Korean Job Discussion Forums

[amcnutt]

I was wondering if there`s a big difference between the public and private schools. Is one much more reliable than the other? Also, what are the differences in pay, housing, etc if at all? If I want a job in Seoul, is there one that�s going to be easier for me to get a job with, like the hogwon? Hogwons sound a little sketchier to me now (from what I�ve heard), but I was originally planning on going with one. Could anyone give me any advice?

[ttompatz]

[jiberish]

PS is easy mode. Same lesson 10 times a week. But it can get boring.

Hagwon you can get higher pay but the job is more difficult.

Look into afterschool programs too. They often have good hours and management is off site so it is more relaxed.

[thoreau]

[Saskatoongirl]

my first hogown was a big disaster but now i've gotten won that's a real pleasure to wrok at, everything from free diners to rides home from work somedays.

[bcjinseoul]

After two bad public schools in a row with the minimum 4 weeks off at each one, I can tell you most public schools are just not worth it anymore. The large classes, low levels, orientations, workshops, demo lessons, summer and winter camps, desk warming, co-teaching....a few years ago people got hooked up with time off. These days, you get about 2-3 weeks off more than a hogwon, and that can't sell me anymore. Actually, with a GEPIK contract I only had 3 1/2 weeks off, and with my current SMOE contract, no matter how hard I work on my lesson plans, a mean coteacher aint happy with them.

After school gigs seem to be the way to go...thats what I want next if I can't break into the college market. I'd rather work 4-6 hours a day and have 2 weeks off than work 8-9 hours a day and have 4 weeks off and go through all the nonsense again in the above paragraph.

ANYTHING is better than those kindie hogwons from like 9-7 with no benefits and one week off...

[vaticanhotline]

I teach in a public school and it's great; the other teachers at the school all seem to like me (in part because I try to speak Korean to them I'm sure), and the students are by and large very friendly. On the other hand, I know a dude who teaches in a hagwon, to at least five or six different levels of students, and he signed a contract that gives him NO holidays. Enough said.

[sheba]

PS is basically guaranteed to be reliable in terms of contract and pay. Ive found the complete opposite with personal relations though (my hagwon teachers were awesome - friendly, welcoming, helpful in every way, couldnt do enough for me and it was like that for 3 years. But at PS its only been a month and from day one I was feeling the chill...)

PS has less flexibility with curriculum, which also means less prep. I had to prep for 25 different classes in my hagwon including games activities songs etc, but I dont get to choose in PS. My coteachers like to use everything in the textbook. Its easier, but not nearly as much fun.

Class size is MUCH bigger in PS, I have 31-35 in each class as opposed to only 10-15 in my hagon. But in PS there is a coteacher (who does most of the teaching and all of the discipline in my case), the students seem to have more respct in PS anyway.

You work more hours at a hagwon (30x50min classes a week usually) but you can earn more... PS is 22x40min classes per week (depending on what age you teach maybe 50mins).

Vacation time is also much better at a PS... depending on the province and city you can get anywhere from 4-8 weeks (or up to 10weeks in a private school) Vs 2 weeks in a hagwon, which can sometimes be spilt up over the year.

I worked at hagwons for 4 years and have just made the change to PS. So far, Im loving the new schedule (though mornings are a little hard!), the respect I get from the students, and the fact that there are 2 of us in the classroom to keep the kids in check. And im lucky with my job, I actually got a pay increase, my desk warming hours are kept to a minimum (I can usually go home a little early), and I get a WHOLE lot more vacation time I wouldnt change anything for my first 3 years though, that hagwon was awesome... cant say the same about my 4th year!

[gregoriomills]

I taught at a public high school last year with EPIK, and although I had a lot of time off (8 weeks), I don't think that's normal, the time I had "on" was filled with huge classes of low-LOW-level boys. Sometimes they were horrible, sometimes "manageable", and my good classes were just "ok." Still, I was only teaching about 18 hours per week, but the time spent planning and prepping and stuff was pretty tedious, as well. Plus, you have to deal with co-teachers, which can be good or bad, depending. But people do tend to have less "contract issues" at public schools.

At my hagwon this year, I spend ZERO time planning, and about 28-30 50-minute classes per week teaching. But I show up at 2-2:30, and am done by 830, sometimes earlier. They leave you completely alone, and once you get the hang of the books, they are a breeze.

Nowadays, there's actually just as much variation between two different 2 different public school or 2 different hagwon jobs as there is between working at a public school or a hagwon in general, IMO.

There's no way to know exactly what you're getting before you arrive here, but you have a little bit better of an idea at a hagwon, especially if you contact the previous foreign teachers by email. If you can't decide, just flip a coin, remember to stay flexible, and get on with it! Good luck.

[Yahowho]

So in terms of actually teaching the classes, what role does the teacher have in a public school? I know that a teacher has, pretty much, complete freedom in a hagwon. In a PS the co-teacher teaches the majority of the class?

[yesman]

My first year in Korea I was 'fortunate' enough to land in a hagwon where I was put on a split schedule, teaching a 7:30am, 12:00pm, and 1:00pm corporate class (being shuttled in between). After that, I was brought back to the hagwon to finish my day with a 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 class (and a 7:00 class two days a week). For my labor I was paid 2 million won, a month late, because that was their insurance against midnight runners. In addition, I was ripped off in various other ways. I also arrived to an apartment that only had a mattress (no coverings), a torn sofa, and some sort of dehumidifier. That was it. I had to scavenge apartment goods from other teachers who were leaving as the months progressed. I stayed 5 months before it was feasible for me to get out.

My next hagwon job was much better, although I was only paid 1.9 million per month. It was a much smaller hagwon, but I had to fight at first to get what I knew was legally mine (pension and national health insurance). I stayed there for two years. It was a (sort of) family situation for me.

After that I went to a public school (elementary) in a much larger city where I basically prepared one lesson a week, while my co-teachers took care of the rest. For the most part, my co-teachers were great and made my life relatively easy. That's not to say that we didn't have cultural/personal issues at times...but it was not insurmountable. I still feel those ex-co-teachers are my friends. I made 2.4 million (because I'd gotten a TESOL certificate in between jobs). It was pretty much cake. The kids spoke great English.

It all depends on where you land and what situation you get yourself into, combined with how your personality interacts with those elements that surround you.

Nothing is certain; you can land in a great hagwon situation or a great public school one, but in my experience a public school, with its guaranteed pay, benefits, and schedule is the way to go.

[sheba]

[aweitzm1]

I also am debating applying for a public school position or hagwon school. Right now I am leaning to a hagwon because I have heard that PS positions are difficult to get and the time is running out to apply. I am currently waiting to hear back if I got accepted to the program in Japan. If not I want to apply to Korea.

Is it easier to apply when I am in Korea for a PS position? The only reason I would consider a PS position is because of the set hours and better benefits.

One other question I have is how difficult is it to obtain a teaching position either PS or Hagwon in Korea? I know in Japan it is near to impossible to get a position.

Any advise about obtaining a job in Korea would be appreciated as I am new to the forum.

[ttompatz]

[Cayne]