Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bbb0777]

Hi, I'm a GEPIK high school teacher. I've been told I need to submit roughly where I will go/what I will do during the days I'm taking vacation.

Are other GEPIK teachers asked to do this? Do they comply? I know regular Korean teachers are required to do as much, but I didn't believe GEPIK native teachers were.

I have a very good relationship with my school/like them a lot, but somehow don't like the principle of this, so want to check first. Thanks,

[sugarloaf82]

I think that's normal. For every vacation I've taken in the past year I've just told them what country/countries I'm going to and that's all they ask. For this vacation they asked what days I need off and what country. I don't think it's a big deal.

[bbb0777]

Did you fill in a form, or was it just verbally reported?

[lifeinkorea]

I don't think it matters. I would write where I am going in a general sense. I would write my family anyway where I am going specifically, so there wouldn't be much of a problem just using the same letter.

[creeper1]

When you renew for GEPIK there is a clause that says you get two extra weeks vacation for "home Leave". i.e vacation in your first year is 4 weeks but in your second it is 6 weeks. I am thinking that if you don't go home you might not get the extra vacation.

[Burndog]

[andrewchon]

It's normal for K-teachers to submit a form requesting holiday.
In it, there's a box for destination, as well as dates etc.
VP usually rubber stamps it.

[bish]

Just say you are foing on holiday but you have made no specific plans yet...

[nobbyken]

NST's contracts are getting more similar to Korean teachers.
Before vacation, there were many teachers visiting the Principal to tell him where they were going on vacation. For Korean teachers, visiting an English speaking country is considered part of the 2 weeks home study allowed each year.
If you are on an E2 visa, the school or school governing body is sponsering you. I think it is correct that they know where you are throughout the duration of your contract.

Korean culture is that everyone belongs to each other, so keeping unimportant things to yourself just for the sake of it, will be setting yourself up against the culture.

[Cerberus]

yes you do have to report where you will be traveling to, and though I enjoyed some of the snide comments in the thread, I will tell you the REAL reason for this.

Basically in your contract it states you will be governed under the same laws as Korean teachers.

Korean teachers are "public employees". ALL public employees must report when they leave the country, where they're going and for how long.

This is of course completely assinine, applicable to govt workers, especially those with a security clearance but nonsensical for a profession like a teacher.

But it is what it is.

It's all useless paperwork. I've seen the vp at my school just mindlessly stamp away at a huge stack of teacher vacation forms.

[Young FRANKenstein]

It's not only GEPIK. Both unis I work(ed) at required profs to submit travel plans if they intended on leaving the country. This was uni policy, and applied to the Korean profs, too. If you left the country, you had to file a travel plan.

[lapin131]

Oh that's why there were teachers who went overseas, but said that it was a "secret" Our VP is quite a character... so they probably didn't want to deal with him.

[kimchi girl]

[Young FRANKenstein]

[bbb0777]