Korean Job Discussion Forums

[haopengyou]

I scanned through the forum and what I read is cheat, cheat, cheat, cheat! Is it really so bad? What percentage of teachers going to Korea have these kinds of problems? Am I more likely to get cheated if I am a licensed teacher? Which kinds of schools are more likely to try to cheat me vs. just making dumb mistakes?

[teachergirltoo]

There is no discrimination as to who will get cheated here. However, there are many excellent teaching situations here too. If a person is job hunting just assertively ask lots and lots of questions. Ask to speak to present or former teachers. That is something most people who have been in the workforce for several years before coming over here do anyway with any job, anywhere. I was a public school teacher in Canada and America before coming here, as well as Taiwan and Thailand, and thankfully I found a good job here also, and love living here. If you are a teacher in North America before coming here then I suggest teaching high school or above. In many situations, you are given the freedom to develop your courses, based on your experience, and that is very gratifying. Not everyone has a bad experience here - there are those of us that really enjoy it.

[Real Reality]

Poll: Who has been abused or exploited by their employers since they arrived in Korea?
Yes I have: 70% [44]
No I have not: 29% [18]
Total Votes: 62
http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=131898

Recent Uni gigs - You gotta be kidding, right?
http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=137721

Late pay... worth the wait?
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=37989

Poll: Have you been paid late in Korea?
Never - I must be lucky! 32% [48]
Once or twice - no big deal, minor annoyance.. 21% [31]
Several times - hate it! 20% [30]
Several times - but I understand the culture, doesn't bother me... 4% [7]
Many times - sigh... 16% [24]
WTF! I've never been paid on time! ARGH!!! 4% [7]
Total Votes : 147
From the Job Discussion Board, last post seen on Aug 16, 2007
the thread or topic was deleted or moved
http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=18732

Discrimination Persists as Foreign Population Grows
By Kim Soe-jung, JoongAng Daily (September 3, 2007)
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2880037

Banks Cite Non-existent Law on Expat Cards
By Kim Soe-jung and Park Yeon-soo, JoongAng Daily (January 28, 2008)
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2885625

UN Concern at 'Ethnocentric' Korea
Chosun Ilbo (August 20, 2007)
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200708/200708200011.html

Transparency International Says Korea's Corruption Worsens
By Kim Tae-jong, Korea Times (September 26, 2007)
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2007/09/117_10820.html

[littlelisa]

I came over because I was originally going to go to China to teach (practice my Chinese) but got lured over here by a swing dance friend who pointed out that there's a lot more (and better) dancing here, which is absolutely true. I came back because I have some awesome friends and because I still love the swing dance scene here.

My last job did try to screw me over, but there was someone above my director, so I just went over his head and came out ahead (he got demoted and moved pretty permanently to another department). This job doesn't look like I'll have problems (yet). But there are a lot of teachers here at my school now that have resigned multiple years, and others who I know who left without problems, so I'm not worried.

I highly suggest you do your research (this site is great for that; just take the negativity with a grain of salt) and ask a lot of questions to your school/recruiter/current teachers/previous teachers.

Korea can be a great place to live. I love living here. Working here has its challenges sometimes (particularly where western logic meets/clashes with eastern.. anything, like Korean work culture vs western ideas of productivity), but hey, if you're going to work abroad you'll have some culture shock no matter where you go, yeah?