Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ama]

Yes, I have already searched for the school, but I haven't been able to find anything about this branch.

Is this a new branch?

Any info on this school is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[iammac2002]

Avalon is a bad bad school. Stay far far away from it. I was going to work for them this year, but they told me lie after lie, and they ended up losing me and 2 other foreigners to the school I work for now.

The guy who picked me up from the train station when I went for an interview had epilepsy, so it was really scary driving around with a dude jerking his head back and smoking and talking on the phone while driving!

And, they still owe me like 50 000 Won for going all 4 hours there.

[ama]

What branch are you at? From what I have read, Avalon has some good schools. Do they vary a lot?

[i]

Don't know if they are good or not. But many parents are convinced it is one of the better (if not best) ESL schools for kids. They seem to brag that their kid goes there. However, there seem to be no bragging rights with Toss English, English Moo Moo or E Bo Young, around my neighborhood.

[DeLaRed]

[iammac2002]

It was (back then a month old) Avalon branch in Uijeongbu. 2 People who actually worked there for that one month feel the same way.

[thekoreanwhisperer]

Avalon/ LangCon Sinnae Campus


서울 중랑구 신내동 봉화산로 215 낙원빌딩

랭콘잉글리쉬
(Olympiad) LangCon/ Avalon English Shinnae Campus

Seoul, Jungnang-gu (Jungrang-gu) Sinnae-dong
Bonghwasan-ro 215 Nakwon Building

Let’s start from the beginning…

I worked at this hagwon only for three months, which I will explain why it was so short momentarily. I am a certified teacher from the USA and I taught in Korea for one year before getting this job. I will explain the good and the bad.

The Good:
- They always pay on time and in full
- The owners are hardly there and they generally do not harass the foreign teachers. If you ever have a problem (with housing or documents) they are quick to help you
- The rooms provided are close to a subway station and you are able to walk to work. Accommodations are basic, mediocre for Korea
- You will live next to COSTCO (awesome)
- The students are generally pretty good
- The pay is about average for a hagwon job in Seoul

The Bad:
- Within the last 9 months the entire Korean staff quit (this is 9 teachers) because they were not respected as human beings and they were being overworked
- Because of the constant changing of staff, the owners decided to hire a new manager. They put all faith in her, as she was to become the savior of this hagwon. The only problem is that she is not only incompetent, and has never managed anything before, but she is also racist and xenophobic. She decided that the Korean staff quit because foreigners were lazy (of course the foreign teachers are what kept this hagwon afloat during the turmoil of constant staff turnover)
- Before the new director came to power, the contract was followed very consistently, and problems were dealt with in a reasonable manner, but after she took control, she blatantly disregarded the contract
- During this time, I was looking for a job, and I notified them that they might expect a call. After receiving a call from a director, they became insulted that I was looking for a job, and thought that that was notice that I was quitting. For clarification, if I were to quit, I would give a two month written notice as required by the contract. They instead decided to terminate me without written notice (against the contract) simply for looking at other jobs. I can only assume that they did not want to do this because they were legally in the wrong. They told me that I was being fired because I sent a resume out, but my work was fine and that was the only reason for termination.

There are better jobs in Korea and in Seoul than in this hagwon. Stay away unless you can handle being bossed around by and incompetent boss who has an inflated attitude and will disregard you completely and treat you like a peace of spoiled meat.

[PRagic]

I do feel for you given the fact that you were summarily terminated, but I'm always amazed when people here approach employment as if they were 'back home'.

IF you look for another job while employed here, it MUST be done exceedingly quietly; in secret might be a better phrase. Notions of face and trust here dictate this.

Hopefully somebody out there will learn from this. And I hope you landed on your feet.