Korean Job Discussion Forums

[winterfall]

I didn't want to ask my recruiter thought it'd look a bit shady. She mentioned that I'm getting a resettlement allowance of 1,300,000 Won and that teachers already in Korea will also get this amount. But we have to show an itinerary at orientation. She didn't mention the extra 300,000 settlement bonus that other people are mentioning. But, I already got a place so I got the housing allowance.

Does this mean that we get this 'Fixed' amount or the resettlement allowance is adjusted to the costs listed in your itinerary?

I don't mind bouncing around a bit if it means I can pocket the difference. I'll be able to pick up some nice souvenirs on the way.

[Ramen]

[egrog1717]

The 1.3 million is to cover the cost of your flight to Korea... You will probably get it on your first month's pay...
(This is only for new teachers starting their FIRST SMOE contract this August)

The 300k settlement allowance is different... You'll get that from your school almost as soon as you get your bank account (which is after you get your ARC) and you can use it to cover things for your apartment and the like...

[winterfall]

[egrog1717]

[eac02]

i may be completely off base and wrong but this is my take on what your recruiter said:

everyone gets the 300,000W settlement allowance to help you get by before you get your first pay check and to get extra stuff for your apt. you'll get that money as soon as you open a bank account, although some schools will give it to you in cash. i had to wait a couple weeks to get mine because it took me a while to open a bank account.

the extra 1,000,000W is probably the money the school gets. all schools get 1,000,000W when they get a new teacher; however, from what i've been told we are not really suppose to know about that. i know some people's school gave them that money in cash, other people's school took them shopping, and some people's school didn't give them anything.

for example, my school gave me nothing. seriously they gave me absolutely nothing, not a thing. i was in temporary housing for a week when i got here and they gave me some used bedding from the teachers lounge. my apt didn't have a desk/ desk chair (actually it didn't have any chairs at all), a kitchen table (i don't even have room in my apt for a kitchen table) or a microwave- the contract says your school "may" provide all those things, but in reality the should provide those things. i pulled out my contract and pointed that out and they took me to e-mart and let me pick out what i wanted. they definitely did not spend the whole 1,000,000W

so when your recruiter said 1,300,000W think s/he meant the 300,000W you get plus the 1,000,000W your school gets, but you don't have control over the 1,000,000W

i am renewing my contract this aug and my school has agreed to move me to another apt (i have had lots of problems with mine). i'm hoping they might use some of that left over money if the new apt is missing some things but i'm not holding my breath.

if this is your first contract and you are not in korea (actually i'm not sure if it matters it your already in korea) you get 1,300,000W to cover the cost of your flight over.

hope some of that info helps

[winterfall]

I work with SMOE. I gave my school my bank account info in the first week. And its already been about 2 weeks and I haven't received my settlement allowance yet. I don't wanna to come off as the money grubbing foreigner. But, I'm almost out of the money I brought with me and I've run out of stuff to eat.

Is the Settlement money something the school has to give or does SMOE give it to us?

I doubt it'd have any effect on getting my settlement money. But I've been so busy with my school that I haven't been able to stop by my district office to pick up my health check results. Does this explain the delay????

[Bucky]

My school told me that the settlement allowance should be in there but I checked my account a few times this week and it hasn't arrived yet. So it's not just you who's still waiting.

[Marissa0687]

Your school administrator is responsible for getting you your settlement allowance, not the SMOE. Your school's administration should have gotten a packet about the foreign teacher's contract, responsibilities, school's responsibilities, etc. sometime before or when you were hired. I don't have my contract on hand, but I think the 300,000 and 1.3 depend on whether or not you were already in Korea or not, and if this is your first year with the SMOE. I don't think you get the 1.3 entrance allowance if you were already in Korea, but I could be wrong. The 300,000 is a one-time allowance to help you get things for your apartment. You should receive your 300,000 once you give them your bank account information. If you've already waited two weeks, you need to talk to your co-teacher about this. They can talk to your school's administration and see what's up. If they continue to drag their feet, you can always say you're going to call SMOE, which may persuade them to hurry up. Most schools don't want to attract the SMOE's attention since it generally makes them lose face.

As for the 1.3, assuming you qualify, I believe Jon said at orientation that this would be coming with the first month's paycheck. That being said, my school is paying the 1.3 and 300,000 in one lump deposit this week. Unfortunately, that's not something you can rush the school on as the payout is at their discretion.

Talk to your co-teacher tomorrow to see what the hold up is.

[reactionary]

My school said the 300,000 won will come in my first paycheck. That's not what they're SUPPOSED to do, but as long as it is indeed there in my paycheck I'm not gonna make a big fuss about it. Bigger fish to fry than getting 300,000 won a couple weeks later.