Korean Job Discussion Forums

[verseinu]

I have been offered a gepik job through a recruiter, the school is Goggi Elementary in Yongin to start a.s.a.p. Does anyone have an info regarding the school or town?

Also, there was no interview and there is no esl teacher working at the school. When I asked the recruiter about receiving more detailed info I was given general details about class size, age, apartment, etc. and that is all the info they have.

All this came together in the past week, and from what I understand gepik/epik/smoe does their hiring months in advance. I am a little concerned because of the short time frame and lack of detailed info....is this a common occurance with public schools?

Apart from varying personalities of co-teachers and school administrators, are most public school jobs relatively the similar?

Is it safe to make a decision on a public school with relatively little information because of the standards the schools are held to?

Any wisdom out there would be much appreciated!!!!

[E_athlete]

exact same thing happened to me. I'd probably ask or find out what kind of teaching job it is. Whether you are teaching elementary, jr high or high school. If the recruiter doesnt give you an answer on this find out yourself. They wont tell you details that will make you reject the position.

[verseinu]

They have told me it is an elementary school with kids ranging 7-12 years old. I know at least that much!

E_athlete - looks like you are in korea, did you take the job? how did that work out for you?

[pie eater]

First thing I would do is ask for the nearest subway station as that is your link to the big smoke and all the shops and things to do. Yongin is allright, it is a big place but if you are near the city centre then you are out in the middle of nowhere (as in regards getting to Seoul). There are parts near Bundang (where I was) which are pretty pleasant and has decent access to Seoul, I was near Boejeong station but that was the last stop on the Bundang (yellow) line. They are extending the yellow line into Shingal and beyond and only when it is completed - would I consider living there.

There are a million reasons why people run. Not lest because they miss mummy, they miss taco bell, they miss their boyfriend/girlfriend/dog, because the school won't let them go home after their last class and because the apartment blocks have numbers on the side, but most of all THEY CAN'T DO THE JOB! THE JOB'S TOO HARD! In a public school - you stand up for yourself and no-one will shit you on you. They may not like you - but they will steer clear. If you get bullied at a public school - it is because you are letting them do it.

[romano812]

Please read red and white flag posting for information about GEPIK.

[efemmera]

Hi verseinu,

I wanted to PM you but I don't have enough postings yet to do so. Do you know the location of the job you have been offered?

[DCJames]

I'm not sure why you guys get your panties all knotted up about these Gepik / SMOE jobs.

They're pretty much ALL THE SAME job with the SAME CONDITIONS. You might have a few differences here and there, but they're ALL pretty much the SAME FREAKING THING.

[efemmera]

Sorry but I would have to disagree with that response. It depends on who is managing the school, your colleagues, location etc. I have had feedback from people who quite enjoyed their placements and others who did runners. You can put this down to perspective (as with everything) but I did not find the unhappy people I had feedback from to be particularly negative, nor did I find the people who were content to be overwhelmingly positive. There are so many schools how could they all be the same?