Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Tashiko]

I am currently in negotiation with a "Public Elementary School." Its apparently a school for kids of the local company in Geoje. The interviewer called it a public school but kids have to pay to go and about 90% of the kids are children of the employees.

I put my contract up for review on the sticky but I am looking for more information for people that teach at public schools comparing my contract to the norm.

My main issues with it are.

Vacation Days: 14 days
Sick Days: 2 w/ doctors note.
My teaching load would be: I find this part a bit confusing in terms of what a full time week is.
This compensation is in exchange for teaching an average of 40-40 minute classes a week, five days per week, totaling 120 hours a month during the contract year.
then later in the contract it mentions
If the instructor teaches, by mutual agreement of the instructor and the employer, additional teaching hours over and above 30 hours per week, overtime compensation at 17,000 Won/hour shall be paid for those hours.

My pay is 2.1 mil won which is OK since I have no prior experience. The OT pay is below the legally required minimum but according to the current teacher I am speaking to everyone gets paid the same even if they are making more than me.

So my question is, if you are a public/private school teacher. What is your contract terms & day in comparison to what I am being offered.

Side note: There was a confidentiality clause within the contract also. Is that normal?

Thank you in advance I have read though this forum in the last few days and most of the information I am finding is in relation to Hagwons.

[OculisOrbis]

no thank you. next school please. that contract is crap. many hagwon contracts seem great in comparison.

go to http://www.epik.go.kr/ and click job description, sample contract.

[tokkibunni8]

40 40min classes/week is a lot. 30 classes a week is still way too much. Teachers at most public schools work only 22 classes/week and any over will be overtime pay at 20,000/class. teachers with no prior experiences start at 2.1mill at public schools that are out in the rural area.

Your contract has you working too many hrs with an underpaid overtime rate. I would pass on it.

[oldtactics]

Yeah that's twice as many classes as I teach per week at my highschool. I also have more than twice that many vacation days and way more sick days.

Find a new school.

[Loudog]

The school must be a public school in the sense that it is available to the public. It has to be privately owned, because you don't have to work that much in public schools, and you salary is lower without experience or a TEFL. Plus way more vacation and sick days at public schools (the reason I wanted to work at one). You should get more $$$ for working at a Hagwon than they are offering you.

[nomad-ish]

very, VERY crappy contract.

[cruisemonkey]

40, 40-minute classes/week is insane!

[meursault]

You'd have some sort of breakdown teaching 40 classes a week. That's 8 classes a day! I teach between 2-4 a day and absolutely dread the days I have 4 classes...

[oskinny1]

And the fact that they don't count a class as a working hour is lame. So you are teaching 40 classes but only 26ish "teaching hours". Eff that!

[hobakmorinam]

Run for the hills on this one. Seriously.

This sounds like a hagwon. It's definitely not a public school.

One hour = one teaching hour. Always. So, 120 hours per month = 30 classes per week, not 40. This is a scam crap hagwons try to pull on newbies.



There is a confidentiality clause because they don't want you to know how much you are getting ripped off.

[Tashiko]

THANK YOU!!!

I am waiting to hear back still. I am probably going to pass on this recruiter entirely since they take forever to get back to you.

FYI for others.

I was working with Hands Korea, found them via Gaijin Pot
http://hskipnida.blogspot.com/

This was Daewoo Elementary School.

Funny thing about confidentiality clauses. They don't take effect until you sign them.

Also spoke with another teacher there. He pretty much signed the same contract since he didn't know any better.

[Manuel_the_Bandito]

[Draz]

[Tashiko]

I looked through the contract thread and most of them seemed to be for Hagwons, Maybe my googfu was rusty but I was seeing general offers and not contracts for public school teachers.