Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ernie]

it seems like every year around this time, things start to go south. september to february is great, but as soon as the new semester rolls around, i begin questioning why i'm here in the first place. (it sure as hell isn't the money!) i realize that SMOE is a big organization who probably couldn't care less about what some dumbass on the internet thinks. this is not meant to bash SMOE, it's meant to help them improve their service, especially for their workers.

the problem can be boiled down to 2 main concerns: consistency and choice. as an adult coming from the other side of the world, it is imperative that what i agree upon in the contract is followed to the T. if you take your contracts less seriously, that is your choice. i choose to honor mine, and i demand that the other party do so as well. also where there is an element of choice specifically mentioned in the contract (e.g. housing), i demand that i be given the right (and more importantly, the ability) to exercise that option. anything less is a violation of our agreement.

first, some good points. my job is great. i really enjoy the co-workers, students, and staff at my school, and we work well together. the problems that arise really have nothing to do with them. i enjoy living in korea. there are times when things get under my skin, but overall, i've enjoyed my life here. this is not an anti-korea rant. the people i've met here have been great.

the biggest problem for me has always been HOUSING. yes, we all know that 'the korean system' is bewildering, obtuse, and maddening to most westerners. key money is a serious obstacle that prevents many teachers from being able to find their own apartment. there are random 'maintenance fees' that 'every korean must pay' that seem to arise from out of nowhere. it is impossible to discover these things by asking, since it's impossible to inquire about something that you don't know exists. you need an informed person to tell you, 'oh, i should mention this, and this, and this'. koreans, by definition it seems, will not tell you these things (even if you ask specifically 'What will my monthly utilities consist of?') because their definition of 'utility' includes anything that 'every korean must pay'.

ok, i understand that SOMEONE has to pay for things, and if i live somewhere then i am responsible for these things. however, i require advance knowledge of what i am required to cover, especially since i ASKED YOU SPECIFICALLY before i moved in. i'm here to save money, and i like to know what my expenses are, so i can choose to live elsewhere if i am not satisfied. housing is a MAJOR factor that affects my happiness in life. if it's included in the contract, i consider it to be part of my pay. if my housing is sub-par, you are short-changing me and that is unacceptable.

i think the way to overcome this problem is to address the 2 main problems i mentioned earlier: consistency and choice.

consistency is critical for a large organization like SMOE. i realize that there is going to be an element of variation amongst different schools. that's the nature of the job. however, certain issues specifically outlined in the contract should NOT be up for interpretation by individual schools. the person who signed my contract was SMOE, not the principal of my school. therefore, SMOE is responsible for upholding the contract, not my school. one simple way to address the housing problem would be to hire someone to oversee the housing situation. they could hire *gasp* a foreigner who could co-ordinate incoming and outgoing teachers, find appropriate (and similar) accommodation for everyone and be a mediator who can resolve disputes. this person could inform new teachers about what to expect with their apartment, including location, size, amenities, and utilities. seems pretty simple to me.

choice is the other main concern. as an adult travelling halfway across the world to be here, it is impossible for me to arrange housing beforehand. i am trusting my employer, SMOE, to help me find somewhere to live. according to the contract, i also have the choice to receive a housing allowance in lieu of the housing provided. what is crucial is that i am given the necessary information required to find an apartment on my own. seoul is a big city. saying 'you'll be working in seoul' doesn't narrow things down a whole lot. i need advance knowledge of my school's location in order to make a good decision about where to live. i also need time to find an apartment after receiving said information.

the solution to this problem is simple as well: time management. why not plan a couple months ahead and have things ready for the incoming person? give me the information i need and i might even take care of most of the work for you. at least then if my apartment sucks it's my own damn fault. if i don't mind living in a rat hole, then i can save money. if a nice apartment is important to me, then i can pay some out of my own pocket. part of being an adult is having control over my living conditions and my money.

feel free to respond to my concerns, comment upon them, and add your own. i realize that organizing hundreds of teachers isn't the easiest thing in the world, but with our input maybe we can improve the system.

[matthews_world]

First of all, you are an English teacher. Please use caps.

[Pink Freud]

"That's just how Korean's operate."

matthew's world:

You are, presumably, an English teacher.

Please use apostrophes correctly.

[ernie]

of course i know these things already. i have set aside money for the next contract (IF i renew), but unless i know where my school is going to be, it's an exercise in futility. knowing that something sucks doesn't make it suck any less.

the interpretation of a contract is not a relative thing. the contract is where the buck stops. period. if the contract is not going to be followed, then i'd rather not have one. at least then i wouldn't assume that anyone is obliged to do anything for me.

the fact that planning 'isn't done in korea' means that something needs to be done about it. hiding behind the cultural excuse is buck-passing at its finest. i respect korean culture as a whole but i have utter disdain for this aspect of it.

[LOVYDOVY]

Ernie:

I agree with you 100%. My school couldn't comprehend why I hate the place they got for me.

It had no shower. They connected an old hose to the sink and told me to take a shower with it. The restroom didn't even have a space for me to stand and use the hose. The whole place would get wet, which I despised it. There was no sink counter so I can place my shampoo, conditioner, soap, etc.... I had to come into the room to use the towels. The floor was always wet. It probably could be easy for a guy, but not for a girl with long hair.

Plus the room/studio (17 by 13 feet) didn't have a window. How is that possible? I didn't sign up to live in a jail.

It had no kitchen counter, no table and chair to sit down, not enough space for one anyway.

