Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Horangi Munshin]

Living on 300,000 a month? Yeah you'd have to be very frugal! I doubt many people could keep that up.

[runthegauntlet]

[ontheway]

Working long, hard hours isn't great fun, but it's actually easier than the many corporate positions I've held.

Coming to Korea was originally a post-retirement fun idea for a year. Having no concerns about the actual pay, I found a recruiter and thought I'd try teaching, help some kids and see Asia and experience what it was like to really live and work in Korea. No worries. If it didn't work I could just leave and travel instead.

The recruiter promised me 6 hours per day, 3 to 9:30 with a dinner break. I never worried about pay levels or OT levels. I assumed there would be enough money to live on and that was enough.

Upon arrival, I found out I had a triple split shift, with morning classes and lunchtime classes. 15 hours of paid overtime that gradually changed to 20. (I never found out if the recruiter lied or had been lied to. Maybe both.) There were more than a dozen teachers at the school. All had OT. We we're all so busy, we never even met all the teachers.

Many of these teachers with 3 or 4 hours of OT per day were pulling in Huge monthly pay. I eventually went over 2 million in overtime per month and that left little time to spend it. My top month was 4.1 million total net pay. I kept telling the owner I didn't want the OT and didn't come for money, so eventually, I didn't stay after that first year. Still, these hours were shorter and the work far easier than most of my corporate jobs. And, it was all new and interesting.

Of course any of the teachers could have refused the OT. Only one did. As a group, the teachers used the owner's need for teachers into a chance to get the OT rates raised instead. I decided that the adult classes were interesting and my chance to meet people. This turned out to have been a wise decision in the end. The people I met were much more important than the money.

So, yes, I know many teachers who have saved more than $25,000 per year in Korea.

[antoniothegreat]

to summarize...

if you come when the won has value (not now) and work 15 hours OT a week, and get paid for it, and live like a homeless person, maybe you can save $25k a year.

[Viaje]

First I must say that this is a very interesting and enjoyable website, even if I never make it to Korea. It is because of the quality of people that are posting. I am more used to trying to weed through postings at other sites or Yahoo groups, where people have trouble turning a phrase, so this is a refreshing change. And it makes sense that people who are willing to spend their day teaching do have something to say.
About my questions about pay and tutoring and the potential in Korea. Thanks to all for the varied responses. I do feel better that its possible to make some money, or was possible--the current exchange rate and the sinking economy, I realize makes it all a little tenuous now. My situation is that I do need to earn; I am in debt and the banks are frothing at the mouth--rumors are that they will soon reduce credit allowances and raise the rates to as high as 32% on those who can't pay the higher minimum payments. Obama made his first prime time news conference today and the situation is dire.
Anyway, anyone who has something to say regarding the basic question of how to earn money or more money teaching in Korea, keep it coming. I have heard it all from you can make 1300 a month and not a penny more to the 25k is yours for signing up promise. Same goes for how risky it is or isn't to dare to even trade English lessons with a pretty woman in exchange for Korean lessons, not to mention anything more risque. I received my first PM (I can't reply to it or send pm's because I'm new here) but hopefully that will change soon, and anyone who is inclined to PM me I do truly appreciate it.

[Goku]

It's totally possible to save that amount.

Let's say you make 1.8 working at a public school

And then you do privates and rake in about 1 million (which is serious low balling)

You can easily live off the 1 million every month, still do a bit of splurging. 1 million is like 250k a week. That doesn't seem like a lot but a weeks worth of food is about 70-100k depending on how much of a fatty you are.

And then going out for beers, clothing, throw that in the mix and you live pretty decent.

The whole legality of privates... well I don't do them, I don't know why because my friends talk about how much they get out of it, but my spare time is dedicated to the video games

[maingman]

Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 11:00 pm Post subject: .

What about a recruiter site.. that seemed pretty happy to
claim that a night in sSEOUL was costing about 20 000


Reach to teach??