work for 6 weeks before you see any money.

Be aware THERE ARE NO PAID HOLIDAYS. You don't work public holidays and you may get a day or two off during some months to fit in with their 20 day schedule, but you receive no pay for those days.

You pay your own airfare up front and according to the BCM Handbook half is supposed to be reimbursed within 14 days of your arrival. When you ask for it, and you WILL have to ask for it, because it is conveniently ignored, you will be told that it will be paid monthly in instalments. To actually receive it within your first month you have to uncompromisingly insist, which naturally gets things off to a good start.

Teacher turnover is high and I know of only one teacher who finished the contract and she told me that she had to argue and fight for her return airfare and severance pay.

Another teacher, after 2 months, was fired without notice. He worked till 9:20pm the night before a public holiday and the next morning on his day off the boss phoned him and gave him the news. The BCM Handbook states:

"The BCM Center and the Instructor hereby agree to give six (6) weeks notice and a written explanation pending resignation or premature termination of employment and dismissal."

When the teacher protested, the boss told him that he didn't have time to argue about it. At 6:30am on the next working day after the long weekend a newly contracted full time teacher magically appeared to replace the fired teacher. That happened last summer.

This hagwon employs only 2 foreign teachers. There are barely enough students to provide either of these 2 teachers with 100 hours of class time per month. One teacher left without finishing his contract and was replaced in September. They are advertising again for two teachers, presumably to replace the teacher hired last summer (the one who replaced the dismissed teacher) and also to replace the one hired in September (the one who replaced the teacher who quit in that month). Hardly an encouraging sign.

There is more, but I will leave it at that. I would not recommend this hagwon.

[Juggertha]

thanks for the heads up.. i've seen their name pop up more than once.

[Squid]

I don't work for that branch... thankfully mine is ok, and I wanted to mention that if you get a 100 hours offered make sure it's guaranteed. That way when you turn up for a class of few students and they're no-shows you still get paid.


Squid

[peppermint]

BCM in general seems dodgy

[Miles]

[quote="Squid"]I don't work for that branch... thankfully mine is ok, and I wanted to mention that if you get a 100 hours offered make sure it's guaranteed. That way when you turn up for a class of few students and they're no-shows you still get paid.


Good advice on the guaranteed salary, anyone considering this franchise/chain should definitely check to see that it is clearly stated in the contract. I know of another BCM branch that does offer a fixed salary for 125 hours a month or less, over 125 is overtime at 17,000 won per hour. However their classes can run from 6:00am till 10:00pm according to the contract.

Squid, may I ask which branch you work at? Conditions obviously vary from one to another but if you have a better deal and a decent boss, it would be good to know for future reference. Pm me if you'd rather not post. Thanks.

[hellofaniceguy]

Anyone who signs for a bad hokwon, especially many of the chain schools, and especially after all the notices, warnings, from teachers that are posted on this site and all other ESL sites, deserves what they get for not heeding the warnings. Again, it's not the schools that are bad, it's the school owners and some are OK. But most are not. Stay away from the bad schools/owners. Don't sign. Let their business suffer due to no foreign teachers and hope they lose all their money.

[Lost Seoul]

