Korean Job Discussion Forums

[incapacitated]

Poly school Hwajeong was a terrible experience. The director was never around and when he did come in, had unreasonable and unfair expectations of the staff. The school felt like a prison in that there was no leeway or tolerance of different teaching styles or methods. He would yell at you for being even 1 minute late and would not let you go out more than 5 minutes during preparation time, while working a 10 hour day with scant 40 minute lunch. He made the staff feel insecure and insignificant and unappreciated. He threatened to fire an employee with only 3 weeks left in a contract because their class was loud. He had an extremely poor sense of judgment when choosing people for supervisory roles, especially concerning preschool/kindergarten. He had a false impression of teachers' skills and was an extremely poor judge of character. The teachers who receive praise are those who do not get complaints from parents, even if they come in late every day, yell or talk back to him rudely, undermine his position of authority, straight up lie to his face, call in sick often for being hungover/still drunk, etc.

The academic coordinator working there when we left was the 3rd one since we started and the worst of the three. Brian Moon. He would often show favoritism or unfair treatment to different teachers. For example, a teacher who came in late everyday for no valid reason was never reprimanded, and he often came in late/hungover himself, but in the case of other teachers, he would scold them for being late 7 minutes on only one occasion.

If you want to have a good time in Korea, stay away from Poly School Hwajeong campus or else you will feel like you are in a concentration camp working yourself to death for evil tyrant overlords. It is like the Twilight Zone where those who are good and kind and decent feel ostracized and are taken advantage of, while those who are lying, cheating, stealing and indecent are rewarded and praised. There is a negative atmosphere that is almost nurtured and nothing is done to address it. STAY AWAY!

On several occasions the director was informed of the negative atmosphere, or unfair working conditions. For example, when one teacher was overloaded unfairly with work, little was done to rectify the situation. Promises of change to create a positive atmosphere were never fulfilled. Any complaints were thrown in the trash and anything that was done to suggest or improve things was ignored or tossed aside.

[bassexpander]

People often take jobs at Poly because they offer one of the better salaries. After you spend some time here, you realize that it's not the pay that's important, it's the amount of work you have to do for the pay you get.

At Poly, you have to work 5x harder for that extra few hundred thousand.

Not worth it, IMHO.

[chinook]

Dodds Corollary
As Godwin's Law has become more and more popular, its use in daily arguments increased. The rising use of Godwin's Law led to the implementation of the Dodds Corollary. The Dodds Corollary states:

"When debating a particular subject, if a comparison or implied connection is drawn between the opponent's argument and Hitler and the Nazi Party, the maker of that statement is automatically discredited and the debate is automatically lost by the person or group who referenced the connection to Hitler or the Nazis."

[Whirlwind]

I take it that Godwin never taught English in Korea.

[incapacitated]

[geldedgoat]

[cedarseoul]

[SPM]

I came across this comment when researching my potential job at Hwajung Poly. At the time I was mildly concerned, but figured there was no way it could be as bad as it was being made out as. I was right on all accounts.
I arrived here at the end of January, the director (Mr. Kim) was waiting for me at my apartment at 5:00 AM, which I thought was very good of him, and fairly unexpected. I also know that he had a lot of problems getting me over due to a form that was incorrectly filled out by my local RCMP office.
Since my first day he has done nothing but accommodate, and help me anyway he can. He has treated myself and others to various meals, and has been understanding of teachers in times of distress. It is true that he is not at the campus all the time, but he splits it with another campus that he runs as well. As for teaching styles, he is not too concerned as long as the material is covered, and the kids are treated well.
As for our AC Brian Moon, he has done much the same as Mr. Kim, if not more. Be it showing you around the area, helping set up ARC's, cell phones, bank accounts, giving you any information/advice that you need, or even just some company for a dinner. He does not have favorites, and treats his staff fairly.
Another great aspect of my job at Poly Hwajeong campus has been the atmosphere, I felt that I ended up with a really solid group of teachers, that has made my return to Korea all the better.
All of this is not to say that my job is without some hardships. Yes the hours are very long, and your free time during the day is eaten up by grading. However, they tell you the hours right in the contract, if you don't think you can handle them, you shouldn't apply for the job to begin with. The lunch break is only 40 minutes, but that is plenty of time to leave the school and go grab something to eat near by.
I am very glad that I decided to come to Poly Hwajeong Campus, and would recommend it to anyone interested.

Sean Patrick MacInnes

[curlyhoward]