Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Iamronin11]

Ok heres a question, my contract ends a few weeks before my last paydate and the school refuses to give me the lump salary in my last month before i leave. they insist that they will wire me the money. has anyone had to go through this before?

[dmbfan]

Bullshit.

Do not...I repeat DO NOT leave your school or apartment until you get your full pay, ESPECIALLY since you are completing your contract.


So, do NOT trust ANY hogwan to wire your money AFTER you have finished.


Stand your ground. You deserve what is yours.

dmbfan

[D.D.]

The only place I would trust in Korea to wire money is the pension office. Don't even let a public school pull the wire money trick.

[cruisemonkey]

"Can i trust the hogwon to wire me my money?"

[themagicbean]

First off, I completely agree with these guys that you should not leave trusting the hagwon to wire you money (especially if you're talking an overseas wire). To do that they'd have to have a slew of banking information and the motivation and time to go spend an hour or so at the bank. Not likely. (That is not to say there are no honest hagwon owners, I know a few, but it's not worth the risk.)

However, you need to handle this diplomatically. It's still not too late for them to pull really shady eleventh-hour firing if you piss them off. And your contract does say your payday hasn't passed yet. If you were back home, would you expect your last check immediately upon departure? (That varies state by state in the US, at least.)

Tell the hagwon you want to save them money and time. Tell them you will be in Korea until your payday so that nobody has to pay wiring fees, so they can wire it to your Korean bank account, or just pay you directly.

Then arrange to hang out in Korea (or nearby) for a few weeks. Put your stuff in a friends' apartment or storage. Hope the ferry to Fukuoka and come back on a tourist visa (90 days to do what you need). Backpack around Japan or Korea a bit, check your bank account on payday, and immediately call the labor board if the money's not there on the scheduled day.

[D.D.]

Don't listen to magicbean. It is expensive to hang out on Korea and they can pay you all your money before you vacate their housing.

[Carla]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[Thumbnail Postermonkey]

Iamronin11, lemme light a Marlboro and tell ya a little story....OK, so a couple of years ago, I worked for a place in a suburb of Seoul. I gave notice in the usual manner and continued to work and get paid for weeks after my anticipated departure date. They had a hard time finding new help...Once they secured a replacement, they told me they'd wire the cash to me on payday - the end of the first week of the following month. On the 21st of the following month, after polite phone calls were ignored and the yammering crap got too much to take, I went to the home office and sat there for 8 hours. After "negotiation" and a lot of waiting, I left with the salary in my pants. Cash. Upon reflection, I got lucky. Having the right visa (not E) helped the situation immensely. In this case, it's imperative you get paid.

Be tactful, and be polite. But don't leave without your money... many have and many got burnt. Sit down and determine what you're prepared to do if you have to in order to get paid. And stick to your guns. Hang in there!

[louiloui]

I wouldn't even trust my public school to wire me the money after I left.

[Iamronin11]

in my contract it says that the company will buy a ticket within 15 days otherwise i have to cover the cost of the flight home. now if i stay here and wait i lose the flight money back pretty much. but they are refusing to pay me until that later paydate

[Juregen]

[roadwork]

[DAC]

If you PM me I can give you a name and number of an English-speaking labour attorney to find out what your legal rights are, and what your workplace is legally obligated to do (or not).

[Iamronin11]