Here are some other views on the BCM hagwons:
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http://209.204.62.79/korea/index.cgi?read=132710132741
to hell with BCM
Posted By: anon22222
Date: Thursday, 18 July 2002, at 10:54 a.m.
I am planning a run soon. My school, BCM in Incheon is the WORST.
I have to work on holidays, even constitution/law day. my boss says i must or "no pay."
I was contracted to teach 6 classes per day but when i arrived he said its really 7, sorry or NO PAY.
late pay or many deductions.
I am the only foreigner here so i am alone.
help.
when I leave i hope no one takes my position.
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http://www.eslcafe.com/korea/index.cgi?read=132710134082
Re: Min Byung Chul in Pupyoung/Bupyung
Posted By: Ben [email protected]
Date: Wednesday, 24 July 2002, at 10:35 p.m.
In Response To: Min Byung Chul in Pupyoung/Bupyung (paula)
Stay away from BCM. Split shifts, LONG hours, low pay, contract problems. Some teachers have been lucky at BCM but MOST are not happy. No one can use you unless you let them!
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http://www.eslcafe.com/korea/index.cgi?read=132710134459
BCM's Bullshit
Posted By: rickysem [email protected]
Date: Friday, 26 July 2002, at 10:14 p.m.
I've worked at BCM (MIN BYUNG CHUL)Language Institute in Kwang An Dong, Busan for 6 months then I was canned/fired for not being white. The school would say that I was too mean, but you try dealing with middle school kids that say "f you"
The old director sold BCM to Nampo Dong, Busan BCM. The new director then turned around and canned me. There were two other foreign teachers both from Austrailia one newly hired and the other had 2 months and was ready to leave. The new director said to M that "he does not have to pay her the Bonus on her contract because the old director went bankrupt." The old director never filed for bankruptcy and the sale was a take over sale. Which would mean taking over the employee's contract. Again I was canned cause I was not a white face native speaker. Mr.Seo the new director is a short midget that has a very thick two face.
M and I called and emailed Lenny Erickson at BCM headquarters in Seoul about the situation but he just blew us off with formality emails that summed up to nothing... He's been here 10 years and married a Korean girl which is fine but sending an email back saying that he is working on it turned out to be bullshit, because Lenny and BCM and Mr.Seo were all in cohoots... It was actually BCM Headquarters that pushed Mr.Seo to take over the troubled BCM in Kwang An Dong. I did not know this until M and I had a sit down with Mr.Seo and he inadvertantly spilled the beans... Mr.Seo was holding \3,000,000 of the final payment to the old BCM directors for any outstanding debts and in turned only payed M \1,000,000 out of the \2.5 she should receive for bonus and airfare... He payed after, M broke down and cried and she said "you better pay me my money you xxxxing son of a bitch" which of course he could not understand.
Lenny Erickson is interested in only his capital gains with BCM. It would be no surprise should someone tell me that he is Korean, like MR. Seo that only likes to lie, cheat and steal...
In the mean time, after firing me and giving me a release letter... Mr.Seo offered me to work again for \20,000 / hr to do a 7am free talking class.. totally illegal... Said this to Lenny and of course I would think that BCM would like to protect the images of thier name but again... allows Mr.Seo to operate at his will why? Lie, cheat and steal... is their way of making money... I still have to pursue my money cause I ws only given 4 days notice that I would not have a job... and contract and labor law says 30 days notice must be given... Stay away from BCM anyways.. they have a rep for being the cheapest paying teachers anyways,, working on weekends and split shifts... you will be able to get much better elsewhere...
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http://www.eslcafe.com/korea/index.cgi?read=132710134689
Re: BCM's Bullshit
Posted By: i second the motion
Date: Sunday, 28 July 2002, at 6:35 a.m.
In Response To: BCM's Bullshit (rickysem)
My first year in Korea, I worked at Sanggye BCM. To make a very long story short, my apartment had absolutely no furniture ( a bed thats all!), classrooms were 35C in the summer and great split shifts of 6:30am - 10pm. Yes, the school and recruiter did tell me that there could be split shifts but it would be tried to be avoided. Yeah right! Our director also enjoyed to speak about the teachers behind their backs to other teachers. Not really that big a deal but certainly not a great teaching environment. This is actually the same director that complained about coming to the airport at 6:30am to meet me as it was so early and could I just "wait around" the airport for her to get there around 9am.
After 9 - 10 months of this crap I simply packed up and left. When I decided to return to Korea, I found out that the director at BCM had contacted my new school and told them that I was a bad teacher and I was an alcoholic. I maybe a bad teacher (not that she would know as she never saw me teach) but I certainly dont have a drinking prolblem as I believe I was drunk about 5 times juring my stay.
I decided to contact the one and only Lenny Erickson to have a discussion about the whole situation. You see when I left, I left some furniture and personal things in my apartment for my roomate to use till I came back. Lenny basically told me that I was full of it and that I actually owed the school close to 3 million won and until they got that money I wouldn't see my stuff.
Hey Lenny does BCM still hire teachers illegally? You guys decide to start furnishing your apartments yet (like your contracts says) and do you guys still kick your teachers out of their apartments the same day their contract ends? Lenny, you are absolutely useless!!!
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http://www.eslcafe.com/korea/index.cgi?read=132710134931
Re: BCM's Bullshit
Posted By: johnny utah
Date: Monday, 29 July 2002, at 7:13 a.m.
In Response To: Re: BCM's Bullshit (i second the motion)
kicked out on the last day of his contract? hell, i got kicked out 2 days before mine ended. it was kundae bcm, but same owner as nowon
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http://www.eslcafe.com/korea/index.cgi?read=132710136204
Truth about Lenny
Posted By: Former BCM Employee
Date: Friday, 2 August 2002, at 11:29 p.m.
In Response To: Re: contract clauses (truth about Lenny)
As an employee of BCM, about two years ago I had cause to deal with Lenny Erickson regarding bad conditions at the hakwon. Lenny proved himself to a serious bul$hitter in the sense that, on the phone, he pretended he was going to help and then turned around and left me to fend for myself. Nothing was ever corrected, but I did manage to finish my contract.
Lenny is useless - don't even bother with him.
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http://www.eslcafe.com/korea/index.cgi?read=132710142759
BCM
Posted By: timeless
Date: Monday, 16 September 2002, at 10:45 p.m.
In Response To: MBC-MinByoungChul English Institute???? Anyone? (Savannah)
It is BCM and it is not always great. They often make you start at 6:30 in the morning and finish at 9:30 at night with a break in the middle. Be sure you can do work before you sign.
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http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?p=14052#14052
rick

Joined: 21 Feb 2003
Posts: 4

Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2003 12:46 pm Post subject: avoid BCM Geos

