Korean Job Discussion Forums

mcorteau · Joined: 31 May 2009

Does anyone have any information regarding YBM ECC, specifically their Gwangmyeong branch? I am considering taking a position with them at this branch. I am looking for something with an explanation to your conclusion instead of simply "they suck", "money stealers", or "don't go there." Please any help would be greatly appreciated. Is this a better bet to a public school? THANKS!!!

Karea · Joined: 07 Jul 2009

I was considering working at a YBM ECC yet was put off by a former teacher who said the working hours were "long and tiring" along with lots of extra stuff like grading and assessments (though not sure if this rings true for all Hagwons).

From what I can gather you'll get paid on time (if it's a company owned one anyway).

I'm not going to Korea just to save money, I want to have a life too, so like I said, that's the main reason I turned the job down.

timeo · Joined: 19 Dec 2007

Does anyone actually prefer teaching in hagwons over public schools? During my year here, I've yet to meet one hagwon teacher who doesn't wish he or she was working for public school instead.

Mr. BlackCat · Joined: 30 Nov 2005 Location: Insert witty remark HERE

My experience with ECC:

Lots, lots, lots of work. Little, little, little benefits. I guess every brance is a bit different, but those 120+ reports per month seem standard (say goodbye to at least one weekend a month for those), and I hope you like your vacation in random Wednesday bits.

I hear Poly and CDI is just as much work, but lots more pay. Or you could go for an easy hagwon job for, well, still more pay than ECC.

okayden223 · Joined: 05 Jun 2009 Location: Incheon

I think it's one of those "the grass is always greener" things. I worked in a PS last year and although everything was very "by the book," I really felt pretty isolated at my job. People were very nice, but I had no one to talk to about various things that just don't register to most Koreans. It was a little harder to meet people too, because I didn't have those other FTs to show me the ropes. But now I'm teaching at a hagwon and I miss working in the mornings and having a reliable co-teacher. On the other hand I'm making a bit more and I can make plans to do things with my co-workers which is nice. It really is what you make of it...neither is perfect...just be sure that the finances are good with any hagwon you go to and that the FTs have no complaints other than the usual stuff, i.e. "everything is so last minute, we have to work the occasional saturday, boss asks me to do too much sometimes," because you'll always find those little annoyances.

romano812 · Joined: 09 Dec 2008

I worked for YBM I.A. for a year. At first it was great, but then a new director/ principal came in and the place went to crap. She fired a bunch of Korean staff and increased the work load for foreign teachers. She changed our pay schedule from monthly to session back and forth so she did not have to pay overtime. She made teachers do workshops on days off, and since there were no children in the building it didn't count as a work day, and thus there was no extra pay.
When hiring one teacher she even said "You get a nice 40 minute break in the afternoon at 2:00 p.m.". What she didn't tell the teacher was that there was no lunch break.
I could go on and on, but you get the point. I've been in Korea for three years and up until recently it has been great. Now, however, with the exchange rate and the added workload and lack of holidays, Korea IMO is just no longer worth while. Or rather it makes other countries such as China and Japan more attractive.
Anyways, no matter what you do, read your contract over carefully and try to think of every possible scenerio that might arise, because this is business and most will try to screww you.
Good Luck.

Scouse Mouse · Joined: 07 Jan 2007 Location: Cloud #9

I worked in PS for around 15 months, and then quit for a hagwon. The shorter holidays were a pain, but other than that EVERYTHING was better at the hagwon. The work is meaningful as you see real progress in your students abilities and you get to have a real relationship with them. Not being made to deskwarm was great - sure it meant you had to teach more, but you are at work for fewer hours per day and being busy all day helps time fly by. There is nothing worse than going to work 'just because' when the rest of the teachers are away on vacation.

crlb2006 · Joined: 03 Mar 2008 Location: Seongbuk-gu, Seoul

i had a positive experience with YBM ECC. its a lot of work and no holidays to speak of, but they followed their contract to a tee and were fair in all respects. i think you could do a lot worse, especially as a first job in korea

iggyb · Joined: 29 Oct 2003

romano812 brings up a point that makes the ESL industry in Korea so hard to work in, and it might be a reason why public school jobs are better in some regards (I don't know about that for sure. I have no experience with it.)

Hakwons can go from good to horrible with a simple personnel change, and they often go through Korean staff regularly.

2 out of the 4 hakwons I worked in had bosses who hired a manager to come in to act as a buffer between him and the staff --- and to "crack the whip" to make things "run better" --- causing things to go to poo in a hurry and resulting in people eventually fleeing left and right.

But they wouldn't learn that you can't treat Western ESL instructors like slaves and have a business that isn't a basketcase. They seemed to think that it was just a matter of getting the "right kind" of instructors in...

Hightop · Joined: 11 Jun 2003

I worked at Gwangmyeong ECC before. Since then the old boss has gone and one of the senior teachers is now the boss which is a good thing. The boss being the person who sets the time table and who you have to go to if you have a problem. There is also a new wonjangnim who I heard is a be-arch, but you will not have to talk with her much.

The good things about working there.
-There is very little class prep as you co-teacher will tell you what page to teach and you just teach it.
-There are a couple of teaching options. 1, teach kindergarten in the morning and some elementary in the afternoon and finish about 5-6. 2, only one or two kindergarten classes a week and teach until 9-10. I used to like teaching the kindergarten kids as you see them every day and can see them progress quickly.
-You will get paid on time and in full.
-Cheolsan is not a bad area, there are plenty of places to eat and it is not too far from anywhere. It is on line 7 and close to line 1.
-The school was renovated in 2006/2007 so looks nice on the inside.

Bad things about working there.
-Vacation time. You have to take the vacation when they say. There is little chance for a whole week off. You get 10 days off a year but these are organised so that there are 20 working days in each session/month. This ends up giving you a random Tuesday or Thursday off when you don't really want it. Then when it comes to summer/winter vacation you end up with a Saturday-Wednesday vacation. If you want to take extra vacation you can try to ask but it is unpaid.
-The hours end up being a drag. 7 classes in a row with only 10 min breaks. Terrible.
-Low pay.
-Split shifts if you teach kindergarten in the morning.
-Micro-management of the teachers. But this might have changed with the new boss.
-Schedule changes each month. Rarely do you have the same timetable for a semester. But I think most hagwons are like this.
-Weekend training courses. Each month one of the six foreign teachers had to attend these courses. The boss would send the teacher who she was not happy with that month as a punishment. So you ended up with teachers who teach kindergarten attending middle school training courses and teachers who teach middle school kids attending workshops for putting on kindergarten productions.
-The new dress code that was being implemented when I left. Ties for men, just stupid in a hagwon.
-Parents interfering with the students and class. eg; Mum, "I want Minji in level 6 class because that is the good class" Teacher, "But Minji, bless her soul, can not read or write, she does not even know the alphabet" Mum, "Minji level six or we go to Ding Dang Dong across the street" Teacher, "Ok Minji is in level 6 class"

Hightop · Joined: 11 Jun 2003

Oh I just reread your OP. IMHO take the public school over Gwangmyeong ECC. Even if you are a first time teacher I believe Public school is better, just work well with your co-teacher.

mcorteau · Joined: 31 May 2009

Thanks for all the answers. They were very helpful. it is clear that I have a lot of things to think about with this school.