The washing machine didn't work for the first month. I had to wash my clothes by hand. The whole time water keep coming out of the washing machine. That meant more mosquitoes (and in the bathroom). No matter what I did, I couldn't get rid of the mosquitoes. The place was on the second floor. The first floor was a trash dump. That place made me sick.

I told them every day that this is unacceptable. My conclusion is that they were deaf. So I left after 2 months. There were many other problems. The housing was the major thing. It has been 4 months since I left but I still have nightmares about that place.

[prideofidaho]

[ernie]

last year i got told that i was changing schools the day before i was supposed to move out. i told them i wanted to find my own apartment, and could stay in a love motel or at a friend's for a few weeks. they showed me an apartment and said 'you must take this room'. i asked about my bills. i was told that my monthly bill will include x, y, and z, and the gas bill will depend upon how much gas is used. the apartment and the expenses seemed reasonable, so i agreed.

what they didn't mention is that 'how much gas is used' means how much the building uses split among the number of tenants! since i have NO control over the temperature of my apartment, my room is ridiculously hot AND i have to pay extra for it. when i asked the landlady about this, she said it was 'impossible' to either turn off the heat to my room (which i can understand) or to divide up the gas bill among the tenants who actually WANT the heat on full blast, 24/7. this is a compromise that a child could work out, but alas, it is 'impossible'.

my problem is that i specifically asked for a rundown of the utilities and this before i moved in, and those were the conditions upon which we both agreed. i did my best to cover my bases, without getting into a debate about the microscopic details of the agreement, such as what the meaning of 'is' is. the bait and switch tactic seems to be endemic among the english education business in korea.

yes, crap like this will always happen and apologists will always say that. i'm not 'freaking out'. i'm trying to reach a compromise but always seem to come up against brick walls reinforced with bullshit.

[SHANE02]

[prideofidaho]

[Bibbitybop]

SMOE has been told numerous times, individually by teachers and professionally by groups, that housing is a huge problem for many SMOE foreign teachers.

Look up threads about the Co-op Residence at Dongdaemun Stadium for some more horror stories.

The fact of the matter is that SMOE doesn't care. If they did, they wouldn't allow people to be placed in the Co-op or in situations the OP and others are discussing. The head office is too understaffed to handle hundreds of foreign teachers, but nothing changes year after year and they lose good teachers because of problems, including housing.

[ernie]

i guess i should clarify that my current apartment doesn't suck. it's relatively new, and the location isn't too bad. if you're cold all the time, you'd probably love the heating situation. my problems are: 1) I am uncomfortable in MY house, 2) I have to PAY to be that way, and 3) I wasn't adequately informed about the details of our arrangement, even though i asked specifically about them.

none of these problems are inherent in the apartment, except for the fact that there aren't separate gas meters for each apartment. i want to reach a compromise, but anything other than me being both uncomfortably hot and paying through the nose for it is considered 'unreasonable'.

[sigmundsmith]

Agree with what Bippty said. SMOE's job is to interview, recruit, place teachers and to allocate a budget for each district depending on the number of NT's they have in each district. Then, it is the districts responsibility to distribute funds to each school that has a NT.

SMOE basically washes their hands of you once you are in the school. Housing? That is left up to the school, not SMOE or the district. And of course, if a school can save money by putting you in unsuitable accommodation while diverting those funds somewhere else in the school, they will.

You mentioned why you can't be told a couple of months in advanced of where you will be located in Seoul. Well, to break it down this way. For SMOE, at each recruitment time (Feb/Aug) they are given 'x' amount of money. This determines how many NT's they will recruit for that intake. Once the names are chosen, each district will be allocated a number of NT's. The problem is, the district does not know how many NT's they will get (elementary, middle and now high school) until 2 weeks or sometimes 1 week before school starts. So you really can't prepare your own accommodation beforehand.

Like any organization in Korea, SMOE likes to recruit new people. New as in uninformed with little knowledge about the in's and out's of all aspects regarding English teaching and living in Seoul. Then, a new teacher will not know about different accommodation standards until it is too late - and thats the way they like it. They expect you to put up with it for a year. And if you go you go. They have this mentality that there are many more fish out there to replace you.

Just on a side note peoples: English education is very important in Korea and too Korean's. But we as English teachers are not important to the equation.

I know. That sounds like a contradicton but it is something that I have come to realize. We are an extremely disposable commodity as individuals.

Your residence sounds appalling. There are some things you can do. You could ask your co-teacher et al if they would like to live there? If you are planning on re-signing with your school, stipulate that they must find suitable accommodation for you that you agree upon before you sign the next contract. If you are a good teacher and the school wants you back they will find a way.

My first year was in the co-op. I did exactly what I just suggested and we went out one day looking at apartments/offictels and a found a great place that I have now called home for the last year and a half.

Good luck with everything and I hope erything works out in the end

[TheUrbanMyth]

[ernie]

for me, the heating isn't a benefit. it's a negative thing. my house is TOO hot. and i'm being forced to pay for it to be that way. the first day the heating came on, i asked the landlady to turn it off and she said ok. why wasn't the fact that this is 'impossible' mentioned to me then? when i paid my next month's bill, the increase was only 5000 won or so, so i didn't mind. what she didn't mention was that the gas bills are 2 months behind! i found that out the expensive way!

i guess someone could just lie and say that they don't want the heat and not pay for it. i immediately asked for the gas to remain off until i request that it be turned on.

"Some months it's colder and you use more gas, some times it's cooler and you use less. "

what you've said illustrates the EXACT point i'm trying to make. "Some months it's colder and YOU use more gas". YOU as in ME, as in no one else! if i want to use something, i pay for it. if you don't want to use it, then you don't pay for it. simple stuff, really.