I'm a former teacher who worked at BCM Geos, and they are starting to post advertisements for hiring for upcoming positions. They have positions in both Bundang and Suji. If you are interested in teaching adults, I highly recommend that you look elsewhere. Both ELS or Pagoda are better. At BCM Geos, you only get paid for 50 minutes per class, so if you have a 120 hour contract, this amounts to a ton of teaching just to get your regular pay. 7 classes is still under 120 hours based on this calculation, and if you teach 8 classes you only receive around 160,000 won of overtime for the 8th class. BCM has a reputation for being a sweatshop in Korea, and for good reason! As far as I know, the only good BCM in the Seoul area is the main one in Gangnam. At the main branch, if you teach for 50 minutes, you get paid for one hour.
Furthermore, this institute has very few university students, which means that your classes are only in the morning and the late evening. This means that every month you will be starting at 6:30 AM and finishing at 9:00 PM. No bonus is given for this kind of schedule. The institute is extremely stingy. They refuse to buy CD players instead of tape players for the classrooms, they almost never have parties or social outings for the teachers (and when they do the food is extremely cheap) and they are even reluctant to pay extra for a private class at the institute. Furthemore, if you have a private class at the institute and the student cancels one day or doesn't come to class that day, you are not paid for that lesson even though they have already received the money from the student and this kind of reasoning does not apply to other classes! And finally, the school has no sick leave whatsoever. If you miss any time because of illness, you have to make up the classes.
Furthermore, the management is very dishonest and often tells you what you want to hear rather than the truth.
This school is not in the same league as the infamous EWHA ALS or some of the Wonderland schools. You won't be ripped off outright, but you will receive less compensation for the amount of work that you do compared to other schools. Don't take this job unless you are desperate. With the shortage of teachers here now because of the difficult political situation, you should have no trouble finding better conditions.

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http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=7389
Walter Mitty

Joined: 28 Mar 2003
Posts: 20
Location: Tacoma, WA, USA
Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2003 4:51 am Post subject: Don't do it!

I am a former teacher of that school and I strongly suggest you NOT take any contract from them. You'll work a wretched split shift (start at 6:30 or 7:30AM, work until noon or so, then go back in the afternoon around 5 or 6 and work until 9 or 9:40PM), and the manager - Terry Oh - is a habitual liar, telling teachers what he thinks they want to hear rather than the truth.

Terry is kind of the mouthpiece/teachers' liason. He's the only person you can ever really talk to about any problems and you'll never get a straight answer. One time the water in my apartment building was shut off for maintenance work (though I didn't know that at the time). I called Terry to find out why it was off and was told they were "rationing" the water.

They are losing a lot of foreign teachers over the next few months (and 3 have already left this year - contract ending, not mindnight runs) and nobody wants to renew their contract. They pay 1.92M for 120 hours, calculated on a "by the minute" pay scale. You've got to work a horrendous schedule to hit that 120 hours, and the overtime is only 16,000/hour.

They are also a strange franchise. They're affiliated with Geos in Japan and are technically called BCM/Geos. They take direction about all kinds of policies and procedures from the Gangnam office. Teachers' nametags, training sessions, curriculum, etc. However, if you have any questions about any of this, you will be told, "that's how Gangnam said to do it, so that's how we're doing it." If it's anything you disagree with and would like to find out a reason for, you can only talk to Terry. This wouldn't be too bad, if the Bundang school followed the Gangnam pay scale. At Gangnam you get paid 60 minutes for a 50-minute class. Not so at Bundang. I could tolerate the stupid stuff if we'd gotten paid the same as the other locations, but that wasn't the case.

The kicker is what they did to one teacher who left recently. I found out about this via an email he sent to another former teacher:

Quote:
he said that on his last day at BCM, they made him sign a document that he would not tarnish their reputation, and if he did, he could be sued for libel! They were going to delay paying him if he didn't sign.


For that reason alone I would suggest that this school be avoided like the proverbial plague. I left before they started doing that, but I still got slightly ripped off at the end of my contract. I had to pay them a "cleaning fee" of 30,000 for my apartment and another 30,000 for "dry cleaning" my linens. Neither of which were done. They moved a new teacher into my apartment the day after I left. EDIT: I've been informed that she didn't move in the day after I left - but the apartment was not cleaned before she arrived. She had to clean it herself when she moved in. (Not that I left it in bad shape, it was inspected by a manager prior to my departure.)

With the questions about Julice's reputation, and knowing everything I've just said - could you feel comfortable going into that situation?

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http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=7389

rick

Joined: 21 Feb 2003
Posts: 21

Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2003 4:21 pm
Post subject:

I'm also a former teacher from that school, and I strongly agree with Walter Mitty. I don't think anything else needs to be said about the school.
On Julice, I found her to be a good recruiter. She's a very nice person, and is generally helpful if you have problems. She'll talk to the school if you have problems.
If you want to teach adults, you should look at ELS. They have more teachers, so you don't have to do the split shift so much if at all. They have a pretty professional reputation and you'll have a foreigner as a supervisor which is probably a plus in most cases. Direct English is also supposed to be decent, including the one in Bundang.