Korean Job Discussion Forums

bassist33 · Joined: 07 Jul 2009 Location: Mok-dong, Seoul

I'm currently sifting through the mountains of positions available in Korea and I'd like to hear from you guys what your favorite teaching hours are. I enjoy going out and having fun, but I want to know what you guys think are the best hours for enjoying all Korea has to offer while working.

If you're answer is other, please explain..

Carla · Joined: 21 Nov 2008

Ukon · Joined: 29 Jan 2008

9-4pm or 1-7pm

Leave your evenings free....would you work a 1pm-9pm job back home? Hell no...

Having your evenings free allows you to do far more...Nothing happens in the mornings or noon becuase the majority of people are working.

EDIT: if your working for a hagwon, try to negotiate no office hours....I know friends who only work 2-6, but end up being stuck there for 3 hours thanks to "office hours" in the contract.

Snake Doctor · Joined: 14 Jul 2009

The best hours are the ones that pay the most. If you're in it for the money, that is.

Chambertin · Joined: 07 Jun 2009 Location: Gunsan

Ukon,

Those majority of people working are the ones working in the jobs you need to do business with. If you work later in the evening then you have your morning free to lounge, clear up business affairs, etc.

Most people accumulate more stress on their lunch hour trying to get to the bank than a stuntman on a movie site. Have you ever seen a happy face at the DMV? Multiply that by lunch...

Unless you are one of those weirdoes who cant stay up past midnight and think the night life begins at 6pm then go afternoon shifts. Things get much more entertaining after the sun goes down here and guess what, you get those extra 4 hours to sober up those who enjoy your company dont.

To each their own though I guess..

(EDIT): My super bonus about the evening shift is weekend travel. That day trip just turned into a 4 day weekend. Hop a late train / bus to destination. Drop in at club, preferably with friends. Crash one night at net cafe or buddies place, check into hotel and you have two more days to spend. Hop on the Monday early ride out of town and you have plenty of time to shower and download the pictures.

lotusbrick76 · Joined: 10 Aug 2009

AFTERNOONS! i'm not a morning person

little_kitty · Joined: 23 Jul 2009

I worked the graveyard shift (10pm to 7am) in Japan. The money was awesome...walking around like zombie during daylight hours (when things are actually open) was not so awesome.

Go for afternoons.

bassist33 · Joined: 07 Jul 2009 Location: Mok-dong, Seoul

I've never even considered the night shift! I did that one summer at a local factory between semesters. Never going there again.. Thanks for all the replies. I was leaning towards afternoon shifts, but now I'm pretty set on it!

saw6436 · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Daejeon, ROK

I work 9am to 9pm. Its OK.

Cohiba · Joined: 01 Feb 2005

seonsengnimble · Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 4:27 am Post subject:

As mentioned a couple of times before, afternoon/evening is the way to go. If you want to go to a doctor, the bank, your embassy, or any government office, you'll be thankful to have your mornings free.

I also prefer to come in early to get any extra work done rather than stay late. After I've been teaching for a full shift, the last thing I want to do is grade papers or write evaluations. If you teach 9-5 or 8-4, chances are, your school won't be open until around 20 minutes before your first class.

Conrad B Hart · Joined: 27 Jul 2009

I'm not a morning person either. But as soon as you get your body clock going it's fairly easy to get up in the mornings.
The best hours for me would probably be mid-morning, or failing that a 9-5. I would like to keep evenings free as much as possible so I could go to the gym, sports train etc. If I worked afternoons then I'd probably just waste the morning sleeping late and eating brunch anyway, and after work (9pm-ish) it would probably be too late to go to the gym or sports train (with a team).
But as stated here, It would be a pain in the ass if you needed to take a holiday just to visit the doctor or do some banking. I take it there aren't really any banks or doctors who offer after office hours services?

withnail · Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Location: Seoul, South Korea.

What always amazes me are the apologists for the split shifts! Here I mean hours between 630am and noon, then between 600 and 1000pm. This is what you get at Adult hagwons. I did it for just over a year.

Deadly... Shocked

Ed Provencher · Joined: 15 Oct 2006

I have the most energy in the mornings so I like to study Korean, run errands, and exercise before work starts at 3 or 4pm.

The only time the schedule gets in the way is when I want to travel on the weekends. I either have to catch the last bus on Fri night or the early bus on Sat morning which can leave me a bit sleep deprived.

As far as seeing friends at night, there is a huge community of teachers that get out of work at 10pm and hang out as the bars and restaurants are open very late, so it's not like being back home and having a late shift and getting out when everything is closed and nobody is hanging out.